Category Archives: Sin

Adultery / Sex Outside Marriage, Consequences of Sin, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Homosexual Behavior, Marriage

The Immoral Man Sins Against His Own Body

God’s design for sex is for it to be a wonderful and intimate part of a marriage between one man and one woman. It is as physical aspect of the two becoming one that helps to bring them together on more than just a physical act. It is a gift of pleasure from God to His people that helps a husband and wife to share a very personal relationship that is just between them, different from relationship with all others.

Sadly, though, those who are of the world rise up to defend sexual immorality instead of respecting God’s instruction. They twist scripture to do so… or often just reject scripture all together. They constantly change what is acceptable trying to always move farther from God’s word and embrace their own sin nature which seeks after the deceptions of Satan.  They proclaim sex outside marriage is good, they rationalize adultery, they cheer on homosexual marriage despite God’s clear condemnation, and they will not stop there. Once you disregard God’s clear and holy standard… there is no other logical stopping point. If we disregard God’s instruction, what is to say marriage or sex with children or animals is wrong… what is the absolute standard and on whose authority does it rest?

The truth is that all of these immoral practices that violate God’s clear commands are wrong and damaging to the people who commit them and to others. God’s instructions exist because He loves us and wants what is best for us.

1 Corinthians 6:13-20

13Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. 14Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power. 15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! 16Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “The two shall become one flesh.” 17But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 18Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. 19Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

Romans 1:18-32

     18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

      24Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

      26For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

      28And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

God loves us and set forth His instructions and commands to us because He wants what is best for us. He is guiding and protecting us … giving us freedom in His instructions rather than bondage to our sin nature.

God providing detailed instructions is not an over-controlling micro manager… no! God provides instruction as one who leads us through a minefield, carefully instructing us in the way we should go and the way we should not go so we may navigate it safely, without getting destroyed. In fact, He did not just provide a map, a written record, but rather actually became man to dwell among us and show us personally how to get through the minefield. Yes… God loves us that much!

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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False Prophets / Teachers, Heaven and Hell, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Marriage, Wickedness / Evil

Jesus Answers the Sadducees and Pharisees

It seems the Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious leaders of the time, those most educated and trained in the formal practices of religion, never tired of spending time and energy trying to trick Jesus while at the same time never had any energy to try to accept Him for whom He claimed to be… God and Messiah.  The same is still true for many people today. They spend all their effort trying to explain away Jesus rather than accepting Him as Lord and submitting their lives to Him.

Matthew 22:23-45

23On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, 24asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.’ 25“Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; 26so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27“Last of all, the woman died. 28“In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.”

29But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30“For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31“But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

34But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38“This is the great and foremost commandment. 39“The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbors as yourself.’ 40“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

41Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42“What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.” 43He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying, 44‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet”?

45“If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” 46No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question.

The Sadducees did not believe in life after death. They were not trying to learn from Jesus, but rather trick Him or trap Him. Jesus always has answers and is never surprised. He knows the wickedness of those who try to dismiss or reject Him. In His grace, He offers answers anyway and those of us who have ears to hear will learn.

As difficult as it seems to those of us who are married and love our spouses, Jesus tells us that life after death in Heaven will be very different than what we experience on earth today. The marriage relationship is a gift for us to enjoy in this life, but will not be the same in life after death. It is hard for us to imagine, but God has something better arranged for life after death for those who follow Him than even what we enjoy in this world.

Jesus further confirms resurrection is real and those who were in right relationship with God when they died have already been resurrected and are with Him in Heaven.

Once the Sadducees failed, then the Pharisees took another attempt to trap Jesus. Jesus was not surprised or without answer. Out of a trick question, intended to trap Jesus… Jesus provides a great summary of the foundation of all the law and the prophets for those of us who choose to follow Him.

