Category Archives: Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God

Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Fear / Reverence for God, Heaven and Hell, Joy / Happiness / Rejoicing, Obeying God, Parables, Peace / Rest, Purposeful / Intentional, Salvation, Unteachable / Foolish, Wickedness / Evil, Worldliness

The Dinner Invitation

YHWH has created a metaphorical feast for His people. It is an offer of forgiveness, grace, mercy, hope, love, joy, peace and more that we may partake in through accepting Christ as Lord and Savior. He made the feast for His chosen people, Israel, but they in large part rejected Him and turned down the offer. Then He offered it to the gentiles.

Today we are all invited. Do not let yourself pass on this invitation to receive Christ as Lord and savior of your life. It has implications for our lives even today, missing out on His best for us, but it has everlasting, eternal implications for you as well. Choose wisely and find joy and peace. Choose poorly and find eternal separation from God on this earth and in hell to follow, which Christ warns us repeatedly will be like being in a pit of fire.

Luke 14:16-24

Parable of the Dinner

     16But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; 17and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ 18“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.’ 19“Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’ 20“Another one said, ‘I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ 21“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.’ 22“And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23“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. 24‘For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.’”

Let us not offend our Creator by rejecting His invitation to come into His feast. Let us not delay coming, but come at once and be fully committed.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

 

Consequences of Sin, Discerning / Judging, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Purposeful / Intentional, Repenting from Sin, Unteachable / Foolish, Wickedness / Evil, Worldliness

Why Do You Not Make An Effort To Settle With Him?

On the surface, in Luke 12, Yeshua seems to be speaking about settling our legal affairs without going before a magistrate. Paul speaks about lawsuits within the church in 1 Corinthians 6. We may be tempted to assume it is the same or similar  message.

Luke 12:57-59

      57“And why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right? 58“For while you are going with your opponent to appear before the magistrate, on your way there make an effort to settle with him, so that he may not drag you before the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59“I say to you, you will not get out of there until you have paid the very last cent.”

It is not the same message. We must look to context of the preceding verses.

Luke 12:49-56

      49“I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! 50“But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! 51“Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; 52for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. 53“They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

      54And He was also saying to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out. 55“And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it turns out that way. 56“You hypocrites! You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why do you not analyze this present time?

      57“And why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right? 58“For while you are going with your opponent to appear before the magistrate, on your way there make an effort to settle with him, so that he may not drag you before the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59“I say to you, you will not get out of there until you have paid the very last cent.”

Looking a little earlier still in Luke 12 we see Yeshua teaching about readiness. He is speaking a parable about how important it is for us to be ready for the coming of the Lord. We should be actively prepared and looking for His return. Then He speaks about how He did not come to bring peace, but division. You can not have peace among the worldly and the wicked and stand firm on the righteous instruction of the Lord. They reject it and reject you for sharing it.

As He points out that He knows there will be division, He also criticizes the people who do not recognize who He is based on the signs. They know to predict the weather… they are smart enough to settle a case where they may be guilty before they come in front of a magistrate. They settle to avoid punishment that will be severe.

Those who are familiar with the instruction of the Lord should similarly have enough knowledge to recognize the coming of Messiah. They should be rushing to settle accounts with Him before they are judged before YHWH* where there may be severe punishment. They should be repenting, not plotting to kill Messiah.

It is easy to dismiss the Pharisees and Sadducees, callously assuming we would do better. But truly reflect on your life and ask the Spirit to convict you of sin and rebellion in your life. We each should take care to judge our lives based upon the Father’s word and not our cultural norms.

Are we repentant and submitted to the Lord, standing proudly and loudly for Him even in conflict? or are we blending with society and culture of the worldly and wicked in order to have peace?

Do we justify that we are “better than most” or “good enough”? or do we humbly and desperately throw ourselves upon the mercy of YHWH offered us through Christ our Savior?

It is important that we recognize and discern the reality of our situation and ask forgiveness before our Lord before we face judgment. Take time now in prayer before the Lord to evaluate your life and ask for Him to show you areas where He wants you to change and ask for His grace and power to enable you to change. It is through His grace and power, not our own effort, that we will ultimately succeed in becoming more like Yeshua.

*Note: YHWH is the four letter name of God in the Bible derived from the Hebrew. Because the Hebrew did not record vowel sounds, we no longer know how to pronounce it for sure. It is often pronounced Yehovah or Yahweh today. Interesting history if you want to study it. Try an internet search.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Am I on the path?, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Guide, Heaven and Hell, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Jesus (hearing from God), Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Loving / Kind, Peace / Rest, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin, Satan, Share the Good News, Unteachable / Foolish, Wickedness / Evil, Worldliness

Do You Suppose Jesus Came To Grant Peace On Earth?

