Matthew 7
The Sermon on the Mount
Vs. 28-29
When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching;
for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
The conclusion of this Sermon is that the people were astonished and amazed with how Jesus was instructing them. He had the authority to tell them without refering back to any other teachers. His references were to how they had understood the Law in the past, but He was presenting to them a new view.
It was so astonishing to them, because only the Lawgiver Himself could revise and correct their understanding of how the Law actually affected them. Jesus was that Lawgiver Who had given the tablets to Moses in the first place. So He did have the authority to revise how they were to consider how the Law works.
Being amazed and astonished is natural, but did their astonishment keep them from hearing the import of what He was saying? Did they actually listen to Him? Did they hear what they needed to do, how they were to live their lives? Jesus had told them that to hear but not do would be disastrous (v. 27).
From then on, there were great crowds that followed Him.
He has now laid out the program for the Kingdom of God, how it will look on this Earth when He sits on the "throne of David" and rules as the King of the World. And He attracted multitudes of people to hear Him teach. They were hungry to hear God's words, since there had been no Word from God for over 400 years.
This Sermon has jump-started His public ministry, and He will now go about doing what the Prophets had prophesied what Messiah would do. He would spend only three years doing this as an itinerant preacher, then He will fulfill the sacrificial laws in His death.
Since He is the One Who is the Lord God of the Old Testament, and He knew what He would do when He came to redeem us, He was able to tell the Prophets what to write, so that when He came He could prove Who He is to us.
And He gave the Law to Moses to prepare His people to recognize the Lamb of God, and what He would accomplish as our personal Sacrifice, and as the Bread of Life, and as the Owner and Judge of us all.
And His life and death and Resurrection proves to us that He is the One to follow, to believe, to trust, and to love. He has also revealed to us the Father and the Spirit.
O my Father, thank You so much for loving us so much that You gave Your most Precious--Your own Son. You gave Him even before You created, knowing that we would need a Savior in order to live with You. You had it all planned out, Father; You designed it all and had all creation operate according to Your Laws.
You decided to give us a free choice so that we could freely choose to love you back. But not all of us choose to do so. You knew this, too. But knowing this does not lesson Your great Love for us all. Your offer is still extended to every person alive.
O Father, please continue to send out workers into Your missionary fields, to find all the lost sheep who are seeking You. You knew that I was seeking You, even though I didn't know it was You I was looking for. Now help me to be Your hands and feet to share with others Who You are and what You want to do for them, too.
Jesus prayed three times, when He came down to actually doing it, that if it was possible for us to live with you without His suffering, to not make Him go through with it. But He knew there was no other way. He knew that this was the Plan from the get go. So He did it. He suffered for me, and for all Mankind, and for all creation.
Jesus, You are mine and I am yours in a three-fold hold: You made me; You bought me; and You redeemed me from sin. You will do with me whatever You will, and I want You to. Because I trust You; I trust Your goodness, Your wisdom, Your authority over me. I trust that You have only my best in mind, and that You are leading me in the right way, the Righteous path, that leads to Light and Life.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
What Is Your Foundation?
Matthew 7
The Sermon on the Mount
Vs. 24-27, Foundation for life
Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall for it had been founded on the rock.
Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and great was its fall.
This story is very interesting, in that these two men both built their dream houses to live in with their families, and probably furnished them nicely, and were both comfortably living in them.
Then the same storms came to both of them alike; the same rains, the same floods, the same hurricane winds to batter them both alike. The only difference was in the foundations they chose to build their houses on.
The wise man chose to formulate his lifestyle on the basis of The Rock (see I Corinthians 10:4), God's Word. The foolish man chose to trust the World's theories and theses. They both lived lives that were respectable.
But when the storms of life hit them both, the wise man continued to stand (Ephesians 6:13), while the foolish man was knocked for a loop and completely destroyed (and great was its fall).
God's Truth is a Rock that we can firmly base our lives on, not like the shifting sands of this World's philosophies and sciences.
So what is your life's foundation? If you start with error (not Truth), then the longer you go the farther you get from the Truth. But if you are on the narrow, confined footpath with your hand firmly in your Father's, then He will lead you straight on, and He will be your strength in fighting the battles of life.