 37And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38“This is the great and foremost commandment. 39“The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbors as yourself.’ 40“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Just in case the 10 commandments are too hard for us to remember, Jesus provides insight into what they are based on… love God and love each other. Surely Jesus had great wisdom and ability to simplify what others think to be complex. We should also pause here to realize that God’s commands are all still in effect. His law, which is to love God and love one another, has not been altered or abolished by Jesus’ death. Jesus never taught as such and actually taught the opposite with both words and His actions throughout His earthly ministry and when He came back to His disciples after His resurrection. To  learn more study our teaching , Understanding The Law – What Does It Mean Today?

After responding to the questions He was asked, Jesus then challenged the Pharisees and Sadducees with a question. They could not answer it and realized Jesus was much wiser than they… but they still refused to acknowledge Him as Messiah and God. Their minds were already made up and they were not seeking truth and understanding… instead they sought only to discredit Jesus.

The question Jesus asked them was actually quite important… and it was clear they did not understand it. Jesus was pointing out that the anticipated Messiah was not just a descendant of David, a secular king or prince. If so, how could David, as an ancestor, call him Lord. No, the Messiah was not only “Son of God” but “God in the flesh”. Hence, David called Him Lord. Jesus at once opened a door to show these men a deeper understanding of the Messiah and also revealed how little they truly understood. They rejected the opportunity and instead stopped the conversation. They were unwilling to become humble and seek the wisdom Jesus offered, but instead remained proud and plotted against Him.

God has answers for all the attempts people have to explain Him away or teach false doctrine… but we must seek them out in prayer and study of scripture and in the world around us. We must first come to a place where we do not reject God and His holy word as our starting point. Then as we genuinely seek answers they will be revealed to us as we follow where the evidence leads… it leads to God as revealed through Jesus Christ.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Character of God, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Heaven and Hell, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Parables

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

Jesus continues with another parable in Matthew 22: 1-14. The parable of the wedding feast is directly related to that of the vineyard told at the end of Matthew 21. Both refer to God’s chosen people, the Jews, who rejected God and responded violently to His messengers.

      1Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. 3“And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. 4“Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ 5“But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, 6and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. 7“But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. 8“Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9‘Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ 10“Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.

      11“But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. 13“Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14“For many are called, but few are chosen.”

The parable shows God’s love and desire for His people to be with Him, obeying His commands and living in personal relationship with Him. When the people reject God’s invitation, they have no real excuses. They just can’t be bothered to come. They find business in the things of this world… in the day to day chores and activities. The truth is they do not desire to come to be with the Lord.

God prepared everything. The people just need to come to Him and accept His offer. Still they reject it.

God next extends His offer to the gentiles and many will accept it and come to the feast. God invites those who have done evil as well as those who have done good. He extends His offer to everyone through Jesus Christ.

The offer, however, requires humility and submission to God. It is most likely that the king, who had prepared everything, had prepared and offered wedding clothes to the guests, knowing they were poor and would not have their own. When the man refused to wear them, refused to submit to the king, instead choosing rebellion and disrespect, then the king had him cast out.  This man represents hypocrites, who come to the feast, pretending to submit to God, but have clearly not found salvation through submission to Christ. They will be revealed and cast out when they face the king.

So too is it for us, when we come to accept God’s offer of salvation through grace, by faith… to turn away from our sins and prior evil, and submit to God through Jesus as our Lord… we must come humbly and submit. We must not just come to the feast and continue in our old sinful ways, assuming everything is fine and we can have all that God offers, while still living willingly and unrepentantly in bondage to sin.

Have you accepted God’s invitation to the wedding feast… His invitation for salvation through Jesus Christ?

Have you genuinely repented of, or turned away from, your old sinful ways, and humbly asked Jesus for forgiveness?

Have you submitted your whole life genuinely and completely to Jesus? or are you honoring Him with your lips only and keeping certain areas of your life out of submission to Him?

God loved us enough to make a way to be reconciled with Him! Praise God the feast is prepared and we need not complete any works to be judged worthy. We just need to accept His invitation and then begin to follow and submit to Him!

