+ + Jesus' Mother and Brothers + +
One day Jesus' mother and brothers arrived at the house where He was teaching. It was so crowded that they sent a message to tell Him they were there: "Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for You." Jesus asked, "Who are My mother and my brothers?" He looked around at those sitting in a circle around Him and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers. Anyone who hears the will of God and puts it into practice, that person is my brother and sister and mother."
Another time a woman in a crowd following Jesus raised her voice and said, "Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts that You sucked!" But He said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the world of God and keep it!"
+ + + SPIRITUAL CHILDHOOD + + +
One time little children were brought to Jesus to bless. Jesus' disciples were angry with those who brought them, and told them to take them away. But Jesus did not like this. "Let the children come to Me, do not keep them back," He said. "The Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth: anyone who does not turn and accept the Kingdom of God like a little child, will never enter into it." And He embraced all the children, and blessed them.
+ + + Trust in God + + +
Another time Jesus taught, "Do not worry about your life, and what you are to eat. Do not worry about your body and how you are to clothe it. Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they are? Can any of you make his life any longer by worrying? And why worry about clothes? Think of the flowers growing in the fields. They never have to work, yet Solomon in all his finery was not robed like any of these. Now, if that is how God clothes the grass in the field - which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow - will He not look after you much more, you men of little faith? So do not worry about what you are to eat or drink, or what you are to put on. Those who do not know God set their hearts on these things.
Your heavenly Father knows that you need such things. Set your hearts on His Kingdom first, and He will see to it that you have all these other things as well. So do not worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will take care of itself."
+ + + The True Disciple + + +
One day when Jesus was walking with His apostles, He asked them, "Who do people say I am?" "Some think You are John the Baptist, risen from the dead," they told Him. "Others say you are Elijah or one of the prophets."
Jesus said, "And what about you? Who do you think I am?"
Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." "Blessed are you, Simon," said Jesus. "It is My Father in heaven who has told you this. You are Peter, which means 'rock', and on this rock I will build My Church. Hell will not win over it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.
Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Then he told the apostles very strictly not to tell anyone that He was the Christ.
Then Jesus told His apostles that He must go up to Jerusalem and be killed there. He told them He would rise from death the third day afterward.
Peter said, "Never, Lord. No such thing will happen to You."
"Get behind Me, Tempter!" Jesus said. "You are trying to make Me do what men want instead of what God wants."
Then He said to them all, "If anyone wants to be My disciple, he must go out of himself and take up his cross and follow Me. Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it. Anyone who loses his life for My sake, will find it. What good is it if someone wins the whole world, and ruins his life? The Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father, and when He does, He will reward each one on the basis of what he has done."
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