Jesus is Calling You

This second book in the New Testament was written by Mark, also called John Mark, who is the cousin of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10). Mark travelled with the Apostle Paul and Barnabas on their evangelistic journeys and then, for reasons not mentioned in Scripture, abandoned them to return home to Jerusalem. Because of this act Paul was adamant that he would not accompany them on any future trips. Perhaps it was the family tie, or his compassionate heart, but Barnabas vehemently disagreed with Paul on the matter and the two men decided to part ways in their evangelistic ministry (Acts 15:39). Although he never mentioned the matter in his text, we can learn much from Mark's situation. The Gospel of Mark was likely written around 70 A.D. which, from a historical perspective, is almost immediately after Jesus' resurrection. Mark purposefully leaves out details of Jesus' birth and His genealogy, as his intended audience were likely Romans instead of Jews, and instead he jumps right in to Jesus' ministry. Of the four Gospels, Mark is the shortest and has been called The Gospel on steroids for Mark's use of the word, "immediately" (37 times in the Easy to Understand, Read Bible), in describing the acts Jesus performed. Reading the Bible is different than reading any other book. It is more than a narrative about God, it is more than a story of broken individuals and the trials they faced. It is more than a set of rules and regulations. It is even more than a love letter. It is the very essence of Jesus. It is about Him, but there is more than that. It is God's conversation with us. It is alive. It is active. It is a 2-way conversation.

The Apostle John had been telling people about Jesus Christ, his deeds, his teachings, his death and his resurrection. This infuriated those in authority and he was arrested and shipped off to the island of Patmos where he could no longer proclaim Christ, or so it was thought. Patmos is a volcanic, rocky, treeless island about 20 miles off the west coast of Turkey. It is barren and the Romans would put their prisoners here so they could not escape or cause more trouble. But it is here that John is given visions of things to come. This last book of the New Testament is a record of things John saw and heard. Reading the Bible is different than reading any other book. It is more than a narrative about God, it is more than a story of broken individuals and the trials they faced. It is more than a set of rules and regulations. It is even more than a love letter. It is the very essence of Jesus. It is about Him, but there is more than that. It is God's conversation with us. It is alive. It is active. It is a 2-way conversation. When we need wisdom, insight, guidance, how do we hear what God is saying to us? God has given us the Bible. It's a powerful and intimate way to listen to Him and it is the primary way God tells us about Himself. In Jesus is Calling You one or more books of the Bible is presented with steps to hearing from God, the plan of salvation and growing in faith. It is my prayer Jesus uses each of these book to help you hear Him.

During the Apostle Paul's third visit to the city of Corinth, around 57 A.D., he took time to write a letter to a group of Christian believers in Rome that he had never met. The letter, known as the book of Romans in the New Testament, is arguably one of the greatest letters we have from the Apostle. In 16 chapters the Apostle explains righteousness in four ways: Our need to be righteous; How righteousness has been provided for us; How we are forgiven by righteousness; and How righteousness is practiced. Romans lays out a roadmap to show non-believers the steps to be being reconciled with God and obtaining salvation. This roadmap, often called the Romans Road to Salvation, tell us that everyone has sinned, the penalty of sin is death and that by God's gift we may have eternal life. Reading the Bible is different than reading any other book. It is more than a narrative about God, it is more than a story of broken individuals and the trials they faced. It is more than a set of rules and regulations. It is even more than a love letter. It is the very essence of Jesus. It is about Him, but there is more than that. It is God's conversation with us. It is alive. It is active. It is a 2-way conversation. When we need wisdom, insight, guidance, how do we hear what God is saying to us? God has given us the Bible. It's a powerful and intimate way to listen to Him and it is the primary way God tells us about Himself. In Jesus is Calling You one or more books of the Bible is presented with steps to hearing from God, the plan of salvation and growing in faith. It is my prayer Jesus uses these books to help you hear Him.