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Can God Use Me?, Envy / Jealousy / Coveting, Family, Greed, Hearing from God, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Marriage, Obeying God, Righteousness / Serving God, Stealing / Theft

Jacob Leaves Laban Secretly For Canaan

Genesis 31:1-21 reveals to us that Laban has grown jealous of Jacob and repeatedly tries to cheat him. Family problems are certainly not new in today’s culture. Our sin nature is the same today as thousands of years ago. Jacob continues to grow in his relationship with God, though Rachel is clearly struggling. Jacob recognizes his situation is no longer good, due to Laban’s jealousy, and when Jacob hears from God… he obeys and leaves for Canaan.

1Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what belonged to our father he has made all this wealth.” 2Jacob saw the attitude of Laban, and behold, it was not friendly toward him as formerly. 3Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.” 4So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field, 5and said to them, “I see your father’s attitude, that it is not friendly toward me as formerly, but the God of my father has been with me. 6“You know that I have served your father with all my strength. 7“Yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times; however, God did not allow him to hurt me. 8“If he spoke thus, ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flock brought forth speckled; and if he spoke thus, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock brought forth striped. 9“Thus God has taken away your father’s livestock and given them to me. 10“And it came about at the time when the flock were mating that I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the male goats which were mating were striped, speckled, and mottled. 11“Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’ 12“He said, ‘Lift up now your eyes and see that all the male goats which are mating are striped, speckled, and mottled; for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. 13‘I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.’” 14Rachel and Leah said to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance in our father’s house? 15“Are we not reckoned by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and has also entirely consumed our purchase price. 16“Surely all the wealth which God has taken away from our father belongs to us and our children; now then, do whatever God has said to you.”

17Then Jacob arose and put his children and his wives upon camels; 18and he drove away all his livestock and all his property which he had gathered, his acquired livestock which he had gathered in Paddan-aram, to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac. 19When Laban had gone to shear his flock, then Rachel stole the household idols that were her father’s. 20And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing. 21So he fled with all that he had; and he arose and crossed the Euphrates River, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.

Jacob worked hard for Laban and with integrity for many years, helping Laban to increase in his wealth. However, Laban allowed greed to overcome him in his dealings with Jacob, changing his agreed wages repeatedly out of envy for the greater success that God granted to Jacob. Laban’s sons also become jealous and resent Jacob.

When God tells Jacob to leave, he obeys… first sharing God’s word and the deception of Laban with his wives and they all agree to leave.  I believe Jacob would have led his family to leave even if Rachel or Leah did not agree, because he had heard directly from God. However, what a good way to share God’s word and the family plan with his wives to allow them to be part of the discussion before they implemented the plan.

While God gave Jacob direction to leave, He did not command Jacob to sneak away or deceive Laban. While I can understand why Jacob thought this was as good idea, we can consider if it would have been a better approach to just confront Laban directly. As we continue to read later in Genesis 31, the answer becomes more clear and will be the subject of a future teaching.

We get clear insight into Laban through the mention of his household idols, and later in Genesis 31 when he shows how important they are to him. However, we also see that Rachel does not have a mature relationship with God, even after 20 years knowing Jacob and 13 as his wife. She knows he would not approve of the idols (she hides them) but she takes them anyway. She steals from her father and deceives her husband, rebelling against his authority and leadership.

It is disappointing for sure to see this behavior with Rachel so long after being with Jacob, but we can consider that she was raised in Laban’s care, which is not as great foundation to live for God. Further, even Jacob is still maturing in his relationship with God in these twenty years. He has a history of deception as well (deceiving his own father to take a blessing intended for Esau), and was not a strong family leader as we read earlier in how he failed to love Leah and failed to address the family problems that resulted.

Perhaps the most wonderful news in all of this is as powerful reminder that God can use all of us, even in our weakness and failure… as he used Jacob. We must repent from our sins, ask forgiveness, and submit to Jesus as Lord of our lives… but He can, and definitely wants to, use each of us!

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Character of God, Consequences of Sin, Discerning / Judging, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Greed, Heaven and Hell, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Parables, Repenting from Sin, Salvation, Satan, Selfishness

Parable of the Vineyard Owner

Jesus is still teaching at the temple in Matthew 21:33-46. His audience is the chief priests, the Pharisees, and the Jewish people who actually came to the temple, those perhaps perceived as more righteous than the “sinners” who did not come to the temple.

