What a day it was in Capernaum. Jesus was preaching to a full house, literally. The place where He was teaching was so full that "there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door." Imagine the scene as Jesus taught and people began to hear a noise coming from overhead and then pieces of the roof began to fall. In a few minutes a hole was made and through the hole in the ceiling a man on a bed was being let down. What a distraction! But this distraction became an opportunity when Jesus looked to the paralytic on the bed and said, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." The scribes and Pharisees present that day thought this was blasphemy, for, so they reasoned, only God could forgive sins. The amazing events continued as Jesus instructed the paralytic to get up on his feet and take his bed back home, so all might "know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins." When the man stood, picked up his bed and walked out, the crowd concluded with amazement, "We never saw anything like this!"

Having died for the sins of the world and risen from the dead, Jesus instructed His apostles to take His story to all people (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15, 16). He further stated that those who heard this gospel message, believed it, and were willing to be His disciples were to be baptized. While many today downplay its importance, the book of Acts shows that in apostolic preaching baptism was considered a vital part of the message, and conversion was not complete until one had submitted to being baptized in water. (See Acts 2:38-41; 8:12, 13, 35-38; 9:17, 18; 10:47, 48; 16:14, 15, 30-34; 18:8; 22:16). That baptism was important in New Testament times cannot be denied, but what was it intended to accomplish? If you were to decide to be baptized today, what would it mean in your life? What would this act of obedience do for you? First, we ask that you consider carefully some things baptism will not do and then some things it can and will do.

"Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples'" (Luke 11:1). Having seen Jesus praying (as they had seen Him before), the disciples asked for help in learning how to pray. When we stop and consider that most of these men had probably attended synagogue services all their lives and all had been with Jesus for about three years, this request seems a little strange at first. Did they not know how to pray? Had they not been accustomed to praying? There can be little doubt but that these men had prayed before, but having observed Jesus they came to see a need for further instruction in how to pray as He prayed.

In a previous article we noted that almost everyone seeks advice on marriage at some point and while the voices of human experience and wisdom may provide us with some helpful counsel, the very best advice, counsel that is foolproof comes from God. Never forget that “He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’” (Matthew 19:4, 5). Since marriage originated with God and is His plan for mankind, common sense would require that we study His plan for marriage.