Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
In the second year of Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, Jotham son of Uzziah king of Judah began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Uzziah had done. The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple of the Lord.
As for the other events of Jotham’s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? (In those days the Lord began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah.) Jotham rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David, the city of his father. And Ahaz his son succeeded him as king.
In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign. Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He followed the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, engaging in the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree.
Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem and besieged Ahaz, but they could not overpower him. At that time, Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram by driving out the people of Judah. Edomites then moved into Elath and have lived there to this day.
Ahaz sent messengers to say to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, “I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” And Ahaz took the silver and gold found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria. The king of Assyria complied by attacking Damascus and capturing it. He deported its inhabitants to Kir and put Rezin to death.
Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He saw an altar in Damascus and sent to Uriah the priest a sketch of the altar, with detailed plans for its construction. So Uriah the priest built an altar in accordance with all the plans that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus and finished it before King Ahaz returned. When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings on it. He offered up his burnt offering and grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and splashed the blood of his fellowship offerings against the altar. As for the bronze altar that stood before the Lord, he brought it from the front of the temple—from between the new altar and the temple of the Lord—and put it on the north side of the new altar.
King Ahaz then gave these orders to Uriah the priest: “On the large new altar, offer the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering, and the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their grain offering and their drink offering. Splash against this altar the blood of all the burnt offerings and sacrifices. But I will use the bronze altar for seeking guidance.” And Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz had ordered.
King Ahaz cut off the side panels and removed the basins from the movable stands. He removed the Sea from the bronze bulls that supported it and set it on a stone base. He took away the Sabbath canopy that had been built at the temple and removed the royal entryway outside the temple of the Lord, in deference to the king of Assyria.
As for the other events of the reign of Ahaz, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? Ahaz rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. And Hezekiah his son succeeded him as king.
2 Kings 15:32-38, 16:1-20
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
When faced with challenges in life do we trust the Lord or do we sell out to the world and either place our faith in others or in ourselves?
That’s the fundamental question that our scripture raises for us as we continue to examine the reign of kings and in particular today, the kings of Judah.
As our passage opens, we read about Jotham, son of Uzziah, who assumed the throne at the age of 25 and reigned in Jerusalem for 16 years. We don’t learn a whole lot about Jotham except that he did what was right as his father had done and “rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple of the Lord”. He also erred in that he failed to remove the high places and so the “people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there”. Jotham would die and be laid to rest “with his ancestors” as he was “buried with them in the City of David”. His son Ahaz would succeed him as king.
So would Ahaz continue the good reign of his father?
Not quite.
For as we read in Chapter 16, verses 2 through 4, that Ahaz “did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord” and instead “followed the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, engaging in the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites”. He also “offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree”.
How would God deal with this insubordination?
Well, looking back to Chapter 15, verse 37, we read where the Lord had begun sending some challenges toward Judah, namely “Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah”. And during the reign of Ahaz, the attacks started on Judah.
For we read where “Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem and besieged Ahaz” but were unable to “overpower him”. This didn’t stop them from impacting the kingdom though as the king of Elam, Rezin, “recovered Elath for Aram by driving out the people of Judah”, opening the way for the Edomites to move into Elath.
So who would Ahaz turn to in this time of need?
Not the Lord but rather another ruler, Tiglath-Pileser…the king of Assyria.
Scripture tells us that “Ahaz sent messengers…to Tiglath-Pileser” with the following message:
“I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.”
Instead of turning to the God of Israel…the God who had delivered His chosen people to the Promised Land…the God who had shown over and over and over that He can do all things…Ahaz chose to turn to a rival king of a nation who placed their trust in every god except for the one true God, backing up his call for help by offering himself as a servant and slave.
How often do we do the same? How often so we sell out God and turn to other sources when we get into trouble?
And if it wasn’t bad enough that Ahaz sold himself away, he also “took the silver and gold found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria”. He further desecrated the Lord by handing over all the sacred items of the temple.
In return for Ahaz’s heinous actions, our passage tells us that the king of Assyria attacked and captured Damascus, deporting “its inhabitants to Kir” while putting “Rezin to death”. Ahaz then “went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser” and during that encounter, he “saw an altar” and sent a sketch of it to Uriah the priest “with detailed plans for its construction”. In turn, “Uriah the priest built an altar in accordance with all the plans that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus and finished it before (he) returned”. Once Ahaz “saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings on it”. He offered the “burnt offering and grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and splashed the blood of his fellowship offerings against the altar”.
So it wasn’t bad enough that Ahaz had been disloyal to God, ignoring him completely when he was in trouble and selling his service and the temple furnishings to Tiglath-Pileser, but now he chose to use a pagan altar to bring his offerings, moving the “bronze altar that stood before the Lord” to the “north side of the new altar”.
Ahaz gave the following orders to Uriah, his priest:
“On the large new altar, offer the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering, and the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their grain offering and their drink offering. Splash against this altar the blood of all the burnt offerings and sacrifices”.
And what about the bronze altar of the Lord?
Ahaz decided to not forget about it completely but rather to use it to seek guidance.
Really?
Why would Ahaz all of a sudden be interested in seeking guidance from the Lord when he hadn’t done so up to now?
My suspicion is that Ahaz was just saying this. He wasn’t really interested in seeking the Lord’s guidance but made it sound that he would to his priest. For is Ahaz was truly faithful and loyal to God, then he would have turned to him and trusted him all along.
What confirms my thoughts is the next action taken by Ahaz.
For we read where he “cut off the side panels and removed the basins from the movable stands” before removing “the Sea from the bronze bulls that supported it and set it on a stone base”. He then “took away the Sabbath canopy that had been built at the temple and removed the royal entryway outside the temple of the Lord, in deference to the king of Assyria”.
In other words, Ahaz held the king of Assyria in higher esteem and reverence than the King of Kings.
And soon the entire southern kingdom of Judah would find themselves swept away by a foreign king to a foreign land, removed from Israel and left crying out to the God they turned from.
Friends, are we destined to continue to repeat the mistakes of the past? How many times do we have to turn from God, place our trust in the world, and find ourselves defeated and running back to the God we should have relied on in the first place, before we will learn our lesson and trust Him first?
God expects us to sell out to Him…to give Him our all…just as He gave His all to us in the way of His only Son Jesus Christ…the One who provides us the perfect example of self sacrifice.
Will you trust Him today and never stop trusting Him?
Or will you be like Ahaz, sell out to the world, and allow yourself to lean on its ways, turning your back on God and traveling on the path to destruction?
The choice is yours to make. My advice is to choose God.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO?
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to ourchristianwalk@aol.com. In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned six months. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his fathers had done. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.
Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah. He attacked him in front of the people, assassinated him and succeeded him as king. The other events of Zechariah's reign are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel. So the word of the Lord spoken to Jehu was fulfilled: "Your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation."
Shallum son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and he reigned in Samaria one month. Then Menahem son of Gadi went from Tirzah up to Samaria. He attacked Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria, assassinated him and succeeded him as king.
The other events of Shallum's reign, and the conspiracy he led, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel.
At that time Menahem, starting out from Tirzah, attacked Tiphsah and everyone in the city and its vicinity, because they refused to open their gates. He sacked Tiphsah and ripped open all the pregnant women.
In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria ten years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. During his entire reign he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.
Then Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave him a thousand talents of silver to gain his support and strengthen his own hold on the kingdom. 20 Menahem exacted this money from Israel. Every wealthy man had to contribute fifty shekels of silver to be given to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew and stayed in the land no longer.
As for the other events of Menahem's reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? Menahem rested with his fathers. And Pekahiah his son succeeded him as king.
In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned two years. Pekahiah did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. One of his chief officers, Pekah son of Remaliah, conspired against him. Taking fifty men of Gilead with him, he assassinated Pekahiah, along with Argob and Arieh, in the citadel of the royal palace at Samaria. So Pekah killed Pekahiah and succeeded him as king.
The other events of Pekahiah's reign, and all he did, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel.
In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twenty years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.
In the time of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh and Hazor. He took Gilead and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and deported the people to Assyria. Then Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah son of Remaliah. He attacked and assassinated him, and then succeeded him as king in the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah.
As for the other events of Pekah's reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
2 Kings 15:8-31
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
I remember a movie that was out some time ago titled, "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle". The movie was very suspense filled as a woman who had experienced the tragic loss of her first child at delivery, an event that left her barren, proceeded to pose as a nanny for another couple who had just had a successful birth so she could have their baby for her own.
As the movie progresses, the audience watches the nanny gain the trust of the family while in the background, she did her evil deeds which included seducing the husband, emptying the wife's inhalers needed to treat her asthma, rigging the greenhouse so that one of the wife’s closest friends would be killed, and breastfeeding the newborn baby so it would yearn her more that the true mother. Such was the intense nature of this woman wanting to get her own way. She was willing to do whatever it took.
This problem in our society spans far wider than just this movie. Unfortunately, we too often are driven to try and get our way, no matter what we might need to do to get there...and in doing so, we forget the very command of God which tells us not to covet. (Exodus 20:17)
And so I ask you today...because God would be asking as well...how far would you go to get what you want?
Our scripture passage today shows us that in the days of Israel's first kings, it was pretty much anything goes.
In sum, we read where Shallum assassinated Zechariah, not covertly, but rather "in front of the people" to ascend to power.
Shallum was then lost his life and his place on the throne as he was assassinated by Menahem.
Menahem went on to do "evil in the eyes of the Lord" during his reign, and although he didn't assassinate anyone, he "exacted...money from Israel" and used it to bribe Pul, the king of Assyria, and facilitate the withdrawal of Assyrian troops. On the surface, one might see Menahem's actions as noble but one thing was missing. Menahem never once sought the Lord's counsel or guidance as to what he should do.
So did Menahem's actions go without consequence? Not quite.
For after Menahem's son, Pekahiah, ascended to power, he was assassinated after just two years of reign by "one of his chief officers", Pekah. Sometimes, we find that those we think we can trust the most, actually end up being scheming adversaries. Maybe you have experienced this before.
Pekah would rule for 20 years, do evil in sight of the Lord and find his kingdom erode away before his very eyes. For we read where “Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria” attacked and took over “Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh and Hazor” as well as “Gilead and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali”. The Israelites in these lands were “deported…to Assyria.” Soon, all of Israel would be gone…the northern kingdom no more but not before Pekah also met his fate.
For Hoshea conspired against Pekah and assassinated him to reach the throne. It would be the last assassination for the throne of Israel because God would soon enter in and the kingdom would dissolve.
So where did these antics get those who perpetrated them?
Nowhere.
For this is what happens when we decide to ruthlessly do whatever it takes to get what we want, especially when it is at the expense of another. We need not go as far as assassination, although many people today do still kill to get ahead. We can spread false accusations to destroy another’s reputation and elevate ours in place. We can take what rightfully belongs to another to try and achieve greater power or wealth.
Satan would lead us to do whatever it takes. And there would be no limit to his urging…no boundaries to the evil possibilities he would tempt us with.
Meanwhile, think about it. Would God ever seek to lead you to disobey His commandments …ever?
The answer is no.
Nothing of God is evil. Nothing of God is wrong. And nothing of God would lead you to do wrong or evil to satisfy your own will or desires. Conversely, God is always seeking to turn us from our own will and desires toward His.
So the question remains. How far are you willing to go to get what you want?
And maybe a second question should be asked…and asked first.
How willing are you to allow God to guide you away from the evil that Satan wishes you to do?
As we see in our scriptures, things never worked out very well for the ruthless. God shows us in vivid truth that what comes around goes around. Those who killed to get ahead found themselves killed in the same way. Evil too often begets evil.
Thank goodness that God also shows us that goodness also begets goodness and blessing.
We would be so much better off just allowing God to lead us where He wants us to go…to do what He wants us to do.
And we should be willing to go as far as He calls us to go to do so.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed.
Send any prayer requests to ourchristianwalk@aol.com
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned six months. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his fathers had done. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.
Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah. He attacked him in front of the people, assassinated him and succeeded him as king. The other events of Zechariah's reign are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel. So the word of the Lord spoken to Jehu was fulfilled: "Your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation."
Shallum son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and he reigned in Samaria one month. Then Menahem son of Gadi went from Tirzah up to Samaria. He attacked Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria, assassinated him and succeeded him as king.
The other events of Shallum's reign, and the conspiracy he led, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel.
At that time Menahem, starting out from Tirzah, attacked Tiphsah and everyone in the city and its vicinity, because they refused to open their gates. He sacked Tiphsah and ripped open all the pregnant women.
In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria ten years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. During his entire reign he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.
Then Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave him a thousand talents of silver to gain his support and strengthen his own hold on the kingdom. 20 Menahem exacted this money from Israel. Every wealthy man had to contribute fifty shekels of silver to be given to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew and stayed in the land no longer.
As for the other events of Menahem's reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? Menahem rested with his fathers. And Pekahiah his son succeeded him as king.
