Discerning / Judging, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Purposeful / Intentional, Righteous, Righteousness / Serving God, Selfishness, Sin Nature, Teachable, Unteachable / Foolish, Wickedness / Evil, Worldliness

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.

Blessed, Curse, Fear / Reverence for God, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Self Control, Selfishness, Wickedness / Evil

Shall We Choose Wickedness or Righteousness?

Yeshua pulls no punches. He can be very straight and direct. The time of His earthly ministry was unlike any other in history… God Himself in human form walking amongst us and revealing Himself to us. For those who reject Him face to face and deny Him when He shows up right before them… even others who rejected Him will condemn them for they had the greatest sign of all. They had Jesus in the flesh and then his death and resurrection, the sign of Jonah.

Luke 11:29-32

The Sign of Jonah

     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.

We have the earthly ministry of Yeshua recorded and available practically at our fingertips through the written word and now online access as well. We can carry a Bible(s) with us on our phones everywhere we go. Generally speaking we have amazing time on our hands with which to seek Him, pray, worship, study the word. We can say we are busy, and we can allow ourselves to be busy… but by and large we are not desperately seeking our next meal to survive. We fill our time with games and videos and all manner of trivial distractions. But do we fill our time with building relationship with the Lord?

We have time and access to our Lord and a record of His works and who He is. We have clearly documented history of the sign of His death and resurrection. If we are to reject Him still, than we truly are a wicked generation as was the generation which rejected Him during His earthly ministry.

Put God first. Seek Him first. Do not wait for Him to have the leftover time you don’t fill with other busyness.  Seek first the kingdom of God and everything else shall be given to you. This is the way to experience His blessings in abundance.

 Matthew 6:33

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

Each of us has an opportunity to decide for ourselves… shall we choose righteousness and blessings? or wickedness and selfishness and the curse that goes with it?

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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.

Demons, Jesus (hearing from God), Miracles, Spiritual Warfare

A Demon Will Attempt To Return

Jesus cast a demon out of a man and took the opportunity to teach about how Satan works in these types of attacks. Satan preys upon the sin and selfishness in our hearts and makes a place for himself. He is a strong man, guarding what he has taken. Only one who is stronger, God, can cast out Satan.

Jesus gives further warning, however, that simply casting out a demon is not sufficient. We must take the opportunity to “fill up the space” with the Holy Spirit. If we simply clear out the demon, but develop no relationship with our Lord and Savior, then we will be no better off in the end and perhaps worse. The demon will return with others and we will once again be prey to Satan’s forces.

Luke 11:14-26

      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.

      24“When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25“And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. 26“Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”

Embrace God as the one who can disrupt and cast out Satan and his demons from your heart and life. Admit you are a sinner who cannot save himself/herself. Submit to Christ. Repent and ask forgiveness for your sins. Ask the Holy Spirit to come into your life. Declare Christ as savior. From there, build your relationship with God for the rest of your life focused on prayer, worship, and Bible study, fellowship with other believers.

Once you have the Spirit in your heart, Satan has no foothold in your life.

Learn more about Spiritual Warfare.

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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.

Father / Yahweh, Learning To Pray Effectively, Loving / Kind, Purposeful / Intentional

Who Better To Ask About Prayer Than Jesus Himself?

Who better to ask about how to pray effectively than Jesus Himself?

Note how He guides His disciples. These are not “magic words” but rather a framework to help guide us. Start with focus on the Jehovah and His relationship with us as our Father. He is a loving Father who wants what is best for us. Focus on His name being holy and His kingdom rather than our own. Then we transition to asking for Him to provide for us and we are to come to Him daily.

Our relationship with the Father is not complete without recognizing our sin and asking forgiveness. We must also forgive others and we can ask the Lord to help us avoid temptation.

Luke 11:1-13

Instruction about Prayer

     1It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”

2And He said to them, “When you pray, say:
‘Father, hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.

      3‘Give us each day our daily bread.

