JESUS SPEAKING

             Now it came to pass, when the time had come for him to be received up, that he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before his face.  And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for him.  But they did not receive him, because his face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.  And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them just as Elijah did?”  But he turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.  For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.”  And they went to another village.  (Luke 9: 51-56.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                As Jesus made his way through the cities and towns he sent his disciples ahead of him to prepare the people for his arrival.  Most Jews and Samaritans greatly disliked one another.  Hundreds of years before Christ arrived, the Babylonians conquered the Jews.  They took the Jews from that area as slaves and gave the property to their own people.  When the Jews returned from captivity, they discovered a population of foreigners settled right in the middle of their country; these foreigners came to be known as the Samaritans (the hatred was so bad that the Jews would often go out of their way to travel around Samaria to get where they were going.  The Jews thought Samaritans to be so dirty that if they traveled through Samaria many Jews would take the time to dust off their sandals before entering another town so that the dirt from Samaria wouldn’t mix with the dirt in Israel.)  This single village of Samaritans had rejected Jesus.  James and John felt so insulted and dishonored by the rejection (perhaps because they were Samaritans) that they asked Jesus if they should destroy the village with fire from the sky as Elijah had done in an earlier time.  [Elijah was a powerful Old Testament prophet who was hated by an Evil King of Israel.  The king sent out fifty men to take Elijah; when they arrived Elijah called down fire upon them and they were all burned up.  The king sent another fifty men to take Elijah; as they approached Elijah called down fire from heaven and consumed the men.  Finally, another fifty men were sent to take Elijah, but the captain of the men immediately dropped down before Elijah and begged and pleaded with him not to kill them.  Elijah was merciful and went with them.]  The disciples no doubt believed those deaths were pleasing to God; so they strongly desired to bring down a fiery destruction upon the Samaritan village.  Jesus identified their evil desire as being from the Spirit of Satan.  [All of their actions were motivated by either the Spirit of God (love), or the Spirit of Satan (hate.)]  The Disciples desire came from a hatred for those who had just rejected them.  Jesus reminded them that he did not come to destroy sinners, but to save them.  Those closest to Jesus misunderstood his message, and his purpose, and even what he desired. 

                Prior to Nelson Mandela (a black man) taking office, the government of South Africa was run by Caucasians.  [to the best of my knowledge]  When the day came for him to take office, all of the white political employees were boxing up their things and leaving the building out of fear, and out of a belief that he was going to fire them and bring in a staff of all black individuals.  Much to their shock, he called a meeting and asked the white employees to stay; they were shocked, and so were his black supporters who expected him to take revenge on those who had imprisoned him in a one room jail cell for nearly 27 years.  (He chose to work with the white leaders who had put him in prison, instead of overthrowing them.)  Those closest to him had misjudged him; they had allowed their hatred and evil desires toward the whites to blind them as to the true intentions and purpose of their leader.

                Many people today have grossly misjudged God’s intentions and desires.  Some believe that God’s desire is to hurt them and to make them suffer.  Many see God as a creator who is just waiting to cast them in to hell if they screw up.  However, God is a God who loves all of his children.  He chases after those who are living lives full of sin instead of condemning them.  He sees every person as irreplaceable, and His heart is grieved when his children do harm to themselves and reject Him.  God is not some unfeeling, unemotional being; He is loving, compassionate, and He feels emotional pain.  Just as a Father who loses a child feels a continual sadness and grief, so God feels sadness and grief for the lost.  Many of us have misjudged our God’s heart, and his intentions.  We may see sinners as enemies, as evil, or even as dirty.  But God sees them precious children he desires to return to Him.  As believers we have an obligation to reflect God’s heart accurately to others; they need to know that God loves them and seeks reconciliation.  The first step toward this goal is becoming familiar with the heart of God.  You cannot accurately share about something you don’t know or understand; as you grow closer to God, your desire to share his message of love will flow out of you naturally.  People need to here that God does not desire to destroy them, but to give them life.  When know God you can tell others with confidence, “God loves you, and I love you too.”

                “Lord Heavenly Father, we come before You and we ask that You would help us to share Your heart.  Help us to look upon others as opportunities to love with the heart that You have give us.  Father, give us confidence and boldness to speak on Your behalf.  Please help us to refrain from doing anything in the Spirit of Satan; rather, help us to do all things in the power of Your Holy Spirit.  Fill us to overflowing with Your love, with Your life, and with Your truth.  Give us opportunities to share with others what we have learned from You.  Most of all Father, help us to resemble Your Son in all that we do.  If there are any areas of our hearts that still seek selfish ends we pray that You would heal them now, and bring them in to submission to Your heart and to Your will.  We love You Father, we thank You, and we praise You, and we ask and pray all of these things, in Jesus Christ’s name.  Amen.”  God bless all of you and have a happy Thanks Giving.