I study God's Scriptures, and I have chosen to believe that every word is accurate and every story and teaching is True. So I trust in them; they are my answer for every question, they give me the solution to every problem, and they furnish me purpose and worth to give me confidence when the World around me is storming and attacking. I stand firm on Christ, my Redeemer and Lord.
O my Father, thank You for Your wonderful written Word, and Your amazing grace to grant me Your own Spirit to dwell in my spirit permanently. You have promised me that You would never leave me, and You have kept Your promise: through all the turmoil, all the sorrow and mourning, through all the waiting; through all the testings of this school of life, this vale of tears.
I know that the pressures You allow in this World are making me into Your diamond. All the lessons You are teaching me will stand me in good stead when I "graduate" and receive the "adoption" (Romans 8:23), which will be the new, spiritual body that will swallow up my mortal, corporeal body I'm living in now (see I Corinthians 15:35-58, especially vs. 50, 52-54).
Father, Your goodness to me is so gracious, You are so gentle and compassionate; teach me to also show Your grace and gentleness and compassion to others--that I may be Christ to those who need to see Him.
And every eye will see, and every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that You alone are God. And You will receive all the blessing, all the honor, all the glory, all the power, all the riches, all the wisdom, and all the strength.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
The Sermon on the Mount
Vs. 24-27, Foundation for life
Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall for it had been founded on the rock.
Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and great was its fall.
This story is very interesting, in that these two men both built their dream houses to live in with their families, and probably furnished them nicely, and were both comfortably living in them.
Then the same storms came to both of them alike; the same rains, the same floods, the same hurricane winds to batter them both alike. The only difference was in the foundations they chose to build their houses on.
The wise man chose to formulate his lifestyle on the basis of The Rock (see I Corinthians 10:4), God's Word. The foolish man chose to trust the World's theories and theses. They both lived lives that were respectable.
But when the storms of life hit them both, the wise man continued to stand (Ephesians 6:13), while the foolish man was knocked for a loop and completely destroyed (and great was its fall).
God's Truth is a Rock that we can firmly base our lives on, not like the shifting sands of this World's philosophies and sciences.
So what is your life's foundation? If you start with error (not Truth), then the longer you go the farther you get from the Truth. But if you are on the narrow, confined footpath with your hand firmly in your Father's, then He will lead you straight on, and He will be your strength in fighting the battles of life.
I study God's Scriptures, and I have chosen to believe that every word is accurate and every story and teaching is True. So I trust in them; they are my answer for every question, they give me the solution to every problem, and they furnish me purpose and worth to give me confidence when the World around me is storming and attacking. I stand firm on Christ, my Redeemer and Lord.
O my Father, thank You for Your wonderful written Word, and Your amazing grace to grant me Your own Spirit to dwell in my spirit permanently. You have promised me that You would never leave me, and You have kept Your promise: through all the turmoil, all the sorrow and mourning, through all the waiting; through all the testings of this school of life, this vale of tears.
I know that the pressures You allow in this World are making me into Your diamond. All the lessons You are teaching me will stand me in good stead when I "graduate" and receive the "adoption" (Romans 8:23), which will be the new, spiritual body that will swallow up my mortal, corporeal body I'm living in now (see I Corinthians 15:35-58, especially vs. 50, 52-54).
Father, Your goodness to me is so gracious, You are so gentle and compassionate; teach me to also show Your grace and gentleness and compassion to others--that I may be Christ to those who need to see Him.
And every eye will see, and every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that You alone are God. And You will receive all the blessing, all the honor, all the glory, all the power, all the riches, all the wisdom, and all the strength.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, March 11, 2019
Lord, Lord ...
Matthew 7
The Sermon on the Mount
Vs. 21-23, Lord, Lord ...
Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven will enter.
Many will say to Me on that Day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your Name, and in Your Name cast out demons, and in Your Name perform many miracles?
And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.
There are many who think they are Christians, who are doing all kinds of ministry-type things that they think should please God. But they never did actually avail themselves of the Salvation He offers through His Son.