33“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. 34“When the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce. 35“The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. 36“Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. 37“But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38“But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39“They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40“Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” 41They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”

42Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures,

‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED,
THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone;
THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD,
AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’?

43“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. 44“And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. 46When they sought to seize Him, they feared the people, because they considered Him to be a prophet.

Most of us read this story and immediately recognize that the vine-growers were greedy, selfish, and wicked … refusing to live up to their agreement and willing to kill others who represented the one with rightful claim on the land. They were the ones who rejected the agreement they had made previously. We recognize that the vineyard owner is in fact quite patient with the vine growers who rebel against him, giving them multiple warnings and chances to repent and live by their agreement. Ultimately we recognize that he is within his rights to destroy the vine  growers and rent the land to others. It is a very straightforward story.

However, do we take time to really understand what this means when we apply its meaning to our relationship with God?

The vineyard owner is God. The vine growers represent His people, in particular the rebellious chief priests and other religious leaders who after receiving the offer to be God’s chosen people, reject His ways insisting on ruling themselves. They reject, abuse, and kill His messengers… the prophets. Then, God comes down as Jesus Christ… the son of God… surely they will respect Him… not at all. They reject, abuse, and kill Him also. Now what do you think God will do?

The specifics of this parable refer to God’s chosen people, Israel, rejecting God and then God opening up His kingdom to the gentiles, but the principle of the story applies to each of us even today.

In His grace and out of His great love for each of us, God has made a way for us to be reconciled with Him through Jesus Christ. For those that genuinely accept that offer, it changes their life as they submit all of their life to Christ and live according to His instruction.

But to those who reject Him, they will be destroyed in Hell, by their own choice of rejecting and rebelling against Him. There is righteous judgment for our sin. The penalty is death. Jesus paid the price, but many insist on rejecting His offer and insist they pay the price themselves instead.  Do not be misled by the deception of Satan, who proclaims that there is no judgment, all are righteous, all will go to Heaven. Satan comes to deceive and destroy.

God is love, but God is also righteous, holy, and just. Sin represents rebellion against God and it is ugly. It requires strict punishment. Do not rationalize to accept sin as “not that bad”. How many of us would think it wise for parents to accept “a little rebellion” from their children without consequences? What we inherently know is that rebellion against our parental authority is bad, and if allowed to continue without consequences it will grow and grow into more rebellion. It must not, can not be tolerated.

Note that rebellion is a continuous refusal to obey, often intentional but it can also come out of ignorance of the rules and laziness in refusing to learn the rules that have been clearly provided.  This is different from making a mistake, repenting, and sinning no more. Mistakes can be forgiven. Continuous rebellion must be addressed.

Each of us should study God’s word to learn and understand how He wants us to live… to relate to him and other people… and then change our behaviors to do as He instructs or commands.

In what areas of your life are you refusing to submit to God? Why? Are you going to change that behavior or continue rebelling against God?

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Consequences of Sin, False Prophets / Teachers, Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Grace / Forgiveness, Heaven and Hell, Humility, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Obeying God, Parables, Pride, Salvation, Thankfulness

Who Is Truly Doing the Will of the Father?

Jesus appears to be still talking to the chief priests and elders at the temple, or perhaps to others who had come to the temple to worship and hear God’s word, when he shares the content of Matthew 21:28-32. He has just finished a rather clever rebuke for their effort to question His authority. Then He speaks to show us who is truly doing the will of the father… those with nice words and a good front or those who act on God’s instruction, humbly submitting to Him in repentance of their sin.

  28“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ 29“And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. 30“The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. 31“Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. 32“For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.

Jesus is sharing an important message with us. Notice His target audience, by context… those that were religious leaders and those that had come to the temple. (Think of it like this… Jesus came to a church to speak to a congregation that already thought of themselves as obeying and serving God.) He is not speaking to those that did not come to the temple.  It is important to do God’s will, even if we get off to a poor start. On the other hand, it is intentional deception and wickedness (or perhaps sloth), to say we will obey God’s instructions but then fail to do so. Not understanding God’s instruction clearly is a call for us to study it more and seek answers in scripture and in prayer… it is not an excuse to keep living the way we want to… that, too, is sloth.

