Matthew19: 21-23, 28-29
"Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions
and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come,
follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.hen Jesus said to his disciples, “ I tell you the truth, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven."
27-29: "Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” Jesus said to them, “ I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things,
when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed
me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life."
Oh, Lord, there is not one bad reason to follow you wholly. This world and all its treasures and pleasures is passing away. My citizenship is not here, but in Heaven. This is but a temporary stop on the way. I liken my life here as being sent from home to be a missionary in a foreign land. I know that while I am there I will experience difficulties and opposition, and in some areas it might require my earthly life as a martyr.
How I long for Home! To be with my Family forever and ever in Your presence! Being with You, even if I have nothing else is fine with me.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Monday, October 28, 2013
I Tell You the Truth Matthew 18:1-3, 6, 13-14 18 Jesus and Children
Matthew 18
1: "At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2: He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.
3: And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
Humility and trust! OH, Lord! This is such a precious passage and such a grave warning. You certainly are unconventional in Your teaching style compared to the arrogance and self righteousness of the Pharisees of the day. You also were toppling the idea that just because the Jews were Your "chosen people", their attitude and condition of the heart was more important than their knowledge and lineage. Children, because they do know to do otherwise, trust their parents and teachers to tell them the truth, and follow them. You also gave these "Chosen" a lesson in humility too.
6. "“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."
You go on to give a woe to anyone who would cause a little child to stumble.
Unfortunately, this happens in our homes and in our schools. Children are brought up on hypocrisy and then fall away leave when they are old enough. Some are provoked to anger and are so deeply hurt they resort to substance abuse just to be able to survive.
18:13-14 "And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish."
You are talking about little children again. Here you tell the parable about the 99 sheep who stayed in the field and the one who wandered off. The Shepherd left all of them and spent the whole night searching for the one that was lost. The tenderness and diligence of the shepherd searching and searching for the lost "one"until he finds it is so powerful.
In the church, I can see where there might be grumbling just as the Prodigal's brother did:
"Why doesn't the shepherd just let that dumb sheep go? Why, he wandered off didn't he? No one threw him out. Doesn't that prove that he is a rebel and doesn't want to be with us? He's spending all of his time running around looking for that dummy while we need him here to watch over and protect us!"
If we are not diligent, Lord, how selfish and arrogant we can become. We become complacent in our churches and have the attitude that we do not need more in our church, that we are fine just as we are. That is NEVER Your plan. We all ought to be as concerned for the wanderer as the Father is. We have got to realize that at any time, the enemy can cause one of us to wander away...sometimes unwittingly. We are to seek and share salvation to the lost among us too.
18:18-19 "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. “Again, I tell you the truth that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
It is such a precious promise that You are with us in our homes, churches, schools, at work and at play wherever two Christians are together. Here you were speaking about confronting a brother who has sinned against You and how church discipline should work, but the child is still in their midst, or at least it looks that way.
Oh, Lord, may we bind our children and grandchildren in our homes, and bind the fallen in our churches. And if one proves not to be repentant may we be willing to loose them as well.
1: "At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2: He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.
3: And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
Humility and trust! OH, Lord! This is such a precious passage and such a grave warning. You certainly are unconventional in Your teaching style compared to the arrogance and self righteousness of the Pharisees of the day. You also were toppling the idea that just because the Jews were Your "chosen people", their attitude and condition of the heart was more important than their knowledge and lineage. Children, because they do know to do otherwise, trust their parents and teachers to tell them the truth, and follow them. You also gave these "Chosen" a lesson in humility too.
6. "“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."
You go on to give a woe to anyone who would cause a little child to stumble.
Unfortunately, this happens in our homes and in our schools. Children are brought up on hypocrisy and then fall away leave when they are old enough. Some are provoked to anger and are so deeply hurt they resort to substance abuse just to be able to survive.
18:13-14 "And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish."