Jesus came to be the Lamb of God to fulfill the Old Testament. The first thing God wanted the Levites (the Teachers of Israel) to teach them was the Personal Sacrifice (Leviticus chapter 1). When Jesus' Blood splattered the sides of His altar, the Cross, He fulfilled this Sacrifice. So He must be Your personal Sacrifice, dying in your stead; for His Blood to cleanse you, the Father to forgive you, and to receive the Holy Spirit permanently in your spirit. That is being "born again," receiving Life, similar to having received human life by being born of your mother.
This is the first thing that must be accomplished in order to have communication with God, and know what His will is for you to do.
Many preachers, pastors, priests, and religious leaders today have never realized that Jesus would have taken their place in death, so have never been "born" spiritually, and are doing things to try to earn their way to Heaven.
That's why Jesus will tell them that He never knew them, because they never knew Him, just of Him. And all the stuff they were doing were in their own, human power, and not acceptable to God, having never been cleansed from sin.
Jesus was asked:
Before we are alive we cannot do anything at all for God. Everything we do is for ourselves, or for our benefit, to earn something.
O my Father, please open the eyes, minds, and hearts of those who think they are Christians to realize their culpability before You and allow Your Son to be their Savior. I pray especially for my own loved ones, my family members and friends. And I also pray for all Your lost sheep who haven't been found yet.
Please send more workers into Your fields, the mission fields of the World, to reach all those who are seeking You; as I once sought You, not knowing that it was You I was seeking.
And help Your children to joyfully follow You in the narrow path You are leading us along. Continue to hold my hand firmly, never letting me pull away, or wander off; or turn to the right or left.
And Your Name will be praised and glorified for all You have done, my dear, wonderful, powerful, deserving God and King and Lord.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
The Sermon on the Mount
Vs. 21-23, Lord, Lord ...
Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven will enter.
Many will say to Me on that Day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your Name, and in Your Name cast out demons, and in Your Name perform many miracles?
And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.
There are many who think they are Christians, who are doing all kinds of ministry-type things that they think should please God. But they never did actually avail themselves of the Salvation He offers through His Son.
Jesus came to be the Lamb of God to fulfill the Old Testament. The first thing God wanted the Levites (the Teachers of Israel) to teach them was the Personal Sacrifice (Leviticus chapter 1). When Jesus' Blood splattered the sides of His altar, the Cross, He fulfilled this Sacrifice. So He must be Your personal Sacrifice, dying in your stead; for His Blood to cleanse you, the Father to forgive you, and to receive the Holy Spirit permanently in your spirit. That is being "born again," receiving Life, similar to having received human life by being born of your mother.
This is the first thing that must be accomplished in order to have communication with God, and know what His will is for you to do.
Many preachers, pastors, priests, and religious leaders today have never realized that Jesus would have taken their place in death, so have never been "born" spiritually, and are doing things to try to earn their way to Heaven.
That's why Jesus will tell them that He never knew them, because they never knew Him, just of Him. And all the stuff they were doing were in their own, human power, and not acceptable to God, having never been cleansed from sin.
Jesus was asked:
What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom He has sent.To believe is to trust Jesus to have taken your death for you individually (because God saves people one-by-one). That's the first "work of God" He wants us to do. Then we will be alive spiritually, and able to do everything else He wants us to do.
Before we are alive we cannot do anything at all for God. Everything we do is for ourselves, or for our benefit, to earn something.
O my Father, please open the eyes, minds, and hearts of those who think they are Christians to realize their culpability before You and allow Your Son to be their Savior. I pray especially for my own loved ones, my family members and friends. And I also pray for all Your lost sheep who haven't been found yet.
Please send more workers into Your fields, the mission fields of the World, to reach all those who are seeking You; as I once sought You, not knowing that it was You I was seeking.
And help Your children to joyfully follow You in the narrow path You are leading us along. Continue to hold my hand firmly, never letting me pull away, or wander off; or turn to the right or left.
And Your Name will be praised and glorified for all You have done, my dear, wonderful, powerful, deserving God and King and Lord.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, March 10, 2019
False Prophets
Matthew 7
The Sermon on the Mount
Vs. 15-20, False Prophets
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorns? or figs from thistles?
Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit.
A good tree cannot bring forth bad fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire.
Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them.
Jesus often used horticultural illustrations, because He lived in an agrarian, farming and ranching society. But we get His drift here.
