Mark 4:39

And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace be still.  And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

I love this story. Jesus calms the troubled sea.  From what we can gather from the Gospels, Jesus is tired at first and finds rest in the back of the boat.  Prior to this He has ministered to a multitude of people, displaying His compassion for all of them.  Suddenly, a storm comes up and His disciples are afraid, waking him with the question, "Master, carest thou not that we perish?"  (v 38)  With three words Jesus speaks stillness to the sea.  He then addresses the disciples' fear with two questions:  "Why are ye so fearful?" and "How is it that ye have no faith?"  (v 40)  These remain good questions for all of us who know Jesus and claim to trust Him.  Fear results from lack of faith.  If you're dealing with fear, ask yourself these questions....then remember that even the wind and the sea obey Him.  Demons are subject to Him.  You have nothing to fear.  Pastor John

Luke 6:20

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said Blessed be ye poor:  For yours is the Kingdom of God.

Here in Luke 6, Jesus begins His teaching on the Beatitudes.  Jesus delivers this powerful lesson, part of the "Sermon on the Mount,"  to His disciples and the multitudes.  His Message seems to be:  Your status in life has no bearing on your status with God.  If you love and obey Christ's teaching, there is a blessing of belonging.  You belong to the greatest kingdom there is.  You are a citizen of blessed hope in a kingdom of eternal riches this world cannot comprehend.  Our wealth in Jesus has no connection with what's in our bank accounts.  According to Matthew's account of this sermon, we have "treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through to steal."  Jesus makes His promise personal:  "Yours is the Kingdom of God."  Pastor John

Luke 6:45

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil:  for of the abundance of his heart his mouth speaketh.

These words of Jesus really require little explanation.  Our mouths - that is, our words - reveal more about us than we often realize.  We need to guard our words and know when to hold our tongues, speaking only good things.  Our whole character falls into judgement when we bluntly speak our minds without using discretion in our conversations with others.  That is a poor Christian witness, and it could be a stumbling block to people who do not know Christ.  I think the lesson here is this:  If you have to talk a lot, talk about the blessings and goodness of God.  That will certainly keep you out of trouble.  Pastor John.