In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned two years. Pekahiah did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. One of his chief officers, Pekah son of Remaliah, conspired against him. Taking fifty men of Gilead with him, he assassinated Pekahiah, along with Argob and Arieh, in the citadel of the royal palace at Samaria. So Pekah killed Pekahiah and succeeded him as king.
The other events of Pekahiah's reign, and all he did, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel.
In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twenty years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.
In the time of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh and Hazor. He took Gilead and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and deported the people to Assyria. Then Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah son of Remaliah. He attacked and assassinated him, and then succeeded him as king in the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah.
As for the other events of Pekah's reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
2 Kings 15:8-31
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
I remember a movie that was out some time ago titled, "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle". The movie was very suspense filled as a woman who had experienced the tragic loss of her first child at delivery, an event that left her barren, proceeded to pose as a nanny for another couple who had just had a successful birth so she could have their baby for her own.
As the movie progresses, the audience watches the nanny gain the trust of the family while in the background, she did her evil deeds which included seducing the husband, emptying the wife's inhalers needed to treat her asthma, rigging the greenhouse so that one of the wife’s closest friends would be killed, and breastfeeding the newborn baby so it would yearn her more that the true mother. Such was the intense nature of this woman wanting to get her own way. She was willing to do whatever it took.
This problem in our society spans far wider than just this movie. Unfortunately, we too often are driven to try and get our way, no matter what we might need to do to get there...and in doing so, we forget the very command of God which tells us not to covet. (Exodus 20:17)
And so I ask you today...because God would be asking as well...how far would you go to get what you want?
Our scripture passage today shows us that in the days of Israel's first kings, it was pretty much anything goes.
In sum, we read where Shallum assassinated Zechariah, not covertly, but rather "in front of the people" to ascend to power.
Shallum was then lost his life and his place on the throne as he was assassinated by Menahem.
Menahem went on to do "evil in the eyes of the Lord" during his reign, and although he didn't assassinate anyone, he "exacted...money from Israel" and used it to bribe Pul, the king of Assyria, and facilitate the withdrawal of Assyrian troops. On the surface, one might see Menahem's actions as noble but one thing was missing. Menahem never once sought the Lord's counsel or guidance as to what he should do.
So did Menahem's actions go without consequence? Not quite.
For after Menahem's son, Pekahiah, ascended to power, he was assassinated after just two years of reign by "one of his chief officers", Pekah. Sometimes, we find that those we think we can trust the most, actually end up being scheming adversaries. Maybe you have experienced this before.
Pekah would rule for 20 years, do evil in sight of the Lord and find his kingdom erode away before his very eyes. For we read where “Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria” attacked and took over “Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh and Hazor” as well as “Gilead and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali”. The Israelites in these lands were “deported…to Assyria.” Soon, all of Israel would be gone…the northern kingdom no more but not before Pekah also met his fate.
For Hoshea conspired against Pekah and assassinated him to reach the throne. It would be the last assassination for the throne of Israel because God would soon enter in and the kingdom would dissolve.
So where did these antics get those who perpetrated them?
Nowhere.
For this is what happens when we decide to ruthlessly do whatever it takes to get what we want, especially when it is at the expense of another. We need not go as far as assassination, although many people today do still kill to get ahead. We can spread false accusations to destroy another’s reputation and elevate ours in place. We can take what rightfully belongs to another to try and achieve greater power or wealth.
Satan would lead us to do whatever it takes. And there would be no limit to his urging…no boundaries to the evil possibilities he would tempt us with.
Meanwhile, think about it. Would God ever seek to lead you to disobey His commandments …ever?
The answer is no.
Nothing of God is evil. Nothing of God is wrong. And nothing of God would lead you to do wrong or evil to satisfy your own will or desires. Conversely, God is always seeking to turn us from our own will and desires toward His.
So the question remains. How far are you willing to go to get what you want?
And maybe a second question should be asked…and asked first.
How willing are you to allow God to guide you away from the evil that Satan wishes you to do?
As we see in our scriptures, things never worked out very well for the ruthless. God shows us in vivid truth that what comes around goes around. Those who killed to get ahead found themselves killed in the same way. Evil too often begets evil.
Thank goodness that God also shows us that goodness also begets goodness and blessing.
We would be so much better off just allowing God to lead us where He wants us to go…to do what He wants us to do.
And we should be willing to go as far as He calls us to go to do so.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed.
Send any prayer requests to ourchristianwalk@aol.com
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
ARE YOU FAMILY?
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com.
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you."
He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
Matthew 12:46-50
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
If you’re like me, you value family.
I’ve been so very blessed to have two wonderful parents who loved me and raised me the right way. But I wasn’t the only one they raised for I had four other siblings, blessed with three sisters and a brother. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, I’ve been blessed to be married and have a family of my own, having raised two beautiful girls into adulthood (now 27 and 23).
Yes…family has been a part of my life from the very beginning whether I was on the receiving or giving end of upbringing.
Well, in keeping with this theme, today’s scripture is centered on family but not just any ordinary family but the family of Jesus.
For we read that as Jesus was “talking to the crowd”, His “mother and brothers stood outside”. They wanted to speak to Jesus so someone went up to Him and said, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you."
Now, if this were you or I, we probably would have politely excused ourselves to go and see what our family members wanted, especially since one of them was our mother. But Jesus isn’t like the rest of us…and as we will see, He has a special point to make about family…family as He sees it.
For the person informing Him of His family’s presence must have been shocked (and maybe just a little bit confused) when Jesus said to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?"
If the question was just left there without an answer, anyone might have said to Jesus, “Your mother is Mary and she stands outside with your brothers waiting to talk to you Lord. That’s what was just said to you.”
But Jesus quickly gets to His point before anyone can respond, pointing to His disciples and saying, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
OK…now I get it Jesus. Your point is well taken.
For we can’t look at the family of Jesus as we do our worldly families…not by a long shot. For Jesus has a family unlike anyone else could ever lay claim to…a family that included everyone who would choose to carry out the will of His Father in heaven, thus making them akin to Him and His life. Matching DNA with Jesus could only happen if we contained likeness to the way He was created...as One who was sent to fully carry out God’s purpose…to give His life to pay the price for the sins of God’s children…for the transgressions of those He could only pray would one day be part of His family.
So where do you stand today? Would the way you live your life allow Jesus to call you His brother or sister?
If you are following the will of God the father who art in heaven, then you can believe in confidence that you are part of Jesus’ family.
And who wouldn’t want to have a brother like that?
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you."
He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
Matthew 12:46-50
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
If you’re like me, you value family.
I’ve been so very blessed to have two wonderful parents who loved me and raised me the right way. But I wasn’t the only one they raised for I had four other siblings, blessed with three sisters and a brother. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, I’ve been blessed to be married and have a family of my own, having raised two beautiful girls into adulthood (now 27 and 23).
Yes…family has been a part of my life from the very beginning whether I was on the receiving or giving end of upbringing.
Well, in keeping with this theme, today’s scripture is centered on family but not just any ordinary family but the family of Jesus.
For we read that as Jesus was “talking to the crowd”, His “mother and brothers stood outside”. They wanted to speak to Jesus so someone went up to Him and said, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you."
Now, if this were you or I, we probably would have politely excused ourselves to go and see what our family members wanted, especially since one of them was our mother. But Jesus isn’t like the rest of us…and as we will see, He has a special point to make about family…family as He sees it.
For the person informing Him of His family’s presence must have been shocked (and maybe just a little bit confused) when Jesus said to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?"
If the question was just left there without an answer, anyone might have said to Jesus, “Your mother is Mary and she stands outside with your brothers waiting to talk to you Lord. That’s what was just said to you.”
But Jesus quickly gets to His point before anyone can respond, pointing to His disciples and saying, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
OK…now I get it Jesus. Your point is well taken.
For we can’t look at the family of Jesus as we do our worldly families…not by a long shot. For Jesus has a family unlike anyone else could ever lay claim to…a family that included everyone who would choose to carry out the will of His Father in heaven, thus making them akin to Him and His life. Matching DNA with Jesus could only happen if we contained likeness to the way He was created...as One who was sent to fully carry out God’s purpose…to give His life to pay the price for the sins of God’s children…for the transgressions of those He could only pray would one day be part of His family.
So where do you stand today? Would the way you live your life allow Jesus to call you His brother or sister?
If you are following the will of God the father who art in heaven, then you can believe in confidence that you are part of Jesus’ family.
And who wouldn’t want to have a brother like that?
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
Monday, April 12, 2010
IS YOUR HOUSE THE LORD’S HOME?
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com.
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation."
Matthew 12:43-45
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
I think we all can relate to a time when we lived our lives in a way that was not pleasing to the Lord. It’s bound to happen to even the best person as sin and Satan have a way of exploiting our weaknesses and causing us to act, speak or think in ways contrary to God’s will.
So how does this happen in the first place? How do we fall prey to Satan and end up in the grip of his sinister intent for our lives?
Well, we can start by looking in our “house”…and check out who is living inside.
For if we truly wish to show Satan that the “No Vacancy” sign is up inside our hearts and minds, then we simply must let Satan see that the Light…capital “L”…is always on…that the Lord is always at home inside us.
Jesus touches on this very issue as we draw near to the end of Matthew, Chapter 12. He has been verbally sparring with the Pharisees and teachers of the law, calling out the religious authorities of the day as being not of God as they could not even recognize that God’s Son had indeed come to earth…the Messiah predicted by the prophets of old.
The Pharisees and teachers of the law weren’t as interested in people following God as they were people following them and their legalistic counsel and discipline over anyone who would choose to deny the ways they espoused. For if the religious leaders were fully in tune with God, there would be no questioning of Jesus…no challenging of His ways…no attempts to try and discredit Him. No, the Pharisees and teachers of the law would be exhorting, worshipping and praising Jesus amongst their people. They would be welcoming Him to come and teach in their synagogues. But they didn’t have that mindset…not even close.
And so the religious leaders never truly did anything under God’s authority or validation. His power was not in them because they didn’t really believe in Him. This is why Jesus spoke the following words, painting the work of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law as being fruitless.
He said, “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation."
Anyone exorcised by the religious leaders of the day was not really healed. For even though an evil spirit might depart a person being treated by a Pharisee or teacher of the law, they wouldn’t be safe because the lack of godliness within the religious authority would lead to the void left by the evil spirit not being filled by God. Instead, the evil spirit would return with some other evil spirit friends and they all would move in, repossessing the man and making him worse than before. So what really got done? Nothing.
Friends, we simply can’t turn from anything we may do that is sinful and expect to remain away from it, unless we fill the void left by the evil spirit inside us with Christ Jesus, the One who makes evil flee just by the mere mention of His name. We simply must make our “house” the home of the Lord…for when He lives within us, Satan and his evil cannot.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation."
Matthew 12:43-45
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
I think we all can relate to a time when we lived our lives in a way that was not pleasing to the Lord. It’s bound to happen to even the best person as sin and Satan have a way of exploiting our weaknesses and causing us to act, speak or think in ways contrary to God’s will.
So how does this happen in the first place? How do we fall prey to Satan and end up in the grip of his sinister intent for our lives?
Well, we can start by looking in our “house”…and check out who is living inside.
For if we truly wish to show Satan that the “No Vacancy” sign is up inside our hearts and minds, then we simply must let Satan see that the Light…capital “L”…is always on…that the Lord is always at home inside us.
Jesus touches on this very issue as we draw near to the end of Matthew, Chapter 12. He has been verbally sparring with the Pharisees and teachers of the law, calling out the religious authorities of the day as being not of God as they could not even recognize that God’s Son had indeed come to earth…the Messiah predicted by the prophets of old.
The Pharisees and teachers of the law weren’t as interested in people following God as they were people following them and their legalistic counsel and discipline over anyone who would choose to deny the ways they espoused. For if the religious leaders were fully in tune with God, there would be no questioning of Jesus…no challenging of His ways…no attempts to try and discredit Him. No, the Pharisees and teachers of the law would be exhorting, worshipping and praising Jesus amongst their people. They would be welcoming Him to come and teach in their synagogues. But they didn’t have that mindset…not even close.
And so the religious leaders never truly did anything under God’s authority or validation. His power was not in them because they didn’t really believe in Him. This is why Jesus spoke the following words, painting the work of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law as being fruitless.
He said, “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation."
Anyone exorcised by the religious leaders of the day was not really healed. For even though an evil spirit might depart a person being treated by a Pharisee or teacher of the law, they wouldn’t be safe because the lack of godliness within the religious authority would lead to the void left by the evil spirit not being filled by God. Instead, the evil spirit would return with some other evil spirit friends and they all would move in, repossessing the man and making him worse than before. So what really got done? Nothing.
Friends, we simply can’t turn from anything we may do that is sinful and expect to remain away from it, unless we fill the void left by the evil spirit inside us with Christ Jesus, the One who makes evil flee just by the mere mention of His name. We simply must make our “house” the home of the Lord…for when He lives within us, Satan and his evil cannot.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
Sunday, April 11, 2010
THE ONE GREATER
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com.