We are often overconfident in ourselves and our ability to understand and predict what will happen. We think we are wise in predicting the weather or who will win the Super Bowl or the NCAA basketball tournament. Yet how dramatically we fall short in our understanding of important concerns. Often we do not even put as much time toward trying to get the bigger concerns right… such as who is Christ and why did He come.

Yes, as Christians, I hope we can all answer with an appropriate high level answer such as “He came to provide forgiveness for our sins”.  But how often we get off track on how to apply the details in our lives. Satan is a tricky foe. He is the father of lies. If he can not convince us to reject God entirely, he tries to trick us into redefining God.

God is love. Satan would convince us that this means that God wants for us to accept everyone as they are, in all their sin with no need to change or repent. But God is also holy and just. If we encourage people to remain in their sin, unrepentant, they will be separated from God now and for eternity. If we take Satan’s deception, we neglect and abandon those who need our help and guidance. To love them is to lead them to repentance. They must admit they are sinners in need of a savior, submit to Jesus as savior, and repent of their sin.

Similarly, Satan would have us believe that Jesus came to bring peace and that we as His followers should value peace above all things as a way of demonstrating our Christ like nature. Again, Satan tells us that means accepting everyone how they with no repentance from sin or admission that they are sinners… because peace is the goal… right?

What did Jesus say? Did He come to bring peace?

Luke 12:49-56

Christ Divides Men

     49“I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! 50“But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! 51“Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; 52for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. 53“They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

      54And He was also saying to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out. 55“And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it turns out that way. 56“You hypocrites! You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why do you not analyze this present time?

Jesus came to cause division. We must separate from the world and its ways in order to serve and follow Him. We can not serve both man and God. When we stand up for Christ and His ways, His values, we often find ourselves standing apart from the world. Others will come against us. We must stand up for what is right and wrong if we are to serve Him.  Silence is not service to Christ. Tolerance of sin in our culture or normalizing it as acceptable “choices” is not service to Christ. We do no one a favor by helping them feel comfortable in their unrepentant sin.

Jesus came to save the world. He did so by being comfortable standing and presenting what is right and what is wrong. He did not come to “make friends”. He created and was comfortable in stressful conflict situations. He did so with a purpose, strategy, and willful intent.  If He came and faded in the background to avoid making waves and focused on peace as His mission… would more people be saved? or more be separated from God for eternity? He showed love by creating conflict to help guide people to repentance and submission to God.

Are you willing to cause division for the sake of Christ? Or is peace and conflict avoidance more important to you than our Savior and His message? Will you put even your family above Christ? or Christ above all others? Only one can be the top priority. Only one can be Lord.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross

Am I on the path?, Consequences of Sin, Discerning / Judging, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Faith / Trusting God, Purposeful / Intentional, Unteachable / Foolish, Wickedness / Evil, Wise, Worldliness, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Live Prepared to Meet The Master At Any Time

Those of us who know and commit to serving the Lord must do so as if He may return at any moment. Recognize that whether He returns literally or not during our lifetime, He knows all about how we live our lives and we will each stand before Him when we die for judgement. Those who lived faithfully will be rewarded. Those who lived unfaithfully will be punished.

The more we knew and understood His will, the “higher the stakes”. If we know Him, His expectations are even higher for us.

From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more. (Luke 12:48b)

 

Luke 12:35-48

Be in Readiness

     35“Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. 36“Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. 37“Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. 38“Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

      39“But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 40“You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”

      41Peter said, “Lord, are You addressing this parable to us, or to everyone else as well?” 42And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? 43“Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. 44“Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45“But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; 46the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. 47“And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, 48but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Sing for Joy to the Lord!

I know I do not take time to praise Him joyfully often enough. What a great reminder today in Psalm 95.

Psalm 95

Praise to the LORD, and Warning against Unbelief.

     1O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD,
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.

      2Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

      3For the LORD is a great God
And a great King above all gods,

      4In whose hand are the depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are His also.

      5The sea is His, for it was He who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.

      6Come, let us worship and bow down,
Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.

      7For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you would hear His voice,

      8Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
As in the day of Massah in the wilderness,

      9“When your fathers tested Me,
They tried Me, though they had seen My work.

