JESUS SPEAKING

                “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.  He who hates me hates my Father also.  If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both me and my father” (John 15: 22 – 24.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                Jesus Christ preached throughout Israel for up to three years before being crucified.  He preached in the cities; in the wilderness; in the temple; in homes and on street corners; he preached to every capable Israelite (He was so famous that he needed to travel by boat to avoid being thronged by the crowds.)  Still, despite seeing the miracles and hearing God’s message of repentance and forgiveness, many willingly embraced ignorance (and refused to listen); while others who did listen rejected Him entirely (In this scripture, Jesus implies that involuntary ignorance is an excuse; those who were not made aware of the message are not under condemnation.) 

                In my years of evangelism, I have interacted with many skeptics, agnostics, and atheists, who often use a common question to challenge God’s perfect justice: “If you can’t get to heaven without accepting Jesus Christ; what about the child in Africa who dies without ever having heard the gospel?  Are they going to go to hell?”  The answer is no.  God does not condemn the naive.  Those who are ignorant are innocent; yet those who have heard “have no excuse for their sin.”  (In the United States it is hard to believe that a single person has not heard the gospel.)  Many are willingly ignorant because they don’t want to change; they refuse to open a bible or enter a church believing that by not rejecting or accepting Jesus they will avoid condemnation.  Unfortunately voluntary ignorance is no excuse (those who enter hell have no one blame but themselves.)

                The Followers of Jesus Christ continue to preach the gospel.  Some accept him; some deny him; and others simply refuse to investigate.  God forgives the truly naïve, but he condemns the willingly ignorant.  There are very few places on the earth where Jesus Christ has yet to be preached.  Perhaps some isolated tribe in the Amazon; maybe some young children in a Hindu household; there are definitely many infants who tragically pass away who aren’t old enough to accept salvation.  God is just and holy; He commits no evil; and it would be evil to condemn the truly ignorant to eternal damnation.  No matter how strange or perplexing the question might be, remember, God’s word provides the answer.  Read His word and He will prepare you to speak on His behalf.  Dive in to scripture and you will be equipped.  Meditate upon His precepts and you will be His messenger; and He will use you to preach to lost; to bring hope to the hopeless; and to grant eternal life to those who are dying in sin.  Through you, many may come to know His goodness, His mercy, and His love.

                “Lord Heavenly Father, we recognize Your perfect justice.  We acknowledge that You do no evil.  May we be equipped to answer those who seek to impugn your righteousness.  Empower us through Your Holy Spirit; may we be bold; may we illuminate darkened minds, and preach the gospel to those who are ignorant.  May we be Your messengers in this place; may we deliver the good news to those who are afar off.  We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things in Jesus Christ’s name, Amen.”  God bless all of you.          

JESUS SPEAKING

                “You are my friends if you do whatever I command you.  No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15: 14 – 15.) 

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                After eating the Passover feast, the Lord said farewell to his closest companions.  In a long discourse (filled with emotion and love) Jesus revealed God’s complete plan to the disciples.  During this address, those who had called him Master were urged to consider him a ‘friend.’  The term ‘friend’ implied a deeper, more intimate relationship.  In ancient times, masters and servants were never equals; they weren’t partners; and they certainly were never friends; their positions prevented them from close personal fellowship.  In order to preserve authority and respect, the master had to maintain a safe distance (as “familiarity breeds disrespect.”)  Yet the ‘King of Kings’ (Jesus) shattered the barriers that hindered true intimacy.  The disciples became his equals; no longer was he just their Lord and master; he became their brother; their closest companion; and their greatest friend.

                At the age of 19, I worked as a guard and a counselor in a minimum security juvenile facility.  My role was that of a disciplinarian.  Often, when a child misbehaved, we had to intervene and physically restrain them.  The staff was given a great deal of power and authority.  Although we interacted with the children in positive ways, we had to maintain a professional distance.  Too much intimacy caused them to lose respect for us and our positions.  If they came to believe we were their equals, they would question and disobey our commands.  Those who falsely see God as an equal lose respect for Him.  Fear of God is good; those who fear Him are aware of his power and authority.   We read in Proverbs, “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”  In turn, God sent His Son, so that all could know Him as a ‘friend’ as well as a Father.  [Jesus also made all things known to his disciples—For three years I worked in sales; my job was to sell; the sales reps were rarely informed of the reasons, motives, or future goals of the company.  We were told only what we needed to know and were seldom included in the decision making process.  Unlike my former bosses, our present Lord has withheld nothing; in his final discourse, the disciples became his equals; he informed them of his immanent crucifixion; his resurrection, ascension, and eventual return.  He revealed the purpose of his death; he foretold of their future hardships; he even informed them of the impending arrival of the Holy Spirit (read the bible and you too can know God’s complete plan.)]