      4‘And forgive us our sins,
For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”

      5Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; 6for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8“I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

      9“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10“For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. 11“Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? 12“Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? 13“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

We may have a tendency to think we are bothering God or not having faith if we keep asking Him over and over again for something. Here Yeshua encourages His disciples to be persistent in prayer before the Lord. It is interesting to note in the text it focuses on something the neighbor would want to give the person asking and it is just a timing issue. He is in bed. The neighbor does not agree to give something to Him that is bad for Him or that He would not normally give Him just because of persistence.

The closing verses of this topic, 9-13, are a very important reminder as well.  Jehovah is our loving Father. He wants what is good for us. If we ask for something which is good, will He give us something bad? No. We can also deduce from context that a loving Father who is asked for something which is bad will indeed withhold it and perhaps instead give something which is good… even if it was not asked for.

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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.

Abortion, All Powerful / King of All, Discerning / Judging, Homosexual Behavior, Humility, Justice / Judgment, Obeying God, Persecution / Glorifying God, Protector / Deliverer, Purposeful / Intentional, Selfishness, Strife, Wickedness / Evil, Worldliness

For The LORD Will Not Abandon His People

There are certainly times when we look around us and see wickedness rotting out our culture and the people of the world. Often we see the wicked oppress or attack the righteous, perhaps at times for no other reason than to feel better about their own wickedness by influencing others to join them rather than call them out for their sin.

Pray for the plans of the wicked to be destroyed and the righteous to be elevated. For the LORD will not abandon His people. Pray for repentance in the wicked that they would turn from sin and humble themselves before the Lord.

Psalm 94

The LORD Implored to Avenge His People.

     1O LORD, God of vengeance,
God of vengeance, shine forth!

      2Rise up, O Judge of the earth,
Render recompense to the proud.

      3How long shall the wicked, O LORD,
How long shall the wicked exult?

      4They pour forth words, they speak arrogantly;
All who do wickedness vaunt themselves.

      5They crush Your people, O LORD,
And afflict Your heritage.

      6They slay the widow and the stranger
And murder the orphans.

      7They have said, “The LORD does not see,
Nor does the God of Jacob pay heed.”

      8Pay heed, you senseless among the people;
And when will you understand, stupid ones?

      9He who planted the ear, does He not hear?
He who formed the eye, does He not see?

      10He who chastens the nations, will He not rebuke,
Even He who teaches man knowledge?

      11The LORD knows the thoughts of man,
That they are a mere breath.

      12Blessed is the man whom You chasten, O LORD,
And whom You teach out of Your law;

      13That You may grant him relief from the days of adversity,
Until a pit is dug for the wicked.

      14For the LORD will not abandon His people,
Nor will He forsake His inheritance.

      15For judgment will again be righteous,
And all the upright in heart will follow it.

      16Who will stand up for me against evildoers?
Who will take his stand for me against those who do wickedness?

      17If the LORD had not been my help,
My soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.

      18If I should say, “My foot has slipped,”
Your lovingkindness, O LORD, will hold me up.

      19When my anxious thoughts multiply within me,
Your consolations delight my soul.

      20Can a throne of destruction be allied with You,
One which devises mischief by decree?

      21They band themselves together against the life of the righteous
And condemn the innocent to death.

      22But the LORD has been my stronghold,
And my God the rock of my refuge.

      23He has brought back their wickedness upon them
And will destroy them in their evil;
The LORD our God will destroy them.

There is evil of many shades around the world. Some openly persecute and execute Christians, such as is common in some Muslim dominated countries. Others just constantly try to shame Christians for standing up for God’s instructions in life and pointing out sin in the society around them or for just refusing to participate in the sinful culture around them. They use lawsuits and lawmakers to discriminate against Christians living out their beliefs. They stir up anger and strife against businesses, calling for boycotts.

These same people are willing to murder unborn babies for their own selfishness and demand that it be free. They demand that Christians embrace and support and participate in homosexual marriage. They take no accountability for their own lives and just demand government pay them so they can buy what they have not earned.

Pray for repentance and revival. Pray for the righteous to rise up and be moved by God to take back our local, state, and national government proudly and without fear standing for and living out our beliefs. Then listen for how God wants you to be active and engaged in this revival and allow Him to direct you. Prepare yourself that if you are to serve Him, you will likely have to make changes in your own life and may likely face adversity and conflict… as He did.

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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.