      10“For forty years I loathed that generation,
And said they are a people who err in their heart,
And they do not know My ways.

      11“Therefore I swore in My anger,
Truly they shall not enter into My rest.”

Spend some time humbly before our Lord in prayer, focused on His greatness and thanking Him for His blessings. Ask the Spirit to show you if you are not fully surrendered to God and to help you do so today. Do not put it off, but come before Him now and submit to His rule. Ask for help to change your life to His glory and your joy.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

 

Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Obeying God, Parenting, Traditions / Holidays

Will You Follow The Traditions of Man? or God?

It is important to remember what Jehovah has done for us. He is our Creator and Lord. He is all powerful, all knowing, and present at all times in all places. Still He takes time to know each one of us and He loves each one of us as a father. Sometimes He dwells on a certain instruction to emphasize it so that we pay attention and do not miss it. Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread is one of those.  As we read through Exodus 12, we experience God’s instruction about celebrating these as remembrance of God setting His people free from bondage in Egypt.

Given how much the Christian church today distances itself from these God-commanded celebrations, we may be tempted to think… “Ok, glad I am done with Exodus 12 and can get on with the story.” God however, is not done commanding and emphasizing to us that we should celebrate Passover and Feast of Unleavened bread in remembrance of His actions on behalf of His people. He comes back to it in Exodus 13.

Exodus 13:1-16

Consecration of the Firstborn

      1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me.”

      3Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you went out from Egypt, from the house of slavery; for by a powerful hand the LORD brought you out from this place. And nothing leavened shall be eaten. 4“On this day in the month of Abib, you are about to go forth. 5“It shall be when the LORD brings you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall observe this rite in this month. 6“For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. 7“Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and nothing leavened shall be seen among you, nor shall any leaven be seen among you in all your borders. 8“You shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9“And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth; for with a powerful hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt. 10“Therefore, you shall keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year.

      11“Now when the LORD brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you, 12you shall devote to the LORD the first offspring of every womb, and the first offspring of every beast that you own; the males belong to the LORD. 13“But every first offspring of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 14“And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘With a powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 15‘It came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the LORD the males, the first offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16“So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and as phylacteries on your forehead, for with a powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”

You may find yourself asking, “Why is this so important to God? The church has not taught me to celebrate it.” God tells us why it is important to Him… the church is wrong not to teach Jesus’ followers to honor Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread.

 8“You shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9“And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth; for with a powerful hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt. 10“Therefore, you shall keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year.

and again…

 14“And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘With a powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 15‘It came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the LORD the males, the first offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16“So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and as phylacteries on your forehead, for with a powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”

Our heavenly Father wants us to remember His love and power in setting His people free from bondage in Egypt. Although we could have a longer discussion on how to celebrate today, it really should be a short discussion regarding whether or not we should celebrate today… God said we should. Once we make the decision to do it, then we take the next step and begin to study how… that is the journey my family and I are on today. We find great joy in obeying God’s instruction more completely and as we do it also becomes more evident the power of God’s plan even to teach our children about His power and love for us.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Let There Be Light Rather Than Darkness In You

Yeshua is the light of the world. He shown brightly as He walked this earth and taught people about the kingdom of God. He taught truth. He called out evil for what it is and did so directly. Many unbelieving people rejected Him. They could not see the truth of Christ as Messiah right before their eyes. God did not hide Christ but raised Him up publically for the light to shine brightly.

The truth of Christ is still with us today and available to lead us through the historical record of the Bible and through the Spirit of God who dwells amongst believers. Pray that the Lord would open your eyes so you could see clearly the truth of Christ… that your eye would be clear and thus your whole body full of light. We must first accept Christ and then we can, with the help of the Spirit, transform our hearts and minds to His service rather than our own desires.

In this way we become a light as well. Let us not hide our light, our faith in Christ, under a lampstand. Even if we must face adversity, let us shine forth for all to see. If we accept the world’s view of truth, we will be filled with darkness rather than light. Pray for the Spirit to lead and guide you and help you see clearly and understand the truth of God’s word and build relationship with Him.

Luke 11:29-36

   29As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah. 30“For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31“The Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. 32“The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

    33“No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. 34“The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35“Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness. 36“If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays.”