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you."
He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.”
Matthew 12:38-42
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Throughout Chapter 12 of Matthew, we have witnessed Jesus in the midst of a showdown with the Pharisees, the Jewish religious authorities of the day. As Jesus came with new teachings and a special power to heal people, he gained a following that disturbed those who were in charge of spiritual matters.
And so we have seen the Pharisees question Jesus on the actions He and His disciples took on the Sabbath, seeking to discredit Him as a leader and even go as far as inferring Jesus was in partnership with the prince of demons. And we have seen in every instance that Jesus had a response for His detractors…responses that only continued to show that He was One who had come that was greater than they were…greater in power and greater in wisdom.
Well, as we continue and look at today’s passage, the Pharisees are not giving up. And amazingly, “some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law” asked Jesus to perform “a miraculous sign”. Now…I’m not sure what driving out demons and healing a man who had been crippled with a shriveled hand would constitute but for me at least those were both miraculous signs.
Jesus full knew that the motive behind the request was to further ridicule or discredit Him and so He had a different response than what the Pharisees and teachers of the law were asking for. For we read where He answered:
“A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.”
Wow! Now was that an indictment or what?
The Pharisees and teachers of the law had taken their shots at Jesus but One greater than them was now speaking and taking a shot of His own…one that should have shaken His accusers to the core.
For obviously, those religious authorities who claimed to be such men of God could not even recognize and acknowledge when the power of God was being performed right in front of them. How else would Jesus had been able to do the miracles He performed except by a power greater than any man or woman had ever seen on earth. This is because the power that Jesus carried was not of earth but of His Father…our Father in heaven.
So Jesus let the Pharisees and teachers of the law know the extent of His authority through using two very familiar Old Testament figures…and underscoring the pending judgment awaiting anyone who would seek to undermine His work.
First, Jesus uses Jonah.
We’re familiar with Jonah’s story. You’ll recall that he was told by the Lord to go to Nineveh to preach against the city and its people because of their wickedness. But Jonah, afraid of the assignment, ran instead of obeying…boarding a ship that was bound for Tarshish.
As the ship set out, a terrible storm came upon it and everyone onboard was in danger of dying at sea. All the men on the ship were praying to their own gods, hoping for rescue, but Jonah was asleep below decks. Awakened by the ship’s captain, Jonah was summoned on deck where he was questioned by the rest of the men. They wanted to know what God Jonah followed and he replied, “…I worship the Lord, the God of heaven who made the sea and the land”. (Jonah 1:9)
This statement terrified the men more and they were convinced that it was God…the God Jonah followed…who was responsible for their perilous situation. So the men asked Jonah what they should do and he told them to cast him overboard since he was the one who had angered God.
The men were grief-stricken that they had to kill Jonah to save themselves. In fact, they cried out to Jonah’s God saying, “O Lord, please do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for You, O Lord, have done as You pleased”. (Jonah 1:14) And with that, the men threw Jonah overboard and miraculously, the raging sea calmed. Amazed at what they had witnessed, the men left on the ship “greatly feared the Lord” and offered sacrifice and vows to Him. (Jonah 1:16) The men had seen first hand the power of One greater than anything else they had ever seen.
So what happened to Jonah?
We know he was swallowed by a great fish where he remained inside for three days and three nights. During that time, he repented and reaffirmed his loyalty to the Lord…and then was “vomited…onto dry land” (Jonah 2:10) and given a second chance to do as God commanded…to go to Nineveh and present the word of the Lord…a word that the led Nineveh to amazingly repent and find the Lord’s compassion as He spared the city and its people from destruction.
Back to our scripture where e find Jesus telling the Pharisees and teachers of the law that He would eventually be in a place similar to Jonah…except instead of “in the belly of a huge fish”, He would be in the heart of the earth…dead and buried. But, come back alive to earth after his three day stay, so too would Jesus emerge alive from the tomb…defeating death and ascending to His Father in heaven eternally…an act far more greater than Jonah being vomited from a fish.
And so if what happened with Jonah led the people of Nineveh to repent at Jonah’s teaching then how much more should the people during Jesus’ time repent because He was greater than Jonah? That was the question. And if generation of Jesus’ time chose to not repent through the presence of the One who had come to save them, then the very people of Nineveh would “stand up at the judgment…and condemn it”.
What a powerful statement by Jesus! Now you would think that anyone with half a brain would change their mind, repent and flee from the Lord’s judgment. But those who Satan has a grip on will continue to be blind to the cause of Christ…choosing to remain in darkness instead of stepping into the light.
But Jesus doesn’t stop with a comparison to Jonah. He then goes onto another honored member of Jewish religious history, Solomon, who during his reign was visited in Jerusalem by the queen of Sheba, an Arabian kingdom who profited greatly from the sea trade. During her visit, Sheba “talked with him about all she had on her mind” (2 Chronicles 9:1b) and Solomon in turn, “answered all her questions” with “nothing being too hard for him to explain” (2 Chronicles 9:2). Well, the queen was “overwhelmed” by what she heard and said:
“The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard. How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on His throne as king to rule for the Lord your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and His desire to uphold them forever, He has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness”. (2 Chronicles 9:5-8)
Now, here was a powerful leader who traveled to Jerusalem and was taken to a place of praise and acknowledgement of the Lord through the wisdom the Lord placed on Solomon to express to her. She fully knew that Solomon was where he was because God had put him there…just as Jesus was sent to reign with power and majesty…a power and majesty that far exceeded Solomon’s. And so with that, if the queen of Sheba would acknowledge Solomon, how much more should the people in Jesus’ time acknowledge Him for He was there and greater than Solomon.
OK…so what’s the point for us today?
We need to remember about how great the Lord is…that He is greater than anything.
For in this generation, there are so many who hold up people as being powerful and influential who can’t even scratch the surface on the Lord’s power and majesty. Like the men in the ship heading to Tarshish, people are crying out to gods that don’t exist seeking safety and salvation…and they do it when the One greater than all things is right there ready to give them everything they seek. All they need do is turn to Him, as the men in the ship did after Jonah was cast into the sea and the storm disappeared.
Jesus sacrificed Himself for all mankind…not just for a few men perishing on a ship. He gave Himself up to death on the cross to pay the price for our sins. He perished so we wouldn’t have to if we only believe and trust in Him as our Savior.
Do you fully believe and trust in the One who is greater…greater than anything that life can bring upon you…greater than affliction or hardship?
For through Christ, nothing can separate us from being liberated one day from what this world brings upon us…and in the interim, we know we can cope because He is with us as we seek to carry out His will and way
Indeed, He is the One who is greater. Thanks be to God.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you."
He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.”
Matthew 12:38-42
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Throughout Chapter 12 of Matthew, we have witnessed Jesus in the midst of a showdown with the Pharisees, the Jewish religious authorities of the day. As Jesus came with new teachings and a special power to heal people, he gained a following that disturbed those who were in charge of spiritual matters.
And so we have seen the Pharisees question Jesus on the actions He and His disciples took on the Sabbath, seeking to discredit Him as a leader and even go as far as inferring Jesus was in partnership with the prince of demons. And we have seen in every instance that Jesus had a response for His detractors…responses that only continued to show that He was One who had come that was greater than they were…greater in power and greater in wisdom.
Well, as we continue and look at today’s passage, the Pharisees are not giving up. And amazingly, “some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law” asked Jesus to perform “a miraculous sign”. Now…I’m not sure what driving out demons and healing a man who had been crippled with a shriveled hand would constitute but for me at least those were both miraculous signs.
Jesus full knew that the motive behind the request was to further ridicule or discredit Him and so He had a different response than what the Pharisees and teachers of the law were asking for. For we read where He answered:
“A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.”
Wow! Now was that an indictment or what?
The Pharisees and teachers of the law had taken their shots at Jesus but One greater than them was now speaking and taking a shot of His own…one that should have shaken His accusers to the core.
For obviously, those religious authorities who claimed to be such men of God could not even recognize and acknowledge when the power of God was being performed right in front of them. How else would Jesus had been able to do the miracles He performed except by a power greater than any man or woman had ever seen on earth. This is because the power that Jesus carried was not of earth but of His Father…our Father in heaven.
So Jesus let the Pharisees and teachers of the law know the extent of His authority through using two very familiar Old Testament figures…and underscoring the pending judgment awaiting anyone who would seek to undermine His work.
First, Jesus uses Jonah.
We’re familiar with Jonah’s story. You’ll recall that he was told by the Lord to go to Nineveh to preach against the city and its people because of their wickedness. But Jonah, afraid of the assignment, ran instead of obeying…boarding a ship that was bound for Tarshish.
As the ship set out, a terrible storm came upon it and everyone onboard was in danger of dying at sea. All the men on the ship were praying to their own gods, hoping for rescue, but Jonah was asleep below decks. Awakened by the ship’s captain, Jonah was summoned on deck where he was questioned by the rest of the men. They wanted to know what God Jonah followed and he replied, “…I worship the Lord, the God of heaven who made the sea and the land”. (Jonah 1:9)
This statement terrified the men more and they were convinced that it was God…the God Jonah followed…who was responsible for their perilous situation. So the men asked Jonah what they should do and he told them to cast him overboard since he was the one who had angered God.
The men were grief-stricken that they had to kill Jonah to save themselves. In fact, they cried out to Jonah’s God saying, “O Lord, please do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for You, O Lord, have done as You pleased”. (Jonah 1:14) And with that, the men threw Jonah overboard and miraculously, the raging sea calmed. Amazed at what they had witnessed, the men left on the ship “greatly feared the Lord” and offered sacrifice and vows to Him. (Jonah 1:16) The men had seen first hand the power of One greater than anything else they had ever seen.
So what happened to Jonah?
We know he was swallowed by a great fish where he remained inside for three days and three nights. During that time, he repented and reaffirmed his loyalty to the Lord…and then was “vomited…onto dry land” (Jonah 2:10) and given a second chance to do as God commanded…to go to Nineveh and present the word of the Lord…a word that the led Nineveh to amazingly repent and find the Lord’s compassion as He spared the city and its people from destruction.
Back to our scripture where e find Jesus telling the Pharisees and teachers of the law that He would eventually be in a place similar to Jonah…except instead of “in the belly of a huge fish”, He would be in the heart of the earth…dead and buried. But, come back alive to earth after his three day stay, so too would Jesus emerge alive from the tomb…defeating death and ascending to His Father in heaven eternally…an act far more greater than Jonah being vomited from a fish.
And so if what happened with Jonah led the people of Nineveh to repent at Jonah’s teaching then how much more should the people during Jesus’ time repent because He was greater than Jonah? That was the question. And if generation of Jesus’ time chose to not repent through the presence of the One who had come to save them, then the very people of Nineveh would “stand up at the judgment…and condemn it”.
What a powerful statement by Jesus! Now you would think that anyone with half a brain would change their mind, repent and flee from the Lord’s judgment. But those who Satan has a grip on will continue to be blind to the cause of Christ…choosing to remain in darkness instead of stepping into the light.
But Jesus doesn’t stop with a comparison to Jonah. He then goes onto another honored member of Jewish religious history, Solomon, who during his reign was visited in Jerusalem by the queen of Sheba, an Arabian kingdom who profited greatly from the sea trade. During her visit, Sheba “talked with him about all she had on her mind” (2 Chronicles 9:1b) and Solomon in turn, “answered all her questions” with “nothing being too hard for him to explain” (2 Chronicles 9:2). Well, the queen was “overwhelmed” by what she heard and said:
“The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard. How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on His throne as king to rule for the Lord your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and His desire to uphold them forever, He has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness”. (2 Chronicles 9:5-8)
Now, here was a powerful leader who traveled to Jerusalem and was taken to a place of praise and acknowledgement of the Lord through the wisdom the Lord placed on Solomon to express to her. She fully knew that Solomon was where he was because God had put him there…just as Jesus was sent to reign with power and majesty…a power and majesty that far exceeded Solomon’s. And so with that, if the queen of Sheba would acknowledge Solomon, how much more should the people in Jesus’ time acknowledge Him for He was there and greater than Solomon.
OK…so what’s the point for us today?
We need to remember about how great the Lord is…that He is greater than anything.
For in this generation, there are so many who hold up people as being powerful and influential who can’t even scratch the surface on the Lord’s power and majesty. Like the men in the ship heading to Tarshish, people are crying out to gods that don’t exist seeking safety and salvation…and they do it when the One greater than all things is right there ready to give them everything they seek. All they need do is turn to Him, as the men in the ship did after Jonah was cast into the sea and the storm disappeared.
Jesus sacrificed Himself for all mankind…not just for a few men perishing on a ship. He gave Himself up to death on the cross to pay the price for our sins. He perished so we wouldn’t have to if we only believe and trust in Him as our Savior.
Do you fully believe and trust in the One who is greater…greater than anything that life can bring upon you…greater than affliction or hardship?
