|
Jesus 365 - April April 1 In everything, do to others as you would have them do to you. Mt7:12 / L6:31 m April 2 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Mt7:13-14 m April 3 Watch out for the false prophets. They come in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognise them. Do people pick grapes from thorn-bushes, or figs from briers? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will know them. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. Mt7:15-23 / L6:43-45 m April 4 Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Mt7:21 m April 5 Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I say? Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers.' L6:46 / Mt7:22-23 m April 6 I will show you what he is like who hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When the rain came down, the streams rose, and the torrent beat against that house, but it could not shake it or make it fall because it was well built and had its foundation on the rock. But the one who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house, without a foundation, on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the moment the torrent beat against that house, it fell with a great crash, and its destruction was complete. Mt7:24-27 / L6:47-49 m April 7 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their place at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Mt8:11-12 d April 8 Report what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me. Mt11:4-6/L7:22-23 April 9 I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God and heaven is greater than he. Mt11:16 / L7:28 m April 10 To what can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out: 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn or cry.' For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners".' But wisdom is proved right by all her actions - her children. Mt11:16-19 / L7:31-35 m April 11 I have something to tell you. Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he cancelled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more? He who has been forgiven little loves little. L7:40,41 & 47 h April 12 How can Satan drive out Satan? Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself, he cannot stand; his end has come. How then can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub. And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the finger of God - by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Mt12:24-28 / Mk3:23-26 / L11:17-20 h April 13 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armour in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils: No one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house. Mt12:29 / Mk3:27 / L11:21-22 h April 14 He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. And so I tell you the truth, every sin and blasphemy of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. (He said this because they were saying, 'He has an evil spirit.') Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognised by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. Mt12:25-37 / Mk3:23-30 / L11:23 & 12:10 h April 15 This is a wicked and adulterous generation! It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, and was a sign to the Ninevites, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, and will be a sign to this generation. The men of Ninevah will stand up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgement with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. Mt12:39-42 / L11:29-32 h April 16 When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation. Mt12:43-45 / L11:24-26 h April 17 Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven - hears his word and puts it into practice - is my brother and sister and mother. Mt12:48&49-50 / Mk3:34-35 / L8:21 m April 18 Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds of the air came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root and no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and yielded a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Mt13:3-9 / Mk4:3-9 / L8:5-8 m April 19 The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God and heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him. That is why I speak to those on the outside in parables: Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: 'You will be ever seeing, but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding. For this people's heart has become callused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.' But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets, kings and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. Mt13:11-17 / Mk4:11-12 & 25 / L8:10 & 18 & 23-24 (Isaiah 6:9-10) m April 20 Listen to what the parable of the sower means: The seed is the word of God. The farmer sows the word. Some people are like the seed along the path, where the word is sown. They hear the message about the kingdom and do not understand it: As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. Others, like the seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. They believe for a while, but when testing, trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like the seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but as they go on their way the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other pleasures come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful; they do not mature. Others, like the seed sown on good soil, stands for those who have a noble and good heart; who hear the word, understand, accept it and retain it, and by perseverance produce a crop - thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown. Mt13:18-23 / Mk4:13-20 / L18:11-15 m April 21 Do you light a lamp and hide it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be known or brought out into the open If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. Therefore consider carefully how you listen. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you - and even more. Mk4:21-24 / L8:16-18 m April 22 The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?' 'An enemy did this,' he replied. The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling up the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' Mt13:24-30 m April 23 The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. Mt13:37-43 d April 24 This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters good seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain - first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come. Mk 4:26-29 m April 25 What shall we say the kingdom of God and heaven is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest seed you plant in the ground, yet when it grows, it is the largest of all garden plants and becomes a tree, with such big branches that the birds of the air can come and perch in its shade. Mt13:31-32 / Mk4:30-32 m April 26 What shall I compare the kingdom of God and heaven to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough. Mt13:33 / L13:20 m April 27 'I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.' Mt13:35 (Psalm 78:2) April 28 The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Mt13:44 m April 29 The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. Mt13:45 m April 30 Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. They sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous, and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Mt13:47-50 m |