Put your sword back in its place, Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Matthew 26:52 Kids are dying. Why won't Congress pass strict gun laws? Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly. Whatever is not of the spirit, we should put those things to death and bring them up with life with love by using the word of God as a weapon. The state of loving earthly possession, having, owning, or controlling something can bring trouble against ourselves. What do I say? The reason why is whatever takes us out of the spirit is not worth protecting. Jesus teaches us. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Matthew 6:19-20. Trey Knowles - Put The Gun Down

My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity.

Note: Make God commands your focus points.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck,

write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

Note: Have Zeal love for the Lord.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.

Note: To "shun" means to deliberately avoid someone or something, often out of dislike, caution, or disapproval.

This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Proverbs 3:1-8:

Trey Knowles explains to his audiences. It is easy for the Muslim world to be a Christian, but it is hard for the Western world Christian to be a Christian.

A strong faith often, if not always, leads to or manifests itself in obedience, as demonstrated by examples of individuals who trusted in God's word and acted accordingly.

Note: If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law of death, but of life through Christ.

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires - Galatians 5:24:

Note: We do this with zeal and love for Christ Jesus. Our love for him is our willingness to obey and to be led by spirit through faith in Christ.

The Gospel of Mark is the second of the four canonical Gospels and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells of the ministry of Jesus from his baptism by John the Baptist to his death, the burial of his body, and the discovery of his empty tomb. It portrays Jesus as a teacher, an exorcist, a healer, and a miracle worker, though it does not mention a miraculous birth or divine pre-existence.

 Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man. He is called the Son of God but keeps his messianic nature secret; even his disciples fail to understand him. All this is in keeping with the Christian interpretation of prophecy, which is believed to foretell the fate of the messiah as a suffering servant.

Most scholars date Mark to closely after AD 70. They reject the traditional ascription to Mark the Evangelist, the companion of the Apostle Peter, which probably arose from the desire of early Christians to link the work to an authoritative figure, and believe it to be the work of an author working with various sources including collections of miracle stories, controversy stories, parables, and a passion narrative.

 It was traditionally placed second, and sometimes fourth, in the Christian canon, as an inferior abridgement of what was regarded as the most important gospel, Matthew. The Church has consequently derived its view of Jesus primarily from Matthew, secondarily from John, and only distantly from Mark.

 It was only in the 19th century that Mark came to be seen as the earliest of the four gospels, and as a source used by both Matthew and Luke. The hypothesis of Marcan priority (that Mark was written first) continues to be held by the majority of scholars today, and there is a new recognition of the author as an artist and theologian using a range of literary devices to convey his conception of Jesus as the authoritative yet suffering Son of God.

Movie Watch Below after skipping Ad: The Gospel of Mark

Matthew 4:23-25: Jesus Heals the Sick:

23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him. Matthew 4:23-25.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16)

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (John 3:17)

Note: The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Matthew 4:18-23: Jesus Calls His First Disciples.

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.

Note: Peter and Andrew left everything and did not worry about anything, and they followed Jesus. Do not worry about a Job or food. Trust in God.

21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Note: James and John left their father to follow and did not worry about anything.

Note:  We must depend on God and nothing else.

 Matthew 4:12-17: Jesus Begins to Preach

12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles— 16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”

Note: Gentile means a person who is not Jewish. The word stems from the Hebrew term goy, which means nations of the world that are not Hebrew.

17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Explanation:

Saturnalia was a Roman festival that celebrated the winter solstice and the Roman god Saturn.

The festival began on December 17th and lasted up to seven days.

The festival included food, drink, song, dancing, and games.

The festival was a public holiday and had a carnival-like atmosphere.

During Saturnalia, people gave each other gifts and ate and drank lots.

The festival derived from older farming-related rituals.

The festival included offering gifts or sacrifices to the gods during the winter sowing season.

Related celebrations:

The Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, or "Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun", was celebrated on December 25th in the later Roman Empire.

As the Roman Empire converted to Christianity, 25 December became a holy day.

Christ's birthday was commemorated on January 6th from AD 336 until AD 354–60.

Christmas Day emerged from a combination of parts of these different winter festivals.

In Roman mythology, Saturn was an agricultural deity who was said to have reigned over the world in the Golden Age, when humans enjoyed the spontaneous bounty of the earth without labour in a state of innocence. The revelries of Saturnalia were supposed to reflect the conditions of the lost mythical age. The Greek equivalent was the Kronia, which was celebrated on the twelfth day of the month of Hekatombaion, which occurred from around mid-July to mid-August on the Attic calendar.

The Greek writer Athenaeus cites numerous other examples of similar festivals celebrated throughout the Greco-Roman world, including the Cretan festival of Hermaia in honor of Hermes, an unnamed festival from Troezen in honor of Poseidon, the Thessalian festival of Peloria in honor of Zeus Pelorios, and an unnamed festival from Babylon. He also mentions that the custom of masters dining with their slaves was associated with the Athenian festival of Anthesteria and the Spartan festival of Hyacinthia. The Argive festival of Hybristica, though not directly related to the Saturnalia, involved a similar reversal of roles in which women would dress as men and men would dress as women.

The ancient Roman historian Justinus credits Saturn with being a historical king of the pre-Roman inhabitants of Italy:

"The first inhabitants of Italy were the Aborigines, whose king, Saturnus, is said to have been a man of such extraordinary justice, that no one was a slave in his reign, or had any private property, but all things were common to all, and undivided, as one estate for the use of every one; in memory of which way of life, it has been ordered that at the Saturnalia slaves should everywhere sit down with their masters at the entertainments, the rank of all being made equal."

Although probably the best-known Roman holiday, Saturnalia as a whole is not described from beginning to end in any single ancient source. Modern understanding of the festival is pieced together from several accounts dealing with various aspects. The Saturnalia was the dramatic setting of the multivolume work of that name by Macrobius, a Latin writer from late antiquity who is the major source for information about the holiday.

 Macrobius describes the reign of Justinus's "king Saturn" as "a time of great happiness, both on account of the universal plenty that prevailed and because as yet there was no division into bond and free – as one may gather from the complete license enjoyed by slaves at the Saturnalia." In Lucian's Saturnalia it is Chronos himself who proclaims a "festive season, when 'tis lawful to be drunken, and slaves have license to revile their lords".

In one of the interpretations in Macrobius's work, Saturnalia is a festival of light leading to the winter solstice, with the abundant presence of candles symbolizing the quest for knowledge and truth. The renewal of light and the coming of the new year was celebrated in the later Roman Empire at the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, the "Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun", on 25 December.

The popularity of Saturnalia continued into the 3rd and 4th centuries CE, and as the Roman Empire came under Christian rule, many of its customs were recast into or at least influenced the seasonal celebrations surrounding Christmas and the New Year.

Note: It is written. Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!… Galatians 4:9-10

Note: Colossians 2:20-23 says. If you have died with Christ to the spiritual forces of the world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its regulations: / “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”? / These will all perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. 

Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you. Hebrews 13:17

Guarding your heart means protecting what goes into your mind. It also means making your heart a dwelling place for God. But if your heart deceives you, we have God our Father in heaven, which is greater than our heart.

How to Guard Your Heart?

Practice 1: Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23.

Proverbs 3:5-6.

Luke 6:45.

Proverbs 7:25. Note: Do not be like the world's ways but follow Jesus' ways.

Compromising with Politicians: Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.