Luke 14: 25-35
Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them,
If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
Jesus is not advocating hatred here, He is comparing our love for our dear ones to the love we are to have for Him; it's an issue of priorities, what or who will come first in our loyalty.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
The cross was an instrument of execution. The one carrying a cross is admitting that they deserve death, and is on their way to die on it. We must live our lives daily in an attitude that we would die for Him; therefore we are living for Him, ready to follow His direction, regardless of what our loved ones tell us. Our first priority must be to do what is right, according to the Righteousness of God, and not let even our closest family members deter us from it.
For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?
Otherwise, when he has laid an foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it will begin to ridicule him,
saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish.
Even if we want to accomplish something like building a building, it's only practical to make sure you can finance it before you start. If you run out of money or time, then people will make fun of you for leaving it half-finished.
There was a man in the city I lived in who bought a lot of the buildings in town and started to fix them up, but he seemed to lose interest before he finished anything. The other townspeople talked disdainfully about him, for leaving their town in a half-finished state. He couldn't seem to focus on one project long enough to get it done.
Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
Here is a political example of looking before you leap. If the king with ten thousand cannot come up with a strategy to defeat the one with twice as many soldiers, then he would be better served not facing them in battle, but negotiating for peace instead. Reasoning and logic and planning.
God gave us brains and thinking powers that He wants us to use. And a will to choose what we would consider the best course to take.
Likewise, Jesus is saying we need to count the cost of following Him. He says:
So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
If becoming a Christian will cost you your family or your possessions, if you are living in a non-Christian country; or if you will lose your job in an evil society; or if you will face some other "undesirable" result of your turning from sinning to righteousness--then you will need to decide if He would be worth it. Is Jesus really your source of everything you really want, and is more valuable than anything you will end up giving up?
When God came to me to save me, I knew that I would be giving up all my boyfriends. But since He loved me so much, I didn't need those guys any more, anyway. And the life He gave me to live ever since that day has been so much better than it would have been, there's really no comparison.
Therefore, salt is good: but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
We are to be the salt of this World. Salt is used to season, give flavor, to food; it is also used to preserve food from rotting. And it is also used to make the soil unable to grow the weeds we want to kill, and to sanitize a manure pile.
But if salt loses its saltiness, then it's not good for anything at all.
If we're to be salt in our cultures and societies, then we need to give the flavor, kill the viruses, sanitize the stink, and preserve what is good. Unlike artificial antibiotics that kills everything, we need to discern what needs to be changed, and also what needs to be kept and improved.
And everyone who has ears, that means everybody, needs to listen to what Jesus is teaching us. Even non-Christians can do good in the World, and many do. But as Christians, the good that we can accomplish would not be mixed with anything that is not pure and righteous; it would be genuine and beneficial for everyone, without harming anyone.
O my Father, thank You for teaching us what is right. Thank You for showing us what seems to be good in the World, but really harmful to people or our environment. Father, give us the discernment to see how to love You and one another, to do what is right and righteous, and to avoid everything that would spoil or tear down the good that You have made in us and for us.
Strengthen us, Father, to give up all the things that will not help or be good for us, regardless of what we hear from others. All that You have for us is so much better than any things or possessions or people or wealth that this World gives.
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has it ever entered our imagination of what good things You are preparing for those who love You (Isaiah 64:4; I Corinthians 2:9). Even family members--Your own Family!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, March 29, 2019
Thursday, March 28, 2019
What's Your Excuse?
Luke 14: 15-24
When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the Kingdom of God!
But He said to him, A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many;
and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, Come; for everything is ready now.
But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.
Another one said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.
Another one said, I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.
And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.
And the slave said, Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.
And the master said to the slave, go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.
For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.
Jesus had one more story to tell these dinner guests at the Chief Pharisee's house that day. When one of the guests commented about God's Dinner Party, Jesus replied with a story about all the invited guests who gave excuses to get out of going; they all had something that was more important to them.
Jesus was telling them that the twelve tribes of Israel had the invitation to God's Kingdom, but since they had hardly ever really bought into God's program, then the way would be open for all the imperfect, Gentile and Barbarian and disabled and other non-acceptable people, to come and enjoy God's Reception into His Kingdom.
A lot of people give their own plans a higher priority than they do to God's program. They figure God can take care of His own plans, they have better things to do for themselves.
So anyone; Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, healthy or sick, city-slicker or country-bumpkin; has the opportunity to accept God's invitation, through His servants, the prophets and evangelists, to enter His Kingdom, through His Son, Christ our Lord.