You are talking about little children again. Here you tell the parable about the 99 sheep who stayed in the field and the one who wandered off. The Shepherd left all of them and spent the whole night searching for the one that was lost. The tenderness and diligence of the shepherd searching and searching for the lost "one"until he finds it is so powerful.
In the church, I can see where there might be grumbling just as the Prodigal's brother did:
"Why doesn't the shepherd just let that dumb sheep go? Why, he wandered off didn't he? No one threw him out. Doesn't that prove that he is a rebel and doesn't want to be with us? He's spending all of his time running around looking for that dummy while we need him here to watch over and protect us!"
If we are not diligent, Lord, how selfish and arrogant we can become. We become complacent in our churches and have the attitude that we do not need more in our church, that we are fine just as we are. That is NEVER Your plan. We all ought to be as concerned for the wanderer as the Father is. We have got to realize that at any time, the enemy can cause one of us to wander away...sometimes unwittingly. We are to seek and share salvation to the lost among us too.
18:18-19 "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. “Again, I tell you the truth that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
It is such a precious promise that You are with us in our homes, churches, schools, at work and at play wherever two Christians are together. Here you were speaking about confronting a brother who has sinned against You and how church discipline should work, but the child is still in their midst, or at least it looks that way.
Oh, Lord, may we bind our children and grandchildren in our homes, and bind the fallen in our churches. And if one proves not to be repentant may we be willing to loose them as well.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
I Tell You the Truth Matthew 17:20 Faith the Size of a Mustard Seed
Matthew 17:20
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
Dear Savior, this is such a precious verse and such an encouragement. In fact, I have taped a mustard seed on every business card I give to students and parents at Liberty University where I work. I ask each one if they can quote the verse. To the person, if they can quote any of it, quote the part about "faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. I have seen You turn despair into hope and discouragement to encouragement with this tiny seed and this verse.
You had given your disciples power in Matthew 10 to cast out demons, raise the dead and heal the sick. They had done much, but in this section they could not cast the demon out of this young boy.
After You did, they came and asked You in private why they could not and this was Your reply to them.
I tease the students and parents a bit and tell them that I really do not think You are telling them to move our SnowFlex that is on Liberty Mountain to their home town, or to do major landscaping. However You are telling us that there will be mountains in our lives that seem to be unmovable: sickness, disabilities, financial problems, relational problems, academic issues, etc., and if we have faith the size on the tiny seed, nothing will be impossible for us. I also believe that You are telling us that without You, we can do nothing, but with You (Because it is You working in our lives, not us) that nothing You have given us to do will be impossible for us.
This last spring, I asked You why You chose the Mustard seed out of all of the seeds in the world that You created. It is not the smallest seed. In my spirit, You encouraged me to plant some to see. I did, and I saw a wondrous thing! Most seeds take at least 7 days to germinate and send out a root. I planted some seeds on Sunday afternoon and on Tuesday the sprout was above ground! You taught me that if the seed of faith is planted in the fertile soil of a heart, watered with Your word, and kept in the Son-shine, it will grow very quickly.
The seeds I planted in the large pot at home grew to be about a foot tall, were robust and even flowered. The pot was out in the yard where it was in the elements. We had some hard downpours of rain and big wind storms this summer. The plants took a bit of a beating, but thrived.
We were to have a major storm so I brought the pot up to the house and placed it just outside the front wall of our screened in porch under the eves troth for protection. It survived the storm, but in 2 days most of the leaves had been stripped off by worms.
I may be wrong, but I believe God showed me that trials are good for us and keep our faith strong and healthy, even though we get a bit beaten up while they are being endured. But if we are placed, or keep ourselves placed, in a "safe" place; the little worms of doubt, disappointment, fear, bitterness, etc. can eat away at that faith and eventually kill it altogether.
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
Dear Savior, this is such a precious verse and such an encouragement. In fact, I have taped a mustard seed on every business card I give to students and parents at Liberty University where I work. I ask each one if they can quote the verse. To the person, if they can quote any of it, quote the part about "faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. I have seen You turn despair into hope and discouragement to encouragement with this tiny seed and this verse.