For through Christ, nothing can separate us from being liberated one day from what this world brings upon us…and in the interim, we know we can cope because He is with us as we seek to carry out His will and way
Indeed, He is the One who is greater. Thanks be to God.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
Saturday, April 10, 2010
WHAT COMES UP OUT OF YOU?
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com.
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
Matthew 12:33-37
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As you take account for your actions each day, what do you discover?
Do you find that what you have done is good? Or do you find what you have done is bad? Or maybe, you’re in the middle…finding that you did some good but also opted to act badly as well.
So what does the Lord expect from us?
Well, yesterday we saw Jesus teach that there is no middle ground when it comes to following Him. You’re either with Him or you are against Him. (Matthew 12:30) And so, we are either predisposed to do good and righteous acts if we allow Christ to live and abide in us…or wrong, evil acts if we choose to side with Satan instead.
And so again…when others witness your actions, what do they see? Do they see Jesus in you?
You see, we choose how we live and in turn the fruit we bear through that life. In today’s scripture, Jesus explains that the kind of fruit that a person bears will be determined by how the person (or tree) is made. If a person is made good…and this only will come through a commitment to allow Jesus to be Lord of your life…then the fruit they bear will, in turn, be good. But is a person commits to a life of sin and wrongdoing, then their fruit will be bad. In the end translation, the fruit you bear will always reveal whether you are good or bad…righteous or wicked.
So what fruit do you bear? When people see you, what does your fruit tell them about you?
Jesus uses one other illustration to discuss the good and bad in people. For He proclaims:
“…out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.”
What comes out of a person is what they produce from the overflow of their heart. If your heart overflows with goodness, then that’s what you will bring up…good things. But if your heart is dark and overflowing with evil…well…then you will evil will be brought up out of you in the way you act, speak and think.
Keep in mind the words of Jesus during His Sermon on the Mount. For in Matthew 6:21, He said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” If Jesus is your treasure, then that’s where your heart will be and you can ensure that the overflow of your heart will contain all the goodness found in Christ.
But if you so choose to make something else your treasure, then stand by. Because you are opening up yourself to Satan entering in and turning your heart from good to bad…from right to wrong…from righteousness to evil. And this does not come without consequence.
For as our passage closes today, here these powerful words of warning from Jesus:
“But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
We are not just free to live our lives as we so choose without having to stand and be accountable. No…on the day of judgment, man and woman will be judged for every careless word they've spoken with the penalty, acquittal or condemnation, based on those very words.
So forget about how others see you for a minute. What does the Lord see in you? Would He be pleased or disappointed?
Well, the answer to that question depends on you...on what comes up out of you. Why not make things easy and allow Christ to live inside your heart forever? It’s the only true way you can ensure that anything that you do will be seen as right…by those you associate with on earth and by the Father and Son who are in heaven reigning over us and all creation.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
Matthew 12:33-37
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As you take account for your actions each day, what do you discover?
Do you find that what you have done is good? Or do you find what you have done is bad? Or maybe, you’re in the middle…finding that you did some good but also opted to act badly as well.
So what does the Lord expect from us?
Well, yesterday we saw Jesus teach that there is no middle ground when it comes to following Him. You’re either with Him or you are against Him. (Matthew 12:30) And so, we are either predisposed to do good and righteous acts if we allow Christ to live and abide in us…or wrong, evil acts if we choose to side with Satan instead.
And so again…when others witness your actions, what do they see? Do they see Jesus in you?
You see, we choose how we live and in turn the fruit we bear through that life. In today’s scripture, Jesus explains that the kind of fruit that a person bears will be determined by how the person (or tree) is made. If a person is made good…and this only will come through a commitment to allow Jesus to be Lord of your life…then the fruit they bear will, in turn, be good. But is a person commits to a life of sin and wrongdoing, then their fruit will be bad. In the end translation, the fruit you bear will always reveal whether you are good or bad…righteous or wicked.
So what fruit do you bear? When people see you, what does your fruit tell them about you?
Jesus uses one other illustration to discuss the good and bad in people. For He proclaims:
“…out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.”
What comes out of a person is what they produce from the overflow of their heart. If your heart overflows with goodness, then that’s what you will bring up…good things. But if your heart is dark and overflowing with evil…well…then you will evil will be brought up out of you in the way you act, speak and think.
Keep in mind the words of Jesus during His Sermon on the Mount. For in Matthew 6:21, He said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” If Jesus is your treasure, then that’s where your heart will be and you can ensure that the overflow of your heart will contain all the goodness found in Christ.
But if you so choose to make something else your treasure, then stand by. Because you are opening up yourself to Satan entering in and turning your heart from good to bad…from right to wrong…from righteousness to evil. And this does not come without consequence.
For as our passage closes today, here these powerful words of warning from Jesus:
“But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
We are not just free to live our lives as we so choose without having to stand and be accountable. No…on the day of judgment, man and woman will be judged for every careless word they've spoken with the penalty, acquittal or condemnation, based on those very words.
So forget about how others see you for a minute. What does the Lord see in you? Would He be pleased or disappointed?
Well, the answer to that question depends on you...on what comes up out of you. Why not make things easy and allow Christ to live inside your heart forever? It’s the only true way you can ensure that anything that you do will be seen as right…by those you associate with on earth and by the Father and Son who are in heaven reigning over us and all creation.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
ARE YOU WITH CHRIST?
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com.
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
"Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house.”
"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”
Matthew 12:29-32
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As we look at our world today and the people in it, I think you would find three categories when it comes to a relationship with Jesus…and a connection to Christianity.
First, we have those who choose to have no relationship with Jesus and thus choose to have no connection to Christianity. The reasons may vary but the end result is the same. And there is a cross section of this group that chooses to even see Jesus as an evil force in the world, persecuting and even killing those who choose to follow Him…those who would be in the second category.
For there is another significant portion of the world that fully believes, trusts and follows Jesus as their Lord of Lords and King of Kings…the Author of their creation and salvation. They see themselves lost and hopeless in life without Him. They are willing to surrender what the world offers in exchange for what Christ brings to them. And they would be willing to die for Him while carrying out His call to share His gospel with others, just as He was so self sacrificially willing to die for all mankind to pay the price for sin.
So there are those who choose to not believe and those who choose to believe. Who is in the third category?
Those who choose to straddle the line between unbelief and belief.
For there is another section of the world’s population who will only believe in Jesus when it’s convenient or when it suits them. They are unwilling to fully give up what the world offers because their desires, in some instances, still are of greater priority than the desires of Jesus. His calling, if followed, would mean leaving behind worldly pleasures in exchange for service…labor for the Lord to carry out His assignment to make disciples of all nations.
So what category do you find yourself in?
Today’s message tells us there really isn’t a third category.
For Jesus, still addressing the attempt by the Pharisees to discredit Him and compare Him to Satan, sends a clear message regarding service to Him:
"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”
Did you get that?
You are either with Jesus or you aren’t.
There is no middle ground.
If you are with Jesus, then you are part of His flock, kept together and protected by the Good Shepherd.
If you choose to not be with Jesus, then you are against Him…choosing to be with the world and Satan who has his way with those in it. Anyone who chooses to not be with Jesus leaves himself or herself vulnerable to attack…like a sheep without a shepherd. No protection. Easy pickings for anyone or anything evil.
Notice that Jesus doesn’t say a word about being with Him sometimes and not with Him others. No...there are two clear choices. You are either with Him or against Him.
And so what about those who choose to not be with Him and then attack Him after witnessing His miraculous works, seeking to discredit Him and paint Him as being partnered with evil like the Pharisees had done while trying to connect Jesus to Beelzebub. Well, those who choose to do that would be committing a sin that is unforgivable…blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
What? There is a sin that can’t be forgiven?
Yes…and scripture affirms it through the words of Jesus.
Back to today’s passage as Jesus continues saying:
“And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”
The Pharisees were so adamantly opposed to Jesus that they were willing to egregiously reject His holy works of goodness and love as He healed maladies, exorcised demons and restored others to full health. Instead of praising God for all the powerful acts he was performing by way of His Son and the power of the Holy Spirit, the Pharisees instead tried to wickedly connect what had happened to evil…to the works of demons.
Today, people still refuse to credit the Lord despite the obvious miracles He performs by way of the Holy Spirit each and every day. These people have chosen to fully reject Jesus as well as His will and way for their lives...and in doing so, cut themselves off from the Father in heaven.
For Jesus clearly said, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes unto the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
Friends, there’s no gray area there. There’s no middle of the road. There’s no toeing the line.
Jesus expects that we are all in…that we are with Him and with Him fully.
Are you with Him or against Him?
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
"Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house.”
"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”
Matthew 12:29-32
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As we look at our world today and the people in it, I think you would find three categories when it comes to a relationship with Jesus…and a connection to Christianity.
First, we have those who choose to have no relationship with Jesus and thus choose to have no connection to Christianity. The reasons may vary but the end result is the same. And there is a cross section of this group that chooses to even see Jesus as an evil force in the world, persecuting and even killing those who choose to follow Him…those who would be in the second category.
For there is another significant portion of the world that fully believes, trusts and follows Jesus as their Lord of Lords and King of Kings…the Author of their creation and salvation. They see themselves lost and hopeless in life without Him. They are willing to surrender what the world offers in exchange for what Christ brings to them. And they would be willing to die for Him while carrying out His call to share His gospel with others, just as He was so self sacrificially willing to die for all mankind to pay the price for sin.
So there are those who choose to not believe and those who choose to believe. Who is in the third category?
Those who choose to straddle the line between unbelief and belief.
For there is another section of the world’s population who will only believe in Jesus when it’s convenient or when it suits them. They are unwilling to fully give up what the world offers because their desires, in some instances, still are of greater priority than the desires of Jesus. His calling, if followed, would mean leaving behind worldly pleasures in exchange for service…labor for the Lord to carry out His assignment to make disciples of all nations.
So what category do you find yourself in?
Today’s message tells us there really isn’t a third category.
For Jesus, still addressing the attempt by the Pharisees to discredit Him and compare Him to Satan, sends a clear message regarding service to Him:
"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”
Did you get that?
You are either with Jesus or you aren’t.
There is no middle ground.
If you are with Jesus, then you are part of His flock, kept together and protected by the Good Shepherd.
If you choose to not be with Jesus, then you are against Him…choosing to be with the world and Satan who has his way with those in it. Anyone who chooses to not be with Jesus leaves himself or herself vulnerable to attack…like a sheep without a shepherd. No protection. Easy pickings for anyone or anything evil.
Notice that Jesus doesn’t say a word about being with Him sometimes and not with Him others. No...there are two clear choices. You are either with Him or against Him.
And so what about those who choose to not be with Him and then attack Him after witnessing His miraculous works, seeking to discredit Him and paint Him as being partnered with evil like the Pharisees had done while trying to connect Jesus to Beelzebub. Well, those who choose to do that would be committing a sin that is unforgivable…blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
What? There is a sin that can’t be forgiven?
Yes…and scripture affirms it through the words of Jesus.
Back to today’s passage as Jesus continues saying:
“And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”
The Pharisees were so adamantly opposed to Jesus that they were willing to egregiously reject His holy works of goodness and love as He healed maladies, exorcised demons and restored others to full health. Instead of praising God for all the powerful acts he was performing by way of His Son and the power of the Holy Spirit, the Pharisees instead tried to wickedly connect what had happened to evil…to the works of demons.
Today, people still refuse to credit the Lord despite the obvious miracles He performs by way of the Holy Spirit each and every day. These people have chosen to fully reject Jesus as well as His will and way for their lives...and in doing so, cut themselves off from the Father in heaven.
For Jesus clearly said, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes unto the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
Friends, there’s no gray area there. There’s no middle of the road. There’s no toeing the line.
Jesus expects that we are all in…that we are with Him and with Him fully.
Are you with Him or against Him?
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
Thursday, April 8, 2010
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS UPON US
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com.
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. All the people were astonished and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"
But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons."
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Matthew 12:22-28
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
We have seen earlier in the 12th Chapter of Matthew how the Pharisees, the Jewish religious authorities of the day, weren’t exactly pleased that Jesus had come to earth and was doing the work of the Father. In fact, Jesus had gained such a following through His teaching and healing that the Pharisees saw their legalistic approach to ministry threatened. This led them to not only challenge Jesus but also plot to kill Him. Indeed, as godly as the Pharisees advertised themselves, there was little doubt that Satan was working in and through them…a clear warning to any of us that no matter how righteous we think we are, we are still prone to temptation and failure.
In today’s passage, we find the Pharisees continuing to seek to discredit Jesus in His ministry. We read where “a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute” was brought to Him and Jesus “healed him…so that he could both talk and see”. And as we have seen happen at almost every point where Jesus performed a miracle, “all the people were astonished” and amazed…so much so that they asked among themselves, “Could this be the Son of David?" They had certainly witnessed the renewing power of Christ…and could not identify Him with anyone other than the Messiah…the anointed One sent from heaven to earth to reign over mankind in honor.
