Discerning / Judging, Fear / Reverence for God, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Purposeful / Intentional

Count The Cost… Of Discipleship

Yeshua reminds us that being a true disciple is not just something we do when we have time or something we do “on the side”. To be a true disciple, we must put Him first… above all things and all relationships.

If we are to choose to follow Him, let us take time to count the cost to ensure we are prepared to complete the journey.

Luke 14:25-35

Discipleship Tested

     25Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, 26“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. 27“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28“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? 29“Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31“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? 32“Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33“So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

      34“Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? 35“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.”

He does not literally mean that you must hate your wife and family. The point is that you must put Christ first, above all relationships and possessions.

Regarding the “salt” reference, I He is considering the following. Disciples of Christ are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13). If disciples become tasteless (unable to distinguish from non believers) because of they prioritize other relationships and things above their relationship with Christ, then they are of no value to the kingdom of God.

On the other hand, if we prioritize Christ first, then all other things will be added to us in the proper context and value.

Matthew 6:33

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

Count the cost of discipleship so you may prepare properly… but choose to follow Yeshua.

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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, 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.

 

Help / Serve Others, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Humility, Jesus (hearing from God), Kindness / Gentleness, Parables, Purposeful / Intentional, Wise

He Who Exalts Himself Will Be Humbled, And He Who Humbles Himself Will Be Exalted

His ways are not our ways… they are better! Yeshua teaches about humility and kindness for those of us who wish to follow Him in deed and not just in word.

Luke 14:7-15

Parable of the Guests

     7And 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, 8“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, 9and 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. 10“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. 11“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

      12And He 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 also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. 13“But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14and 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.”

      15When 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!”

Now the challenge is whether or not we will live out our lives as Yeshua teaches. Will we lift up others? or ourselves?

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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.

 

Compassionate, Healer, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Help / Serve Others, Jesus (hearing from God), Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Kindness / Gentleness, Love, Loving / Kind, Merciful, Miracles, Miracles, Purposeful / Intentional

The Sabbath Was Made For Man, And Not Man For The Sabbath

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YHWH has directed His people to obey the Sabbath and keep it holy. You shall not work in it. He set the example during creation when He rested on the 7th day. He did not need rest. He rested to set the example and pattern He intended for us.

Exodus 20:8-11

    8“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9“Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. 11“For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

Many act as if YHWH has changed His mind regarding Sabbath because our culture has changed and moved away from His instruction such that it is now considered normal and acceptable to work and have businesses open 7 days a week. YHWH has not changed His mind. His instruction to keep the Sabbath is still relevant today.

Another trap we should be careful to avoid is one that the Pharisees fell into. They made a list of rules and expectations in a legalistic way to define what was and was not work and could or could not be done on the Sabbath. They also took Sabbath so legally as to disregard other commands YHWH provided. Some excerpts from scripture below document some important teaching that Yeshua went out of His way to demonstrate about healing on the Sabbath and about times when there are more important concerns such as David’s men who needed to eat and ate the consecrated bread that was only for the priests.

We can not simply put a strict legal formula around obeying our Father, whether regarding Sabbath or other instructions. Sometimes instructions conflict in certain circumstances or there are competing priorities that both may honor the Father, as in resting on Sabbath or helping/healing someone in need.

In the example of healing on the Sabbath, Yeshua points out the hypocrisy that all would stop and help an animal out of a ditch on Sabbath, so why would you not heal someone on the Sabbath… to the glory of YHWH?

Mark 2:23-28

      23And it happened that He was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain. 24The Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25And He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry; 26how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?” 27Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. 28“So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Luke 14:1-6

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

     1It happened that when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching Him closely. 2And there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy. 3And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. 5And He said to them, “Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?” 6And they could make no reply to this.

Matthew 12:8-14

      8“For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

      9Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. 10And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned Jesus, asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him. 11And He said to them, “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? 12“How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other. 14But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

We do well to respect and honor the instructions of the Lord regarding Sabbath. Take care so as not to always come up with “good excuses” to be busy on Sabbath, even if doing good. Most of that can be planned for other days if we try. However, if the opportunity to do good and glorify our Father comes before us, such as healing or helping others, and it happens to be Sabbath… avoid being too legalistic. We should reflect in our lives His compassion and lovingkindness in our response to those in need around us.