You had given your disciples power in Matthew 10 to cast out demons, raise the dead and heal the sick. They had done much, but in this section they could not cast the demon out of this young boy.
After You did, they came and asked You in private why they could not and this was Your reply to them.
I tease the students and parents a bit and tell them that I really do not think You are telling them to move our SnowFlex that is on Liberty Mountain to their home town, or to do major landscaping. However You are telling us that there will be mountains in our lives that seem to be unmovable: sickness, disabilities, financial problems, relational problems, academic issues, etc., and if we have faith the size on the tiny seed, nothing will be impossible for us. I also believe that You are telling us that without You, we can do nothing, but with You (Because it is You working in our lives, not us) that nothing You have given us to do will be impossible for us.
This last spring, I asked You why You chose the Mustard seed out of all of the seeds in the world that You created. It is not the smallest seed. In my spirit, You encouraged me to plant some to see. I did, and I saw a wondrous thing! Most seeds take at least 7 days to germinate and send out a root. I planted some seeds on Sunday afternoon and on Tuesday the sprout was above ground! You taught me that if the seed of faith is planted in the fertile soil of a heart, watered with Your word, and kept in the Son-shine, it will grow very quickly.
The seeds I planted in the large pot at home grew to be about a foot tall, were robust and even flowered. The pot was out in the yard where it was in the elements. We had some hard downpours of rain and big wind storms this summer. The plants took a bit of a beating, but thrived.
We were to have a major storm so I brought the pot up to the house and placed it just outside the front wall of our screened in porch under the eves troth for protection. It survived the storm, but in 2 days most of the leaves had been stripped off by worms.
I may be wrong, but I believe God showed me that trials are good for us and keep our faith strong and healthy, even though we get a bit beaten up while they are being endured. But if we are placed, or keep ourselves placed, in a "safe" place; the little worms of doubt, disappointment, fear, bitterness, etc. can eat away at that faith and eventually kill it altogether.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
I Tell You the Truth Matthew 16: 27-28 Son of Man Coming into His Kingdom
Matthew 16:27-28
"For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. “ I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Sweet Lord, I know the first statement relates to Your second coming. The second puzzles me a bit because the disciples and those "standing here" 2000 years ago are all long in the grave. However; I believe You mean that after You arose, Your Kingdom began.
Thank You again, Lord, for loving us enough to tell us what the future holds. You told them and You tell us now too! You certainly did not have to do that, but You chose in grace and mercy to do so. May my life stand as a testimony of that grace, and may You be able to give me rewards and crowns I can cast at Your feet in worship.
"For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. “ I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Sweet Lord, I know the first statement relates to Your second coming. The second puzzles me a bit because the disciples and those "standing here" 2000 years ago are all long in the grave. However; I believe You mean that after You arose, Your Kingdom began.
Thank You again, Lord, for loving us enough to tell us what the future holds. You told them and You tell us now too! You certainly did not have to do that, but You chose in grace and mercy to do so. May my life stand as a testimony of that grace, and may You be able to give me rewards and crowns I can cast at Your feet in worship.
I Tell You the Truth Matthew 13:16 Seeing Christ!
Matthew 13:16-17
"But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."
Lord, thank You for opening my eyes and ears to the truth! Thank You for the Holy Spirit who leads, teaches, and guides me through Your word.
How it must have grieved You in that day that those who were awaiting their Messiah, and had waited so very long to see Him and to hear His words did neither when You were in the flesh among them. You had been foretold for thousands of years and there You were! You healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons and did miracle after miracle to show Your deep abiding love for them, and they ignored You or tried to kill You as a blasphemer because of envy and jealousy!
You love us that much too and have told us of the glory of heaven and have given us the promise of resurrection and being in Your presence forever. You have shared the future with us and told us how this story ends. We need simply to trust and have faith. Some day, Lord, we will be face to face and I will be able to worship You there. Until them, I must trust and believe that what You have told me is the truth, and that for me is enough.
