Devotional Hours Within the Bible

Mark 7:24-30

Much of the public life of Jesus was devoted to caring for sufferers .

The doctor's little girl told the messenger where she thought her father could be found, as he was needed immediately, "I don't know, sir; but you'll find him somewhere, helping somebody." When people sought for Jesus and could not find Him, He was usually away with someone in need, doing good, helping somebody. At this...

Mark 6:30-44

After the tragic death of John the Baptist, his disciples paid loving honor to his body. Their sorrow must have been very great, for they loved their master. We do not know whether or not John had those lovable qualities which drew men to him and made them his friends, or whether, by reason of his natural sternness and his ascetic severity he failed to be a friend of men, as Jesus was. It is not likely that he drew men to him...

Mark 6:14-29

We have here at the very beginning a serious case of conscience. One would say that Herod was past having such fits of remorse, as his life was so wholly bad. But in even the worst men, conscience is not apt to be entirely dead. At least Herod's conscience was only asleep, and when He heard of Jesus gong about the country, working miracles, it seemed to him that it must be John the Baptist, whom...

Luke 4:16-30

Christ never forgot the place where He had spent His childhood years. We are not given many facts of His life there. Nothing indicates that there was anything unusual in the story of the thirty years He spent there. The more we think of His life at Nazareth as simply natural, without anything unusual - the nearer shall we come to the true picture of the

Mark 5:21-43

JAIRUS was an important man in Capernaum. He was one of the elders. People looked up to him. He was influential in affairs, perhaps rich. But as we see him, we think of none of these things - what strikes us in him - is his anguish of heart. Grief brings all men to the same level. A father, as we see him battling with the world, may seem sometimes to lack the tender emotions. But let his child become dangerously sick, and his...

Mark 4:35 to Mark 5:20

"That day when evening came, He said to His disciples - Let us go over to the other side." There were marked days in the life of Jesus - days in which He did special things or said special words, days that were made bright and...

Mark 4:26-32

Mark 4:1-20

Christ taught many of His great lessons in parables. He gave to the disciples this reason, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside, everything is said in parables so that, 'they may be ever seeing - but never perceiving, and ever hearing - but never understanding;' otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!" The truth of...

Mark 3:20-35

One of the surest ways to hurt a man's reputation, is to give him a bad name. That was the course the scribes took with Jesus. They could not deny that He did very wonderful works, for there were the evidences - the demoniacs in their right mind - but they were determined to damage or destroy His influence over the people by starting this...

Luke 7:36-50

Jesus did not turn His back on social pleasures. Herein He differed from the Baptist. We are almost certainly right in saying that John would not have gone to the wedding feast in Cana - Jesus went, and went gladly. John, we are quite sure, would not have gone to diner at the Pharisee's house - Jesus accepted the invitation without a question and without hesitation. His heart was full of gracious...

Luke 6:39-49

The Sermon on the Mount tells us the kind of people Christians should be. The Beatitudes with which it opens, show us pictures of the character that is like God.

There is a legend which says that when Adam and Eve were driven out of Eden, an angel broke the gates into pieces, and the fragments flew all over the earth. The gems and precious stones which are picked up now in different parts of...

Luke 6:27-38

There is a great similarity between the discourse in Luke - and that given in Matthew. There are also such marked differences that many writers think they were spoken at different times. It matters not, for our purpose, whether they are the same or a different sermon.

The law of love...

Luke 6:20-26 Luke 16:19-31

The Beatitudes are glimpses of heaven ; that is, the conditions they describe - are qualities which belong to the heavenly life. Those who live there are lowly, are meek, are pure in heart, hungering after righteousness, and are merciful. We cannot think of any people in heaven who are proud, resentful, or...

Mark 3:7-19

"Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed." Mark 3:6-7

We can hardly realize how wide the influence of Jesus was at this time. The multitude that followed Him, came not only from Galilee - but also from Judea,...