JESUS SPEAKING

                Now it happened as he went to Jerusalem that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.  Then as he entered a certain village, there met him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.  And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”  So when he saw them, he said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the preists.”  And so it was that as they went they were cleansed.  And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks.  And he was a Samaritan.  So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed?  But where are the nine?  Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”  And he said to him, “Arise, go your way.  Your faith has made you well” (Mathew 17: 11 – 19.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                Leprosy is a debilitating bacterial disease that has existed for thousands of years; it causes fingers, toes, and other extremities to rot away, horribly disfiguring its victims.  Despite modern treatments, Leprosy remains highly contagious.  As a result, the infected have been ostracized since the days of Christ; lepers were forced in to isolated colonies outside of the cities.  When traveling, they were required to maintain great distances between themselves and the healthy; when entering crowded areas, they were obligated to yell out, “unclean, unclean,” as a warning for others to keep a safe distance.  The lepers who approached Jesus stood “afar off;” and pleaded with him to heal them.  Although nine of the lepers were Jewish, one leper was a Samaritan (The Jews considered Samaritans half breads; because when Alexander the great conquered Israel hundreds of years earlier, he settled a portion of the land (known as Samaria) with Greek citizens and retired soldiers; they mingled with the Jewish people, but were unable to completely adopt Hebrew customs and traditions.  The Samaritans were so hated that many Jews would travel around Samaria when journeying to Jerusalem; the only people more hated than Samaritans were lepers.)  Jesus ordered the lepers to go and show themselves to the priests (In Jewish society, the priests were charged with diagnosing leprosy; if someone was healed, the priests had to examine them before they could return home to their families.)  As they journeyed, all ten lepers were outwardly healed; but only one was inwardly healed.  The dirty Samaritan, filled with gratitude, returned to praise and honor Jesus Christ.

                There was once a prominent doctor who was a devoted golfer.  His long time caddy had a club foot (a deformity in which the foot bends inward, making it difficult to walk.)  ‘Doc Gordon,’ as he was known, often traveled south for the winters to continue his golf game.  One winter, he decided to take his caddy with him; during their trip, the doctor operated on the man’s foot and he was made completely whole.  Soon after they returned, the doctor became ill and passed away.  One day, the caddy was carrying another member’s bag; at every hole he stopped to pluck a flower, until eventually he had gathered a very beautiful bouquet.  The member was curious and asked the caddy about his new girlfriend.  He replied, “Oh no, I don’t have a girlfriend.  These are for Doctor Gordon.  I go to his grave twice a week and place these flowers there.”  Over his lifetime, Doctor Gordon had helped thousands of sick people; he had corrected many physical ailments, and prolonged the lives of numerous individuals.  Yet, only one patient was truly thankful; the young caddy continued to praise and honor his deceased friend and benefactor because his heart was filled with gratitude (This illustration was a parable taken from another source; whether the characters were real, is not certain.)

                Jesus Christ has healed and given life to so many people, but only those whose gratitude is a daily expression, have truly experienced a miracle.  There are a number of ways to show your gratitude for God; prayers of thanksgiving; testifying of His greatness; gathering together with other believers; worship and singing; acts of love on His behalf; service work; care giving; charity, etc.  Have you received the gift of healing and eternal life?  Gratitude is a fruit of true salvation; those who understand the value of what they have been given, honor and praise God every day (Note:  If you have never received Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior, please contact us and we can discuss how you can do that today.)

                “Lord Heavenly Father we praise You; we honor You; and we thank You for our salvation.  We are unworthy servants, and yet You love us.  Thank You for healing us and protecting us; thank you for Your kindness and provision.  You are truly an awesome and amazing God.  May our hearts be filled with gratitude; may we be compelled to speak to others of Your greatness, and may we be filled with Your Holy Spirit.  We love You Father, and we honor You; and we ask and pray all of these things, in Jesus Christ’s name.  Amen.”  God bless all of you.

JESUS SPEAKING

                But Jesus called them to himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the gentile’s lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10: 42 – 45.)