If a fruit tree is diseased or otherwise not healthy, then the fruit it produces could be poison. In any case, it's not any good for food, so the tree would only be used for fire wood.
Healthy trees produce delicious and nutritious fruits. But you can't tell what quality of fruit a tree will produce by just looking at its leaves, you must see what it produces.
So we are to be "fruit inspectors."
False prophets and teachers come "in sheep's clothing," disguising themselves as God's people; but when you look at their lives, what do you see? How are their families functioning? What do they pursue in their off-time? What is going on behind closed doors?
When we have public personnas we live in glass houses. Our lives are open to public scrutiny. And that's right. We should not have anything to hide, because we can't hide anything from God, anyway.
So we are to check out who we are listening to, do our due diligence on our resources, to see if these teachers really are faithful to God's word, or if they're really "ravening wolves" who are only out to shear the sheep.
We are vulnerable to being sucked into the attitudes of the people we listen to. So we want to hold their teachings in abeyance until we can study God's written Word to see if what they are saying really is true. Paul called the Bereans "more noble" because they didn't take even him at his word, but checked out everything he said against Scripture (Acts 17:11). We are to do the same.
If the teacher you are listening to says anything that contradicts what God has made clear, then that shows you that this is not a man of God. Don't let him or her lead you off the narrow way; don't climb the fence or break through the hedge that hems in that road to follow something that "tickles your ears."
I have done my best to hear what God says in His Word, but if you find anything in any of my opinions or conclusions, then please call me on it. Tell me where I've mistaken God's intent, and I will check it out. I want to be faithful to my Lord Jesus Christ, and lead my readers to Him, not away from Him.
O my Father, please help me to be accurate in everything I say, that You would be lifted up in Truth and Love. Father, if anyone finds anything here that disquiets their spirit, then give them the courage to speak up. And let me accept their criticism and follow up on their comments, "to see whether these things are true."
And may Your Name be lifted up, Father, and may Your reputation be maintained. You have opened the window to let us see Who You are, and we want to see an accurate picture of You.
Father, I know that what You have showed us of Yourself is like a tiny drip from the ocean; but let that glimpse be True. Help us to know You, Father, not our idea of who we want You to be.
And every eye will see, every knee will bow, and every tongue in every language will confess that You are the King over all kings, the Lord over all lords, and God alone, over all other gods that have ever been worshiped. You alone deserve all worship and adoration, all praise and glory and credit and honor and majesty are Yours alone.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
The Sermon on the Mount
Vs. 15-20, False Prophets
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorns? or figs from thistles?
Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit.
A good tree cannot bring forth bad fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire.
Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them.
Jesus often used horticultural illustrations, because He lived in an agrarian, farming and ranching society. But we get His drift here.
If a fruit tree is diseased or otherwise not healthy, then the fruit it produces could be poison. In any case, it's not any good for food, so the tree would only be used for fire wood.
Healthy trees produce delicious and nutritious fruits. But you can't tell what quality of fruit a tree will produce by just looking at its leaves, you must see what it produces.
So we are to be "fruit inspectors."
False prophets and teachers come "in sheep's clothing," disguising themselves as God's people; but when you look at their lives, what do you see? How are their families functioning? What do they pursue in their off-time? What is going on behind closed doors?
When we have public personnas we live in glass houses. Our lives are open to public scrutiny. And that's right. We should not have anything to hide, because we can't hide anything from God, anyway.
So we are to check out who we are listening to, do our due diligence on our resources, to see if these teachers really are faithful to God's word, or if they're really "ravening wolves" who are only out to shear the sheep.
We are vulnerable to being sucked into the attitudes of the people we listen to. So we want to hold their teachings in abeyance until we can study God's written Word to see if what they are saying really is true. Paul called the Bereans "more noble" because they didn't take even him at his word, but checked out everything he said against Scripture (Acts 17:11). We are to do the same.
If the teacher you are listening to says anything that contradicts what God has made clear, then that shows you that this is not a man of God. Don't let him or her lead you off the narrow way; don't climb the fence or break through the hedge that hems in that road to follow something that "tickles your ears."