None of us are “good enough” to meet God’s standard. We are all sinners. Those of us who recognize our sin, who recognize that our sin is so ugly to God that the punishment is death, should genuinely repent and turn from our sins, asking God’s forgiveness and submitting to Jesus Christ as Lord. We do not hide from our sin or deny our sin, but rather ask God’s help to overcome it! God loves us so much that He made a way for us to be reconciled to Him and forgiven of our sins. Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the dead so that those who believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. We come thankfully and humbly before God in the name of Jesus Christ, repent from our wrong behaviors and thoughts, and ask Him to be Lord of our lives. Then we begin to live our lives for God instead of our own way.

Those who put a nice image, or front, of being perfect or good enough are fooling themselves, and perhaps fooling others, but they are certainly not fooling God. In particular, the chief priests and elders had every opportunity to know and follow God’s law, but instead followed traditions of men and looked out for their own power and status. The punishment they receive is great. Many who claim to teach about Jesus even today do likewise, misleading many or living in hypocrisy, teaching about God and living for themselves.

Do not get complacent, taking confidence in your church attendance or even your church leaders. Test what they teach against scripture to confirm it. The wise welcome reproof and correction and get wiser still; only fools despise correction and testing. We should come before God like the tax collectors and prostitutes to whom Jesus referred. Accept and admit to our sins and turn from them. Live like Jesus Christ is truly Lord of our life and turn loose of any pride that we must be righteous on our own… we are not!

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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False Prophets / Teachers, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Wickedness / Evil

The Chief Priests Seek To Trick Jesus, Not Learn From Him

There were many that tried to trick Him when asking questions, perhaps many still today who do the same. Even though they approach Jesus with a question, their hearts are wicked and hard as their intent is not to learn truth, but to trap Jesus. Jesus, however, has great wisdom, and will never be fooled or tricked. He often took the opportunity to respond by making a teachable point. In Matthew 23-27, the chief priests challenge his authority following His cleansing of the temple, which had become profaned as a market and “robbers’ den”.

   23When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” 24Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25“The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?” And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 26“But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet.” 27And answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” He also said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The chief priests are always conspiring and discussing things from a worldly perspective as they try to trap Jesus. Never is there a record of them going before God to pray and seek an answer about Jesus. Instead, always plotting about how to trap Him and manage the people so that they can stay in power and authority. They had become attached to the traditions of men, their own traditions, to the point that they no longer followed the commands of God.  They were far from God, despite the position of religious authority. Many who are perceived as religious authority today are doing likewise. They no longer look toward God.

Jesus answered them by simply showing He could trap them as well, and more effectively. Jesus had wisdom and a sharp wit, which He used to turn away mockers and deceivers, while focusing on teaching those who are teachable in spirit.

We must be careful as well to not spend too much time trying to teach those who are not willing to be taught. Lingering too long with them will prevent us from spending the same time with those who seek truth and want to be taught. We can always respond, even to mockers, but do not spend too much time there… for it is a trap that takes away time and energy from reaching those who want to hear.

[Proverbs 9:7-9]   7He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, And he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself. 8Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you, Reprove a wise man and he will love you. 9Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser, Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Character of God, Consequences of Sin, Discerning / Judging, Discipline / Correction, False Prophets / Teachers, Hypocrisy, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Justice / Judgment, Miracles, Prayer, Traditions / Holidays

“No Longer Shall There Be Any Fruit From You”

The context of Matthew 21:18-22 is important to understanding what Jesus was teaching. Without proper context, we will miss the point and walk away scratching our heads. Jesus had just been to the temple the night before and seen how what was holy, God’s temple, was being profaned by those selling animals and making a market out of it… a “robbers’ den”. He was returning again to Jerusalem and took the opportunity to teach His disciples about the coming judgment for those who choose hypocrisy and religion, while rejecting Jesus as Messiah.