Many today also have their own excuses, and think that they can always come to God later, at a more convenient time. But Scripture says that today, right now is the day of salvation (II Corinthians 6:2); we don't know what tomorrow holds, or even if we will have a tomorrow. We never know when we are in the last day of our life.
Today is the only time we really have; yesterday is gone, and tomorrow may never come. So what would you be doing if you knew that today was your last day? Are you sure of your Eternity? Have you loose threads that need to be tied up in your relationships? Have you debts to pay?
No excuse will stand up for you when you face your Judge at the moment of death. And whenever you do decide to come to Him, you will wish you had done so a long time ago, because you missed out on so much, even in this life.
O my Father, thank You that You have opened the door to Salvation to every person alive. You are so generous and lavish in Your giving! Everyone is loved by You, and You are not willing that any should perish in a forever without You, but that every one of us would come to repentance and faith, trusting You. (II Peter 3:9.)
I know that most people are not willing to turn to You, because they are deceived by the enemy into thinking they don't need to, or have never heard. But, there are also those who do want to, but are putting You off, with their own ideas and plans, not realizing how much better Yours are for them.
I pray for all Your lost sheep, Father; those who haven't found their way to You yet, that You would be the Hound of Heaven to dog them until they turn to You, thay they would have no rest until they rest in You.
Send more workers into Your fields, Father; find them all, draw them all into that One Fold with One Shepherd.
And every knee will bow, every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. And You will receive all the glory and honor and blessing and riches and praise, forever and ever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the Kingdom of God!
But He said to him, A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many;
and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, Come; for everything is ready now.
But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.
Another one said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.
Another one said, I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.
And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.
And the slave said, Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.
And the master said to the slave, go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.
For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.
Jesus had one more story to tell these dinner guests at the Chief Pharisee's house that day. When one of the guests commented about God's Dinner Party, Jesus replied with a story about all the invited guests who gave excuses to get out of going; they all had something that was more important to them.
Jesus was telling them that the twelve tribes of Israel had the invitation to God's Kingdom, but since they had hardly ever really bought into God's program, then the way would be open for all the imperfect, Gentile and Barbarian and disabled and other non-acceptable people, to come and enjoy God's Reception into His Kingdom.
A lot of people give their own plans a higher priority than they do to God's program. They figure God can take care of His own plans, they have better things to do for themselves.
So anyone; Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, healthy or sick, city-slicker or country-bumpkin; has the opportunity to accept God's invitation, through His servants, the prophets and evangelists, to enter His Kingdom, through His Son, Christ our Lord.
Many today also have their own excuses, and think that they can always come to God later, at a more convenient time. But Scripture says that today, right now is the day of salvation (II Corinthians 6:2); we don't know what tomorrow holds, or even if we will have a tomorrow. We never know when we are in the last day of our life.
Today is the only time we really have; yesterday is gone, and tomorrow may never come. So what would you be doing if you knew that today was your last day? Are you sure of your Eternity? Have you loose threads that need to be tied up in your relationships? Have you debts to pay?
No excuse will stand up for you when you face your Judge at the moment of death. And whenever you do decide to come to Him, you will wish you had done so a long time ago, because you missed out on so much, even in this life.
O my Father, thank You that You have opened the door to Salvation to every person alive. You are so generous and lavish in Your giving! Everyone is loved by You, and You are not willing that any should perish in a forever without You, but that every one of us would come to repentance and faith, trusting You. (II Peter 3:9.)
I know that most people are not willing to turn to You, because they are deceived by the enemy into thinking they don't need to, or have never heard. But, there are also those who do want to, but are putting You off, with their own ideas and plans, not realizing how much better Yours are for them.
I pray for all Your lost sheep, Father; those who haven't found their way to You yet, that You would be the Hound of Heaven to dog them until they turn to You, thay they would have no rest until they rest in You.
Send more workers into Your fields, Father; find them all, draw them all into that One Fold with One Shepherd.
And every knee will bow, every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. And You will receive all the glory and honor and blessing and riches and praise, forever and ever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Invite Who?
Luke 14: 12-14
And Jesus also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may invite you in return and that will be your repayment.
But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.
Jesus is still at this dinner that the prominent Pharisee had invited Him to. And He is still lecturing them.
Now He's turning to His host, and telling him who to invite to the next party. If you remember, this religious leader had wanted to trap Jesus into doing something that their additional rules forbade that they had added to God's Law so that they would be able to accuse Him, but He had seen through their plot.
Now it seems like He is going on and on about the right way to go about things, to this group of people who just didn't get it.