The New Testaments books of 1st and 2nd Corinthians were written by the Apostle Paul while he ministered in the city of Ephesus. It was in the city of Corinth that Paul met his dear friends Priscilla and Aquila who were fellow tentmakers and opened their home to him. Paul stayed in Corinth for over a year reasoning with the Jews and Greeks in the synagogue in an attempt to teach them about Jesus. And it was in Corinth, after the Jews became abusive towards him, that he resolutely declared that he was cleared from their future condemnation and would instead spend his efforts in declaring the Gospel to the Gentiles. While Paul was in Ephesus reports had come to him about trouble the young church in Corinth he founded was having. Divisions and arguments were straining the fellowship of the church and there were unaddressed sins to be dealt with. It is in 1st Corinthians we learn of the church's call to judge fellow believers who are caught in sin, and let God judge those who are outside of the Christian faith. And in Chapter 13 of the first letter to the Corinthians we learn what true love looks like in practical application. Reading the Bible is different than reading any other book. It is more than a narrative about God, it is more than a story of broken individuals and the trials they faced. It is more than a set of rules and regulations. It is even more than a love letter. It is the very essence of Jesus. It is about Him, but there is more than that. It is God's conversation with us. It is alive. It is active. It is a 2-way conversation.

These four books of the New Testament were written by the Apostle Paul between 50 and 60 A.D. Paul's intent with his letters to the churches was to clear up doctrine, ensure the message of Jesus was correctly understood and taught and to encourage or rebuke as necessary. In Galatia some believers were heretically teaching that while Jesus offered salvation, works were also necessary for it. In his letter to the Ephesians he stresses that Christians are saved by grace alone as a gift from God and "not by works so that no one would boast" (Eph 2:9). The letter to the Philippians has a different tone. Though Paul was a prisoner of Nero while he wrote it, he speaks often of joy and rejoicing. He tells us the secret to joy during trials and encourages us to live in peace despite our circumstances. With his letter to the Colossians, he again corrects bad theology by combating Gnosticism. He tells about the fullness of God in Jesus (Col 1:19 and 2:9) and warns those who worshipped angels (Col 2:18) that they have lost their connection to God. Through these 4 books, Christians come to a better of understanding of who Jesus is, what He offers and how to live out our faith in Him. Reading the Bible is different than reading any other book. It is more than a narrative about God, it is more than a story of broken individuals and the trials they faced. It is more than a set of rules and regulations. It is even more than a love letter. It is the very essence of Jesus. It is about Him, but there is more than that. It is God's conversation with us. It is alive. It is active. It is a 2-way conversation.

This first book in the New Testament was written by Matthew, also called Levi, who was a tax collector for the Roman government. As you can imagine in this position he was not well received by his Jewish community. It was likely written around 50 A.D. which, from a historical perspective, is almost immediately after Jesus' resurrection. Of the New Testament books, Matthew is the only one to use the phrase "Kingdom of Heaven." As his record of Jesus was written originally in Greek, his target audience must have been to Jewish believers in Christ. As such he gives a full accounting of Jesus' life providing his complete genealogy back to Abraham. His readers likely wanted reassurance that Jesus truly was a King with a Kingdom from the lineage of David. The Gospel of Matthew perfectly represents the "upside down Kingdom". One need look no further than Chapter 5 with the Beatitudes. Here we see how God's view is often diametrically opposite to how we perceive things. Not many of us, in the natural, would feel blessed by persecution for being righteous. Reading the Bible is different than reading any other book. It is more than a narrative about God, it is more than a story of broken individuals and the trials they faced. It is more than a set of rules and regulations. It is even more than a love letter. It is the very essence of Jesus. It is about Him, but there is more than that. It is God's conversation with us. It is alive. It is active. It is a 2-way conversation. When we need wisdom, insight, guidance, how do we hear what God is saying to us? God has given us the Bible. It's a powerful & intimate way to listen to Him and it is the primary way God tells us about Himself.