JESUS SPEAKING

                Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

                When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.  Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.  So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you!  As the Father has sent me, I also send you.”  And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20: 19-23.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

             Jesus, although flesh and blood was no longer bound by the physical world.  He simply manifested himself in the center of a locked room.  They were scared and hiding from the Jews who wished to kill them too, and so Jesus gave them his peace (the presence of God in your life today is a source of peace.)  With his breath he gave them the Holy Spirit, and with it, all of the authority that God had given him.  They were given the authority to forgive the sins.  This scripture is the reason why Catholic Priests have confessionals; from this scripture it would appear they are correct in doing so (the ‘hail Mary’s’ and penances are not in the bible however.)  Those who are Christ’s Apostles, the ones who are sent out in to the world, have the authority to forgive sins (not in themselves, but by God through them.) (This does not include simply Catholic Priests, but all those who have given their lives to Jesus Christ.)  [Word of caution:  From the fullness of scripture, it is apparent that the types of sins that are forgiven are those that are not repeated on a regular basis.  Many in the Catholic faith (as well as other faiths) abuse drugs and alcohol, engage in promiscuity, adultery, premarital sex, and go to church confessional and believe they have been forgiven.  Then they leave and continue sinning until the next confessional.  Those sins are retained, because there is no repentance.  Repentance is the turning away from that sin.  Jesus continuously forgave sins with a warning; “Go and sin no more.”]

             ‘Sin’ is a medieval term that just means ‘missing the mark.’  Archers used to get drunk and compete in archery contests.  When they missed the target it was called a ‘sin.’  I played basketball in high school, and I shot thousands of jump shots, but every time, I was aiming for something; just like those medieval archers were trying to hit the mark.  Christians as well have a target; the target is Jesus Christ.  As believers we are called to aim for Him; to be like Him; to be pleasing to Him.  We are human, but that doesn’t mean we can throw up our hands, continue on in sin without restraint, and be forgiven for those sins.

             Today, many are struggling with sins, but many more are struggling in a life of sin, and that is a very big difference.  If your life is filled with unrestrained sin, in any area, you can turn away from that sin and be forgiven.  If you choose you can find an apostle, a priest, pastor, even a coworker who is filled with God’s Spirit, and confess your sins to them.  When your confession is coupled with true repentance, God himself has forgiven you of that sin (or that life of sin.)  You are clean, you are pure, and you are forgiven.  [Note:  Many people do not feel the need to go anywhere but directly to God to ask for forgiveness; the Lord’s prayer for instance says, ‘Forgive us our sins,’ and is directed straight to God.  Because of Jesus, believers can speak directly to God, and in turn, be directly forgiven by Him; but a person who confesses to an Apostle is also asking for God’s direct forgiveness, because it is not the Apostle that is forgiving, but God through them.  There are some benefits to confessing sin to another human being; sometimes confessing to a physical person can be more tangible.  [[One Final Note:  Many persons who confess their sins to God believe they are forgiven, but there can be another part that needs completion before that forgiveness is permanent.  Often times, we must also ask the person we have sinned against for forgiveness as well.  An example would be; if we stole money from someone twenty years ago, and then we come to Christ and ask God for forgiveness for that sin, we are obliged to repay the money we took from them (when it is in our power to do so; also, get counsel before making amends; some amends can do more damaging than good.)]]

             “Heavenly Father, we come before You and we ask that You Forgive us our sins, and that if need be Lord, you give us the strength to go before another believer and ask them to forgive us under the power of Your authority.  Lord we ask that You would bring to our remembrance anything that we have done in which we are in need of forgiveness.  Also Lord, if we are Apostles, give us the boldness to stretch out to others who need forgiveness, and to not be ashamed to grant the forgiveness You have given us the privilege of bestowing upon them.  We love You Lord, 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.

JESUS SPEAKING

             “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?  It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.” (Luke 13: 20-21.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

             What is leaven?  Leaven is microscopic organisms, sometimes known as yeast.   The yeast produces small bubbles of carbon dioxide, which are kneaded throughout bread dough.  When the bread is cooked the micro-organisms are killed, and the gas bubbles expand and give the bread it’s size and soft feel (unleavened bread is very flat and hard.)  Cooking bread without a leavening agent was common in the first century, especially among the Jews who were forbidden to eat leavened bread during the Passover week.  Jesus compared leaven to the Kingdom of God.  What do they have in common?  The kingdom of God is something that is hidden away inside of a person’s heart, just as leaven is hidden away (and cannot be seen) in an unheated loaf of bread.  A tiny bit of leaven will eventually move through the loaf until it is completely saturated.  Similarly, the kingdom of God often has a small beginning in the heart of the believer, but just a little bit of God’s kingdom is enough to eventually saturate the entire heart and life of the person who receives it.  (Also, here, I believe Jesus is referring to the spread of the gospel outward from Jerusalem through the world; and indeed, the message has spread throughout the entire world.)