So He told His host to just simply look for rewards that will last forever, instead of what will blow away or burn up. Jesus knew people, He could see into their hearts, to discern their motives. He could see that this man wanted to be repaid, rewarded for his good deeds, so He told him how to get valuable rewards that will last, instead of the cheap trinkets he had been gathering.
Jesus really did want to help him and his guests to do right. He wants us all to do right. That's why the Holy Spirit had Doctor Luke write these teachings for us to learn, too.
If we're only being nice to people who are nice to us, then we're not "being Christ" to those we associate with. Even worldly and evil people do this.
Jesus associated with the out-casts, the shunned, the rejected people of His day. When was the last time you did something for someone who could never return the favor? What is your attitude toward those others are disgusted with?
O my Father, help me to always see others through Your eyes, to look for what is good in others, regardless of how they look or act or smell. You have made each of us members of Mankind in Your own image and likeness, even though we have marred and twisted that image.
Help me to look past all the mistakes and dirt and infirmities of others in my world, to see the desire in their hearts for good, even when they don't realize You are that good they want. Just as I didn't know that You are the Truth I was looking for.
Father, send me to those who are seeking You, in whatever aspect of Your personality they are looking for. Show me how to show them Who You are, that You are the Source of everything they could ever want or need.
Continue to send workers into Your fields to reap those who are ripe for harvest. Continue to cultivate Your fields, Father, preparing Your lost sheep to come to You when You have made them ready. Then have Your worker there to show You to them, and You will draw them into the safety of the One Fold with One Shepherd.
And You will receive all the praise, all the credit, all the glory and honor and blessing; when every knee will bow, every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord of all, to the glory of God the Father, forever and ever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And Jesus also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may invite you in return and that will be your repayment.
But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.
Jesus is still at this dinner that the prominent Pharisee had invited Him to. And He is still lecturing them.
Now He's turning to His host, and telling him who to invite to the next party. If you remember, this religious leader had wanted to trap Jesus into doing something that their additional rules forbade that they had added to God's Law so that they would be able to accuse Him, but He had seen through their plot.
Now it seems like He is going on and on about the right way to go about things, to this group of people who just didn't get it.
So He told His host to just simply look for rewards that will last forever, instead of what will blow away or burn up. Jesus knew people, He could see into their hearts, to discern their motives. He could see that this man wanted to be repaid, rewarded for his good deeds, so He told him how to get valuable rewards that will last, instead of the cheap trinkets he had been gathering.
Jesus really did want to help him and his guests to do right. He wants us all to do right. That's why the Holy Spirit had Doctor Luke write these teachings for us to learn, too.
If we're only being nice to people who are nice to us, then we're not "being Christ" to those we associate with. Even worldly and evil people do this.
Jesus associated with the out-casts, the shunned, the rejected people of His day. When was the last time you did something for someone who could never return the favor? What is your attitude toward those others are disgusted with?
O my Father, help me to always see others through Your eyes, to look for what is good in others, regardless of how they look or act or smell. You have made each of us members of Mankind in Your own image and likeness, even though we have marred and twisted that image.
Help me to look past all the mistakes and dirt and infirmities of others in my world, to see the desire in their hearts for good, even when they don't realize You are that good they want. Just as I didn't know that You are the Truth I was looking for.
Father, send me to those who are seeking You, in whatever aspect of Your personality they are looking for. Show me how to show them Who You are, that You are the Source of everything they could ever want or need.
Continue to send workers into Your fields to reap those who are ripe for harvest. Continue to cultivate Your fields, Father, preparing Your lost sheep to come to You when You have made them ready. Then have Your worker there to show You to them, and You will draw them into the safety of the One Fold with One Shepherd.
And You will receive all the praise, all the credit, all the glory and honor and blessing; when every knee will bow, every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord of all, to the glory of God the Father, forever and ever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Self-Importance
Luke 14: 7-11
And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them,
When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him,
and he who invited you both will come and say to you, Give your place to this man, and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place.
But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, Friend, move up higher; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you,
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
When Jesus went to dinner on the Sabbath at this prominent Pharisee's house, He had a lot to say to him and his other guests. But He wasn't very complimentary at all.
Here He's dressing them down for their self-promotion.
The culture He lived in was very aware of the varying degrees of importance of each member of the society, and the seating arrangements at every social gathering was rather precise. So where someone was seated at the table was a reflection of their importance in relation to everyone else.
A parallel I can think of right now would be at a wedding reception, where the wedding party is at a table separate from all the other tables. If one of the groomsmen would take the central seat of the groom, he would be asked to move.