The Pharisees however saw it differently. For instead of relating Jesus with David, instead they chose to connect Him to “Beelzebub, the prince of demons”. They asserted that the power that Jesus used to drive out demons came from the very prince of the demons.
And with this, Jesus, knowing the thoughts of the Pharisees, took the opportunity to defend Himself saying:
"Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
No power in existence before or after Jesus ever survived if it was not united within. This was true in talking about earthly kingdoms and it was true in talking about spiritual ones. The entire purpose of good was to overcome evil. It would make little sense for anything good to destroy something else good…in fact, anyone saying they were destroying good because they are good is putting on a ruse. Because only evil seeks to destroy what is good.
So what was Jesus…an instrument of God or Beelzebub?
Well, evil would never try to drive out evil and so that ruled out any connection Jesus might have to the prince of demons. Indeed, He was connected to the Father for He could have not received holy, healing power from any other source. And since He was in fact driving out demons “by the Spirit of God”, then indeed, “the kingdom of God had come upon the people of Israel”.
And that kingdom has never departed…even to this day.
Friends, in the midst of those who would want to discredit Jesus today, we need to ever proclaim that He is alive and present…ready to root out and rid evil in and around us as readily as He did back in the days of our scripture.
Yes…the kingdom of God is upon us…and thanks be to God for that.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. All the people were astonished and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"
But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons."
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Matthew 12:22-28
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
We have seen earlier in the 12th Chapter of Matthew how the Pharisees, the Jewish religious authorities of the day, weren’t exactly pleased that Jesus had come to earth and was doing the work of the Father. In fact, Jesus had gained such a following through His teaching and healing that the Pharisees saw their legalistic approach to ministry threatened. This led them to not only challenge Jesus but also plot to kill Him. Indeed, as godly as the Pharisees advertised themselves, there was little doubt that Satan was working in and through them…a clear warning to any of us that no matter how righteous we think we are, we are still prone to temptation and failure.
In today’s passage, we find the Pharisees continuing to seek to discredit Jesus in His ministry. We read where “a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute” was brought to Him and Jesus “healed him…so that he could both talk and see”. And as we have seen happen at almost every point where Jesus performed a miracle, “all the people were astonished” and amazed…so much so that they asked among themselves, “Could this be the Son of David?" They had certainly witnessed the renewing power of Christ…and could not identify Him with anyone other than the Messiah…the anointed One sent from heaven to earth to reign over mankind in honor.
The Pharisees however saw it differently. For instead of relating Jesus with David, instead they chose to connect Him to “Beelzebub, the prince of demons”. They asserted that the power that Jesus used to drive out demons came from the very prince of the demons.
And with this, Jesus, knowing the thoughts of the Pharisees, took the opportunity to defend Himself saying:
"Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
No power in existence before or after Jesus ever survived if it was not united within. This was true in talking about earthly kingdoms and it was true in talking about spiritual ones. The entire purpose of good was to overcome evil. It would make little sense for anything good to destroy something else good…in fact, anyone saying they were destroying good because they are good is putting on a ruse. Because only evil seeks to destroy what is good.
So what was Jesus…an instrument of God or Beelzebub?
Well, evil would never try to drive out evil and so that ruled out any connection Jesus might have to the prince of demons. Indeed, He was connected to the Father for He could have not received holy, healing power from any other source. And since He was in fact driving out demons “by the Spirit of God”, then indeed, “the kingdom of God had come upon the people of Israel”.
And that kingdom has never departed…even to this day.
Friends, in the midst of those who would want to discredit Jesus today, we need to ever proclaim that He is alive and present…ready to root out and rid evil in and around us as readily as He did back in the days of our scripture.
Yes…the kingdom of God is upon us…and thanks be to God for that.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
HOPE
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com.
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Many followed Him, and He healed all their sick, warning them not to tell who He was. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
"Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.”
“He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory.”
“In his name the nations will put their hope."
Matthew 12:15b-21
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Do you have hope?
If so, what is the source of your hope?
Is it a sense in confidence in the fact that you are financially well off? Maybe that you have tenure and job security? Or maybe that you feel you are in good health and postured for a long life?
The world certainly offers us no shortage of things to hope for. The problem is that most of what we hope for today could be gone tomorrow…leaving us too often feeling hopeless.
A deep recession could cause our financial status to suffer and fail. Changes in corporate America or the economy can shake even the most stable employers to the core and lead to job cuts or layoffs. And there is any number of afflictions that could strike us, even despite our best efforts to stay in good health.
Yes…place your hope in the world and its ways too often result in disastrous results.
Well, as we look at our passage in Matthew, Chapter 12, we find Jesus having traveled away from the Pharisees who were plotting to kill Him. As He went on, “many followed Him and He healed all their sick”.
Scripture tells us that His actions were “to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah” who said (see Isaiah 42:1-4):
"Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the One I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.”
“He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory.”
“In his name the nations will put their hope."
So what do we learn from Isaiah?
We learn the reasons that Israel could not wait to receive their Messiah…and in learning this, we find where their hope was…and where ours should be as well.
One reason that Israel looked forward to Jesus coming was because He would God was sending Him as a servant…and not just any servant…but a servant who was willing to offer up Himself fully and die for those He came to serve. And Jesus did just that…not just for the people of Israel but for us as well.
A second reason that Israel longed for their Messiah was the promise of justice. Jesus would come to ensure that holy justice would reign supreme in the world…a world that was just as full of injustices in biblical times as it is today. We live fully in the hope that when Jesus returns as promised, the world as we know it will become cleansed and purified. Justice will reign supreme and Jesus will bring that justice.
Yet a third and final reason that Isaiah shares as to why Israel anticipated Jesus’ coming is that He would bring peace. And indeed, Isaiah had given the coming Messiah the name. “Prince of Peace” earlier in his book (Isaiah 9:6). The coming hope for all the nations would not quarrel or take advantage of the weak. No…He would give strength to the weary and increase the power of the weak.
And He would bring them hope…just as He still does today…hope that would allow the weak and weary to renew their strength…to soar on wings like eagles…to run and not grow weary…to walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:29, 31)
Friends, there’s only one source for true hope in life…and that’s Jesus…the Messiah who came to Israel to bring hope and salvation…the Savior who continues to do so today.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Many followed Him, and He healed all their sick, warning them not to tell who He was. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
"Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.”
“He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory.”
“In his name the nations will put their hope."
Matthew 12:15b-21
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Do you have hope?
If so, what is the source of your hope?
Is it a sense in confidence in the fact that you are financially well off? Maybe that you have tenure and job security? Or maybe that you feel you are in good health and postured for a long life?
The world certainly offers us no shortage of things to hope for. The problem is that most of what we hope for today could be gone tomorrow…leaving us too often feeling hopeless.
A deep recession could cause our financial status to suffer and fail. Changes in corporate America or the economy can shake even the most stable employers to the core and lead to job cuts or layoffs. And there is any number of afflictions that could strike us, even despite our best efforts to stay in good health.
Yes…place your hope in the world and its ways too often result in disastrous results.
Well, as we look at our passage in Matthew, Chapter 12, we find Jesus having traveled away from the Pharisees who were plotting to kill Him. As He went on, “many followed Him and He healed all their sick”.
Scripture tells us that His actions were “to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah” who said (see Isaiah 42:1-4):
"Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the One I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.”
“He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory.”
“In his name the nations will put their hope."
So what do we learn from Isaiah?
We learn the reasons that Israel could not wait to receive their Messiah…and in learning this, we find where their hope was…and where ours should be as well.
One reason that Israel looked forward to Jesus coming was because He would God was sending Him as a servant…and not just any servant…but a servant who was willing to offer up Himself fully and die for those He came to serve. And Jesus did just that…not just for the people of Israel but for us as well.
A second reason that Israel longed for their Messiah was the promise of justice. Jesus would come to ensure that holy justice would reign supreme in the world…a world that was just as full of injustices in biblical times as it is today. We live fully in the hope that when Jesus returns as promised, the world as we know it will become cleansed and purified. Justice will reign supreme and Jesus will bring that justice.
Yet a third and final reason that Isaiah shares as to why Israel anticipated Jesus’ coming is that He would bring peace. And indeed, Isaiah had given the coming Messiah the name. “Prince of Peace” earlier in his book (Isaiah 9:6). The coming hope for all the nations would not quarrel or take advantage of the weak. No…He would give strength to the weary and increase the power of the weak.
And He would bring them hope…just as He still does today…hope that would allow the weak and weary to renew their strength…to soar on wings like eagles…to run and not grow weary…to walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:29, 31)
Friends, there’s only one source for true hope in life…and that’s Jesus…the Messiah who came to Israel to bring hope and salvation…the Savior who continues to do so today.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
Monday, April 5, 2010
THE LORD OF ALL THINGS
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com.
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath."
He answered, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? I tell you that One greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"
He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."
Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place.
Matthew 12:1-15a
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Sometimes we get caught up more in the rules of the world and lose sight of the rules of the Lord…the only true authority in life that matters. Even in the Christian arena, we tend to be more concerned about man made doctrine and beliefs than we are the doctrine given to us within the word of the Lord.
Examples of both can be found in today’s passage. For as Jesus is traveling “through the grainfields” with His disciples “on the Sabbath”, the disciples become hungry and picked “some heads of grain”, eating them. Keep in mind they are with Jesus.
So did Jesus scold His disciples for what they were doing?
No but the good old Pharisees…those “ardent” defenders of “the Law” did. Or at least, as was their motif, defended “the Law” when it suited them…and violated it as well…when it suited them. Indeed, the Pharisees represented all the bad that results from a self-righteous attitude…and we still repeat their mistakes today.
Well, scripture tells us that “when the Pharisees saw” Jesus’ followers feasting on the grain, they brought it to Jesus’ attention saying, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath."
This obviously angered Jesus who responded by saying:
"Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent?”
In other words, before Jesus and His disciples came along, Jewish history and tradition saw those who were revered as holy violate what was set as standards for the Sabbath as well. And most of the strict standards were actually established by the Pharisees through their interpretation and application of the Law.
So there was an impasse. The Pharisees thought that Jesus’ disciples were in the wrong. Jesus obviously felt differently so He settled the issue by doing what He does best…by exerting His authority.
Back to the scriptures as Jesus said to the disciples, “I tell you that One greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
In other words, there is nothing on earth…nothing that man may build…nothing that man might revere and worship…that was or will ever be greater than the Lord…the Lord of the Sabbath…the Lord Jesus.
But Jesus wasn’t about to just let mere words proclaim His authority.
For we read that He next went into the Pharisees’ synagogue where He encountered a “man with a shriveled hand”. The Pharisees, seeking any reason to continue to discredit Jesus and His followers, asked Jesus the following question:
"Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"
Why did they ask?
Because the Pharisees forbade anyone healing on the Sabbath unless a person was dying and the man’s deformed had was not life threatening.
So Jesus, as we see Him do so often, gives them their answer through an illustration. He replied, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."
Jesus posed a question to the Pharisees that He already knew the answer to. He knew that if a certain circumstance presented itself, like a sheep falling in a pit, the Pharisees would break their own rule to save the sheep. And so why wouldn’t saving a man who was worth more than a sheep be just as right?
This is what Jesus was getting at. And further, if the Sabbath was indeed a holy day, then why wouldn’t someone always want to do something good on it?
And with that, Jesus asked for the man to stretch out his shriveled hand…and when he did, we read that “it was completely restored, just as sound as the other”.
Now you would think that even the legalistic Pharisees would rejoice in the man’s healing but that was not the case. Instead, scripture tells us that they “went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus”. And Jesus…aware of their intentions, “withdrew from that place”.
So what are we to do with this passage today?
We are to remember that no matter how much man might try and establish rules and regulations, those rules and regulations aren’t binding unless validated by the Lord of the rules…the sole true authority…Jesus.
Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath…He is the Lord of the rules.
He is the Lord over all our days…the Lord of time.
He is the Lord over all provision…the Lord of the harvest.
He is the Lord over all worship…the only Lord deserving of our praise.
He is the Lord over all authorities...the Lord of lords.
He is the Lord over all miracles and healing…the Lord of glory
He is the Lord over all spiritual teaching done in His name…the Lord of the way and the truth.
And He is the Lord over all creation…the Lord of the earth…the Lord of the living and the dead.
Yes…Friends, Jesus is the Lord of all things.
Do you acknowledge Him as such? Is He Lord of your life and everything in it?
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath."
He answered, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? I tell you that One greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"
He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."
Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place.
Matthew 12:1-15a
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Sometimes we get caught up more in the rules of the world and lose sight of the rules of the Lord…the only true authority in life that matters. Even in the Christian arena, we tend to be more concerned about man made doctrine and beliefs than we are the doctrine given to us within the word of the Lord.
Examples of both can be found in today’s passage. For as Jesus is traveling “through the grainfields” with His disciples “on the Sabbath”, the disciples become hungry and picked “some heads of grain”, eating them. Keep in mind they are with Jesus.
So did Jesus scold His disciples for what they were doing?