  18Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry. 19Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.

20Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?” 21And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. 22“And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Mark 11:12-14 also records these events, but provides a bit more detail in regards to the fact that figs were not in season, and thus the tree was not expected to have figs.

   12On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. 13Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.

Why did Jesus curse the fig tree? Was Jesus just grumpy because there were no figs when He was hungry? Did Jesus not know figs were out of season? Of course not!

Jesus was taking the opportunity to have a teachable moment with His disciples. Having just witnessed how the chief priests had allowed God’s holy temple to be profaned and made common, Jesus was making a point. The religious leaders that were supposed to be serving God faithfully and prayerfully, doing things God’s way, and bearing godly fruit in service to God were instead clinging to traditions of men and living as hypocrites, losing sight of the commands of God. They even refused to recognize Jesus as Messiah despite their knowledge of the coming Messiah and the evidence all around them that Jesus was the Messiah.

Jesus uses the fig tree to illustrate to His disciples the curse that God will put on such a people who reject Him. Yes, God does provide righteous judgment to those who reject Him, even more so when they should clearly know better.

The disciples are, of course, amazed by the noticeable withering of the fig tree. When Jesus tells them that faith enables them to do the same or even cast a mountain into the sea, we must be careful not to take it literally. Clearly, with God, many mighty miracles are possible such as those with Moses and Elijah. However, we must look throughout scripture and test how the disciples understood Jesus’ message to verify what Jesus meant. We never see prophets or disciples of God just going around “moving mountains” literally at their own discretion. That is not the point and that is not what the disciples understood Jesus to be saying, or they would have tried to do so at some point. The point is that when we seek God’s will, and listen to His instruction faithfully and without doubt, He will enable us to accomplish the work He has for us, even if it requires incredible miracles! God’s power is not something that we control for our own use and our own will, but something Gods provides as He helps us accomplish His will.

Each of us should  consider if we are bearing good fruit for God. Is it visible in our lives? Do people clearly know we are serving God? Are we serving God His way, set apart from the way of the world? or are we serving God to the point of comfort and convenience?

Do not expect miracles if you  are only submitted to God to the point of comfort and convenience and are still doing things your way instead of His. So long as you are not fully committed to Jesus, you are still in rebellion against Him. There is no neutral ground. You submit to Him fully or you rebel against His leadership.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Abortion, Miracles, Murder, Parables, Selfishness

Are Miracles Rare or Common?

Many are convinced that God’s supernatural intervention into our world and the lives of His people, miracles, is now rare or does not happen at all. Many do not even believe in any miracles at all. For those who are interested to seek out the answers, let us explore this topic by starting with a story.

Not so long ago there lived two women many miles apart. One lived on a rocky hillside near the mountains and one lived in a fertile valley. The first woman, on the rocky hillside, loved flowers. They were rare. They did not grow often near her home, so whenever she found one she rejoiced. She even let them grow right in her pathway so as to enjoy their beauty. Each morning she would look around for the beautiful flowers  and take a few minutes out of her day to stop and enjoy.

Near the home of the second woman, the same flowers were plentiful. They were everywhere. At first she really enjoyed them, but after awhile she tended to just overlook them. She accepted them as normal and ordinary. In fact, she found it frustrating that so many grew in her pathway and complaining in frustration she would often pluck them out to keep her pathway clean and organized.

The fact is that many miracles are impactful to us because they are somewhat rare. They are God’s supernatural intervention to do something that would not normally happen. By definition they are typically unusual. In that way, our human minds better process their wonder and look to God as a result.

Let’s take an example regarding cancer or other serious illness. If God always healed everyone who had serious illness, we would soon come to completely miss God’s miracle when He chooses to heal someone and just conclude that it is normal for people with cancer to heal on their own… like the common cold. If something is common we dismiss it too easily.

We could even take a moment to explore human nature further regarding some very uncommon miracles and how people relate to them today. Just to take a few exceedingly rare miracles as examples, let’s consider:

  • God created the universe and everything in it.
  • God flooded the whole earth during the time of Noah.
  • God performed many miracles leading the Israelites out of Egypt under Moses.
  • God became man, lived, died and came back to life in physical form to show us how to live out God’s word and provide a path to reconciliation with God from our unrighteousness.

