New Testament Share It!

I love studying the stories of people in the Bible. This week, the story of Tabitha, who was also called Dorcas, really touched my heart. Her story helped me gain a greater understanding "that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass" (Alma 37:6). Tabitha was called a disciple. A disciple is someone who accepts God's authority in his or her life. To become a true disciple, one must not just believe, they must also be doers and act on what they believe.  Tabitha was a woman full of good works, and when she died, was remembered for the charitable impact she had on others, especially on those who many may consider the least.  For some, Tabitha's good works of making coats and garments may have seemed insignificant. Tabatha herself may have thought of her contributions to her community as such. However, the impact of her deeds meant a great deal to those who benefitted from Tabitha's seemingly small act. In fact it is evident that her good works m...

The purpose of this life is for us as sons and daughters of God to be proved herewith to see if we "will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them" (Abraham 3:25), to become one also as the Father and the Son are one, and to be "made perfect in one" (see John 17:22-23). To reach our divine potential and continue faithful and complete our mission to become one in Christ (see Galatians 3:27-28), we must first know who we are.  In a 2022 worldwide devotional for young adults, President Russell M. Nelson stressed 3 fundamental truths that would set them and us on the right course of becoming. Of these 3 truths, the first was to know the truth about who you are. President Nelson emphasized that knowing who you are, a literal child of God, and embracing this truth will help us, with help from our Heavenly Father, reach our ultimate goal of reaching our divine potential to become as He is.  In the last few verses of Luke 22 we receive a beautiful examp...

Prior to sharing a number of the sign of the times which will be fulfilled before His Second Coming in Luke 21, Jesus points out to his disciples a certain poor widow who of her poverty, "cast in all the living that she had" (see Luke 21:4). In Matthew, in the chapter prior to the Savior's teachings of these signs, Jesus points out the wickedness and hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees (see Matthew 23). In pondering on these two vastly different people, I find that what the Savior is teaching is the same.  When speaking to the blind Pharisees, he tells them to "cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also" (see Matthew 23:26). These Pharisees in some ways could be likened to the rich, who cast in of their abundance (see Luke 21:4).  In Mark 12, what Jesus says to His disciples is worded a bit different than what is written in Luke, "for all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did ...

In Mark 10, we read about the rich young man who asked the Lord what he could do to inherit eternal life. After questioning the man and discovering that he was striving to keep the commandments since his birth, Jesus told the man that he was still lacking one thing.  You see, this young man, as revealed in his question to Jesus, failed to recognize that inheriting eternal life has less to do with what we can do, and more to do with what Jesus can.  In contrast to this rich young man, we read about a blind man at the end of Mark 10 named Bartimaeus, who when he heard that Jesus was passing along the highway where he sat begging, called out to Jesus to have mercy on him, and after being called to arise, cast away his garment and came to Jesus. Jesus then asked Bartimaeus what He should do to him, and Bartimaeus asked to be healed.  Bartimaeus was willing to cast away the notion of what he could do and sought for what the Savior could do to him, make him whole. Yes, to be m...

Seeking Jesus, or seeing Jesus as He really is, requires much faith and effort on our part. If we are not careful, we, like the pharisees who wondered if they were blind (see John 9:40), may miss Him if we are not looking for him. In John 9 we read of a man born blind, whose eyes were opened (see John 9:10). This man was not only miraculously healed of his physical blindness but came to see and know the Savior.  This man, who was blind since birth, was anointed with spittled clay by the Savior and then told to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. After washing his eyes were opened.  Others, including some Pharisees, questioned this man, wondering how it was that his eyes were opened. The blind man first answered, "A MAN that is called Jesus...anointed mine eyes, and said unto me...wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight" (John 9:11). The Pharisees, wondering how a sinner could perform such miracles (see John 9:16) questioned the man further asking, "What sayest t...

In Mark 5 and Luke 8 we read about a man possessed by evil spirits and how he was healed by Jesus. In each of these accounts we learn how the man came to Jesus and fell at his feet (Mark5:2, 6; Luke 8:28) and Jesus said for the unclean spirit to come out of him. We then discover that there were many unclean spirits in this man and eventually, these unclean spirits are permitted to enter a herd of swine, and upon doing so, "the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea and were choked in the sea" (Mark 5:13). This is a wonderful example of Christ's power over Satan and his followers, and we learn much of Christ's ability to heal us, not only physically, but mentally and spiritually as well. "Then they... found the man, out of whom the devils were  departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind" (Luke 8:35).  But  I think we often miss an important part of this story, what happens after the healing.  The man comes to...

How did Peter, a sinful man (Luke 5:8), go from being a fisher of fish to a fisher of men? How is it that he and others could forsake all to follow Christ? I believe the answer comes as we look at the invitations given by the Lord to Peter.  Peter had been out fishing, toiling all the night, and taking nothing in (Luke 5:5). He had been working on his own with no success.  Then entered Jesus.  With simple invitations, the Savior invited Peter to act in faith. First, He asked Peter to "thrust out a little from the land" (Luke 5:3). Then, He asked Peter to "launch out into the deep" with a follow up invitation to "let down [his] nets for a draught" (Luke 5:4). Peter, despite being tired and maybe a little doubtful, acted in faith and did as the Savior asked. This act of faith led Peter to witnessing a miracle, the nets were filled, and they were filled so full, that the nets brake (Luke 5:6). Peter was astonished (Luke 5:9), He  received for himself a person...