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Matthew 10

5/26/2013

Matthew 10:34 “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.”

Jesus came to show us the difference between doing something for selfish motives and doing something for love. Our love needs to be for Him and our actions done because of what He did for us. This world is set on our fleshly desires and Jesus taught us to forget our flesh and follow Him. We must decide that the truth is our only path and that we cannot let this world dictate how we live. Verse 37 says, “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.” It’s not that we don’t love them it’s that we love Him more and we learn to follow His example.

It is so easy to get caught up thinking that everything is ours when in fact all things have been given to us by God; our families our kids and stuff. We are part of the plan to make disciples and help people see Jesus in us. When we believe in Jesus, who is the truth, we can’t let anyone or anything get in the way of that desire. It is easy for us to do all for our families but we must not be willing to sacrifice what the truth is for them.

Verse 38 goes on to say, “If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.” Warren Wiersbe wrote this in his commentary and I think it fits to our purpose as followers of Jesus. “Keep in mind that the theme of this section is discipleship, not sonship. We become the children of God through faith in Christ; we are disciple as we faithfully follow Him and obey His will. Sonship does not change, but discipleship does change as we walk with Christ. Today, faithful disciples are greatly needed, believers who will learn from Christ and live for Him.”

As we see ourselves as followers of Jesus we must continue to grow and learn so that our example helps others want to grow and learn as well. It is so exciting to realize how amazing Jesus is and that we don’t have to, but we get to, follow Him and help with sharing the Good News. When we learn enough to share and then teach or model we do exactly what Jesus says in Matthew chapter 28 verses 19-20 which say, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Again, it is so exciting to be a part of what Jesus called us to do, so we need to open our hearts and live out our new lives for others to see. Amen

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Matthew 7

5/23/2013

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Matthew 7:6 “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.”

This seems to be Jesus telling us that our talk is not going to change people’s thoughts or lives. We must live our lives as Jesus did, but we must remember that not all people will be ready for the message and some will reject it and be negative towards us. All we can do is follow what Jesus has shown us and be a light, and when people are willing to see the light it will be there for them because if they are not ready our words may cause division.

Proverbs chapter 23 verse 9 says, “Don’t waste your breath on fools, for they will despise the wisest advice.” This reminds me of my adult life before Christ. When I was in my 20’s and early 30’s I would befriend anyone but if they said anything about church or Jesus I would say something rude and make jokes about religion. I still remember emailing a person who sent out a daily devotion at school. I got it once and emailed him to please not waste my time with his garbage. It is so important to share but it is more important to shine our light and let the Holy Spirit in us lead our way.

When we just live we don’t condemn people we are just helpful, loving and caring but when we try and talk we become judgmental and preachy and it turns people off. As we mature in our walk the right amount of talking and sharing combine to be the perfect watering tool for God to make it grow. Look what Paul shares in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 14, “But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.”

We must be careful to be aware at all times so we are a good example not a stumbling block for people that don’t know Jesus yet. Amen

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Matthew 6

5/19/2013

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Matthew 6:21 “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”

This is a simple enough verse to read but a difficult one to believe and actually live out. The verse right before it says, “Store up treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.” It is amazing that when we commit ourselves to Jesus and continue to grow the treasures we receive cannot be messed with. The Holy Spirit will work in us for our good if we store up our treasure in heaven.

As soon as we get locked on to material things or people we open our hearts for disappointment and we fixate on things that are not important. As we grow in our walk with the Lord our desires should grow as well and the things of this world aren’t as appealing to us. But the same works for the world, if we get caught up in the world our desires for pleasing God aren’t as important. This causes us to miss out on the joy of this world that God is offering and the light that we shine for others to see.

Look at what Jesus says in Matthew chapter 6 verse 22, “Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light.” When you take the time to open God’s word and study it so you can change or transform you are taking in light that helps you live like Christ lived. But if our focus is on stuff; money, children, our spouse or anything else that light can flicker and cause it not to shine.

In verse 23 Jesus really gives a good depiction of this by saying, “But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!” Warren Wiersbe says it perfectly in his commentary, “If the eye is properly focused on the light, the body can function properly in its movements. But having the eye out of focus and seeing double results in unsteady movements. Making progress is most difficult while trying to look in two directions at the same time.”

Focus is so important as we surrender to follow Christ not lead our own lives. It is much easier to lead than it is to follow, my challenge is to give up control and remember that because of Jesus we have eternal life and need not worry about this world and the things in it. I want to finish with what Jesus says in Matthew chapter 6 verse 33, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” Amen

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Matthew 5

5/15/2013

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Matthew 5:43-48 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true Children of your Father in heaven. For He gives His sunlight to both the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

This is just an amazing set of scriptures. Jesus really challenges us to be different as we follow Him. He knows our hearts need to change and the world needs to be something we don’t focus on. There are going to be people of all different beliefs and practices but we need to pray for them and love them because in the beginning God created everything. Every living human needs to see the light of Jesus in us because we claim to be His followers. If we don’t love our enemies how will they see that accepting Jesus matters? How will they get their focus off the world?

We can’t make people change their hearts but we can plant the seeds of love and truth about Jesus and we can water the seeds by our actions in all situations. Look at this quote from Mike Breen in his book, “Building a Discipling Culture.” “Don’t live your life continuously calling other people to account for their actions. Instead, live your life in the recognition that you will be called to account. Hypocrites look for faults in others and miss their own faults.”

