Brian’s Quiet Time Thoughts.

Often when we think of this verse we think of a non-Christian becoming a Christian, but what about the Christian who needs to repent. Does God and all of heaven rejoice in their repentance? I am not talking about a wayward son or daughter of God, but a blood-bought Spirit-filled believer, your everyday Christian. I have a shirt that says "Y'all need Jesus". This is my favorite shirt to wear around church folk. I want it to emphasize that we all truly need Jesus. For those righteous people who do not need repentance, you need Jesus. For those everyday Christians, you need Jesus.  For the wayward sons and daughters, you need Jesus. For the non-Christian,  you need Jesus. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 HCSB https://bible.com/bible/72/rom.3.23.HCSB What then? Are we any better? Not at all! For we have previously charged that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin, as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. There is n

What was the one thing that Mary focused on? JESUS! Mary could have been up serving and let Jesus relax, but she decided to sit at Jesus' feet. For her, the dishes, sweeping, or the food could wait till Jesus was gone. But she saw something important in the words of Jesus that stirred her soul. She found words of eternal life. She found a deep love from Jesus, once again it was not romantic love but the unconditional love of God.  Simon Peter answered, “Lord, who will we go to? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that You are the Holy One of God! ” John 6:68‭-‬69 HCSB https://bible.com/bible/72/jhn.6.68-69.HCSB This is well and good for Mary but this has no bearing on us. We have more important things to do than to spend time with Jesus! WRONG! Jesus is the most important thing in our life! Stop worrying about the mess your life is in. Stop worrying about sweeping the dirt under the rugs of life. Stop worrying about the leftovers from the world. But

Was it customary to heal someone and keep them in your company? Why did Luke and the writers of the gospels make note of Jesus giving back the one who was healed or raised from the dead? The implication for us is that when Jesus asks for a part of our life he will return it to us cured, dressed, and purified. Not only that but He will also give it back to us a good measure, pressed down, and running over. Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure — pressed down, shaken together, and running over — will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38 HCSB https://bible.com/bible/72/luk.6.38.HCSB What's in your life today that appears to be lacking? Give it today to God and stop striving to make it better and He will give it back to you better than He got it from you. What has the devil taken from you? Give it up and let God pursue after it and God will bring it back just as if it has never left. Children of Zion, rej

I never knew that Barabbas was in jail with other people for his rebellion and murder. I always thought He was in there alone. Not that the jail was empty but that he was the only one charged with the rebellion and murder. The commentary in my bible linked that maybe the two criminals that were crucified with Jesus were his cohorts in the crime.  In one of the "lost" gospels, it is reported that while Jesus' family was on the way to Egypt they ran into two young thieves.  Jesus predicted that they would be the two thieves on the cross with Him in 30 years. During the 30 years, Barabbas may have joined their group and became the leader. The one on His right would recognize Jesus as being "King of the Jews" and would join Jesus in paradise today.  So what about Barabbas why would Pilate want to release him? He would have been famous for the rebellion and murder and the Jews would not want him to be free. So the crowd would have to choose between Jesus the "ki