I have done my best to hear what God says in His Word, but if you find anything in any of my opinions or conclusions, then please call me on it. Tell me where I've mistaken God's intent, and I will check it out. I want to be faithful to my Lord Jesus Christ, and lead my readers to Him, not away from Him.
O my Father, please help me to be accurate in everything I say, that You would be lifted up in Truth and Love. Father, if anyone finds anything here that disquiets their spirit, then give them the courage to speak up. And let me accept their criticism and follow up on their comments, "to see whether these things are true."
And may Your Name be lifted up, Father, and may Your reputation be maintained. You have opened the window to let us see Who You are, and we want to see an accurate picture of You.
Father, I know that what You have showed us of Yourself is like a tiny drip from the ocean; but let that glimpse be True. Help us to know You, Father, not our idea of who we want You to be.
And every eye will see, every knee will bow, and every tongue in every language will confess that You are the King over all kings, the Lord over all lords, and God alone, over all other gods that have ever been worshiped. You alone deserve all worship and adoration, all praise and glory and credit and honor and majesty are Yours alone.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, March 9, 2019
The Narrow Gate
Matthew 7
The Sermon on the Mount
Vs. 13-14, The Narrow Gate
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
So we are to look for that small gate, that opens to a narrow, hemmed-in path. This sounds like the awful, constraining lifestyle that the World disdains.
That's why most people will pass it by, and go through the wide gate. The broad way (Broadway!) is totally loose and free, and allows all kinds of damaging and destructive lifestyles. So it's very seductive and misleading, and those people will be destroyed by it.
But the people who are honestly seeking Light and Truth will find that narrow gate, and they will know that all the hedges and fences along that narrow way are there to keep them on the path. So they will be able to experience all the wonderful and glorious bounty God put on this Earth fur us to enjoy, and eternal life with God forever.
O my Father, You are so good to us, to all of us, to all that You have made. You have offered every single person You made to choose to come to You, but there are so few who do, compared to the many who do not.
You have allowed the enemy so much influence, to have Mankind build his World to be so seductive to draw us away from You. Now we are tempted by the World, and our own defective DNA, as well as our enemy. Three directions of attack aimed at each one of us.
It's no wonder that the many refuse the narrow path for Broadway and Main Street. Father, You want to give us true freedom, that liberty that allows us to choose what is right and wholesome and freeing. To bypass all the consequences of their poor choices, just as You told Your people (in Exodus 15:26),
O Father, You love us so much! You want us to have good, productive, healthy, bountiful, joyful lives here on this beautiful Earth You made for us!
So many of Your children do not understand Your ways enough to enjoy the blessings You want to lavish upon them. Some have even swallowed the enemy's lie that "alternative lifestyles" are "normal"!
Thank You, Father, for giving me the years to study Your Word, and Your Spirit of Truth to teach me Your ways. Thank You for opening my eyes to see how Your commandments and precepts and statutes protect me from so many horrible consequences! Just like a child in a fenced yard has a barrier between him and the traffic in the street on the other side of the fence. He's not restricted, he's protected.
And I am protected, and have been freed to enjoy Your wonderful blessings! O Father, show all Your children how the liberty You provide them is so much better than the license the World offers. Your freedom leads to Life eternal, but license only leads to death, eternal separation from Life.
Father, please send more workers into Your fields that are ripe and ready to be harvested. Protect those who have already gone out into the most difficult and dangerous fields; lead them to Your lost sheep who are seeking You, and protect them from the dogs and swine who are looking to destroy them.
Send me, Father, to the fields that You have prepared for me to connect with, and strengthen me to be Christ to those who are looking for Him. Show me, Father, what I need to accomplish in order to fulfill all the plans You have planned for me before You made anything.
And Your Name will be uplifted and praised, and You will be worshiped and adored, when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Your greatness and glory and honor.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
The Sermon on the Mount
Vs. 13-14, The Narrow Gate
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
So we are to look for that small gate, that opens to a narrow, hemmed-in path. This sounds like the awful, constraining lifestyle that the World disdains.
That's why most people will pass it by, and go through the wide gate. The broad way (Broadway!) is totally loose and free, and allows all kinds of damaging and destructive lifestyles. So it's very seductive and misleading, and those people will be destroyed by it.
