“The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. Be careful," Jesus warned them. "Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod." They discussed this with one another and said, "It is because we have no bread." (Mark 8:14-16, NIV)

“Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: "Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?" "Twelve," they replied. (Mark 8:17-20a, NIV)

“And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?" They answered, "Seven." He said to them, "Do you still not understand?" (Mark 8:20b-21, NIV)

Observations:
What were the disciples discussing?
They were discussing the statement Jesus had made about ‘Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod’ and thought Jesus said that because they had no bread.

Observations:
Aware of their discussion what does Jesus do?
Aware of their discussion, Jesus asks them 10 questions:

Why are you talking about having no bread?
Do you still not see?
Do you still not understand?
Are you hearts hardened?
Do you have eyes but fail to see?
Do you have ears but fail to hear?
And don’t you remember?
When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls did you pick up?
And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?
Do you still not understand?

Interpretation:
I asked myself what is significant about Jesus asking, “Do you have ears but fail to hear?”
Jesus did all these miracles right in front of the disciples and the disciples heard the people praising Jesus through all the miracles Jesus did. Yet, when they are concerned about bread, they show Jesus that they have not been listening. Jesus wanted them to hear and keep in mind the miracles including feeding the 9000+.

Implications:
I saw important implications for my own life. The most important thing has to do with applying what I hear from Jesus through His Word, through His Spirit, through Prayer, and through the Church as it is tested through the Word. Then, the results will be blessings because of obedience.

I ask you now dear friend, what do you do with what you hear?
Dear friend, we can do a lot with what we hear. We can tune it out; we can take it in; we can share it with others; we can be obedient; we can keep it to ourselves; we can be disobedient, etc. Jesus wants us to consider carefully what we hear and be obedient to His Word. Whatever you hear from Jesus, Jesus wants you to put it into practice whether you hear it through His Spirit, through Prayer, through the Church, etc all tested by the Word of God to make sure we are actually hearing from Jesus.

When we are obedient, with the measure we use, it will be measured back to us-even more. This is exciting to know especially when we are obedient and do the right things. However, if what we hear we do not put into practice we place ourselves in a precarious position hurting only ourselves. When we do not heed the call of Jesus, whatever we have will be taken away from us because it is not for our good and we attained it without the blessings of Jesus.

I believe it is so important that we hear what Jesus wants to tell us and put it into practice. May you hear the Lord and consider carefully what He tells you so you put it into practice because He loves you and only wants the best for you! Amen!

“Hearing Emmanuel Always Redeems!” (H.E.A.R)/”What do you do with what you hear?”

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for loving us so much and dying for our sin and coming back to life to save us. Thank you for your Word and the power of your Word. Oh Lord, we want to hear from you and need to hear from you. However, many times we let the things of this world cloud out our time with you; to be able to listen to you. Please forgive us and help us Jesus. We are so sorry for our sin and ask you to help us please. Thank you Jesus you are so loving and whatever you do in our lives is for our own good. I love you Lord Jesus. Help us to always trust in you. Thank you Jesus! I confess to you all my sin and ask you to cover me in your precious cleansing blood. Thank you so much Jesus. Thank you Jesus for coming into my heart as I ask you. Thank you Jesus for making my heart your home as I ask you! Live in me Jesus and I will live for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life. Please Jesus be my Lord and Personal Savior. Thank you Jesus and thank you, you have heard my prayer and answered me. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

Make this your prayer. Don’t let the enemy deceive you into thinking you need all the answers before coming to Christ. Let me just assure you though you may not have all the answers right now before coming to Jesus, He will answer them slowly. Yes, He will for I know our Redeemer will! Amen!

PRAYER:
Father God thank you, you love us so much that you sent your only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. I love you Lord. Thank you Father God for your Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus thank you for loving me so much. Thank you Jesus, you will take care of my problems. Nothing is too hard for you. For many of us Lord, we face many obstacles in life whether it be Spiritual, financial, marital, emotional, physical, or educational problems. We turn these problems and the prayer requests to you. Thank you Lord you never fail to answer our prayers. Just because we don't understand does not mean you didn't answer our prayers. Thanks Lord for cleansing us by your precious Blood. Please come into my heart Jesus. Please forgive my sins. Wash me and I will be whiter than snow. Thank you Jesus for coming into my heart. Thank you Jesus for making my heart, your home. Thank you Jesus for living in me. I will live for you Jesus and serve you the rest of the days of my life. I pray right now for the one who is so troubled that only your presence and love can meet them where they are at. Come Lord Jesus and please intervene in their life. Cover them with your awesome presence and help them through what they are going. Thank you Jesus as you saw the disciples in trouble and came to their rescue, you can come to our rescue too. We entrust our lives in your care. Thank you for the answer and you will carry us! IN YOUR NAME, I PRAY JESUS THANKING YOU FOR EVERYTHING. AMEN.

Friend you may feel something or may not feeling anything but do not go by your feelings. When you ask Jesus to come into your life, He will and does. He will take over from here as you depend on the Lord and let Him work in you and through you! This is exciting friend! May each one that came to know Jesus be filled with His Holy Spirit forever more and those that know Jesus come to know Him more and more! Amen!

Get yourself involved in a campus Bible study, fellowship, and most of all find a Bible believing church and be involved to grow in your Christian walk with the Lord. They all need to be supplements for your own precious time with the Lord in prayer and meditating on His Word. If you need a Bible, please let me know!

As the movie DaVinci Code opened across the theaters on May 19, 2006, which speaks against the church and most importantly degrades the Name of Jesus Christ, we need to make ourselves available to speak the truth to the falsity presented in the movie and the novel. If you plan to watch the movie or have read the book and have questions or your faith seems to be shaken, please email me or give me a call at 412-720-4579 so we can discuss the false claims in the book that are presented as fact even though the book itself and the movie is presented as fiction. May the Lord bless you and guide you!

If you need anyone to talk to, pray with, or study the Bible with this Summer of 2006, you can email me at reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com or call me at 412-720-4579. Please do not hesitate. One-one Bible studies can be so powerful too because the Holy Spirit is still in the midst.

"This is my work and I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work within me." (Colossians 1:29, TLB)

Express Your View

SEPTEMBER 2005

MARK: CHAPTER 1

How seriously do you T.E.S.T.I.F.Y to prophecy? (Sept 01, 05)

Who do you P.O.I.N.T to? (Sept 02, 05)

"Will you take a S.T.A.N.D?" (Sept 03, 05)

How is your loving P.R.A.I.S.E? (Sept 06, 05)

"How do you handle T.E.M.P.T.A.T.I.O.N?" (Sept 07, 05)

"Who controls your T.I.M.E?" (Sept 08, 05)

"What kind of P.R.O.F.E.S.S.I.O.N are you in?" (Sept 09, 05)

"Whose T.E.A.C.H.I.N.G.S do you listen to?" (Sept 12, 05)