Remember that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. It is for our benefit to rest on the 7th day and keep it holy, not for YHWH’s benefit.

As a quick sidebar… Sabbath is the seventh day, which is Saturday, not Sunday. Man made that change to move away from God’s instruction. because man changed the calendar, it is even more confusing now because God created the days to be marked by sundown rather than an arbitrary numerical indication we are now so familiar with. Sabbath starts on what is now our Friday night at sundown and continues through Saturday night at sundown. This makes for an interesting study of the “Hebrew calendar” you can make. Consider Psalm119 Ministries for reference.

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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.

All Powerful / King of All, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Joy / Happiness / Rejoicing, Justice / Judgment, Righteous, Righteousness / Serving God, Thankfulness, Wickedness / Evil, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

The Lord Reigns; Let The Earth Rejoice

Let us worship Him and reflect on His glory. He is Lord of the whole earth, even those who deny Him. Those who love righteousness and holiness… let us rejoice in Him. He has no equal.

Psalm 97

The LORD’S Power and Dominion.

     1The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice;
Let the many islands be glad.

      2Clouds and thick darkness surround Him;
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

      3Fire goes before Him
And burns up His adversaries round about.

      4His lightnings lit up the world;
The earth saw and trembled.

      5The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the LORD,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.

      6The heavens declare His righteousness,
And all the peoples have seen His glory.

      7Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images,
Who boast themselves of idols;
Worship Him, all you gods.

      8Zion heard this and was glad,
And the daughters of Judah have rejoiced
Because of Your judgments, O LORD.

      9For You are the LORD Most High over all the earth;
You are exalted far above all gods.

      10Hate evil, you who love the LORD,
Who preserves the souls of His godly ones;
He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

      11Light is sown like seed for the righteous
And gladness for the upright in heart.

      12Be glad in the LORD, you righteous ones,
And give thanks to His holy name.

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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.

Discerning / Judging, Faith / Trusting God, Holy Spirit (hearing from God), Holy Spirit / Ruach HaKodesh, Miracles, Money / Finances / Wealth, Obeying God, Through Prophets

Financial Obedience And Joyful Gifts To Our Father

The Lord provided great victory for the Israelites over the Midianites. Verse 49 seems to indicate they did not lose a single man in the battle.  They knew this victory could only be from the Lord. They were victorious because they obeyed the Lord. In victory, they similarly obeyed the Lord in dividing the booty according to His instruction rather than their own.

We do well to learn to obey the Lord and seek His specific instruction for our lives. He does provide specific instructions to His people for their lives. He is more than just His written word, which helps us to know Him and understand how He relates to His people. He spoke to the people about this specific event and how they should handle it. He offers us this relationship today as His children. He provides the Spirit to dwell within believers and guide us. We need to take time to be still and quiet and focused in His presence to continue building our relationship with him so that we better understand His voice when He speaks to us.

Numbers 31:25-54

Division of the Booty

     25Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 26“You and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers’ households of the congregation take a count of the booty that was captured, both of man and of animal; 27and divide the booty between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation. 28“Levy a tax for the LORD from the men of war who went out to battle, one in five hundred of the persons and of the cattle and of the donkeys and of the sheep; 29take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest, as an offering to the LORD. 30“From the sons of Israel’s half, you shall take one drawn out of every fifty of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys and of the sheep, from all the animals, and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.” 31Moses and Eleazar the priest did just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

      32Now the booty that remained from the spoil which the men of war had plundered was 675,000 sheep, 33and 72,000 cattle, 34and 61,000 donkeys, 35and of human beings, of the women who had not known man intimately, all the persons were 32,000.

      36The half, the portion of those who went out to war, was as follows: the number of sheep was 337,500, 37and the LORD’S levy of the sheep was 675; 38and the cattle were 36,000, from which the LORD’S levy was 72; 39and the donkeys were 30,500, from which the LORD’S levy was 61; 40and the human beings were 16,000, from whom the LORD’S levy was 32 persons. 41Moses gave the levy which was the LORD’S offering to Eleazar the priest, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

      42As for the sons of Israel’s half, which Moses separated from the men who had gone to war— 43now the congregation’s half was 337,500 sheep, 44and 36,000 cattle, 45and 30,500 donkeys, 46and the human beings were 16,000— 47and from the sons of Israel’s half, Moses took one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and of animals, and gave them to the Levites, who kept charge of the tabernacle of the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

      48Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, approached Moses, 49and they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken a census of men of war who are in our charge, and no man of us is missing. 50“So we have brought as an offering to the LORD what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD.” 51Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all kinds of wrought articles. 52All the gold of the offering which they offered up to the LORD, from the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, was 16,750 shekels. 53The men of war had taken booty, every man for himself. 54So Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it to the tent of meeting as a memorial for the sons of Israel before the LORD.