But the principle here applies to anywhere we would want to promote ourselves over someone else. I remember how my husband would sometimes look in the mirror and compliment himself on his good looks, and I would respond by telling him that was for me to say; now that he said it, I couldn't. I didn't want to put him down; I did consider him to be very good-looking, but I felt he was preventing me from saying it by taking that place himself.
Self-promotion is one exteme, and putting oneself down is the other extreme. But to measure ourselves by ourselves, and to compare ourselves among ourselves, is not wise, is lacking understanding (II Corinthians 10:12).
We need to have true humility: recognizing our true worth, without elevating it or lowering it, or being competitive with one another. We are all valuable, and God loves us all more than we can imagine; He has gifted each of us in our own way, according to each of our personality and ability. We are to use our talents and skills to help one another, to lift up one another, and to bless one another with God's blessings.
O my Father, thank You for all Your gifts and giftings to us all. You are so generous, Father, to have given all of us Your wonderful and useful gifts.
Help us, Father, to not be envious of others' gifts, but to recognize how You have made each of us differently, with varied combinations of gifts, abilities, personalities, intellects, skills, experiences, and heart desires. Help us to be grateful and thankful for what You have given to each of us, using all these traits unselfishly to benefit one another, and bring You praise.
And You will receive all the credit, all the glory, all the fame and renown; because only You deserve it all, from every knee bowed and every tongue in every language, throughout all eternity, forever and ever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them,
When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him,
and he who invited you both will come and say to you, Give your place to this man, and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place.
But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, Friend, move up higher; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you,
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
When Jesus went to dinner on the Sabbath at this prominent Pharisee's house, He had a lot to say to him and his other guests. But He wasn't very complimentary at all.
Here He's dressing them down for their self-promotion.
The culture He lived in was very aware of the varying degrees of importance of each member of the society, and the seating arrangements at every social gathering was rather precise. So where someone was seated at the table was a reflection of their importance in relation to everyone else.
A parallel I can think of right now would be at a wedding reception, where the wedding party is at a table separate from all the other tables. If one of the groomsmen would take the central seat of the groom, he would be asked to move.
But the principle here applies to anywhere we would want to promote ourselves over someone else. I remember how my husband would sometimes look in the mirror and compliment himself on his good looks, and I would respond by telling him that was for me to say; now that he said it, I couldn't. I didn't want to put him down; I did consider him to be very good-looking, but I felt he was preventing me from saying it by taking that place himself.
Self-promotion is one exteme, and putting oneself down is the other extreme. But to measure ourselves by ourselves, and to compare ourselves among ourselves, is not wise, is lacking understanding (II Corinthians 10:12).
We need to have true humility: recognizing our true worth, without elevating it or lowering it, or being competitive with one another. We are all valuable, and God loves us all more than we can imagine; He has gifted each of us in our own way, according to each of our personality and ability. We are to use our talents and skills to help one another, to lift up one another, and to bless one another with God's blessings.
O my Father, thank You for all Your gifts and giftings to us all. You are so generous, Father, to have given all of us Your wonderful and useful gifts.
Help us, Father, to not be envious of others' gifts, but to recognize how You have made each of us differently, with varied combinations of gifts, abilities, personalities, intellects, skills, experiences, and heart desires. Help us to be grateful and thankful for what You have given to each of us, using all these traits unselfishly to benefit one another, and bring You praise.
And You will receive all the credit, all the glory, all the fame and renown; because only You deserve it all, from every knee bowed and every tongue in every language, throughout all eternity, forever and ever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, March 25, 2019
Why A Day To Rest?
Luke 14: 1-6
And it came to pass, when He went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath day, they were watching Him closely.
And there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy.
And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?
But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away.
And He said to them, Which one of you will have a donkey or an ox fall into a well, and not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?
And they could make no reply to this.
Jesus was invited to have a meal at the home of this prominent Pharisee on a Sabbath day, and they set Him up putting this sick man in front of Him. They were trying to trip Him up so they would have an accusation against Him.
But Jesus knew what they were up to. He even asked them if they thought it was lawful, but they didn't answer.
So He did what He knew was right to do, then allowed this man to go home before He called these lawyers to task.
Then He gave the example of an animal slipping into a well, and that they would immediately pull it out, even if it was a Sabbath day; and a person is worth so much more than an animal, even a valuable animal used to earn a living to support the family.
Jesus acted like He had authority over the Sabbath, because He did. He said in another place,
So all the extra rules the Jewish leaders added to the Sabbath law only made it a burden, instead of the blessing it was intended to be.