             Today many people own an I-phones or an Apple Computer; they seem to be a part of the lives of millions, if not billions of people on the planet.  It would be easy to think that this company had its beginning in a huge office building, backed by some of the most powerful investors on the planet.  It would be easy to envision a national advertising campaign and literary buzz announcing the start of Apple Computers.  This would be easy to imagine, but it would be incorrect.  Apple Computers was started by two teenagers in a garage (Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs.)  Steve’s dad had to clear out the garage so the boys had enough room to begin manufacturing their first personal computers.  Something that two children began in a garage today spans the globe and affects the lives of billions of people.

             Often times our understanding of faith is skewed.  We believe that strong faith in the Lord is something that a person just has, and there is no way to get it.  This is an unfortunate belief; faith is not necessarily something that explodes immediately in a person’s life (it can, but not always.)  Faith in Christ, can have meager beginnings from which it may grow to affect every area of the believers life.  Someone may start by professing a faith in Christ during a bible study, and before they know it, prayer has become a part of their daily life.  Another person may be an avid fiction reader, but after accepting Christ, they may begin to make the bible their book of choice.  Eventually, the love life, the business life, the personal life, the recreational life, and every area of their life may be taken over by the Spirit of God.  God wants every area of our lives to be lived for Him.  This can be a scary prospect for a lot of people, and this is why many often harden their hearts and refuse to allow God’s kingdom to even have a beginning in them.  Those who do allow the kingdom of God in to their hearts are transformed from the inside out.  Allow God to change you; allow Him to fill up every area of your life, and you will know peace, and you will know God.  The areas we hold back from God, are the areas which cause us the most pain; so let him make your areas of struggle his areas of peace.

             “Lord, we lift You up as an awesome and mighty God.  We come before You today and we ask and pray that You would continue to grow within us; fill up our hearts and lives completely Lord.  We ask You now to grow, and to enter in to the areas that we are holding back from You.  Lord give us more of Your Spirit, more of Your Truth, and increase our faith.  Consume our hearts, our minds, and our lives by the power of Your Holy Spirit.  We love You Lord, 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

                “If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love you as it’s own.  Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.  Remember that the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’  If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.  If they kept my word, they will keep yours also” (John 15: 18-20.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                This is a warning and an encouragement for true believers.  He is telling the disciples what the future will be like for them, if they choose to follow him.  The Lord explains that there are two distinct and opposing sides; the world and the believer; there is no in between; no grey area; no peaceful place where a person can safely practice the faith without being persecuted.  God’s people are despised by those who seek worldly ends.  Worldly motivation and Godly motivation are at war, and the believer is on one side or the other.  This scripture is meant to encourage us as we walk through life being taken advantage of, stepped on, beaten down, excluded, gossiped about, and persecuted; knowing that these things are proofs that we are traveling down the right path, and that we are following Jesus Christ.  Jesus wants us to be encouraged and overjoyed when we are persecuted for being his followers, knowing that this prophecy has come to pass in our lives.  [Warning:  Persecution that arises because you are rude is not rewarded by the Lord.  Do all things in love; others can tell if you care about them when you are reaching out.]

                Previously I worked in sales, and I did receive a great deal of persecution in many different forms.  One incident occurred with a truck-driver who did the majority of the deliveries for us.  He was going around handing things out.  They were calendars; but, these calendars had naked women on them.  He came in to my office and threw one on my desk, and I told him, “I don’t want this.”  He was offended, and angry, but he took the calendar back.  He had been convicted of the darkness in him, and his anger turned toward me.  [Persecution is not just physical or social.  The persecution is also spiritual.  A person who begins to stand up for Christ is often bombarded with images, thoughts, and emotions that come from being attacked by evil spirits that seek to destroy the chosen of God.  This is often the toughest persecution there is.]  These persecutions become too much for many to handle and they walk away from God.  You and I as believers will certainly undergo persecution of one form or another, but need to take heart.

                Jesus wants us to be encouraged, to not give up, and to know that when we are being persecuted, he is with us, and his words are coming to pass in our lives.  We can know that we are on his side, and that we are heading in the right direction on the path that leads to an eternity with him.  We endure because we are filled with that hope.  As we grow closer to God, and as we become more like him, we will often be persecuted with more regularity and severity.  The world today and the world in the days of the Lord are exactly the same; nothing has changed (Sex, money, power, lust, covetousness, self-fulfillment, entertainment, recreation, career, house, violence, status, strength, freedom; all prideful things; they still make the world go round.)  When you make a stand for God, you are going in the opposite direction, and those who are seeking selfish things see in you, their own evil and ugliness.  Be lowly in a world where everyone is trying to be exalted, and be a messenger of the Lord in this place.  If you are not being persecuted, might I suggest you apply the teachings of Christ to your life?  Your faith is an action.  [For the unsaved:  If you have never accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior, please contact me and we can pray that he would come in to your heart, and in to your life.]

                “Lord Heavenly Father, we come before You Lord, and we ask and pray that You would make us more like Your Son.  Help us Father to endure persecution with love and patience and joy.  If we haven’t truly been applying Your words in our lives, we ask now they would manifest in us, and that by Your power, we would be bold for You.  Give us Your word to speak, and give us more of Your spirit.  We love You Lord, 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.