But the people who are honestly seeking Light and Truth will find that narrow gate, and they will know that all the hedges and fences along that narrow way are there to keep them on the path. So they will be able to experience all the wonderful and glorious bounty God put on this Earth fur us to enjoy, and eternal life with God forever.
O my Father, You are so good to us, to all of us, to all that You have made. You have offered every single person You made to choose to come to You, but there are so few who do, compared to the many who do not.
You have allowed the enemy so much influence, to have Mankind build his World to be so seductive to draw us away from You. Now we are tempted by the World, and our own defective DNA, as well as our enemy. Three directions of attack aimed at each one of us.
It's no wonder that the many refuse the narrow path for Broadway and Main Street. Father, You want to give us true freedom, that liberty that allows us to choose what is right and wholesome and freeing. To bypass all the consequences of their poor choices, just as You told Your people (in Exodus 15:26),
If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I the Lord am your Healer.You wanted them to bypass all the consequences the Egyptians suffered by all their unhealthy practises. And You also want to protect us from the results of the unhealthy lifestyles that spread the diseases that are rampant in our World today.
O Father, You love us so much! You want us to have good, productive, healthy, bountiful, joyful lives here on this beautiful Earth You made for us!
So many of Your children do not understand Your ways enough to enjoy the blessings You want to lavish upon them. Some have even swallowed the enemy's lie that "alternative lifestyles" are "normal"!
Thank You, Father, for giving me the years to study Your Word, and Your Spirit of Truth to teach me Your ways. Thank You for opening my eyes to see how Your commandments and precepts and statutes protect me from so many horrible consequences! Just like a child in a fenced yard has a barrier between him and the traffic in the street on the other side of the fence. He's not restricted, he's protected.
And I am protected, and have been freed to enjoy Your wonderful blessings! O Father, show all Your children how the liberty You provide them is so much better than the license the World offers. Your freedom leads to Life eternal, but license only leads to death, eternal separation from Life.
Father, please send more workers into Your fields that are ripe and ready to be harvested. Protect those who have already gone out into the most difficult and dangerous fields; lead them to Your lost sheep who are seeking You, and protect them from the dogs and swine who are looking to destroy them.
Send me, Father, to the fields that You have prepared for me to connect with, and strengthen me to be Christ to those who are looking for Him. Show me, Father, what I need to accomplish in order to fulfill all the plans You have planned for me before You made anything.
And Your Name will be uplifted and praised, and You will be worshiped and adored, when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Your greatness and glory and honor.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, March 8, 2019
Ask, Seek, Knock
Matthew 7
The Sermon on the Mount
Vs. 7-11, Ask, Seek, Knock
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
This is the basis of The Secret, the World's program for amassing the World's abundance. And it works, because this is how God designed the system to work.
To ask, we need to know what it is we are asking for, to be clear in our desires for what we want. Then to actually say out loud or write down what it is that we want. This clarifies the concept in our minds, and we believe it's really possible.
To seek is to go for it. Don't just sit back and expect it to come to you, go out after it.
To knock is to do the actual work that will make it happen.
Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?
Or if he asks for a fish, he won't give him a snake, will he?
If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
If we, as sinful human beings, will give our children what they need to eat and grow, and care for them; how much more will our Heavenly Father, who is perfectly good and does everything perfectly, understand what we need and what our hearts' desires are. So we can trust Him to answer our prayer.
V. 12, the Golden Rule
In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Here it is, The Golden Rule that every Nation and major religion has recommended. I've heard it expressed in several ways: to "do unto others as you would have others do unto you;" to "walk in his moccasins;" to "walk in his shoes;" to "put yourself in his place."
They all pretty much say the same thing: To love your brother as you love yourself. This is the basis of order in every society in the World. Everybody knows this concept, it's written on our hearts.
O Father, You are our good, good Father, Who gives us every good and perfect gift from Above. And You have put into this Earth all the resources to give every one of us great bounty to enjoy, no matter how many of us there are. When we do things Your way, then we reap Your rewards, both in this World and in the next.
Help me, Father, to be clear in my thinking, and faithful to pursue Your ways, and not lazy in doing the work that will bring about great feats in Your power, to bring Your Name great renown. I know that Your love for me is greater than I can imagine, and that Your gifts for me are beyond my ability to comprehend.