And since Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, He could tell them this, and trip them up instead, so that they had no answer.
O my Father, thank You for giving us an opportunity to take a day off each week, and that our culture respects that. Thank You for all Your rules and precepts to guide us in our attitudes, to teach us how to love You and ourselves and one another.
Thank You, Father, that we can take a Sunday to go to church, and worship with others of like precious faith. I pray for Your church, Your children: Help us to be able to get to church, to set our schedules to be able to attend services, and Bible studies, and whatever meetings we can; to get to know one another so we can learn how to share and encourage and help one another where needed.
O Father, You have lavished Your Love upon us so generously! You have given us more than everything we need, so we can enjoy this life, and have good health, and healthy relationships, and grow Your family, and promote Your Kingdom so that Your will will be done here on this Earth as it is in Heaven.
And I look for the Glorious Appearing of my King, to bring Heaven's rule down to us and give this World its Golden Age.
And every eye shall see, every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess in every language, that Christ Jesus is our Lord God over all, to the glory of God the Father.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And it came to pass, when He went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath day, they were watching Him closely.
And there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy.
And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?
But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away.
And He said to them, Which one of you will have a donkey or an ox fall into a well, and not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?
And they could make no reply to this.
Jesus was invited to have a meal at the home of this prominent Pharisee on a Sabbath day, and they set Him up putting this sick man in front of Him. They were trying to trip Him up so they would have an accusation against Him.
But Jesus knew what they were up to. He even asked them if they thought it was lawful, but they didn't answer.
So He did what He knew was right to do, then allowed this man to go home before He called these lawyers to task.
Then He gave the example of an animal slipping into a well, and that they would immediately pull it out, even if it was a Sabbath day; and a person is worth so much more than an animal, even a valuable animal used to earn a living to support the family.
Jesus acted like He had authority over the Sabbath, because He did. He said in another place,
The Sabbath was made for Man, and not Man for the Sabbath; therefore the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27)So God gave the Sabbath days for our benefit, so that we would have a day to rest and relax from the daily grind. He knows that we need respite because we are vulnerable to burning out. For our good health, God wants us to take a day off each week, and to take vacations, and to break up the monotony so we can accomplish all the work He planned out for us to do.
So all the extra rules the Jewish leaders added to the Sabbath law only made it a burden, instead of the blessing it was intended to be.
And since Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, He could tell them this, and trip them up instead, so that they had no answer.
O my Father, thank You for giving us an opportunity to take a day off each week, and that our culture respects that. Thank You for all Your rules and precepts to guide us in our attitudes, to teach us how to love You and ourselves and one another.
Thank You, Father, that we can take a Sunday to go to church, and worship with others of like precious faith. I pray for Your church, Your children: Help us to be able to get to church, to set our schedules to be able to attend services, and Bible studies, and whatever meetings we can; to get to know one another so we can learn how to share and encourage and help one another where needed.
O Father, You have lavished Your Love upon us so generously! You have given us more than everything we need, so we can enjoy this life, and have good health, and healthy relationships, and grow Your family, and promote Your Kingdom so that Your will will be done here on this Earth as it is in Heaven.
And I look for the Glorious Appearing of my King, to bring Heaven's rule down to us and give this World its Golden Age.
And every eye shall see, every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess in every language, that Christ Jesus is our Lord God over all, to the glory of God the Father.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Long-Distance Healing
John 4: 43-53
After two days (in Samaria) He went forth from there into Galilee.
This is because the people of Sychar asked Him to stay, so He spent two days teaching them.
For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.
Jesus grew up in Galilee, in the town of Nazareth. We'll see how things go when he reaches that town.
So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the Feast; for they themselves also went to the Feast (of Passover).
These people had gone to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, in obedience to the Law, and personally saw the miracles Jesus performed there. So they welcomed Him.
Therefore He came again unto Cana of Galilee where He had made water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum.
When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.
News got around of where Jesus was, word of mouth travelled far and wide. And the stories of His miracles were growing His popularity. Everyone with a need thought Jesus could fix it.
This royal official knew Jesus could heal, but he thought Jesus would have to come all the way to Capernaum to do the miracle.
So Jesus said to him, Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.
The royal official said to Him, Come down before my child dies.
Jesus said to him, Go, your son lives.
The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off.
As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living.
So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, Yesterday at the seventh hour (1:00 pm) the fever left him.
So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, Your son lives; and he himself believed and his whole household.
So because Jesus did this miracle, they believed, just as Jesus had said.