When we care for people enough we grow and we understand that it’s not us against them it’s us against the sinful nature. Jesus makes the biggest challenge in the last verse of Matthew chapter 5 by saying, “But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Warren Wiersbe puts it this way. “The word ‘perfect’ in this verse does not imply sinlessly perfect, for that would be impossible in this life (though it would be a good goal to strive for). It suggests completeness, maturity, as the Sons of God. The Father loves His enemies and seeks to make them His children, and we should assist Him!”

We need to continue to grow with others so we can be who God created us to be, His children. Amen

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Isaiah 12

5/11/2013

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Isaiah 12:2-6 “See, God has come to save me. I will trust in Him and not be afraid. The Lord God is my strength and my song; He has given me victory. With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of Salvation! In that wonderful day you will sing; thank the Lord! Praise His name. Tell the nations what He has done. Let them know how mighty He is! Sing to the Lord, for He has done wonderful things. Make known His praise around the world. Let all the people of Jerusalem shout His praise with joy! For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.”

When I read this it just jumped out to me and made me think, thank you. We can so follow this song and believe in our hearts how amazing Jesus is and how He makes our lives worth living. I love the fact that I am free of my sinful nature and I can see that God loves me so much that I can use my past to help people see His greatness. It says, “…I will trust Him and not be afraid.” This world is not our place of rest; it is our place of working for the Lord. Our work is not for salvation it’s for us to be fruitful and show others how incredible His is so they might accept Him as Lord and Savior in their lives.

Verse 3 says, “With joy you drink deeply from the fountain of salvation!” I say, with joy, we open God’s word and learn. With joy, we pray to God thanking Him for sending His Son. With joy, we go through our trials because Jesus has given us our place of rest in heaven with Him. With joy, we serve and shine that light so people see Christians with a changed heart living not for ourselves but for others. With joy, we give back to God what is His because He gave us so much. And with joy, we drink from our Lord and Savior and learn to do nothing without His counsel.

When our focus becomes on Him and we deliberately decide to drink from what He has given us our hearts change and we continue to grow and learn. What I love most about God is He tells us the truth. In Matthew chapter 7 verses 7-8 Jesus says, “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” This is a promise that will not go away so we must do all these things so we grow completely in our understanding of how we live and act. Look at what it says on Isaiah chapter 12 verse 5, “Sing to the Lord, for He has done wonderful things. Make known His praise around the world.” Amen

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Jude

5/5/2013

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Jude verse 4 “I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

When I read this I see comfortable people that think church is their relationship with Jesus but we all need to have our own relationship so we learn how to be fruitful and love the way God loves. Our acceptance leads us to a new life, one that is lived out for others, and we open our heart and mind to follow what we are learning.

Romans chapter 6 verses 1-2 puts a great picture to our new lives in Christ. Paul writes, “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?” This is a great reminder that change is a part of our believing in Jesus Christ. When we accept Jesus as Lord the sin we used to do so easily should disgust us as we grow in Him. Some of those sinful habits we have done for so long will need our devotion to seeking and seeing God’s word as alive and active.

Jesus’ death covers sin in the world and gives us that bridge to the Father but we can’t take it lightly. Look what Paul says in the book of Titus chapter 2 verses 12-13, “And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.”

Our belief in Jesus is our beginning of the journey that should be filled with asking, seeking and knocking or us devoting to God as it say in the previous verse. Devotion is a word that means a strong attachment to or affection for a cause or person marked by dedicated loyalty. Can you see how devoting to God is much more than going to church or using the term I am a Christian. Devoting to God means we desire to learn and grow to know what He has shown us and live our lives that way.

Jesus came to show us perfect living and in Him we have the strength to do all things and that means deny our sinful nature and listen to the Spirit. The more we devote to what Jesus showed us the more we can resemble Christ in how we live. Look at what Paul says in Titus chapter 1 verse 16, “Such people claim they know God, but they deny Him by the way they live. They are detestable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good.” The good is not only works it is helping make disciples and being fruitful in our lives so others hear and see Christ’s love. Our learning will never stop because we are not perfect so let’s make our relationship one that is fully devoted to the change God has given us through Jesus and let the Spirit lead us to be the kinds of people that are pleasing to the Father. Amen

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3 John

5/2/2013

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3 John verses 2-4 “Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in Spirit. Some of the traveling teachers recently returned and made me very happy by telling me about your faithfulness and that you are living according to the truth. I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth.”

I know John is talking to Gaius a leader in one of the assemblies that loves the Lord but it speaks to us all if we call ourselves Christians because we are the church daily. Think about this thought from Warren Wiersbe, “Each Christian is a witness either a good one or a bad one. We are either helping the truth or hindering it.” Are we showing in our lives to be like Gaius who is living in love of God and people and making a difference for the Kingdom of God? It’s not about our knowing God’s word to condemn people; it’s for us to shine like Christ and show people the truth in love.

If we are open to the change Christ can do for us then our eyes should come off ourselves and we should learn all we can so we live a way that is pleasing to God. This action is what draws people to seek who Jesus is and makes them wonder about our life. Our transformed life is a transparent life which is for others to see and ask about. I love in the Gospel of John where Jesus tells His disciples that He gets His nourishment from doing the will of the Father. When we get our nourishment from God our actions show our heart and we desire to make disciples by pouring into people with love and truth.

Mike Breen author of the book “Building a Discipling Culture” wrote this, “We suggest that if you want to be a disciple, and if you want people you disciple to be able to disciple others who then disciple others, you will need to follow the path of information to imitation to innovation.” Simply we need to read God’s word and then live out what we learn. While we are living what we learn we need to be pouring into people so they can imitate the truth and then use their giftedness to keep these processes going. As we continue to develop our love for God it overflows to loving people and that overflows in us helping change the world by making disciples that forever want to learn. Amen

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Matthew 10

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