It's only my own lack of trusting You and asking, seeking, and knocking, that deprives me of all the fullness of Your gifting to me.
Lead me, Father, in Your paths of righteousness, that my life will be blameless before the World, drawing others to Yourself in Your mercy and grace.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
The Sermon on the Mount
Vs. 7-11, Ask, Seek, Knock
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
This is the basis of The Secret, the World's program for amassing the World's abundance. And it works, because this is how God designed the system to work.
To ask, we need to know what it is we are asking for, to be clear in our desires for what we want. Then to actually say out loud or write down what it is that we want. This clarifies the concept in our minds, and we believe it's really possible.
To seek is to go for it. Don't just sit back and expect it to come to you, go out after it.
To knock is to do the actual work that will make it happen.
Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?
Or if he asks for a fish, he won't give him a snake, will he?
If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
If we, as sinful human beings, will give our children what they need to eat and grow, and care for them; how much more will our Heavenly Father, who is perfectly good and does everything perfectly, understand what we need and what our hearts' desires are. So we can trust Him to answer our prayer.
V. 12, the Golden Rule
In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Here it is, The Golden Rule that every Nation and major religion has recommended. I've heard it expressed in several ways: to "do unto others as you would have others do unto you;" to "walk in his moccasins;" to "walk in his shoes;" to "put yourself in his place."
They all pretty much say the same thing: To love your brother as you love yourself. This is the basis of order in every society in the World. Everybody knows this concept, it's written on our hearts.
O Father, You are our good, good Father, Who gives us every good and perfect gift from Above. And You have put into this Earth all the resources to give every one of us great bounty to enjoy, no matter how many of us there are. When we do things Your way, then we reap Your rewards, both in this World and in the next.
Help me, Father, to be clear in my thinking, and faithful to pursue Your ways, and not lazy in doing the work that will bring about great feats in Your power, to bring Your Name great renown. I know that Your love for me is greater than I can imagine, and that Your gifts for me are beyond my ability to comprehend.
It's only my own lack of trusting You and asking, seeking, and knocking, that deprives me of all the fullness of Your gifting to me.
Lead me, Father, in Your paths of righteousness, that my life will be blameless before the World, drawing others to Yourself in Your mercy and grace.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, March 7, 2019
Dogs and Swine
Matthew 7
The Sermon on the Mount
Vs. 1-2, Judging
Judge not, that you be not judged.
For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Jesus is saying that if we are judgmental, then we also will be judged with the same judgmentalism we have given out. So if we are gentle and compassionate in our judgment of others' characters, then we also will receive the same from them. He's not saying that we should not be discerning.
Vs. 3-5, Beam and mote
And why do you see the mote that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the beam that is in your own eye?
Or how can you say to your brother, let me take the mote out of your eye, when the beam is in your own eye?
You hypocrite, first take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the mote out of your brother's eye.
Jesus is using humor here: can you imagine someone with a two-by-four stuck in his eye?
This is paying attention to someone else's misdemeanor while we are ignoring our own much more serious crime. It's deflecting attention from our own destructive addiction to someone else's slight mistake.
He is saying that we need to pay attention to our own walk in following Christ, and keep on that narrow path, before we will be qualified to assist someone else who needs help. We need to be where we need to be in order to help someone else.
But then we are to help our brother. It's painful to have a speck in your eye. Those who have gained the victory over their weakness will be able to share with another how they did it, and encourage them along.
V. 6, Pearls and swine
Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
This sounds disasterous. We have holy pearls of wisdom to share with others, and we invite them to learn and do better in life. But we need to be discerning about what we say to who, and how we say it.
There are people out there who refuse to listen to reason, and when someone tries to help them, they are slandered and dragged through the mud for it.
Those who refuse good sense will not be open to God's wisdom, either. So when the righteous people do what is righteous, these "dogs" and "swine" will react with trying to destroy the righteousness (trample them under their feet) and those who are promoting it (turn and tear you to pieces).
That's why we have so much negative press attacking those in office who are doing what will lead our Nation back into the prosperity we enjoyed before our moral tone fell so low.
