January 31, 2026

Jesus Heals Peter’s Mother-In-Law Of Fever

And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. Matthew 8:14-15

The story of Peter’s mother-in-law is found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. There are a couple of things to observe here. When Jesus heals, there is no recovery time; you are completely well right then and there. That was the case for Peter’s mother-in-law; Jesus touched her hand, and her fever left her. She got right up and started ministering to them. From this portion of scripture, we now know that Peter was married, had a home, and it’s likely that Jesus stayed there with them. Another observation is that Jesus made sure his disciples’ families were comfortable and well cared for, freeing him to minister to others without worry. 

When you are doing God’s will, he takes care of your concerns; I can attest to that. We’ve had some near-tragic circumstances recently that would have taken me right out of the game, but God heard my prayers and the prayers of my family, and our family is still whole because of His mercy. What I recently learned, which I hope you take with you, is not to dismiss God’s still small voice. If you get weird thoughts or feel a check in your Spirit about something, do not neglect to acknowledge it, and if you can’t do anything about it, pray. It could be the Spirit prompting you to get involved to change the trajectory of an outcome. And, just like that, Jesus will step in, command his angels concerning you or your loved one, and what was meant to harm will be directed away from you or your family. We don’t know the power we have because we are tuned out and distracted by worldly cares; this is your wake-up call to plug into the Source and start living for God, leaving worldly cares behind for the greater good.  

January 30, 2026

Miracles Of Jesus

Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Spirit 

As a new topic of discussion in the steps of Jesus, it would be fitting to follow the miracles he performed as part of his ministry and as proof of his deity. I have already covered the first two, but I will mention them to keep the chronological order. If you remember, his first miracle was turning the water into wine at Cana for his mother Mary. The second recorded was healing the official’s son at Capernaum. From here on, I will cover the rest of Jesus’s recorded miracles, starting with his healing of a demon-possessed man as found in Mark 1 and Luke 4. 

Jesus was teaching on the Sabbath in a synagogue in Capernaum when a man with an unclean spirit disrupted him by crying out and identifying him as the Holy One of God!

Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. Mark 1:24

Jesus didn’t play any games with this demon and immediately commanded him to come out.

And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. Mark 1:25

His fame began to spread throughout, and the people wondered who this man was who taught with such authority and commanded the spirits. We are so fortunate to have a compilation of all that Jesus did. Are there more writings hidden somewhere that we aren’t privy to? Maybe, but we have all we need in the pages of our Bibles to bring us to our knees in reverence of the One True God who walked among the people, teaching and performing miracles.

January 29, 2026

The Authority of Jesus 

And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Matthew 7:28-29

When Jesus taught, it was unlike anything they had heard before. His teachings were full of power, and his authority was sure. Because it was different, people flocked to him. They didn’t know who he was, but because he was God, his message came across boldly. There is no mincing words here; it plainly states that what he taught was doctrine, a set of beliefs we should adhere to. There are so many rules added by churches that it can be confusing; Jesus’s words are not confusing; they are clear and concise. There should be no misinterpretation, though there is. How do we compensate for that? We must listen to the still, small voice that guides us as we read the scriptures. If something feels unsettling, we should dig a little deeper into its meaning, ask for the Holy Spirit to clarify, and persist until we get the appropriate answer. The denominations have muddied the waters so much that unless you dig into the scriptures yourself, you WILL be misled. Don’t let others toy with your future like that. Be noble like the Bereans who combed through the scriptures to verify that what Paul was teaching was trustworthy and true. Your eternity is worth a little extra effort. Verify, then believe!

