Mark 4:10 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁰ And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.

Mark 4:10 Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Why Jesus Used Stories

¹⁰ When Jesus was alone with the twelve apostles and some others, they asked him about these stories.

Contemporary English Version (CEV) Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

These are my thoughts.

The disciples were able to ask God face to face questions, this connection was something they had to have for them to be used to build the church. 

Job 5:19-21 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁹ He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.

²⁰ In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.

²¹ Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.

Job 5:19-21 Good News Translation (GNT)

¹⁹ Time after time he will save you from harm;
²⁰  when famine comes, he will keep you alive,
 and in war protect you from death.
²¹ God will rescue you from slander;
 he will save you when destruction comes.

Good News Translation (GNT) Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society

These are my thoughts, please share yours.

19 God can save us from and He does, this does not mean we wont go into harm because sometimes He leads us there so we grow closer to Him and sometimes it is just part of His will. This world can do harm to our body but God con protect our bodies and He alone can save our souls.

20 God can see people thru famines and war, He does this all the time, we can see this done in scripture, how Israel survived the famine and then God brought them out without fighting a war against Egypt, and then how He brought them thru wars when they trusted in Him.

21 If we are living for Christ, this world will slander us but if we are following the Lord our actions will help people not believe that slander. He can both save us from death and disaster and judgment no one else can do all this. 

Keep our eyes on Jesus.

Mark 4:9 King James Version (KJV)

⁹ And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Mark 4:9 Contemporary English Version (CEV)

9 Then Jesus said, “If you have ears, pay attention.”

Contemporary English Version (CEV) Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

These are my thoughts.

We all need to listen to His word, if we don’t the time will come that we wished we had. 

Job 5:17-18 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁷ Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:

¹⁸ For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.

Job 5:17-18 Good News Translation (GNT)

¹⁷ Happy is the person whom God corrects!
 Do not resent it when he rebukes you.
¹⁸ God bandages the wounds he makes;
 his hand hurts you, and his hand heals.

Good News Translation (GNT) Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society

These are my thoughts, please share yours.

17 God correcting us shows that we are His and that He loves us. If God does not correct us then we are not His and need to accept Him as Lord because if He is our Lord then He will correct us. The Lord’s correction is a good thing, we need to see it as such.

18 Anything God brings our way He can take away, anything God bring our way He can get us thru. God allows hurt but He can also bring healing. Sometimes hurt is not a result of God but simply because happens because we are in a fallen world.

Keep our eyes on Jesus. 

Mark 4:8 King James Version (KJV)

⁸ And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.

Mark 4:8 Contemporary English Version (CEV)

⁸ But a few seeds did fall on good ground where the plants grew and produced thirty or sixty or even a hundred times as much as was scattered.

Contemporary English Version (CEV) Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

These are my thoughts.

We are to be the good ground that way God can use the seed of the Spirit to lead us to share the seed of the gospel with others and be used for the Spirit to bring them into His fold.

Job 5:15-16 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁵ But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.

¹⁶ So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.

Job 5:15-16 Good News Translation (GNT)

¹⁵ But God saves the poor from death;
 he saves the needy from oppression.
¹⁶ He gives hope to the poor and silences the wicked.

Good News Translation (GNT) Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society

These are my thoughts, please share yours.

15 God alone has the power to save a person from death there is physical death which doctors and people can aid in saving but without it being God’s will it does not matter how hard people try to save someone’s life. The life that truly matter being saved is the eternal life which can be saved because Jesus died for us. God can meet our needs but the needs we stand in need of the most are spiritual. The greatest oppression is caused by sin and He came to save us from sin.

16 God will judge the wicked without we all stand truly with nothing and are as good as poor because all we have without Him will come to an end but thru Him we can life by Him forever this is true riches.

Keep our eyes on Jesus. 

Mark 4:7 King James Version (KJV)

⁷ And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.