And we need also to take this personally in our living every day in the neighborhood and society and culture in which we find ourselves. We don't want to invite attacks, but we do have a responsibility to show others that better way, through Christ our Redeemer.
O my Father, please help me to be Christ to those who don't know Him yet. Help me to be open and gentle and understanding and compassionate with others whose path intersects with mine. Help me to see them with Your eyes, not my own, that I might see them as precious as You do.
Father, please protect those who are living in glass houses of power and authority, as they do what You have enabled them to do for our Nation. Protect them and their families and their staff and those who are helping them turn this Nation back to Your righteousness that produces the prosperity You have put in this Earth for us all.
Help Your children, Father, strengthen us and protect us, give us Your boldness with compassion, and enable us to accomplish the work of Your Kingdom, storming the gates of Hell, pulling Your lost sheep out of the fire.
Father, send more laborers into Your fields that are already ripe for harvest; lead us to those who are seeking You, protecting us from the dogs and swine that defy everything that is good and wholesome and right.
That all the lost sheep would be found and brought into the safety of the One Fold with One Shepherd. That every knee will bow, and every tongue in every language will profess Your glory and majesty and authority and greatness over all that You have created and made.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
The Sermon on the Mount
Vs. 1-2, Judging
Judge not, that you be not judged.
For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Jesus is saying that if we are judgmental, then we also will be judged with the same judgmentalism we have given out. So if we are gentle and compassionate in our judgment of others' characters, then we also will receive the same from them. He's not saying that we should not be discerning.
Vs. 3-5, Beam and mote
And why do you see the mote that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the beam that is in your own eye?
Or how can you say to your brother, let me take the mote out of your eye, when the beam is in your own eye?
You hypocrite, first take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the mote out of your brother's eye.
Jesus is using humor here: can you imagine someone with a two-by-four stuck in his eye?
This is paying attention to someone else's misdemeanor while we are ignoring our own much more serious crime. It's deflecting attention from our own destructive addiction to someone else's slight mistake.
He is saying that we need to pay attention to our own walk in following Christ, and keep on that narrow path, before we will be qualified to assist someone else who needs help. We need to be where we need to be in order to help someone else.
But then we are to help our brother. It's painful to have a speck in your eye. Those who have gained the victory over their weakness will be able to share with another how they did it, and encourage them along.
V. 6, Pearls and swine
Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
This sounds disasterous. We have holy pearls of wisdom to share with others, and we invite them to learn and do better in life. But we need to be discerning about what we say to who, and how we say it.
There are people out there who refuse to listen to reason, and when someone tries to help them, they are slandered and dragged through the mud for it.
Those who refuse good sense will not be open to God's wisdom, either. So when the righteous people do what is righteous, these "dogs" and "swine" will react with trying to destroy the righteousness (trample them under their feet) and those who are promoting it (turn and tear you to pieces).
That's why we have so much negative press attacking those in office who are doing what will lead our Nation back into the prosperity we enjoyed before our moral tone fell so low.
And we need also to take this personally in our living every day in the neighborhood and society and culture in which we find ourselves. We don't want to invite attacks, but we do have a responsibility to show others that better way, through Christ our Redeemer.
O my Father, please help me to be Christ to those who don't know Him yet. Help me to be open and gentle and understanding and compassionate with others whose path intersects with mine. Help me to see them with Your eyes, not my own, that I might see them as precious as You do.
Father, please protect those who are living in glass houses of power and authority, as they do what You have enabled them to do for our Nation. Protect them and their families and their staff and those who are helping them turn this Nation back to Your righteousness that produces the prosperity You have put in this Earth for us all.
Help Your children, Father, strengthen us and protect us, give us Your boldness with compassion, and enable us to accomplish the work of Your Kingdom, storming the gates of Hell, pulling Your lost sheep out of the fire.
Father, send more laborers into Your fields that are already ripe for harvest; lead us to those who are seeking You, protecting us from the dogs and swine that defy everything that is good and wholesome and right.
That all the lost sheep would be found and brought into the safety of the One Fold with One Shepherd. That every knee will bow, and every tongue in every language will profess Your glory and majesty and authority and greatness over all that You have created and made.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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