Most of the world denies these miracles ever happened. They are said to not have occurred because they are hard to believe in the absence of God. Instead of acknowledging God, many try very hard to explain them away, in spite of the overwhelming evidence that God left for us to see that these things are real. It is worth noting, however, that these miracles are life changing once one accepts them as real and from God. All we must do is study the facts closely and follow where the evidence leads. Praise God He did these things even knowing most would reject Him!

So we know there are many historical evidences of God’s exceedingly rare miracles… but are there still examples miracles today? Simply put, yes. But we must take care to avoid the trap of the second woman in the story in today’s teaching. She totally missed the beauty in the flowers because they were common. So too is it with many who experience common miracles today all around them. They are so common, they are no longer considered miracles.

Let us consider just one prominent example. People can stare directly into the impossible diversity and uniqueness of every day events and claim it is completely random, dismissing God. Many can wonder that there are so many snowflakes and never two the same. Others miss the glorious miracle of how God creates each child, like a snowflake, unique and unmatched in all the history of mankind across billions of people. God forms each person in their mother’s womb.

God clearly tells us life begins in the womb in Jeremiah 1:4-5

4 The Lord gave me this message:

5 “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my  prophet to the nations.”

And again in Psalms 139:13-16

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
    as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.

Yet still people around the world, including many Christians fail to see the miracle and instead have actually taken Satan’s deception that babies are just commonplace and disposable. Over 40 million babies are murdered in their mother’s wombs every year for little more than selfishness and convenience of the mother. The glorious, but seemingly common, miracle of God has become ordinary and disposable to many. They miss the miracle and instead , remove it from their path in frustration that it is even there at all.

To sum up… what is the answer to our question in the title of this teaching… “Are Miracles Rare or Common?” In fact the answer is “Yes, miracles are both rare and common.”. We should take care not to miss the common ones all around us and take equal care not to dismiss the exceedingly rare ones as ever really happening. Let both the common and rare miracles lead us to deeper relationship with our creator.

If you or someone you know has been involved in abortion, help is available. Those involved should acknowledge their sin, repent and genuinely ask forgiveness through Jesus Christ… turning from their sin and encouraging others likewise to avoid abortion. There is forgiveness and love at the cross. Please see our teaching, The Message of the Cross. If you want more information on abortion, please visit our website page, Crisis Help: Stop Abortion.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Bitterness / Resentment, Children, Consequences of Sin, Envy / Jealousy / Coveting, Evidence in Scripture, Family, Love

Doing It Our Way Instead of God’s Way… What A Mess!

Genesis 30:1-24 continues to show us the depth of consequences for doing things our way instead of God’s way. Jacob, who intentionally tricked and deceived his father Isaac, was later intentionally tricked and deceived by his uncle Laban and now finds himself married to two women, one of which he does not love. God has granted Leah several sons because she was unloved by her husband and given Rachel none.

30 When Rachel saw that she wasn’t having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She pleaded with Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”

2 Then Jacob became furious with Rachel. “Am I God?” he asked. “He’s the one who has kept you from having children!”

3 Then Rachel told him, “Take my maid, Bilhah, and sleep with her. She will bear children for me,[a] and through her I can have a family, too.” 4 So Rachel gave her servant, Bilhah, to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her. 5 Bilhah became pregnant and presented him with a son. 6 Rachel named him Dan,[b] for she said, “God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son.” 7 Then Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son. 8 Rachel named him Naphtali,[c] for she said, “I have struggled hard with my sister, and I’m winning!”

9 Meanwhile, Leah realized that she wasn’t getting pregnant anymore, so she took her servant, Zilpah, and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Soon Zilpah presented him with a son. 11 Leah named him Gad,[d] for she said, “How fortunate I am!” 12 Then Zilpah gave Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah named him Asher,[e] for she said, “What joy is mine! Now the other women will celebrate with me.”