No but the good old Pharisees…those “ardent” defenders of “the Law” did. Or at least, as was their motif, defended “the Law” when it suited them…and violated it as well…when it suited them. Indeed, the Pharisees represented all the bad that results from a self-righteous attitude…and we still repeat their mistakes today.
Well, scripture tells us that “when the Pharisees saw” Jesus’ followers feasting on the grain, they brought it to Jesus’ attention saying, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath."
This obviously angered Jesus who responded by saying:
"Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent?”
In other words, before Jesus and His disciples came along, Jewish history and tradition saw those who were revered as holy violate what was set as standards for the Sabbath as well. And most of the strict standards were actually established by the Pharisees through their interpretation and application of the Law.
So there was an impasse. The Pharisees thought that Jesus’ disciples were in the wrong. Jesus obviously felt differently so He settled the issue by doing what He does best…by exerting His authority.
Back to the scriptures as Jesus said to the disciples, “I tell you that One greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
In other words, there is nothing on earth…nothing that man may build…nothing that man might revere and worship…that was or will ever be greater than the Lord…the Lord of the Sabbath…the Lord Jesus.
But Jesus wasn’t about to just let mere words proclaim His authority.
For we read that He next went into the Pharisees’ synagogue where He encountered a “man with a shriveled hand”. The Pharisees, seeking any reason to continue to discredit Jesus and His followers, asked Jesus the following question:
"Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"
Why did they ask?
Because the Pharisees forbade anyone healing on the Sabbath unless a person was dying and the man’s deformed had was not life threatening.
So Jesus, as we see Him do so often, gives them their answer through an illustration. He replied, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."
Jesus posed a question to the Pharisees that He already knew the answer to. He knew that if a certain circumstance presented itself, like a sheep falling in a pit, the Pharisees would break their own rule to save the sheep. And so why wouldn’t saving a man who was worth more than a sheep be just as right?
This is what Jesus was getting at. And further, if the Sabbath was indeed a holy day, then why wouldn’t someone always want to do something good on it?
And with that, Jesus asked for the man to stretch out his shriveled hand…and when he did, we read that “it was completely restored, just as sound as the other”.
Now you would think that even the legalistic Pharisees would rejoice in the man’s healing but that was not the case. Instead, scripture tells us that they “went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus”. And Jesus…aware of their intentions, “withdrew from that place”.
So what are we to do with this passage today?
We are to remember that no matter how much man might try and establish rules and regulations, those rules and regulations aren’t binding unless validated by the Lord of the rules…the sole true authority…Jesus.
Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath…He is the Lord of the rules.
He is the Lord over all our days…the Lord of time.
He is the Lord over all provision…the Lord of the harvest.
He is the Lord over all worship…the only Lord deserving of our praise.
He is the Lord over all authorities...the Lord of lords.
He is the Lord over all miracles and healing…the Lord of glory
He is the Lord over all spiritual teaching done in His name…the Lord of the way and the truth.
And He is the Lord over all creation…the Lord of the earth…the Lord of the living and the dead.
Yes…Friends, Jesus is the Lord of all things.
Do you acknowledge Him as such? Is He Lord of your life and everything in it?
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
Sunday, April 4, 2010
FINDING REST
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com.
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:27-30
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Easter Sunday. What an awesome day for Christians…a day of celebration and rejoicing…a day when our Savior defeated death and the grave to rejoin His Father in heaven…and in doing so pave the way for us.
Indeed, it’s been a journey over these last 40 days and nights through Lent. It’s been a long trek filled with review...reflection…repentance…recommitment…and renewal. And if we have observed Lent properly, then we’ve traveled a good distance with Jesus and we’re weary as we reach Easter.
For we’ve walked with Jesus through His ministry along with His chosen twelve all the way to Jerusalem and the waving palm branches that greeted Him.
We’ve been with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane as He prayed and then betrayed and arrested.
We placed ourselves with Jesus as He was taken to trial and wrongly convicted of blasphemy, sentenced to die a criminal’s death through crucifixion.
We imagined walking with Jesus as He carried His cross to Calvary, then witnessed Him nailed to that cross and then hoisted up to hang and suffer for our sins.
We listened as He was mocked and derided by those who gathered to watch Him die and yet asked the Father to forgive His attackers because they weren’t aware of what they were really doing.
We sensed the deep anguish of loss as Jesus gave up His spirit and died.
We then followed Joseph as He asked for and received Jesus’ body, preparing it and placing it in a tomb which was then sealed.
And today, we visit the tomb to find it empty. For Jesus has risen as He said He would on the third day. Those who thought they would rid themselves of Him through death actually were participants in Jesus existing forever…and even more than that, presenting an opportunity of eternal life through resurrection for anyone who would believe in Him (John 3:16) whether Jew or Gentile. The curtain that had separated man and God was now torn in two and replaced by a bridge in the way of Jesus Christ.
Yes…if we have truly walked with Jesus since Ash Wednesday, then we are tired…maybe even exhausted. We could use some timely words from the Lord in a time like this.
Today’s scripture offers just that.
For as the 11th chapter of Matthew closes, Jesus speaks special words to us…words that bring comfort and relief…rest and recuperation. He said:
"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Through Lent, if we have committed ourselves to walk with Jesus, we can’t help but have received revelation…revelation to help us increase our wisdom and understanding…revelation to help us see where we need to improve our lives to come more in alignment with Christ. We now understand the words of John 14:6 where Jesus reminds us that He is the way and the truth and the life…the only way we can get to the Father…God…His Father and ours. We have received the revelation that in order to be Christian we need to first be Christ-like.
Most of us after the revelations of the season will find ourselves tasked with the Lord’s expectations. For some, the expectations might be very high and challenges may leave us restless and anxious.
But receive comfort in the midst of what Jesus has tasked you to do through His promise…that all who are “weary and burdened” will be given rest for their souls. Walking with Jesus if we may seem like difficult labor but when we realize He is walking with us, we realize as Paul did that there is nothing we can’t do when we have His strength within us (Philippians 4:13). Indeed, Jesus will help lighten our load and empower us to carry out His will and way as e strive to go forth in obedience to His call for our lives.
Friends, on Easter, we again reaffirm that Jesus has claimed victory over the grave and returned to His Father, now communicating with us through the Holy Spirit…the Counselor he promised. And no matter how embattled we may feel after again reliving His ministry, death and resurrection…today, we can rejoice and be glad…and find rest…for Jesus Christ is risen!
Alleluia!
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:27-30
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Easter Sunday. What an awesome day for Christians…a day of celebration and rejoicing…a day when our Savior defeated death and the grave to rejoin His Father in heaven…and in doing so pave the way for us.
Indeed, it’s been a journey over these last 40 days and nights through Lent. It’s been a long trek filled with review...reflection…repentance…recommitment…and renewal. And if we have observed Lent properly, then we’ve traveled a good distance with Jesus and we’re weary as we reach Easter.
For we’ve walked with Jesus through His ministry along with His chosen twelve all the way to Jerusalem and the waving palm branches that greeted Him.
We’ve been with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane as He prayed and then betrayed and arrested.
We placed ourselves with Jesus as He was taken to trial and wrongly convicted of blasphemy, sentenced to die a criminal’s death through crucifixion.
We imagined walking with Jesus as He carried His cross to Calvary, then witnessed Him nailed to that cross and then hoisted up to hang and suffer for our sins.
We listened as He was mocked and derided by those who gathered to watch Him die and yet asked the Father to forgive His attackers because they weren’t aware of what they were really doing.
We sensed the deep anguish of loss as Jesus gave up His spirit and died.
We then followed Joseph as He asked for and received Jesus’ body, preparing it and placing it in a tomb which was then sealed.
And today, we visit the tomb to find it empty. For Jesus has risen as He said He would on the third day. Those who thought they would rid themselves of Him through death actually were participants in Jesus existing forever…and even more than that, presenting an opportunity of eternal life through resurrection for anyone who would believe in Him (John 3:16) whether Jew or Gentile. The curtain that had separated man and God was now torn in two and replaced by a bridge in the way of Jesus Christ.
Yes…if we have truly walked with Jesus since Ash Wednesday, then we are tired…maybe even exhausted. We could use some timely words from the Lord in a time like this.
Today’s scripture offers just that.
For as the 11th chapter of Matthew closes, Jesus speaks special words to us…words that bring comfort and relief…rest and recuperation. He said:
"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Through Lent, if we have committed ourselves to walk with Jesus, we can’t help but have received revelation…revelation to help us increase our wisdom and understanding…revelation to help us see where we need to improve our lives to come more in alignment with Christ. We now understand the words of John 14:6 where Jesus reminds us that He is the way and the truth and the life…the only way we can get to the Father…God…His Father and ours. We have received the revelation that in order to be Christian we need to first be Christ-like.
Most of us after the revelations of the season will find ourselves tasked with the Lord’s expectations. For some, the expectations might be very high and challenges may leave us restless and anxious.
But receive comfort in the midst of what Jesus has tasked you to do through His promise…that all who are “weary and burdened” will be given rest for their souls. Walking with Jesus if we may seem like difficult labor but when we realize He is walking with us, we realize as Paul did that there is nothing we can’t do when we have His strength within us (Philippians 4:13). Indeed, Jesus will help lighten our load and empower us to carry out His will and way as e strive to go forth in obedience to His call for our lives.
Friends, on Easter, we again reaffirm that Jesus has claimed victory over the grave and returned to His Father, now communicating with us through the Holy Spirit…the Counselor he promised. And no matter how embattled we may feel after again reliving His ministry, death and resurrection…today, we can rejoice and be glad…and find rest…for Jesus Christ is risen!
Alleluia!
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
Saturday, April 3, 2010
WHAT MIGHT JESUS SAY ABOUT OUR GENERATION?
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com.
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. He who has ears, let him hear.
"To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge
and you did not mourn.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ' But wisdom is proved right by her actions."
Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. "Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you."
At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.”
Matthew 11:12-26
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
If Jesus were to return today, what would He say about this generation?
It’s a question we should always think about.
Why?
Because if we would consistently think about it, I think we would continuously be reminded of how much we need to be proactive in carrying out our part of the Great Commission. For Jesus does not expect a passive approach taken toward evangelism but a proactive one.
Our scripture today affirms that.
For as Jesus continues to preach and teach in the towns of Galilee, we see Him speak about those who boldly went forth as spokespeople for the Lord. He said, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. He who has ears, let him hear.”
For ages, God had sent special messengers to share His word and will with others. The prophets, including Ejijah, prophesied until John and then John carried on their work until Jesus came at last…the awaited Messiah…the kingdom of heaven now come to earth and forcefully advancing so that forceful men could lay a hold of it.
So how well are we today in laboring for Jesus and the gospel? Could we consider ourselves as forceful men and women who are ensuring the gospel is forcefully advancing whereever the Lord might have us?
What might Jesus say about our generation?
He didn’t think to favorably about the One He was trying so hard to teach. We know this because of His words. Back to the scriptures where we read Jesus saying, "To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge and you did not mourn.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ' But wisdom is proved right by her actions."
John first had come to announce the pending arrival of Jesus, the One who would “baptize…with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (Matthew 3:11b) But the Jews for the most part chose to not believe and respond. They thought John was crazy.
Then Jesus did come, just as John has prophesied. And yet, despite His consistent display of holy power, the Jews for the most part rejected Him too, eventually falsely accusing Him of blasphemy and seeing that He was executed.
Indeed, Jesus was not happy with the generation which He entered the world in.
Need further proof of that?
Just read on in this passage. For Jesus “began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent”. Specifically, He said:
"Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you."
Obviously, the people had made the wrong choice in not accepting Jesus. And obviously, he wasn’t very happy about it.
Again…what would Jesus say about our generation? About our cities? Our communities? Our neighborhoods?
Friends, if Jesus is going to say positive things about our generation…if we want to find ourselves in His favor, then we had better see ourselves as we are…helpless like little children without Him…dependent on Him in every way. For it is the Father’s good pleasure…and accordingly the Son’s pleasure…to reveal to the humble spiritual truths that disclose their will and way for us…a will and way that takes us into their favor.
With Easter about to dawn again, may we resurrect our efforts for Jesus as He lives again…risen from death to life. It will be the right first steps to allowing Him to speak well of us today and avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. He who has ears, let him hear.
"To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge
and you did not mourn.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ' But wisdom is proved right by her actions."
Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. "Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you."
At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.”
Matthew 11:12-26
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
If Jesus were to return today, what would He say about this generation?
It’s a question we should always think about.
Why?
Because if we would consistently think about it, I think we would continuously be reminded of how much we need to be proactive in carrying out our part of the Great Commission. For Jesus does not expect a passive approach taken toward evangelism but a proactive one.
Our scripture today affirms that.
For as Jesus continues to preach and teach in the towns of Galilee, we see Him speak about those who boldly went forth as spokespeople for the Lord. He said, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. He who has ears, let him hear.”
