Had you realized that Jesus fed large crowds more than once? Mark records two such incidents not that far apart from each other. And yet, even though the disciples had already seen Jesus multiply bread and fish, they were stymied once again on how to feed the crowd. Before we are too hard on them, though, let's pause and ponder how often God has helped us in times of trouble and how often we still panic when new troubles come. <<ahem>> Yes, I might know what that is like myself. OY! You'd think I'd be at a point where I could simply trust Him. I am better at it, but I have a ways to go!! Even after Jesus has fed the crowd and dismissed […] Read more »

Dear fellow student of God's Word, We hope this study is blessing you and drawing you ever closer to the Lord Jesus! We are so glad we can offer these studies for all who wish to learn. It's a great and deep joy to do so. However, it costs us to produce these studies. We pay for the website. We pay for the photos. We pay for the camera that helps us get a clear picture for the videos. Can you help us continue to give these studies for free? If every person who joined could donate just $10, it would easily defray our costs. If you can, please donate on our secure donation site: http://sweetselah.org/donations/. It's easily found by clicking on the Donations tab on […] Read more »

Well. Did you struggle a bit with the conversation between Jesus and the Gentile woman? Let's talk about this for a little bit. First of all, let's recall how very busy Jesus and His disciples were. Let's remember how hard it was for them to get away to a quiet place. As we started our reading today, Mark shares Jesus' desire for quiet in verse 24: "Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know which house he was staying in, but he couldn’t keep it a secret." The situation was getting a bit extreme. Jesus and His disciples needed a little getaway and they have hardly arrived when this desperate woman arrives and asks for help. […] Read more »

It's a brand new month and a brand new week of study, friend! I hope you have found a sweet rhythm of meeting daily with the Lord and whispering "Teach me, Lord." I hope He has taught you much as you have read His Word, His living love letter, to you. Although Jesus was full of kindness and compassion, He was also firm. And there were some attitudes that really angered Him. He would not put up with fakeness, pretend holiness, and made up rules. He always looked past the exterior to the heart. Our God has always done that. Remember when Samuel was told to anoint a new king? He went to visit Jesse, because God had told him that the new king would […] Read more »