I appreciate in particular what is recorded in verses 48-54. They had already brought to the priests what YHWH required. Still the soldiers recognized that the victory was from the Lord. There was no man missing. They were thankful and brought an additional voluntary gift to the Lord… and it was significant.

We should ask ourselves… even if we obey with giving to the Father what He asks from us, how often do we bring extra gifts just out of a joyful and thankful heart? It may be money, it may be time, it may be our talents… but how often to we give back to Him more than He asks? Truly He provides all we have. Let us be joyful and thankful.

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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.

His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Holy, Justice / Judgment, Obeying God, Righteous, Seeking God, Study the Word

Take Full Vengeance On The Midianites

Some passages are difficult for many to accept and digest fully. Truly these scriptures become more a test of how much we trust the Lord to determine what is right vs. our own opinion and perception of what is right. When we trust the Lord, we seek to increase our understanding of Him and draw nearer to Him as we study scripture. When we trust our own opinions more than Him, we may start to question whether YHWH has made a mistake or question His goodness and righteousness… His perfection.

We should always start our evaluation of scripture based on understanding YHWH is righteous and good and loving, but also holy and just. We should not question these core characteristics of our Creator. Let us question our own understanding  of the difficult scripture and its significance instead of questioning our God.

Numbers 31:1-24

The Slaughter of Midian

     1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Take full vengeance for the sons of Israel on the Midianites; afterward you will be gathered to your people.” 3Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute the LORD’S vengeance on Midian. 4“A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.” 5So there were furnished from the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6Moses sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the war, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war with them, and the holy vessels and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. 7So they made war against Midian, just as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed every male. 8They killed the kings of Midian along with the rest of their slain: Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian; they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword. 9The sons of Israel captured the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their cattle and all their flocks and all their goods they plundered. 10Then they burned all their cities where they lived and all their camps with fire. 11They took all the spoil and all the prey, both of man and of beast. 12They brought the captives and the prey and the spoil to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest and to the congregation of the sons of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan opposite Jericho.

      13Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the congregation went out to meet them outside the camp. 14Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who had come from service in the war. 15And Moses said to them, “Have you spared all the women? 16“Behold, these caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, so the plague was among the congregation of the LORD. 17“Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man intimately. 18“But all the girls who have not known man intimately, spare for yourselves. 19“And you, camp outside the camp seven days; whoever has killed any person and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves, you and your captives, on the third day and on the seventh day. 20“You shall purify for yourselves every garment and every article of leather and all the work of goats’ hair, and all articles of wood.”

      21Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to battle, “This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded Moses: 22only the gold and the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin and the lead, 23everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean, but it shall be purified with water for impurity. But whatever cannot stand the fire you shall pass through the water. 24“And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward you may enter the camp.”

Will you question YHWH because of this difficult scripture and others like this one? or will you question instead your understanding of YHWH and His instruction instead?

I have included some commentary from Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary for consideration.

31:1-6 All who, without commission from God, dare to execute private revenge, and who, from ambition, covetousness, or resentment, wage war and desolate kingdoms, must one day answer for it. But if God, instead of sending an earthquake, a pestilence, or a famine, be pleased to authorize and command any people to avenge his cause, such a commission surely is just and right. The Israelites could show such a commission, though no persons now can do so. Their wars were begun and carried on expressly by Divine direction, and they were enabled to conquer by miracles. Unless it can be proved that the wicked Canaanites did not deserve their doom, objectors only prove their dislike to God, and their love to his enemies. Man makes light of the evil of sin, but God abhors it. This explains the terrible executions of the nations which had filled the measure of their sins.

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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.