14 One day during the wheat harvest, Reuben found some mandrakes growing in a field and brought them to his mother, Leah. Rachel begged Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

15 But Leah angrily replied, “Wasn’t it enough that you stole my husband? Now will you steal my son’s mandrakes, too?”

Rachel answered, “I will let Jacob sleep with you tonight if you give me some of the mandrakes.”

16 So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. “You must come and sleep with me tonight!” she said. “I have paid for you with some mandrakes that my son found.” So that night he slept with Leah. 17 And God answered Leah’s prayers. She became pregnant again and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob. 18 She named him Issachar,[f] for she said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife.” 19 Then Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob. 20 She named him Zebulun,[g] for she said, “God has given me a good reward. Now my husband will treat me with respect, for I have given him six sons.” 21 Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

22 Then God remembered Rachel’s plight and answered her prayers by enabling her to have children. 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. “God has removed my disgrace,” she said. 24 And she named him Joseph,[h] for she said, “May the Lord add yet another son to my family.”

The first observation I will make is this… what a mess! Surely the scriptures must be true. If someone were willing to change them they would have started by removing the family failures like this one which reflects poorly on Isaac and Jacob. It reflects poorly on Isaac because he raised Jacob and Esau in a family environment where each parent clearly had their favorite child and was content to let the other be loved less or not at all. Thus that sin and failure became part of Jacob’s “inheritance” and he continued it into his family by failing to love his wife, Leah. He clearly embraced Rachel as his favorite.

How could doing things God’s way have helped avert this situation?

  • God intended marriage to be between one man and one woman, not a man and several women. Man can not properly demonstrate love to more than one woman and perhaps even if he could, even the appearance of favorites leads to jealousy, bitterness and division.
  • Jacob having married Leah, should have loved her. Love is not just an emotion, it is conscious act of will as outlined in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
  • Jacob surely must have known or had the opportunity to know  the bitterness between Rachel and Leah, yet he did nothing as the leader of his household to resolve it. He was not dwelling with understanding with his wives as called for in 1 Peter 3:7.  (7You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered. )
  • When Jacob was confronted directly by Rachel, he still did not turn to God in prayer or insert himself more deeply into the situation between Rachel and Leah. He basically dismissed Rachel in anger as shown in verse 2. (2 Then Jacob became furious with Rachel. “Am I God?” he asked. “He’s the one who has kept you from having children!”) What would have happened if Jacob would have listened to Rachel, repented and asked God for help, changing his own behaviors to do things God’s way?
  • There were still yet other opportunities to avert total family meltdown… either Rachel or Leah could have returned good for evil and just smothered the other in kindness and grace as called for in 1 Peter 3:9. (8To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; 9not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.) Though this verse is intended in context for husband and wife, a similar approach helps between any two people.

Instead of doing things God’s way, they continued to fight and scheme, trying to “win” by doing things their own way. This is clearly a failure of Jacob as leader of the family and we will see this failure continue on into how his sons treat Joseph, who becomes his favorite.

Both Rachel and Leah propose… and Jacob agrees… that Jacob sleep with their maids. The sinful failures of the father continue to the next generation. Abraham and Sarah already went down this road earlier in Genesis and it did not end well. They chose to “help” God provide a son for Abraham through Sarah’s maid. If they made any attempt to share this mistake and its implications with their children, it is not evident. Isaac witnessed the failure through tension within the family regarding Ishmael. Jacob knew of Ishmael… in fact his brother, Esau, went to visit Ishmael at one point. None the less, Jacob and his wives fail and have children through their maid servants… once again doing things their way instead of God’s way.

There are no number of sons that can be had to end this bitterness as having children is not the root of the issue. The root is Jacob’s failure to love Leah and Rachel both. It is their failure to live God’s way.

We clearly see demonstrated that there are natural consequences for our sin and failures when we do things our own way, even if we have God’s blessing as Jacob had.

Each of us should seek to know God’s ways and follow them. When we are faced with trials, we should seek answers in His word and in prayer. Do things God’s way, not our own.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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