 

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                Every society (from the fall of creation, until the present day) has been fueled by the pursuit of power and authority.  All social structures are shaped like a staircase that narrows near the top.  The climb begins in early childhood.  With age, those who secure positions of influence are treated with great respect.  Those who do not rise to the top, settle near the bottom; the strong rule, and the weak become servants.  Yet Jesus Christ, the King of Kings was not born in a palace; he was born on the dirty floor of a manger.  A life begun in humility, was lived in like manner; the prince of peace served the poor, and embraced the unworthy.  He turned an ‘upside down world’, ‘right side up.’  To pursue Christ is to forsake the pursuit of power and authority.  Those who desire to follow the Son of God must move down the social ladder in search of the lowest position.  A disciple is greatest when he is the least; he is the most alive when he is dead; he only rules when he truly serves.

                India (one of the largest nations in the world) is founded on the teachings of Hinduism.  Social order is a centralized feature of the Hindu Religion (as is the belief in reincarnation.)  They believe in a divine hierarchy; a caste system in which a person’s position is the result of their prior life.  When an individual dies they are immediately reborn; the deeds of their past life dictate their present social standing.  Those who were good are born in to one of the four respectable classes (the top class being comprised of kings, warriors, and rulers.)  However, those who were evil in a previous life are born in to a class known as the ‘untouchables.’  This group is poor, plagued with sickness, and most have historically only been able to hold menial jobs (such as the removal of dead bodies.)  [Note: Some recognize more than just five classes.]  This principle of Karma, is well known by every Hindu; bad Karma needs to be worked off; by suffering miserably in this life, one can pay for the sins of their past life; through anguish, every ‘untouchable’ can hope for a better life when they die.  Therefore, in India, helping the needy and the poor is often seen as interfering with their karma (to help relieve suffering, can actually prolong it.)  Therefore there is a permanent underclass; a group of people the world has forsaken.  Although most of mankind has forgotten about these people, God has not.  In the 1950’s, a Catholic Nun named Mother Theresa was led by the Lord to begin caring for lepers in India; she established a colony, and made a place for them to call home.  She also reached out to the abandoned orphans, the disabled, and the sick.  From that time until her death in 1997, she served the poorest, weakest, and most insignificant people, the world around.  When she received the Nobel Peace prize, she said, “I am grateful to receive (the Nobel) in the name of the hungry, the naked, the homeless…the crippled… the blind…the lepers, (and) all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared-for throughout society; people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone.”

                Mother Theresa followed Christ, and it led her in to the slums of Calcutta.  Jesus has asked nothing less of every believer.  Service is a requirement.  Whether at work, school, the coffee shop, the grocery store, or even at home, disciples are servants.  A true servant seeks opportunities to help others.  The way up is down.  Humble yourself, and allow God to use you; lowliness leads to honor, and humility is the path to everlasting life.  Those who serve others, serve the true and living God.  Deny yourself; give to the needy; embrace the outcast; love those who have been abandoned; prefer others, and God will one day raise you up to a place of eternal honor.

                “Lord Heavenly Father we desperately desire to be lowly.  Help us to serve others with zeal.  Please provide us with opportunities to give of our time, resources, and knowledge.  Grant us humility, that we may give to those in need; may we love those who feel unloved.  We aspire to be great servants; may we deny ourselves to honor and prefer others; and may our hearts be filled with joy as we serve You and our fellows.  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.”  God bless all of you.

