Jesus had just begun His ministry. After numerous healings, demon extractions, miracles, and teachings, the Son of Man had gained an enormous following. A crowd of people from all over Judea, Jerusalem, Tyre, and Sidon flocked around him in hopes to be touched by Jesus’s healing power—which literally flowed from Him
I can tell you from a lot of personal experience, it is definitely not easy to immediately drop these negative voices, fears, and insecurities off at the edge of the boat – along with all that is familiar and comfortable to us – and then to step out of that boat and confidently follow Jesus in his ministry of light shining, good news spreading, and kingdom bringing.
In a world racked with strife, it may seem obvious to declare peace “no small thing”; but the biblical understanding of peace—the word shalom in Hebrew, translated into Greek as eirn—involves much more than the absence of conflict.
What is the Parable of the Dishonest Manager in Luke 16:1-13? - In Luke 16:1-13, Jesus tells the parable of a dishonest manager who is about to be fired and quickly devises a plan to secure his future. He reduces the debts of his master’s debtors so that they will be inclined to help him later. Surprisingly, the master commends the manager’s shrewdness. Jesus then teaches that worldly wealth should be used wisely for eternal purposes, and he emphasizes that one cannot serve both God and money.