Faith / Trusting God, Father / Yahweh, Fear / Reverence for God, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Obeying God, Offering Sacrifices, Purposeful / Intentional, Speaking, Through Prophets, Traditions / Holidays

Jehovah Cares How We Worship Him

Jehovah’s people were at a point of great transition. A generation had died in the wilderness (due to disobedience to enter the promised land the first time) and a new generation was being prepared to take the promised land. Jehovah was transitioning their leadership from Moses to Joshua. At this point, our Father saw fit to remind His people about His laws for offerings, about how they were to worship Him. It was important to Him that the people worship Him the way He decides, and not the way the pagans worship their gods or the way the people decide for themselves to worship Him. He has very specific instructions in many cases. They should not be ignored.

Numbers 28

Laws for Offerings

     1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Command the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be careful to present My offering, My food for My offerings by fire, of a soothing aroma to Me, at their appointed time.’ 3“You shall say to them, ‘This is the offering by fire which you shall offer to the LORD: two male lambs one year old without defect as a continual burnt offering every day. 4‘You shall offer the one lamb in the morning and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight; 5also a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with a fourth of a hin of beaten oil. 6‘It is a continual burnt offering which was ordained in Mount Sinai as a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the LORD. 7‘Then the drink offering with it shall be a fourth of a hin for each lamb, in the holy place you shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to the LORD. 8‘The other lamb you shall offer at twilight; as the grain offering of the morning and as its drink offering, you shall offer it, an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the LORD.

      9‘Then on the sabbath day two male lambs one year old without defect, and two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and its drink offering: 10‘This is the burnt offering of every sabbath in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.

      11‘Then at the beginning of each of your months you shall present a burnt offering to the LORD: two bulls and one ram, seven male lambs one year old without defect; 12and three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, for each bull; and two-tenths of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, for the one ram; 13and a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering for each lamb, for a burnt offering of a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the LORD. 14‘Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine for a bull and a third of a hin for the ram and a fourth of a hin for a lamb; this is the burnt offering of each month throughout the months of the year. 15‘And one male goat for a sin offering to the LORD; it shall be offered with its drink offering in addition to the continual burnt offering.

      16‘Then on the fourteenth day of the first month shall be the LORD’S Passover. 17‘On the fifteenth day of this month shall be a feast, unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days. 18‘On the first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. 19‘You shall present an offering by fire, a burnt offering to the LORD: two bulls and one ram and seven male lambs one year old, having them without defect. 20‘For their grain offering, you shall offer fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for a bull and two-tenths for the ram. 21‘A tenth of an ephah you shall offer for each of the seven lambs; 22and one male goat for a sin offering to make atonement for you. 23‘You shall present these besides the burnt offering of the morning, which is for a continual burnt offering. 24‘After this manner you shall present daily, for seven days, the food of the offering by fire, of a soothing aroma to the LORD; it shall be presented with its drink offering in addition to the continual burnt offering. 25‘On the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work.

      26‘Also on the day of the first fruits, when you present a new grain offering to the LORD in your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. 27‘You shall offer a burnt offering for a soothing aroma to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs one year old; 28and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for each bull, two-tenths for the one ram, 29a tenth for each of the seven lambs; 30also one male goat to make atonement for you. 31‘Besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, you shall present them with their drink offerings. They shall be without defect.

With the sacrifice of Yeshua for our sins… His death was sufficient for all time and we no longer need carry out these sacrifices. However, let us not be too quick to throw out all the instructions the Lord provided. Those celebrations and worship such as Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread and Feast of Weeks are still worth celebrating in order to honor the Lord and remember who He is and that He reigns and He has done (and still does) mighty miracles amongst His people. These festivals with associated feasts and Sabbaths can be a great way to focus our worship on Him and build our relationship with Him as well as teach our children about the history of God with His people.

Jehovah cares how we worship Him. He does not want us to just make up our own way of worshipping Him or worshipping Him the way the pagans worship their false gods. Let us honor Him in obedience as we worship.

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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.

