For who in all of heaven can compare with the Lord?
What mightiest angel is anything like the Lord?
The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God.
He is far more awesome than all who surround his throne.
Psalm 89:6-7
The Lord made the earth by his power,
and he preserves it by his wisdom.
With his own understanding
he stretched out the heavens.
When he speaks in the thunder,
the heavens roar with rain.
He causes the clouds to rise over the earth.
He sends the lightning with the rain
and releases the wind from his storehouses.
Jeremiah 51:15-16
(Summerland, BC)
“Then if anyone tells you,
‘Look,
here is the Messiah,’
or
‘There he is,’
don’t believe it.
For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up
and perform signs and wonders so as to deceive,
if possible,
even God’s chosen ones.
Watch out!
I have warned you about this ahead of time!
Mark 13:21-23
Jesus replied,
“Don’t let anyone mislead you,
for many will come in my name,
claiming,
‘I am the Messiah.’
They will deceive many.
And you will hear of wars and threats of wars,
but don’t panic.
Yes,
these things must take place,
but the end won’t follow immediately.
Nation will go to war against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be earthquakes in many parts of the world,
as well as famines.
But this is only the first of the birth pains,
with more to come.
“When these things begin to happen,
watch out!
Mark 13:5-9
Then Jesus said to the disciples,
“Have faith in God.
I tell you the truth,
you can say to this mountain,
‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’
and it will happen.
But you must really believe it will happen
and have no doubt in your heart.
I tell you,
you can pray for anything,
and if you believe that you’ve received it,
it will be yours.
But when you are praying,
first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against,
so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins,
too.
Mark 11:22-25
“What do you want me to do for you?”
Jesus asked.
“My Rabbi,”
the blind man said,
“I want to see!”
And Jesus said to him,
“Go,
for your faith has healed you.”
Instantly the man could see,
and he followed Jesus down the road.
Mark 10:51-52
“If anyone is ashamed of me and my message
in these adulterous and sinful days,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person
when he returns in the glory of his Father
with the holy angels.”
Mark 8:38
“If any of you wants to be my follower,
you must give up your own way,
take up your cross,
and follow me.
If you try to hang on to your life,
you will lose it.
But if you give up your life for my sake
and for the sake of the Good News,
you will save it.“
John 8:34-35
Jesus and his disciples left Galilee
and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi.
As they were walking along,
he asked them,
“Who do people say I am?”
“Well,”
they replied,
“some say John the Baptist,
some say Elijah,
and others say you are one of the other prophets.”
Then he asked them,
“But who do you say I am?”
Peter replied,
“You are the Messiah.”
Mark 8:27-29
A crowd soon gathered around Jesus,
and they saw the man who had been possessed
by the legion of demons.
He was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane,
and they were all afraid.
Then those who had seen what happened told the others
about the demon-possessed man and the pigs.
And the crowd began pleading with Jesus
to go away and leave them alone.
Mark 5:15-17