For ages, God had sent special messengers to share His word and will with others. The prophets, including Ejijah, prophesied until John and then John carried on their work until Jesus came at last…the awaited Messiah…the kingdom of heaven now come to earth and forcefully advancing so that forceful men could lay a hold of it.
So how well are we today in laboring for Jesus and the gospel? Could we consider ourselves as forceful men and women who are ensuring the gospel is forcefully advancing whereever the Lord might have us?
What might Jesus say about our generation?
He didn’t think to favorably about the One He was trying so hard to teach. We know this because of His words. Back to the scriptures where we read Jesus saying, "To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge and you did not mourn.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ' But wisdom is proved right by her actions."
John first had come to announce the pending arrival of Jesus, the One who would “baptize…with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (Matthew 3:11b) But the Jews for the most part chose to not believe and respond. They thought John was crazy.
Then Jesus did come, just as John has prophesied. And yet, despite His consistent display of holy power, the Jews for the most part rejected Him too, eventually falsely accusing Him of blasphemy and seeing that He was executed.
Indeed, Jesus was not happy with the generation which He entered the world in.
Need further proof of that?
Just read on in this passage. For Jesus “began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent”. Specifically, He said:
"Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you."
Obviously, the people had made the wrong choice in not accepting Jesus. And obviously, he wasn’t very happy about it.
Again…what would Jesus say about our generation? About our cities? Our communities? Our neighborhoods?
Friends, if Jesus is going to say positive things about our generation…if we want to find ourselves in His favor, then we had better see ourselves as we are…helpless like little children without Him…dependent on Him in every way. For it is the Father’s good pleasure…and accordingly the Son’s pleasure…to reveal to the humble spiritual truths that disclose their will and way for us…a will and way that takes us into their favor.
With Easter about to dawn again, may we resurrect our efforts for Jesus as He lives again…risen from death to life. It will be the right first steps to allowing Him to speak well of us today and avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
Friday, April 2, 2010
WHAT IS YOUR REPORT?
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com.
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.
When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"
Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
As John's disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: "What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings' palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written:
" 'I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.' I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
Matthew 11:1-11
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Are you a Christian? I mean, are you really a Christian?
Why do I ask?
Because I’m afraid that a lot of people who claim to be Christians suffer from an identity crisis. They say they are associated with Christ but their actions say otherwise…to include the discussions they have with others. Unfortunately, many of those discussions fail to mention that there is any affiliation with Jesus to include no mention of Him.
Question: How can we claim to be of Christ and yet not talk about Him at every opportunity we get?
For as Christians, it is to be Christ first in everything…in our actions…in our words…in our thoughts. Saying we are Christians is saying we are all in with Jesus…He is who we yearn to be like…He is who we wish to identified with…He is the One we want others to see when they look at us.
Yet, way too often, we turn into Peter and act like we don’t know Jesus, disowning Him in the midst of those He sent us out to help save.
So when it comes to Jesus and your association with others daily, what do you do that consistently reports on Him and what He means to you in your life?
This matter of proclaiming about Jesus is at the heart of today’s passage as we begin to look at the 11th chapter of Matthew. There, Jesus had just finished “instructing his twelve disciples” before heading to “teach and preach in the towns of Galilee”.
Meanwhile, John the Baptist, the one who announced the coming of Jesus…the one who baptized him in the Jordan River…finds himself in prison but does hear about what Jesus was doing. And so he sent his disciples to Jesus to ask Him a single question:
“Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"
Wow! What a question. Didn’t John know already who Jesus was? I mean, as soon as he baptized Jesus scripture tells us that “heaven was opened” and “the Spirit of God” descended “like a dove…lighting on him”. And this was followed by a “voice from heaven” which said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:16-17) There should have been little to no doubt who Jesus was or what He could do. And yet, John seemed like he was unsure. For why would you ask if you truly knew that Jesus Christ was the very Son of God…the long expected Messiah who had come to save mankind?
And so Jesus, faced with the question, gave John’s disciples the following reply to take back:
“Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
It was a shame that Jesus had to tell John’s disciples what to report. John had surely heard about what Jesus had done and so it should have went without saying but Jesus still had to assist.
Question: Would you have to ask Jesus about who He is or who He was associated with?
If you are truly a Christian, I would hope not…but if you were unsure what to say, I’m sure Jesus would give you the words to speak just as He did with John’s disciples.
Friends, Jesus is truly the One who was sent by our Heavenly Father to save us from our sins but not before suffering a criminal’s death on Calvary’s cross. In a few days, we’ll celebrate His awesome power on display yet once again as He rises from the tomb and defeats death…ascending to assume His place on the right hand of His Father until He returns.
This is the loving Savior we are to identify with as Christians. This is to be our report….the good news…the answer we are to give “everyone who asks” for “the reason for the hope that (we) have”.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.
When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"
Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
As John's disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: "What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings' palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written:
" 'I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.' I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
Matthew 11:1-11
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Are you a Christian? I mean, are you really a Christian?
Why do I ask?
Because I’m afraid that a lot of people who claim to be Christians suffer from an identity crisis. They say they are associated with Christ but their actions say otherwise…to include the discussions they have with others. Unfortunately, many of those discussions fail to mention that there is any affiliation with Jesus to include no mention of Him.
Question: How can we claim to be of Christ and yet not talk about Him at every opportunity we get?
For as Christians, it is to be Christ first in everything…in our actions…in our words…in our thoughts. Saying we are Christians is saying we are all in with Jesus…He is who we yearn to be like…He is who we wish to identified with…He is the One we want others to see when they look at us.
Yet, way too often, we turn into Peter and act like we don’t know Jesus, disowning Him in the midst of those He sent us out to help save.
So when it comes to Jesus and your association with others daily, what do you do that consistently reports on Him and what He means to you in your life?
This matter of proclaiming about Jesus is at the heart of today’s passage as we begin to look at the 11th chapter of Matthew. There, Jesus had just finished “instructing his twelve disciples” before heading to “teach and preach in the towns of Galilee”.
Meanwhile, John the Baptist, the one who announced the coming of Jesus…the one who baptized him in the Jordan River…finds himself in prison but does hear about what Jesus was doing. And so he sent his disciples to Jesus to ask Him a single question:
“Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"
Wow! What a question. Didn’t John know already who Jesus was? I mean, as soon as he baptized Jesus scripture tells us that “heaven was opened” and “the Spirit of God” descended “like a dove…lighting on him”. And this was followed by a “voice from heaven” which said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:16-17) There should have been little to no doubt who Jesus was or what He could do. And yet, John seemed like he was unsure. For why would you ask if you truly knew that Jesus Christ was the very Son of God…the long expected Messiah who had come to save mankind?
And so Jesus, faced with the question, gave John’s disciples the following reply to take back:
“Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
It was a shame that Jesus had to tell John’s disciples what to report. John had surely heard about what Jesus had done and so it should have went without saying but Jesus still had to assist.
Question: Would you have to ask Jesus about who He is or who He was associated with?
If you are truly a Christian, I would hope not…but if you were unsure what to say, I’m sure Jesus would give you the words to speak just as He did with John’s disciples.
Friends, Jesus is truly the One who was sent by our Heavenly Father to save us from our sins but not before suffering a criminal’s death on Calvary’s cross. In a few days, we’ll celebrate His awesome power on display yet once again as He rises from the tomb and defeats death…ascending to assume His place on the right hand of His Father until He returns.
This is the loving Savior we are to identify with as Christians. This is to be our report….the good news…the answer we are to give “everyone who asks” for “the reason for the hope that (we) have”.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
A CHANGE IS REQUIRED
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com.
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”
"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law - a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' “
"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
"He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."
Matthew 10:32-42
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As we have examined in an earlier scripture from Matthew Chapter 10, life with Jesus in it is far from business as usual. Indeed, even today we find different parts of society and our world at odds over the very mention of Jesus’ name…such is the conviction of those who love Him…and such is the conviction of those who hate Him.
Through all this conflict, one thing is certain. In order to follow Jesus and do it properly, change is required.
If you doubt that, then you only need to go to 2nd Corinthians, Chapter 5, verse 17. It simply says:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
Christ is synonymous with change…for he requires us to turn from the world and its ways and instead give ourselves over to Him…sacrificing fully as He sacrificed for us.
So what if we decide to not fully turn ourselves over to Him? It’s not advisable.
For hear these words of Jesus from our scripture today:
"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”
Deciding we wish to belong to the world more than our Savior is simply akin to disowning Him…deciding that we desire something more than Him. Our Lord will not settle for that. So in exchange for our disowning, He does some disowning of His own…and His is far more damaging.
Can you picture this scene?
You pass away and as you come before the Father, Jesus tells Him, I don’t know him or her. And with that, you are rejected from eternal life…having lost the justification that comes in Jesus. For being justified can be thought of as being “just as if I had never sinned”…and we only get there through the cleansing, reconciling blood of Christ shed on Calvary’s cross. His blood, just as the blood of the lamb spread on the door posts in Egypt spared the children of Israel from death, spares us from death from sin and spurs us on to eternity…atoned and forgiven.
How could we possibly choose to disown Jesus with so much at stake?
Well, sometimes we are pressured by others. For standing up for the cause of Jesus is not going to be accepted by everyone…even by those in your own family. For at times, the name of Jesus doesn’t bring peace but rather conflict. Again, look at these words from our passage:
"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law - a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' “
I think I have shared my testimony about my own father who disowned me for a year and a half after learning that my fiancee was African-American. But the root of his problem wasn’t embedded in bias or prejudice. No…the root of his problem was that he didn’t have Jesus in his life. And so as Grace and I continued to respond to my father in love and mercy and grace and forgiveness, something miraculous happened. My father was overcome by Jesus himself and has been a changed man for 17 years now.
What started as conflict, ended in peace…because my father accepted and received the Prince of Peace into his heart, mind and soul.
I hate to imagine what might have happened had we decided to disown Christ to try and make amends with my father. Actually, I don’t need to imagine. Scripture tells me that Grace and I would have been disowned by Jesus.
This is why we need to know our bible and the wisdom within. So we can make the right and proper decisions when faced with life’s circumstances.
But Jesus doesn’t just want our loyalty. For just adhering to loyalty can simply be done through a sense of duty…like I am loyal because I have to be.
Jesus desires more than that. He desires our love and our life…all of it.
For again, look at the scripture
"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
I often tell people that I would never put anyone or anybody ahead of Jesus…not my wife…not my parents…not my two daughters…not any of my four siblings. No one gets my first love but Him.
When I do share this with others, I often hear people say, “I’m not quite ready to do that yet. I love my (fill in the blank with the object of their desire) too much.” Still others look at me like I’m crazy. And that’s just what the worldly view would be.
For the world has us placing all our love on the perishable…so much so that when we lose the one we love so much…we are left with a void. I can’t count how many people I have ministered to who were simply laid to waste because they had lost a father, mother, husband, wife or child. They ended up that way because they had their love invested in all the wrong places.
We shouldn’t make this hard. We give Jesus all our love and in return He sends His love through us to others. This allows us to not love off of our own desires but rather the desires of the Perfect Son of God…the One who loved sacrificially first so we would know how to do it ourselves.
How do we get there?
We retrace the steps of Jesus in our own lives. We take up our cross and walk with Him to the place where He gave up everything, willing to lose our life as well. Anyone who is not willing to do this is not worthy of Jesus or what He brings. And they can keep the ways of the world, losing an eternal life that was right at their fingertips.
Loyalty…love…and life. Jesus expects us to give all of them to Him. In opposition to this, the world would have us save some of any or all these for ourselves.
Friends, this is why we need to remember above all things that a change is required when one chooses to accept Jesus.
How well have you done in surrendering all to Him as He surrendered all for you?
It’s a question you would be well advised to answer soon.
Your very ticket to eternity is at stake.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”
"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law - a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' “
"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
"He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."
Matthew 10:32-42
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As we have examined in an earlier scripture from Matthew Chapter 10, life with Jesus in it is far from business as usual. Indeed, even today we find different parts of society and our world at odds over the very mention of Jesus’ name…such is the conviction of those who love Him…and such is the conviction of those who hate Him.
Through all this conflict, one thing is certain. In order to follow Jesus and do it properly, change is required.
If you doubt that, then you only need to go to 2nd Corinthians, Chapter 5, verse 17. It simply says:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
Christ is synonymous with change…for he requires us to turn from the world and its ways and instead give ourselves over to Him…sacrificing fully as He sacrificed for us.
So what if we decide to not fully turn ourselves over to Him? It’s not advisable.
For hear these words of Jesus from our scripture today:
"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”
Deciding we wish to belong to the world more than our Savior is simply akin to disowning Him…deciding that we desire something more than Him. Our Lord will not settle for that. So in exchange for our disowning, He does some disowning of His own…and His is far more damaging.
Can you picture this scene?
You pass away and as you come before the Father, Jesus tells Him, I don’t know him or her. And with that, you are rejected from eternal life…having lost the justification that comes in Jesus. For being justified can be thought of as being “just as if I had never sinned”…and we only get there through the cleansing, reconciling blood of Christ shed on Calvary’s cross. His blood, just as the blood of the lamb spread on the door posts in Egypt spared the children of Israel from death, spares us from death from sin and spurs us on to eternity…atoned and forgiven.