JESUS SPEAKING

                “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled and the wineskins will be ruined.  But new wine must be put in to new wineskins and both are preserved.  And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better’” (Luke 5: 37-39.) 

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                In the ancient world, skins were used to store and carry liquids.  When an animal was slaughtered the stomach and the bladder were taken out and fashioned in to pliable liquid holders.  The skins would dry out and become rigid.  When these skins were used to hold wine, they needed to be flexible because as the wine fermented it would expand, and if the wineskin was not flexible, it would break.  No one would take unfermented (new) wine and put it in to an old wineskin, but instead they would make sure to put it in to a newly fashioned skin.  This is an illustration was used to show the incompatibility between the ‘old covenant’ and the ‘new covenant.’  The ‘old covenant’ (Old Testament) and ‘new covenant’ (New Testament) were two different contracts between God and man.  In the Old Testament, gave guidelines for the removal of sin; everyone had to sacrifice animals to receive forgiveness from God (this was tedious and time consuming and was a burden on the people.)  This covenant began with Abraham (approximately 2000 years before Christ); God promised him that through his descendents a permanent solution would be provided in the form of the messiah (Jesus Christ: approximately 33 A.D.)  Jesus was presenting himself as the solution, or the promised one, and with him came a completely new message; one that should have been accepted readily, but was rejected outright by the religious leaders.  Many of them had gotten so used to sacrificing animals (the old way), that even after Christ was crucified they still refused to accept his blood for the forgiveness of their sins (the new way.)  In the upper room at the last supper Jesus made a new agreement with mankind; he took a cup of wine and said, “Drink from it, all of you.  For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.”  God’s provision would come in the form of the blood that he shed on the cross.  2000 years had passed, and God had finally fulfilled his promise the day of the crucifixion.  The majority of the Jewish people rejected this sacrifice.  He spoke of those who rejected him when he said, “And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’”

                As a newborn Christian I very much enjoyed listening to secular music.  I liked heavy metal and rap; it was usually filled with fowl language and ugly beats.  I decided to move forward and listen only to worship music, which was uplifting, and clean, and edifying to my mind and spirit.  My appetite for the old music was strong, and at first the new music wasn’t appealing to me.  Slowly I began to enjoy the new music.  Soon I was singing along with the tunes.  Occasionally I will hear an old song and it no longer appealing to me; in fact it repulses me.  God has made similar changes in every area of my life.  He has healed me, and made life new, and fulfilling, and completely different.

                Today, many people are incapable of receiving Jesus Christ because they are afraid of the changes that will occur in their lives.  The religious leaders denied Christ because they were afraid; are you afraid today?  Are you afraid of letting go of the old life?  Don’t be frightened, accept the Lord, partake in the cup he has asked you to drink of.  Have you put your faith in Christ?  Have you allowed him in to your life and in to your heart?  If you have never accepted him and his sacrifice, I want to give you that opportunity now.  What you are about to read is a prayer of acceptance?  Take a moment to think about what this commitment means…You are turning away from all that this world has taught, and you are making a commitment to listen to Jesus Christ; you are committing to doing all that he has taught you to do.  You will be a member of the body of Christ, and you will need to find a local church and begin to attend that church.  You will need to make prayer a daily habit.  You will also need to get a bible and begin reading it daily.  Your first mission will be to tell someone else about your decision….Take another moment to consider the new life that awaits you……………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..If you still wish to accept God’s promise and His Son, and are willing to go forward, then let’s begin….What you are about to read, read out loud,  or within your own heart, but mean what you read.

“Lord Heavenly Father, I’m sorry for all of the things that I have done in my past; for the people I’ve harmed and for all of the times that I have sinned against you.  I don’t deserve your love Father.  I come before you now and I want to receive the Holy Spirit, and I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins, and that all the things that I have done have been forgiven because he has made me clean.  I ask you to come in to my heart, and to come in to my life now and to guide me and direct me in all that I do.  I give you my whole heart, and my whole life, right now.  I love you Father, I thank you, and I ask and I pray all of these things in Jesus Christ’s name, amen.” If you prayed that prayer, you have an eternal life with God, in a kingdom that will never end.  God bless you all.

