After a busy time of ministry and after hearing of John the Baptist's murder, Jesus and his disciples just want to get away from people. However, they are greeted by more than 5000 people on the shores of Bethsaida. How did they find the strength to minister to these people even while they were emotionally spent?

In Luke 7:36-50 Jesus uses the events of a shocking dinner to show us how we will respond to Him when we grasp who he is and how he has come to relate to us.

Peter, Jesus's friend and disciple, felt that his denying Jesus forever broke his relationship with him. Jesus, however, restores his relationship with Peter by offering him a meal at the very place where he first called Peter to follow him.

Jesus did something radical at the Last Supper with his closest friends. He redefined the meaning of the Passover meal by claiming that his body was the the bread that would be broken (the bread of affliction) and that his blood would bring salvation (the blood of the lamb).

Time is something God has given us to steward. How do we steward it well? By obeying the three commands in Ephesians 5:15-17 - to assess our time, to determine our priorities, and to make plans to do God's will.

Busyness is the enemy of intimacy. That's why God created the Sabbath and why He invites us to rest. Rest is a priority of God. The purpose of rest is to reflect and remember that God is our ultimate rest.

The Old and New Testaments contain one common theme: God loves all people. Psalm 67 and Matthew 28 contain the same Great Commission message: God loves all people so He sends us to all people.

What does God promise for those who respond in faith to Malachi's message, to those who continue to wait in faith for the Messiah and His reign? God will be just, and He will redeem His people.