"Whoever does God's will is my brother and mother and sister." (verse 35)

I want to be in Jesus' family. That would be amazing. There are times when I wonder how in the world this could be so? It seems that God's will is SO confusing. How does one do God's will?

I want to be cautious in limiting the way that God makes His will known to us, so I'll go another route and examine sure ways to know the will of God. (1) God's Word :: this is a great start. The Bible, inspired by the Holy Spirit through different writers, would go a long way to communicating the heart of God and his desire for His people. (2) Glory :: the question of God's will is ultimately a question of glory. I would contest that if an action brings glory to God (while being aligned to [1]) you are a candidate for doing God's will. (3) Not 'my' will :: this falls along the lines of glory, but this is the question of motive. We all have a will, a desire, an agenda. Following one's agenda may be counterproductive in doing God's will.

Now, it's just getting rediculous. These Pharisees are beyond threatened. They grab onto the concept that "he is out of his mind". They propose that he is the Devil, Satan himself (Beelzebub), and that is how he is able to drive out demons. Jesus settles this dispute fairly easily...How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

"But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."

To which I think, "HUH!?!" What a complex concept...this blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. We must remember that Christ is teaching by the authority of the Holy Spirit. Discounting his miracles and teaching is throwing out the Holy Spirit...and is unforgivable. It's ironic that Jesus would go into some teaching about forgiveness, due to the fact that the Pharisees are accusing him of not being from God.

thank you Hurtado.

"We were not meant to be alone." This is a phrase/concept that I have been wrestling with lately. Jesus knew this. He was the Son of God, and He didn't have a Messiah complex. He appointed and delegated responsibility to these twelve men.

"That they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have the authority to drive out demons."

Once fishermen and tax collectors, these guys are going to be preachers and cast out demons!

This reminds me of a friend of mine. He was in the field of construction just a couple of years ago. Then, he decided to go into ministry and is a youth minister in the area. Recently, he told the story of what God had done in his live to 4,500 people at the National Youth Workers Conference.

The almighty God does some amazing things. He is still appointing regular everyday people to do things that bring him glory.

The movement is growing. Christ is gaining in popularity, and the Pharisees despise it. What kind of authority does Jesus have to be doing these things? Why is he garnering more attention than the Pharisees? They are ticked.

Jesus gives "strict" orders to the evil spirits not to tell who he was. He is over the evil spirits and commands them what to do. What a great God we have! Who is MORE powerful than the forces of evil in the world. We need to press into God and His power.

People were coming from all regions to hear from this man who heals the diseases and teaches with great authority. The crowds...so big that he teaches from a boat out on the lake...they were pushing toward him to touch him.

Urgency to be healed. Craving a touch. I need God...it's a craving...it is urgent.