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Acts 17:11

January 28, 2026

The Sermon On The Mount: Build Your House on the Rock 

Jesus’s Words:

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. Matthew 7:24-25

When we traveled throughout Europe, we had two excellent examples of these types of houses, both in Italy. The first house would be likened to the homes in Venice, which were built on piers and were likely set upon limestone. Now they say it’s sinking, but not like we think, barely one to two millimeters per year. Then there is the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Whoever built it didn’t think this through and definitely didn’t build it upon a rock. Yes, it’s an old building still standing; however, it has had to be backfilled with modern concrete to keep it from toppling over. My guess is that the Catholic Church needed it to keep standing, so people would continue to pay for tours. We must apply these ideas about building to our lives, and we want our foundation to be secure; the only way to do that is to make Jesus our foundation. If you build on a worldly foundation, you’re like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, still standing but crumbling underneath. Jesus is kind of like Venice; the high tides come and wash the streets and fill the bottom floor with water, like the movement of the Holy Spirit. Venice is very beautiful and old like the Ancient of Days. Yes, I know it’s a stretch using Venice as a comparison. However, it works because it is still standing and has some incredible architecture that gives pause to a thinking person: it was built with hammer and chisel, using horse and carriage or boats to move the stones across the water. Seems a little far-fetched, doesn’t it? What do I know? 

This is the conclusion of the Sermon On The Mount, it is not the conclusion of Jesus’s steps, so we will keep digging in and learning from him so we can get our lives right, with our trajectory toward him alone. 

January 27, 2026

The Sermon On The Mount: I Never Knew You 

Jesus’s Words:

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:21-23

Well, isn't that a scary thought? We always tell people how simple it is to come to Jesus, but we don't tell them that their lives must show a visible change as proof of their salvation. It's not a big show; it's a drastic turn from evil intentions to good works. I'm not saying you need works to get there; that rests solely on Jesus, it's not of yourself; it's a gift. Once Jesus calls you, your life becomes a lifelong self-improvement project, and you should show strides toward sanctification in the early stages of your salvation. The people Jesus is talking about in the scripture are those who have probably based their income on the name of Jesus, only use his name to make a buck, were insincere, and likely never believed in him. Even if you aren't making money off his name, but expect to enter heaven without any improvement to your life, he's talking to you. He doesn't expect us to be perfect, because he knows we aren't, but he does expect us to be serious about him, not using his name as a "get out of hell free card!" He's telling us here that it won't work. It might be a good idea to assess your life and get serious about Jesus. You don't want to come to the end and hear him say, "I never knew you, depart from me."

January 26, 2026

The Sermon On The Mount: A Tree and Its Fruit 

Jesus’s Words:

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. Matthew 7:15-17

We all have to be on guard against believing everyone who claims to be teaching Jesus' words. Now more than ever, we must know God's word so we can challenge anyone who carefully includes tiny bits of falsehoods amongst the truth. Their message may seem on point, but that one little discrepancy could taint the entire message. These false teachers and prophets are counting on you being ignorant of scriptures so they can lead you down the pathway of destruction; they are sent by Satan to mock and confuse you.  You don't have to be a scholar, but basic knowledge of God's word is essential. No one knows everything there is to know, but having Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will get you further than any false teacher. Their father is the devil, and he is full of lies. The conclusion of this is that you will know them by their fruit; a good tree will produce good fruit, but a bad tree will produce evil fruit. Always use caution; it's better to be a little skeptical at first and listen intently to their words until you are convinced of their character. 

January 25, 2026

The Sermon On The Mount: The Golden Rule

Jesus’s Words:

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12

This rule is straightforward: Treat others the way you want to be treated. There is a sad story of a church that went through a resizing, to put it mildly, and people were observed showing their true colors rather than restraining their emotions. Whether the person they were communicating with was good or bad, their behavior should have shown Jesus' refining power, not Satan's hold, primarily when the person being spoken to was someone loved and respected by the observers. To show disdain for anyone that we know God has loved is more hurtful to the one spewing hatred. We don't always know what causes issues in church or even in our personal lives. Still, in a lot of cases, all it takes is the weakness of one person, a slight opening, for the enemy to work his way in and cause a disruption, so rather than feel hatred for that person, we need to feel sorry for them that they've opened themselves up for use by Satan. Give them the grace that you hope to receive if you are ever on the other side of such behavior. Life is hard enough when dealing with the unsaved; even so, treat others the way you expect to be treated. However, when it's your brother or sister in Christ, go beyond that and treat them like Jesus is standing there watching, because he is.