JESUS SPEAKING

                “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.” (Luke 21: 34-36.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                Jesus gave his followers a warning to be ready for his return (second coming.)  The focus was to remain on him and on the future kingdom.  He recognized that human beings tended to get distracted, and he addressed those distractions here.  He had commanded his followers to give their excess wealth away; to refrain from sexual immorality; to desire being servants rather than masters; to deny their own wants, needs, and desires, and to place others ahead of themselves.  To follow these commands sounded like non-sense to those who did not believe in a future eternity with God.  Whenever a person loses site of the eternal, they inevitably begin to live for themselves; they desire wealth, material possessions, beauty, and control; they indulge in their own wants and desires, often without restriction (they lay down the future to take hold of the present; whereas believers set aside present distraction for their future hope.)  Jesus identified three symptoms of a distracted follower; first, carousing: which is identified as the habitual use of alcohol (excessively celebrating every night of the week.)  A second symptom of distraction is drunkenness: which is alcohol consumption in excess (the typical Jewish wine was a mixture of 4 cups of water with one cup of wine; hard to get drunk from this type of combination, unlike today where it is commonly 4 parts liquor to no part of anything else.)  A third distraction would be the ‘cares of this life:’ these cares are anything that distracts a person from focusing on the life to come; which could include money, alcohol, house, cars, kids, career, health, beauty, children’s education, 401 k plans, recreation, a woman or a man, a home, free time, etc.  These distractions cause a person to not be prepared for the return of the Lord.  He likens the day of his return to a snare (a snare is a hidden trap that catches unsuspecting prey in the wilderness.)  That day is completely hidden, and many people who aren’t prepared will be caught by surprise and destroyed by it.  Jesus is warning us that each day we should be expecting him to return, and behaving accordingly.  Distractions can be very deadly.

                Text messaging is a relatively new term in the American language; it is usually used in describing communication between people, and is often described positively.  But recently, text messaging has been associated with tragedy.  All over the country people are more regularly text messaging while driving motor vehicles.  The results have been disastrous.  One case involved a very prominent plastic surgeon who was apparently text messaging when he drove off of a cliff and tumbled to his death.  You might ask, “What could have been so important that it was worth dying over?”  Sadly, Dr. Frank Ryan was twittering a message about his dog that was with him in the car when he drove off the cliff; he died and his dog was badly injured.  Dr. Ryan set out on a journey, but got distracted, and as a result he never reached his destination.  So many people who believe in Jesus Christ start out on a journey toward an eternal destination, but never make it, because they get distracted by some meaningless worldly pleasure or concern.  Something that seems so harmless can lead to destruction; something meaningless can rob a person of an eternity with God.  This doctor was not thinking that death would arrive at his doorstep when he was eating breakfast; he never thought that would be his final car ride; he didn’t wake up in the morning and savor the sunrise knowing it would be his last.  Yet, death came for him quickly, and without sounding an alarm.  Jesus as well, will come for each of us in like manner.

                Today, are you expecting Jesus to return, or are we expecting him to come at time that is more convenient for you?  Are you focusing on the cares of this world?  Have you allowed distractions to take your eyes off of Christ?  How can you keep your eyes on Jesus and not get distracted?  Firstly, the word of God is a road map that helps you to continue heading in the right direction.  Reading the bible daily is essential for reaching your destination.  Praying is another tool that allows god to guide and direct your life.  There are so many opportunities to pray; in the shower, in the car while driving (eyes open please); silently while in line at the grocery store; perhaps while you are on a nightly walk.  The key is, to connect with God in your heart.  Also, fellowshipping with other believers is essential, as is ministering to the non-believers.  You can talk to others about your faith, and you needn’t be ashamed of the God you call your own.  Also, any time that you do what God has commanded, you are moving forward and keeping your eyes on the eternal things in life; giving money to those in need; listening to someone without talking; showing love to a stranger; visiting the sick; returning grocery carts; picking trash up off of the ground when we see it; smiling at people; complimenting others when you see them doing something worthy of praise; sharing scripture with others, etc.  There are so many possible ways to do Christ’s will, but they are all acts of love.  The best way to not do the wrong thing is to continually being the right thing.  Give your whole life to the Lord, make him the central figure in your heart and life, and on the day that he returns, you will not be surprised, or frightened; but rather you will be filled with joy at the knowledge that an eternity with Jesus Christ awaits you.

                “Lord Heavenly Father, we come before You and lift You up; You are worthy of praise and honor and glory.  Father we ask that You would please remove the distractions from our lives, and help us to focus on the return of Your Son.  By the power of Your Holy Spirit speak to us and give us conviction and knowledge of Your will for us; give us also opportunities to serve You and to serve others.  Help us to recognize moments when we can connect with You Father.  May we always be ready Lord for the conclusion of Your plan, and for the life to come.  We love You Father, we love You Lord, and we love You Holy Spirit, and we ask and pray all of these things in Jesus Christ’s name.  Amen.”  God bless all of you.