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Doubt / Lacking Faith, Faith / Trusting God, Miracles, Mockers, Share the Good News, Unteachable / Foolish, Wickedness / Evil

Demanding A Sign From Heaven

Those who truly do not want to believe in Christ will ignore any sign He provides. Luke 11 documents an example where Jesus was literally expelling a demon such that a man who was mute, could now speak. Obviously some were amazed and their eyes were opened by the grace of God to seek after Christ. Others, who had already decided that Christ could not be God, look for all sorts of crazy, irrational ways to reject Him. Imagine accepting that the man was mute because of a demon and then saying that Jesus cast the demon out by Satan’s power? How foolish a logic is this… by Satan’s power someone casts out Satan’s minions? It is absurd.

They had just witnessed a sign, casting out a demon, and then some demanded… yes… a sign from heaven.  As they ignore one sign, they demand another. These men had surely already decided that Christ could not be God and they were not about to be persuaded otherwise, no matter what sign may be presented.

Jesus clearly articulates that only one stronger than Satan, namely God Himself, could overpower the demons and cast them out.

Luke 11:14-23

Pharisees’ Blasphemy

     14And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute; when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed. 15But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” 16Others, to test Him, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven. 17But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls. 18“If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. 19“And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? So they will be your judges. 20“But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are undisturbed. 22“But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. 23“He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.

As you go about your daily walk and engage people for Christ, try not to be discouraged that there will be some, many, who reject the message of Christ. Many rejected Christ even as He demonstrated miracles. These same type of people will reject Christ as we present Him to them. Our role is to present the truth to others, God will have to open their eyes to accept it.

We should also take care not to overlook verse 23. Jesus highlights that there is no middle ground. You are either with Him, or against Him. You can not “sit on the fence” or be “neutral”.    With that said, let us pray the Spirit gives us the courage to engage people boldly for the sake of Christ.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Yeshua Is The Way, The Truth, And The Life

Luke 9:24

    24“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.

Some will dismiss it as nonsense because they do not have eyes to see. However, for those of us whom the Holy Spirit guides we can see much more in this statement. We must lay down our own selfish desires and plans and submit to Christ. By submitting to Him we will find true life through Christ.

John 14:6

6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

If we strive and struggle to save our live… our desires and plans… our vision for life… then we will lose it, chasing all the wrong things.

Psalm 46:10

10“Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Let us put Christ first. Putting Him first means we will choose sometimes the path that is difficult in this wicked world. We must “pick up our cross daily and follow [Jesus]”. The cross was hard, brutal in fact, but above all, selfless and devoted to the Father’s will.

Luke 9:23-27

    23And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. 25“For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? 26“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27“But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

Let us proclaim our love for Him and His love for us. Let us not be ashamed of Him before men. There are serious consequences to this. Jesus, Himself, says He will deny before the Father those who deny Him before men. Don’t rush over that statement. Pause on it and reflect. Are you acknowledging Jesus publically and broadly? or are you silent, trying not to offend those who reject Him?

Let us put Christ first rather than all the things that the world tells us to chase, even when it seems hard.

Matthew 6:33

33“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Truly what good is it to have all the selfish desire we may want in this world… to succeed beyond the wildest imagination of the worldly… if we lose our relationship with Christ and end up without Him in this world and eternity beyond?

Luke 9:25

25“For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Faith / Trusting God, Fear / Reverence for God, Jesus (hearing from God), Jesus Christ / Yeshua

Who Do You Say That Jesus Is?

It is a critical and decisive question we all answer in our hearts, even if we do not acknowledge it consciously. We all must come to a decision about who we say that Jesus is.

Is He a fictional character? No. There is way too much historical evidence that He is real and not just in the Biblical text. The evidence is broad, including historical accounts outside the Bible and archaeological evidence.

Is He just a good teacher or a prophet? No. He claimed to be the Son of God, the Messiah. That means He is either a liar, a madman, or the Son of God.

Luke 9:18-22

     18And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the people say that I am?” 19They answered and said, “John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again.” 20And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.” 21But He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone, 22saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.”

Matthew 16:13-17

      13Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” 15He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

It is God Himself who reveals to each of us who follow Christ the truth that He is Messiah. Let us never be so arrogant as to look down on others who reject Him and think too highly of ourselves. Instead let us pray for them and give thanks to the Lord for revealing Himself to us. God initiates the relationship. We choose how to respond.

Whether or not we accept Jesus as Messiah should then influence the entirety of our lives. If He is Messiah, then we should follow Him and submit to Him all areas of our lives. He should not be a once a week, one hour lecture but a way of life. We should seek out a personal relationship with him and study His word. He should be our first priority and His teaching should guide us in all we do.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.