Fear / Reverence for God, Purposeful / Intentional, Seeking God

Don’t Let Busyness Keep You From The Lord

It is so easy to get consumed with all the things we think we need to do, especially those things we feel that we are doing for Christ. However, sometimes it is the busyness from those very activities which can get between us and a personal relationship with Christ.

Luke 10:38-42

Martha and Mary

     38Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. 39She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. 40But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” 41But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; 42but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Pray for the Spirit to guide so you do not miss on a relationship with Christ, hurrying this way and that to “get everything done”. Set time aside to be with the Lord in prayer and Bible study. There will always be more task to get done, but we only get one life to build a personal relationship with the Lord that lasts an eternity.

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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.

Father / Yahweh, Fear / Reverence for God, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Help / Serve Others, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Kindness / Gentleness, Love, Loving / Kind, Obeying God, Seeking God, Teachable

What Shall I Do To Inherit Eternal Life?

What shall I do to inherit eternal life? This question figures prominently in the lives of many throughout the world and throughout time. You may hear many different answers, but only one is correct. Let’s explore how Yeshua answered this question.

Luke 10:25-37

      25And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” 27And he answered, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” 28And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.” 29But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

The Good Samaritan

     30Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. 31“And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32“Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33“But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, 34and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35“On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ 36“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” 37And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

The good Samaritan provides an excellent example of who our neighbor is and how we may help one another. However, just “helping” people is not the full answer. Loving God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind goes much deeper than just helping other people. Even loving people goes much further than just helping them. Helping people is a symptom of loving them but could also just be a willful choice absent of love.

If we truly love God, we must submit to God fully all aspects of our lives. This is not just a check list of going to church, helping people, being nice, etc. This means developing a meaningful relationship with Him through prayer and study of the Bible. It is inviting the Holy Spirit who dwells within us to guide us and fill us more fully. It is being still and seeking the Lord. It is all these things and more for a lifetime, not just an hour a week or once or twice a year.

Most of us intuitively know that our marriages and relationships fail if we do not invest time seeking to really know one another. Imagine a marriage relationship in which a husband or wife only talks to a spouse and never listens. What if they always tell the spouse what they want and then walk away until the next time they tell the spouse what they want again? What if they only spent an hour a week on Sundays with their spouse and ignored them the rest of the time? What if they continued to do things that hurt their spouse because they never bothered to learn about their spouse. Does this sound like a healthy relationship? Nope.

Then let us not treat our relationship with God this way. Instead let us rejoice in spending time seeking Him, praying, studying His word, being still and listening. Let it be every day and throughout the day.  Let us obey His word and what directions the Holy Spirit provides us. Let us be willing to change our lives for our Father, dramatically if necessary. His will be done rather than our own.

When we do this, then we will be on the path to loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Then, through His Spirit within us, we will also be more ready to truly love our neighbor. Then the act of helping is driven by love and “want to” rather than “should” or “have to” or “feel guilty not to”. This is when we are truly loving our neighbor.

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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.

Faith / Trusting God, Grace / Forgiveness, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Jesus (hearing from God), Loving / Kind, Miracles, Obeying God, Share the Good News

The Harvest Is Plentiful, But The Laborers Are Few

All those whom the Lord sends out in His power and on His mission that shall walk in obedience to Him, going forth according to His instruction, shall be used by God for His purposes and to His glory.

Luke 10:1-24

The Seventy Sent Out

     1Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. 2And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 3“Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4“Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. 5“Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ 6“If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. 7“Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. 8“Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; 9and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10“But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12“I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.

      13“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14“But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. 15“And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!

      16“The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”

The Happy Results

     17The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” 18And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19“Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. 20“Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”

      21At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. 22“All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

      23Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see, 24for I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them.”

The Lord calls many. Those who obey will experience Him in a whole new way. His ways are not our ways. They may seem strange or illogical, but obey none the less. The seventy went out with no money and no bag and no shoes. No person would plan a trip this way, but they did as the Lord instructed and He used them mightily, giving them power over demons.

No matter the victory that God does through us, let us not get prideful that He used us and instead rejoice in His service and that our names are recorded in heaven. Remember it is God’s power and not our own. We are not worthy of being used by Him or saved by Him. It is by His grace and His lovingkindness that we have the opportunity to serve. Rejoice when the Lord allows us to serve by working through us.

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