This is the second time Jesus healed at a distance, from Cana to Capernaum. The other time was when He healed the Centurian's servant (Matthew 8:5-13). This is a most amazing thing. Not only can He touch the person, or the person touches His clothes; but when He simply says a word, and the sickness obeys and leaves the person at a distance. This is proof that Jesus has authority over all Creation, He's not just doing slight-of-hand tricks.
Jesus understood Quantum Entanglement, because He made everything, from the atoms and molecules up into planets and people. He knows how everything works, and He is Lord (Boss) over it all. So it all obeys Him.
O my Father, You have put all things into Jesus' hand. You, God: Father and Son and Spirit; thought up, designed, planned out, created, and made everything that exists. And Your Son agreed to be Lord over the Earth, to have the responsibility for Mankind. So He has been the Lord of the First Covenant, as well as the New Covenant.
He appeared to Moses to give him the Law, so that Mankind would recognize Him as doing all the Law and the Prophets, fulfilling what they wrote so long ago. Now, because He has fulfilled the requirements for our complete cleansing, He has made us fit to live with You where You are, in Heaven.
And because He was willing to pour Himself out as the Sacrifice, You have put all Creation into His possession, to be Lord over all (Philippians 2:6-11).
So now every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord over all, and has authority over all. He is our Lord God Almighty, our Brother in the New Birth, our Bridegroom as His church the bride, as our King over all other kings and Lord over every other lord.
All praise and honor and glory and riches and blessing are to You Alone, forever and ever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
After two days (in Samaria) He went forth from there into Galilee.
This is because the people of Sychar asked Him to stay, so He spent two days teaching them.
For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.
Jesus grew up in Galilee, in the town of Nazareth. We'll see how things go when he reaches that town.
So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the Feast; for they themselves also went to the Feast (of Passover).
These people had gone to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, in obedience to the Law, and personally saw the miracles Jesus performed there. So they welcomed Him.
Therefore He came again unto Cana of Galilee where He had made water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum.
When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.
News got around of where Jesus was, word of mouth travelled far and wide. And the stories of His miracles were growing His popularity. Everyone with a need thought Jesus could fix it.
This royal official knew Jesus could heal, but he thought Jesus would have to come all the way to Capernaum to do the miracle.
So Jesus said to him, Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.
The royal official said to Him, Come down before my child dies.
Jesus said to him, Go, your son lives.
The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off.
As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living.
So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, Yesterday at the seventh hour (1:00 pm) the fever left him.
So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, Your son lives; and he himself believed and his whole household.
So because Jesus did this miracle, they believed, just as Jesus had said.
This is the second time Jesus healed at a distance, from Cana to Capernaum. The other time was when He healed the Centurian's servant (Matthew 8:5-13). This is a most amazing thing. Not only can He touch the person, or the person touches His clothes; but when He simply says a word, and the sickness obeys and leaves the person at a distance. This is proof that Jesus has authority over all Creation, He's not just doing slight-of-hand tricks.
Jesus understood Quantum Entanglement, because He made everything, from the atoms and molecules up into planets and people. He knows how everything works, and He is Lord (Boss) over it all. So it all obeys Him.
O my Father, You have put all things into Jesus' hand. You, God: Father and Son and Spirit; thought up, designed, planned out, created, and made everything that exists. And Your Son agreed to be Lord over the Earth, to have the responsibility for Mankind. So He has been the Lord of the First Covenant, as well as the New Covenant.
He appeared to Moses to give him the Law, so that Mankind would recognize Him as doing all the Law and the Prophets, fulfilling what they wrote so long ago. Now, because He has fulfilled the requirements for our complete cleansing, He has made us fit to live with You where You are, in Heaven.
And because He was willing to pour Himself out as the Sacrifice, You have put all Creation into His possession, to be Lord over all (Philippians 2:6-11).
So now every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord over all, and has authority over all. He is our Lord God Almighty, our Brother in the New Birth, our Bridegroom as His church the bride, as our King over all other kings and Lord over every other lord.
All praise and honor and glory and riches and blessing are to You Alone, forever and ever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, March 23, 2019
The Woman At The Well
John 4: 5-42
The Woman at the Well
When Jesus knew that the Pharasees had heard that He was making and baptizing more disciples than John, He knew it was getting dangerous to stay in Judea, so He went to Galilee, where He was from. To get there, he took the short route, through Samaria. Most Judeans who wanted to go between Judea and Galilee took the long way, around Samaria on the other side of the Jordan River, to avoid those people they considered to be half-breeds, mongrels.
But Jesus wanted to go through that territory.