How could we possibly choose to disown Jesus with so much at stake?
Well, sometimes we are pressured by others. For standing up for the cause of Jesus is not going to be accepted by everyone…even by those in your own family. For at times, the name of Jesus doesn’t bring peace but rather conflict. Again, look at these words from our passage:
"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law - a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' “
I think I have shared my testimony about my own father who disowned me for a year and a half after learning that my fiancee was African-American. But the root of his problem wasn’t embedded in bias or prejudice. No…the root of his problem was that he didn’t have Jesus in his life. And so as Grace and I continued to respond to my father in love and mercy and grace and forgiveness, something miraculous happened. My father was overcome by Jesus himself and has been a changed man for 17 years now.
What started as conflict, ended in peace…because my father accepted and received the Prince of Peace into his heart, mind and soul.
I hate to imagine what might have happened had we decided to disown Christ to try and make amends with my father. Actually, I don’t need to imagine. Scripture tells me that Grace and I would have been disowned by Jesus.
This is why we need to know our bible and the wisdom within. So we can make the right and proper decisions when faced with life’s circumstances.
But Jesus doesn’t just want our loyalty. For just adhering to loyalty can simply be done through a sense of duty…like I am loyal because I have to be.
Jesus desires more than that. He desires our love and our life…all of it.
For again, look at the scripture
"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
I often tell people that I would never put anyone or anybody ahead of Jesus…not my wife…not my parents…not my two daughters…not any of my four siblings. No one gets my first love but Him.
When I do share this with others, I often hear people say, “I’m not quite ready to do that yet. I love my (fill in the blank with the object of their desire) too much.” Still others look at me like I’m crazy. And that’s just what the worldly view would be.
For the world has us placing all our love on the perishable…so much so that when we lose the one we love so much…we are left with a void. I can’t count how many people I have ministered to who were simply laid to waste because they had lost a father, mother, husband, wife or child. They ended up that way because they had their love invested in all the wrong places.
We shouldn’t make this hard. We give Jesus all our love and in return He sends His love through us to others. This allows us to not love off of our own desires but rather the desires of the Perfect Son of God…the One who loved sacrificially first so we would know how to do it ourselves.
How do we get there?
We retrace the steps of Jesus in our own lives. We take up our cross and walk with Him to the place where He gave up everything, willing to lose our life as well. Anyone who is not willing to do this is not worthy of Jesus or what He brings. And they can keep the ways of the world, losing an eternal life that was right at their fingertips.
Loyalty…love…and life. Jesus expects us to give all of them to Him. In opposition to this, the world would have us save some of any or all these for ourselves.
Friends, this is why we need to remember above all things that a change is required when one chooses to accept Jesus.
How well have you done in surrendering all to Him as He surrendered all for you?
It’s a question you would be well advised to answer soon.
Your very ticket to eternity is at stake.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
Monday, March 29, 2010
YOU COUNT!
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com.
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
Matthew 10:29-31
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Have you ever questioned your worth in this world?
If so, you’re not alone.
For we seem to live in a time when everyone wants to size themselves up against something.
We examine the way people look and question whether we’re as attractive, conscious about nearly every aspect of our physical appearance. Sometimes the mirror can be our worst enemy and yet we can’t help but look.
We examine the way people dress and wonder if we’re en vogue ourselves. It seems like we can’t be satisfied unless we’re in alignment with the latest fashion trends.
We gauge our success against the amount of money we have…or the job we hold…or the home we live in…or the car we drive. And it seems like we can never be completely comfortable with where we stand against our contemporaries.
So where does this leave us?
Unsatisfied…self conscious…stressed…impatient…unconfident…always coveting something greater…something better.
Sound familiar? Maybe you’re there now.
Well, in our scripture today, Jesus has words of encouragement to those of us who feel like we fall short. For we are not to worry about how the world sees us…but rather how the Lord sees us.
Jesus tells His disciples…and us as well…, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
Have you ever compared yourself to a sparrow?
I didn’t think so.
And yet, Jesus chooses something so simple…something so fundamental to underscore an important truth.
Sparrows were so prevalent that they were sold for a very small price (two for a penny) but despite their meager cost, Jesus tells us that they still mattered a great deal to God. In fact, His will would determine when they would cease to fly.
So what about us then? If sparrows count so much to God, then how much more will we…those He created in His own image…those who are His children.
Indeed, God our Father cares for us so much that He knows every hair that is on our head. Scripture tells us they are all numbered!
So Jesus’ point is well taken. If the sparrows count so much do God, then how much more worth do we hold for Him?
Immeasurable worth.
So what are we so worried about?
If God cares for us so much, then why are we worried about what others think? How others judge us? How we judge ourselves?
Friends, we must realize that Satan would like nothing more than to have every one of God’s treasured children feel inadequate…unpopular…unwanted…unloved. Satan wants us to yearn and covet more and more and more and more…seeking everything the world has to offer. He would have us gauge happiness by this.
And as he succeeds in taking us to a place where we persistently yearn for the things of the world, he successfully steals us away from realizing all the blessings that God has given.
In other words, we lose sight of how blessed we really are.
So what do we do with this scripture…these valuable words of our Savior?
We store them away in our hearts and minds forever…and we never ever forget that to God, our Father, we count!
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
Matthew 10:29-31
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Have you ever questioned your worth in this world?
If so, you’re not alone.
For we seem to live in a time when everyone wants to size themselves up against something.
We examine the way people look and question whether we’re as attractive, conscious about nearly every aspect of our physical appearance. Sometimes the mirror can be our worst enemy and yet we can’t help but look.
We examine the way people dress and wonder if we’re en vogue ourselves. It seems like we can’t be satisfied unless we’re in alignment with the latest fashion trends.
We gauge our success against the amount of money we have…or the job we hold…or the home we live in…or the car we drive. And it seems like we can never be completely comfortable with where we stand against our contemporaries.
So where does this leave us?
Unsatisfied…self conscious…stressed…impatient…unconfident…always coveting something greater…something better.
Sound familiar? Maybe you’re there now.
Well, in our scripture today, Jesus has words of encouragement to those of us who feel like we fall short. For we are not to worry about how the world sees us…but rather how the Lord sees us.
Jesus tells His disciples…and us as well…, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
Have you ever compared yourself to a sparrow?
I didn’t think so.
And yet, Jesus chooses something so simple…something so fundamental to underscore an important truth.
Sparrows were so prevalent that they were sold for a very small price (two for a penny) but despite their meager cost, Jesus tells us that they still mattered a great deal to God. In fact, His will would determine when they would cease to fly.
So what about us then? If sparrows count so much to God, then how much more will we…those He created in His own image…those who are His children.
Indeed, God our Father cares for us so much that He knows every hair that is on our head. Scripture tells us they are all numbered!
So Jesus’ point is well taken. If the sparrows count so much do God, then how much more worth do we hold for Him?
Immeasurable worth.
So what are we so worried about?
If God cares for us so much, then why are we worried about what others think? How others judge us? How we judge ourselves?
Friends, we must realize that Satan would like nothing more than to have every one of God’s treasured children feel inadequate…unpopular…unwanted…unloved. Satan wants us to yearn and covet more and more and more and more…seeking everything the world has to offer. He would have us gauge happiness by this.
And as he succeeds in taking us to a place where we persistently yearn for the things of the world, he successfully steals us away from realizing all the blessings that God has given.
In other words, we lose sight of how blessed we really are.
So what do we do with this scripture…these valuable words of our Savior?
We store them away in our hearts and minds forever…and we never ever forget that to God, our Father, we count!
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
Sunday, March 28, 2010
WHAT WE SHOULD BE AFRAID OF
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com.
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of Me, but He who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”
"A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!”
“So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Matthew 10:21-28
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In Chapter 10 of the gospel of Matthew, we have seen Jesus give His disciples a primer on evangelism, specifically instructing them on what they are to do and warning them as to what they can expect.
Up to today’s passage, one thing has become clear.
The coming of Jesus and His teaching disrupted the world He entered into. And life became far departed from business as usual.
In today’s scripture, Jesus tells us that even families would be shaken to the core because of Him with brother betraying brother to death…fathers betraying their children…and children rebelling against their parents, having them put to death. Because of Jesus, all men would hate the disciples.
So why would anyone want to sign up for work like that?
Because there was more at stake than just being liked or disliked…more on the line than life in the here and now.
For Jesus promised His disciples that anyone who stood “firm to the end” would be saved. For in Christ, life would not end in death but only begin eternally. And the salvation of those needing saved was well worth the danger encountered in trying to help them find that salvation.
Friends, this is the essence of what Jesus lived and died for. Jesus didn’t give up when things got hard. He didn’t quit when people hated Him. No, He carried on…moving from one place to another until His mission was complete. He expected the disciples to follow His lead…to model the ways of their Teacher and Master.
Yes, the world in the days of the disciples was a scary place. For as hard as Christ was working to save souls, Satan was working equally hard to ruin them…and he used whoever he could to make that happen.
But in the midst of situations that were harrowing, Jesus provided assurance saying, “…do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.” No matter how people might scheme against the disciples, their plots would be exposed.
No…the disciples were not to be afraid of man…for man could only kill the body and not the soul.
Instead, the disciples should be afraid of their Father who held the power to “destroy both soul and body in hell.” In other words, disobedience to God’s call would be far worse than anything that man could ever do.
So how about us today? How well are we responding as disciples commanded to share the gospel message of Jesus? Are we going out boldly, confident in the One who is sending us…the One who is ever with us…guiding, leading and speaking? Or do we refrain from our responsibility as disciples because we are afraid? And if we are afraid, what exactly are we afraid of?
Friends, the world is still a scary place to live. Families are still at odds internally for the cause of Christ. People still hate the disciples of Jesus, even enough to kill them. Satan still works hard to counter any of the Lord’s best efforts to win salvation for lost souls. Not a whole lot has changed.
But equally, Jesus still expects us to be unafraid of man…who can destroy the body but not the soul…and be afraid of God who can destroy body and soul in hell if we choose to not respond in obedience to the call of Christ to go forth and make disciples of all nations.
I don’t know about you but given a choice between damnation and salvation, I’m choosing salvation every time.
There’s much work to be done. Let’s get to it…unafraid.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of Me, but He who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”
"A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!”
“So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Matthew 10:21-28
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In Chapter 10 of the gospel of Matthew, we have seen Jesus give His disciples a primer on evangelism, specifically instructing them on what they are to do and warning them as to what they can expect.
Up to today’s passage, one thing has become clear.
The coming of Jesus and His teaching disrupted the world He entered into. And life became far departed from business as usual.
In today’s scripture, Jesus tells us that even families would be shaken to the core because of Him with brother betraying brother to death…fathers betraying their children…and children rebelling against their parents, having them put to death. Because of Jesus, all men would hate the disciples.
So why would anyone want to sign up for work like that?
Because there was more at stake than just being liked or disliked…more on the line than life in the here and now.
For Jesus promised His disciples that anyone who stood “firm to the end” would be saved. For in Christ, life would not end in death but only begin eternally. And the salvation of those needing saved was well worth the danger encountered in trying to help them find that salvation.
Friends, this is the essence of what Jesus lived and died for. Jesus didn’t give up when things got hard. He didn’t quit when people hated Him. No, He carried on…moving from one place to another until His mission was complete. He expected the disciples to follow His lead…to model the ways of their Teacher and Master.
Yes, the world in the days of the disciples was a scary place. For as hard as Christ was working to save souls, Satan was working equally hard to ruin them…and he used whoever he could to make that happen.
But in the midst of situations that were harrowing, Jesus provided assurance saying, “…do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.” No matter how people might scheme against the disciples, their plots would be exposed.
No…the disciples were not to be afraid of man…for man could only kill the body and not the soul.
Instead, the disciples should be afraid of their Father who held the power to “destroy both soul and body in hell.” In other words, disobedience to God’s call would be far worse than anything that man could ever do.
So how about us today? How well are we responding as disciples commanded to share the gospel message of Jesus? Are we going out boldly, confident in the One who is sending us…the One who is ever with us…guiding, leading and speaking? Or do we refrain from our responsibility as disciples because we are afraid? And if we are afraid, what exactly are we afraid of?
Friends, the world is still a scary place to live. Families are still at odds internally for the cause of Christ. People still hate the disciples of Jesus, even enough to kill them. Satan still works hard to counter any of the Lord’s best efforts to win salvation for lost souls. Not a whole lot has changed.
But equally, Jesus still expects us to be unafraid of man…who can destroy the body but not the soul…and be afraid of God who can destroy body and soul in hell if we choose to not respond in obedience to the call of Christ to go forth and make disciples of all nations.
I don’t know about you but given a choice between damnation and salvation, I’m choosing salvation every time.
There’s much work to be done. Let’s get to it…unafraid.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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