"But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."
Lord, thank You for opening my eyes and ears to the truth! Thank You for the Holy Spirit who leads, teaches, and guides me through Your word.
How it must have grieved You in that day that those who were awaiting their Messiah, and had waited so very long to see Him and to hear His words did neither when You were in the flesh among them. You had been foretold for thousands of years and there You were! You healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons and did miracle after miracle to show Your deep abiding love for them, and they ignored You or tried to kill You as a blasphemer because of envy and jealousy!
You love us that much too and have told us of the glory of heaven and have given us the promise of resurrection and being in Your presence forever. You have shared the future with us and told us how this story ends. We need simply to trust and have faith. Some day, Lord, we will be face to face and I will be able to worship You there. Until them, I must trust and believe that what You have told me is the truth, and that for me is enough.
Monday, October 14, 2013
I Tell You the Truth Matthew 11:11 John the Baptist in Prison
Matthew 11:11
"I tell you the truth, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
Lord,
John is in prison and is having second thoughts about who You might be. He sends a messenger to You to ask You for assurance. You answer the messenger and then turn to the crowd and say this, "yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
Everything You taught is opposite of how the world thinks. In the world, those who do the most, accumulate the most , give the most, and are the most are held in the highest esteem. John, like Samuel, Jeremiah, and Isaiah, were specially born to do special tasks to advance the Kingdom. Noah, Abraham, Aaron, Moses, David, Solomon, Josiah, and Ruth were specially chosen to do especially important things for Your Kingdom. We hold them in high esteem.
Here You say that the thief on the cross that trusted You for salvation that day is greater than not only all of them, but is greater than even John was. I believe You, but for me, this is still a great mystery!
"I tell you the truth, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
Lord,
John is in prison and is having second thoughts about who You might be. He sends a messenger to You to ask You for assurance. You answer the messenger and then turn to the crowd and say this, "yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
Everything You taught is opposite of how the world thinks. In the world, those who do the most, accumulate the most , give the most, and are the most are held in the highest esteem. John, like Samuel, Jeremiah, and Isaiah, were specially born to do special tasks to advance the Kingdom. Noah, Abraham, Aaron, Moses, David, Solomon, Josiah, and Ruth were specially chosen to do especially important things for Your Kingdom. We hold them in high esteem.
Here You say that the thief on the cross that trusted You for salvation that day is greater than not only all of them, but is greater than even John was. I believe You, but for me, this is still a great mystery!
I Tell You the Truth Matthew 10: 41-42 Rewards
Matthew 10: 41-42
"Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, I tell you the truth, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” NIV
Lord, in all of these passages so far, you are speaking of rewards. Given the times in which You spoke and from what I have learned from history, You were speaking of rewards in Heaven, not here on earth where thieves can steal, or governments can tax and confiscate. You do not tell us what the rewards will be, and I am glad that you don't. In this world, Lord the very best reward would be to hear You say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."
Lord, it is funny how You weave all things together. In the past few weeks, I have heard more preachers talk about rewards than I think I have ever heard. They are all different and come from all different sources.
John Piper and Bruce Wilkerson both spoke in Convocation here at Liberty and several radio preachers have dealt with the same thing.
You have a wonderful way of letting us know what is important.
"Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, I tell you the truth, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” NIV
Lord, in all of these passages so far, you are speaking of rewards. Given the times in which You spoke and from what I have learned from history, You were speaking of rewards in Heaven, not here on earth where thieves can steal, or governments can tax and confiscate. You do not tell us what the rewards will be, and I am glad that you don't. In this world, Lord the very best reward would be to hear You say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."
Lord, it is funny how You weave all things together. In the past few weeks, I have heard more preachers talk about rewards than I think I have ever heard. They are all different and come from all different sources.
John Piper and Bruce Wilkerson both spoke in Convocation here at Liberty and several radio preachers have dealt with the same thing.
You have a wonderful way of letting us know what is important.
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