So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph;
And Jacob's Well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about the sixth hour (noon).
Jesus had been walking all morning, and it was noon now, and He was tired and thirsty, so He was sitting by the well.
There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, Give Me a drink.
For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, How is it that you, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan and a woman? (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
Jesus was asking her for a drink, not making a demand. He always showed respect for people, and He was not predjudiced against her like the Jewish leaders were. He wanted to give this woman the opportunity to know the Truth.
Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.
Jesus is referring to Himself in the third person, a common way to speak, explaining a vital part of what He wants to do for her.
She said to Him, Sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do you get that living water?
She is thinking in Earthly terms, just like Nicodemus did. It's natural for us to do that, since we live here, under the Sun, so we tend to think this is all there is in life.
You are not greater than our father Jacob, are you, who gave us this well, and he drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?
Now she's suspecting that this Man may be more than He appears to be ...
Jesus answered and said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.
She's getting an idea, but still doesn't get the full scope of what He's saying. Jesus is talking about water, because they're by a well. And this woman came out to get water at the hottest part of the day, when no one else would be there.
The woman said, Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.
This sounds good to her, to not have to come out to the well every day and haul water back to town. How convenient!
He said to her, Go, call your husband and come here.
This would be expected, as women were not leaders, they were under their husbands' authority, and the husband would need to know what the wife was learning so He could lead her in it. But Jesus also had another reason.
The woman answered and said, I have no husband.
He knew she would say this.
Jesus said to her, You have correctly said, I have no husband; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.
He was complimenting her on her honesty, and letting her know that He really did know her, and accepted her anyway.
The woman said to Him, Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
She's getting closer. Since He knew what an ordinary stranger wouldn't, then He must at least be a prophet. So she'll pursue this, and ask Him something she's been thinking about.
Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
So who's right?
Jesus said to her, Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshippers.
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth.
He's laid it all out for her here, about carnal and spiritual Truth.
The woman said to Him, I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.
Now her understanding is expanding, and she's starting to get the picture. So she is asking if He really is the One. So He tells her right out.
Jesus said to her, I Who speak to you am He.
Here's where the disciples return with the food, right at the climax of their conversation.
So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, Come, see a Man who told me all the things I have done; this is not the Christ, is it? (Could this actually be the Christ?)
Jesus had summed up her whole life with what He said to her, and she probably knew all the men of the town, so she's going to let them see for themselves.
They went out of the city and were coming to Him.
Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Him, saying, Rabbi, eat.
But He said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about.
So the disciples were saying to one another, No one brought Him anything to eat, did they?
Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of Him Who sent Me and to accomplish His work.
He was "eating" so much spiritually that He wasn't even aware of His physical hunger any more!
Do you not say, There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. [The mission fields.]
Already he who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
For in this case the saying is true, One sows and another reaps.
I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.
We are all, as children of our Father, to be "laboring" in scattering the seed of His Word. All of us are given the assignment to plant all over the World, to spread God's Truth among all the Nations; and others of us are sent to harvest, to reap the ripened crop, and lead individuals to faith in Christ.
It has been said that each person must hear the Gospel multiple times (7? 12?) before it will sink in and produce Salvation in that individual. So don't expect every person to come to faith as soon as you share with them. They may need to hear from several sources, to validate the Truth in their minds. Many are planting, others are reaping.
Now we return to today's story.
From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, He told me all the things that I have done.
So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.
Many more believed because of His word;
And they were saying to the woman, It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the World.
Now, because the woman shared her testimony, there are many of the people of this town believing in Jesus as Messiah; not just from her account, but because they were listening to Jesus Himself, and were certain of His identity, and put their faith in Him.
O my Father, help Your children to realize their responsibility to share their witness of what You have done for them, just like this unnamed woman that came to the well where Jesus rested. She didn't stay there with Him alone, she ran into the city and gathered them all with her words, to come see for themselves. This is what we all should be doing.
Help me, Father, to get out of my little comfortable cocoon into the wide world and cast the seed of Your Word broadly to reach many fields; that some may land on that fertile soil that will produce much fruit.
And permit me, my Lord of the Harvest, to help You reap some of that fruit, with others of Your missionaries, to gather into Your barns to overflowing. To find all the lost sheep and corral them into the safety of Your fold.
Then I look for my King to return to His Kingdom on the Earth, to rule in righteousness and justice.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
The Woman at the Well
When Jesus knew that the Pharasees had heard that He was making and baptizing more disciples than John, He knew it was getting dangerous to stay in Judea, so He went to Galilee, where He was from. To get there, he took the short route, through Samaria. Most Judeans who wanted to go between Judea and Galilee took the long way, around Samaria on the other side of the Jordan River, to avoid those people they considered to be half-breeds, mongrels.