JESUS SPEAKING

                And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, he began to say, “This is an evil generation.  It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation […] The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed one greater than Jonah is here”  (Luke 11: 29 – 30, 32.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                The city of Nineveh was one of the largest cities in the ancient world (some say that it took three days to walk through.)  Nineveh was not only immense, it was completely evil.  As the center of the Assyrian empire, it’s cruelty and perversion were unrivaled.  [Warning:  The information you are about to hear is disturbing.]  The Assyrians rejected the one true God and practiced unspeakable acts of immorality.  They impaled their victims, and cut off their hands, noses, and ears.  They poked out the eyes of their enemies; and tore out their tongues.  Many who were conquered were flayed alive (they had their skin cut off); the skins were hung from the walls of their cities.  Thousands of captured children were burned alive.  They dismembered bodies and fed them to the dogs and pigs.  They forced many enemies to grind up the bones of their dead ancestors.  They severed the heads of whole populations and fixed them to the ends of poles.  They constructed giant towers made out of human heads; often after a conquest, the rulers would bring back the heads of their victims and hang them on the trees around the city as decoration.  Uncovered ruins reveal that Assyrian rulers proudly displayed scenes of torture on their palace walls; for them, inflicting pain was delightful.  When they weren’t killing their captives, they were humiliating them; the Assyrians often ran hooks and chains through the lips of their captives and treated them like dogs.  Corruption was a foundation of their society; their religious practices included prostitution and child sacrifice.  Robbery and theft in Nineveh were commonplace.  The city had become so wicked that God decided to destroy it.  Yet God in His mercy sent them a prophet named Jonah; his message was ‘repent or be destroyed.’  (Jonah desired to see Nineveh decimated; so he refused to follow God’s command.  However, after suffering hardship, he made his way to the Assyrian city as God had directed him.)  As Jonah angrily marched in to the city, he showed no signs or wonders; nor did he perform any miracles; he simply said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be destroyed.”  The evil and wicked people of Nineveh repented (they began to weep and mourn.)  The citizens (including the king and his household) started to fast and pray for forgiveness; because of their response, the Ninevites avoided destruction.  Jesus, like Jonah, came to an evil world and preached an eternal message of repentance and salvation.  The Ninevites had listened to Jonah the prophet; yet Jesus Christ (God in the flesh) was rejected by most Jews and gentiles who heard him speak.  Instead of hearing him, they demanded a sign.  Christ’s message has echoed through every generation.  On the final Day of Judgment, those who have heeded the warning and repented will be forgiven.  Those who have denied Christ will be destroyed.

                The ruins of the ancient city of Nineveh lay within the borders of modern day Iraq.  From 1979 until 2003, the Iraqi people were ruled over by a brutal dictator named Saddam Hussein.  Like the leaders of the ancient Assyrian Empire, Saddam’s cruelty was excessive.  Shortly after taking power, he convened an assembly of leaders and proceeded to read off a list of 68 names; people he believed were disloyal; they were arrested and led away; 22 were executed by other council members.  From 1986-1988, Mr. Hussein attacked 3.5 million Kurdish residents living in Northern Iraq.  Using the Koran and the teachings of Mohammed, he justified the destruction of tens of thousands of homes; entire villages were destroyed.  He massacred an upwards of 2 million people; another 17,000 Kurds went missing; the attacking troops were informed that it was legal to claim property from the deceased (which included the widows who were left behind.)  In another incident Saddam used chemical weapons to kill and injure nearly 10,000 people living in an area populated by civilians (men, women, and children lay dead in the streets.)  He launched a war against Iran that claimed the lives of nearly a million people.  His methods of interrogation and torture were infamous (he even tortured one of his own sons.)  Throughout his time as dictator he continually attempted to develop nuclear weapons.  The United Nations, fearing he would accomplish his goal, demanded he allow U.N. weapons inspectors to enter his country.  However, in 1998, he kicked the inspectors out.  The U.N. warned him that if he did not allow the inspectors to return “serious consequences” would result.  Saddam defied numerous international resolutions (warnings); his refusal to heed these warnings led to a full scale invasion of Iraq in 2003.  During the campaign Saddam Hussein was captured and imprisoned.  In 2006, after being found guilty of war crimes, he was executed.  Before being hung, it’s feasible to assume that he regretted not complying with the U.N.’s demands.

                God has given mankind numerous warnings.  The gospel has gone out to every nation; compliance is necessary to avoid destruction.  Jesus has delivered a wonderful message to an evil world. Although most have never tortured, murdered, or beheaded anyone, everyone is a sinner; and every sinner, no matter how evil, can repent and be completely forgiven.  Those who heed the warnings and turn away from sin (adultery, idolatry, fornication, etc.) and embrace Jesus Christ will inherit eternal life.  Those who hear God’s message and refuse to comply will experience everlasting destruction.  His words are all that are needed; no sign or miracle can ever produce true faith.  Listen to the Lord; hear him; trust him; follow him, and you will be blessed.  He will lead you in to eternal peace; he will provide you with unending love; and you will experience the gift of everlasting life.

                “Lord Heavenly Father, we come before You and ask that You help us to heed Your warning.  May we turn away from our sins, and turn toward You.  May our faith be rooted in Your words.  We desire to be fully committed to You Father; strengthen us by the power of Your Holy Spirit, and deliver us from evil.  We thank You for Your forgiveness; may Your mercy be with us forever.  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.