Heaven and Hell, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Jesus (hearing from God), Purposeful / Intentional, Repenting from Sin, Salvation, Seeking God, Study the Word, Teachable, Unteachable / Foolish, Worldliness

Strive To Enter Through The Narrow Door; Many Will Seek To Enter And Will Not Be Able

Many reject Christ. Many others think they have accepted and follow Him, but He knows them not. They have been fooled by “religion”. They may go to church, donate money, and say “God bless you”, but do not truly submit their lives to Christ. Tragically, when they meet the Lord they will be devastated…

Luke 13:26-28

26“Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; 27and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’ 28“In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out.

Truly seek the Lord in prayer, Bible study, worship, and quiet time with Him. Do not just go about busy chasing the day to day activities or going through some sort of religious checklist. Look to take the road less traveled in your pursuit of God… the one that appears harder… that requires personal change in your life… requires you to be different than most of those around you in order to be more devoted to Christ.

We are invited to have a personal relationship with our Creator. Don’t miss it!

Luke 13:22-35

Teaching in the Villages

     22And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. 23And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them, 24“Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25“Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ 26“Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; 27and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’ 28“In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. 29“And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. 30“And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.”

      31Just at that time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, “Go away, leave here, for Herod wants to kill You.” 32And He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal.’ 33“Nevertheless I must journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem. 34“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! 35“Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’”

Strive to enter through the narrow door; many will seek to enter and will not be able.

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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.

Jesus (hearing from God), Parables

What Is The Kingdom Of God Like?

Yeshua compares the kingdom of God to both a mustard seed and leaven. As with all parables, they are not to be taken too literally, but they make an important point.

Luke 13:18-21

Parables of Mustard Seed and Leaven

     18So He was saying, “What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? 19“It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and THE BIRDS OF THE AIR NESTED IN ITS BRANCHES.”

      20And again He said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? 21“It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”

The kingdom of God, when we first accept it, may be a very small part of our lives. However, once it takes root in our hearts and minds it grows large and is very significant part of our lives. It can not be “missed” if it truly lies within us. It is not a subtle or private part of our lives. It dominates our lives as the mustard tree would dominate a garden.

The comparison of leaven is similar, but quite ironic. Often leaven is used to represent sin, as in the Feast of Unleavened Bread. However, Yeshua here compares leaven to the kingdom of God. A little bit of leaven affects the whole loaf dramatically. Similarly, if the kingdom of God takes root in our hearts it has dramatic effect on all of our lives. We are changed wholly, not just in part. We can not compartmentalize the kingdom of God to one part of our lives and ignore it for other parts.

If we can live our lives as “silent” or “private” Christians, never revealing to anyone our faith so as to avoid conflict or “get along with everyone”, then we must really question if the kingdom of God is truly in our hearts and minds at all. If we truly follow Yeshua, then we submit to Him in all areas of our lives.

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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.

Healer, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Obeying God, Peace / Rest, Purposeful / Intentional, Seeking God

Healing On The Sabbath

We can so easily get confused and off track, even when we try to obey the instruction of YHWH. It is really important that we stay connected to our Lord with Bible study, prayer, worship, and quiet time with Him to listen. Luke 13 documents an example where man had so constricted the “day of rest” that they wanted even to avoid healing someone on Sabbath. Yeshua points out that this is absurd and misguided.

Luke 13:10-17

Healing on the Sabbath

     10And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all. 12When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.” 13And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God. 14But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” 15But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him? 16“And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?” 17As He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.

We should, however take care. Those in the healthcare profession, or others such as firemen, could easily rationalize that they should work on the Sabbath all the time, but YHWH intends for us to take one day off out of every seven to rest and devote to Him. It is important.

Those of us who can easily make the choice should honor our Lord by observing the Sabbath regularly. If something comes up and we have opportunity to help or heal someone, then take the opportunity. However, avoid planning your busy list of helping people on the Sabbath each week so you can do whatever you want the other days. Keep in mind that the Sabbath was made for man, not the other way around. It exists to help us.

For those who have more difficult decisions around Sabbath, either by profession (e.g. medical, police, firemen) or requirements to work during the Sabbath, spend time in prayer seeking the Lord’s guidance. Do not simply wipe Sabbath away, but find a way to observe it when you can. It is a gift from God and ignoring it or dismissing it, even for good reasons, is harmful to us in the long run.

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