But Jesus wanted to go through that territory.
So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph;
And Jacob's Well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about the sixth hour (noon).
Jesus had been walking all morning, and it was noon now, and He was tired and thirsty, so He was sitting by the well.
There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, Give Me a drink.
For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, How is it that you, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan and a woman? (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
Jesus was asking her for a drink, not making a demand. He always showed respect for people, and He was not predjudiced against her like the Jewish leaders were. He wanted to give this woman the opportunity to know the Truth.
Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.
Jesus is referring to Himself in the third person, a common way to speak, explaining a vital part of what He wants to do for her.
She said to Him, Sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do you get that living water?
She is thinking in Earthly terms, just like Nicodemus did. It's natural for us to do that, since we live here, under the Sun, so we tend to think this is all there is in life.
You are not greater than our father Jacob, are you, who gave us this well, and he drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?
Now she's suspecting that this Man may be more than He appears to be ...
Jesus answered and said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.
She's getting an idea, but still doesn't get the full scope of what He's saying. Jesus is talking about water, because they're by a well. And this woman came out to get water at the hottest part of the day, when no one else would be there.
The woman said, Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.
This sounds good to her, to not have to come out to the well every day and haul water back to town. How convenient!
He said to her, Go, call your husband and come here.
This would be expected, as women were not leaders, they were under their husbands' authority, and the husband would need to know what the wife was learning so He could lead her in it. But Jesus also had another reason.
The woman answered and said, I have no husband.
He knew she would say this.
Jesus said to her, You have correctly said, I have no husband; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.
He was complimenting her on her honesty, and letting her know that He really did know her, and accepted her anyway.
The woman said to Him, Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
She's getting closer. Since He knew what an ordinary stranger wouldn't, then He must at least be a prophet. So she'll pursue this, and ask Him something she's been thinking about.
Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
So who's right?
Jesus said to her, Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshippers.
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth.
He's laid it all out for her here, about carnal and spiritual Truth.
The woman said to Him, I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.
Now her understanding is expanding, and she's starting to get the picture. So she is asking if He really is the One. So He tells her right out.
Jesus said to her, I Who speak to you am He.
Here's where the disciples return with the food, right at the climax of their conversation.
So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, Come, see a Man who told me all the things I have done; this is not the Christ, is it? (Could this actually be the Christ?)
Jesus had summed up her whole life with what He said to her, and she probably knew all the men of the town, so she's going to let them see for themselves.
They went out of the city and were coming to Him.
Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Him, saying, Rabbi, eat.
But He said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about.
So the disciples were saying to one another, No one brought Him anything to eat, did they?
Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of Him Who sent Me and to accomplish His work.
He was "eating" so much spiritually that He wasn't even aware of His physical hunger any more!
Do you not say, There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. [The mission fields.]
Already he who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
For in this case the saying is true, One sows and another reaps.
I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.
We are all, as children of our Father, to be "laboring" in scattering the seed of His Word. All of us are given the assignment to plant all over the World, to spread God's Truth among all the Nations; and others of us are sent to harvest, to reap the ripened crop, and lead individuals to faith in Christ.
It has been said that each person must hear the Gospel multiple times (7? 12?) before it will sink in and produce Salvation in that individual. So don't expect every person to come to faith as soon as you share with them. They may need to hear from several sources, to validate the Truth in their minds. Many are planting, others are reaping.
Now we return to today's story.
From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, He told me all the things that I have done.
So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.
Many more believed because of His word;
And they were saying to the woman, It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the World.
Now, because the woman shared her testimony, there are many of the people of this town believing in Jesus as Messiah; not just from her account, but because they were listening to Jesus Himself, and were certain of His identity, and put their faith in Him.
O my Father, help Your children to realize their responsibility to share their witness of what You have done for them, just like this unnamed woman that came to the well where Jesus rested. She didn't stay there with Him alone, she ran into the city and gathered them all with her words, to come see for themselves. This is what we all should be doing.
Help me, Father, to get out of my little comfortable cocoon into the wide world and cast the seed of Your Word broadly to reach many fields; that some may land on that fertile soil that will produce much fruit.
And permit me, my Lord of the Harvest, to help You reap some of that fruit, with others of Your missionaries, to gather into Your barns to overflowing. To find all the lost sheep and corral them into the safety of Your fold.
Then I look for my King to return to His Kingdom on the Earth, to rule in righteousness and justice.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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