                God must always be honored and respected; (He is our master and we are His servants) in turn, there is a distance between God and man.  In His divine wisdom, He chose to use His only Son to draw near to all people.  Jesus Christ is God’s gift to mankind.  He is God in a form we need not fear; we need only approach Him in love; we are free to speak to Him; to fellowship with Him; and to be in communion with Him.  He is more than our teacher, our master, and our shepherd; he is our brother; he is our closest companion; he is our best friend.  Would you like to know God?  If you seek closeness with God embrace Jesus Christ and he will comfort you and give you peace; look to the Son of God and you will know his Father.  Invite him in to your heart and he will teach you all things; and “you will know the truth; and the truth shall make you free.”

                “Lord Heavenly Father we love You, and we thank You for Your son.  We desire to draw near to him; may every obstacle be removed, and every barrier destroyed.  May he be our brother, our companion, and our friend.  May we confide in You Lord; may we look to You for direction, for love, and for comfort.  We love You Father; we love You Jesus; we praise You and we thank You; and we ask all of these things, in Jesus Christ’s name.  Amen.”  God bless all of you.   

JESUS SPEAKING

                “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham.  But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.  Abraham did not do this […] You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you desire to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and he does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.  And because I tell you the truth, you do not believe me” (John 8: 39, 44 – 45.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                Jesus opposed the religious leaders with great zeal; they claimed to be descendents of Abraham, the patriarch of the Jewish people.  However, Abraham was a righteous man; a man who looked forward to the coming of the messiah; yet as Jesus stood before them, they sought to kill him.  They did not know God; instead they served Satan (a fallen angel who continually opposes God.)  Lucifer has an influence in every act of rape, murder, incest, theft, divorce, drunkenness, and dishonesty (to name a few.)  God’s truth is a light that exposes Satan’s lies.  Those who serve the ‘son of perdition’ will stop at nothing to extinguish God’s divine illumination, so they can continue in sin without remorse.  Where ever God is not, evil exists in abundance. 

                Adolf Hitler orchestrated one of the largest mass murders in world history.  He rounded up and killed nearly 6 million Jews.  He rejected God and the bible.  He avidly believed in the evolutionary teachings of Charles Darwin (his teachings attempted to explain creation by means of naturalistic processes—if life could arise and evolve on its own, then a divine creator would no longer be necessary.)  To Adolf Hitler, human beings were nothing more than animals; animals that could be enhanced through proper breeding.  As a believer in ‘survival of the fittest’ (an evolutionary term), Hitler assumed some human beings were less advanced than others.  In turn, he sought to create a master race by systematically destroying the unfit; before his campaign of ethnic cleansing, he killed the elderly, the deformed, and the disabled.  When the Godly stood up to oppose him, he killed and imprisoned them as well.  After he invaded Poland he killed nearly 3 million Christians and Catholics.  He also killed 3,000 church clergy members; another 2,600 Catholic priests were murdered throughout Europe.  He didn’t stop there; his goal wasn’t to control the churches, but to destroy them.  Following his death, the truth about his design to obliterate Christianity after the war became known.  Jesus Christ stood in the way of his twisted ideology; many disciples stood up and spoke the truth; they testified of his evil deeds.  Hitler (much like the Pharisees who opposed the Lord) had to remove the light of Christ before he could practice his atrocities uninhibited.  [As believers, we are obligated to resist what is evil; to speak the truth and to oppose the wicked.  One day in a crowded coffee shop, I heard a young man badgering another customer who was Asian (the man had done nothing to warrant this aggression.)  As the aggressor threatened the Asian man, he called him ‘slanty-eyed.’  I yelled across the coffee shop, “I think it’s time for you to take off buddy.”  He left the store, but then returned; he approached me and said, “Who said that to me.”  I said, “I did.  Do you think its right for you to be using racial slurs toward that man?”  Immediately the man became convicted and apologized to me.  I said, “Don’t apologize to me; apologize to that man over there.”  Surprisingly he agreed; he walked over to the man, shook his hand and apologized.  He then left the store.  A woman who had been listening to the conversation said, “Thank you.”  I told her I was a Christian, and said, “If I don’t oppose evil then I become evil myself.”]

                Those who follow God oppose evil; no matter the cost.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit we boldly speak the truth (as Christ has taught us.)  Speaking the truth may not be popular; we may be excluded, hated, or even persecuted by those who seek to sin without conviction.  Satan will stop at nothing to see man disobey God.  Are you willing to stand up for what is right?  Are you able to be a light in the darkness?  Are you prepared to preach the truth in a world that prefers lies?  Speak the truth, and God will bless you.  Stand firm, and He will strengthen you.  Allow the light of Christ to shine through you, and you will “dwell in the house of the Lord, Forever.”

                “Lord Heavenly Father we desire to oppose what is evil and to expose the works of Satan.  Give us the strength and the courage to preach the truth in a world that prefers lies.  May we be a light in dark places.  May we not fear the reprisals of man; may we always seek to do Your will; no matter what the cost.  We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of the these things, in Jesus Christ’s name.  Amen.”  God bless all of you.