JESUS SPEAKING

            “Then he looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written:  ‘The Stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone’?  Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”  And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on him, but they feared the people—for they knew he had spoken this parable against them” (Luke 20: 17-19.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

             A brief history lesson:  The first temple in Jerusalem was built by King Solomon, between 970-930 B.C.  The temple was magnificent, a size and scale that has never been repeated in any building prior or since.  That temple was later destroyed, but another, less grand temple was erected by King Herod and existed during the days of Jesus (consequently that temple was destroyed and today there is no longer a temple in Jerusalem.)  In this scripture Jesus makes reference to a 1000 year old story about the temple that was common knowledge among the Jews of His time.  The story tells that during the construction of the first temple, a stone had been shipped from the quarry, and the builders couldn’t figure out where that stone fit, so they threw it into the garbage heap.  When it came time to the lay the cornerstone, they couldn’t find it, and they remembered the stone that they had thrown away.  So they went down, grabbed the stone out of the garbage, and put it in its proper place.  A corner stone is usually a stone that connects two long walls near the foundation, and it is often times quite a bit larger because it has to support the majority of the weight of the walls.  A building has many cornerstones, as many walls connect, but a ‘chief cornerstone’ is something that has ceremonial significance, today, as well as in the days of Jesus.  The ‘chief cornerstone’ was often of some different material, color, or even shape than the rest of the cornerstones, which is possibly why the builders of the temple might have rejected it as being a mistake.  In ancient times, this chief stone was often inscribed with the names of the builders, or the date of construction, or some other significant information.  (Jesus may be referring to himself the stone that connects two walls, the Old Testament, and the New Testament, in to one congruent work of God.)  Also, he is prophesying concerning his own rejection by the Jewish people, due to their inability to see exactly how he fit in to God’s overall plan.  They expected a different kind of messiah.  He wasn’t quite the size and shape they wanted, so they threw him away.  Yet those who came to understand that he was the missing piece were broken.  Brokenness refers to humility (only those who allowed their pride to be shattered could build their lives upon the foundation that Christ provided.  Those who refused to acknowledge their need for him; those who chose to keep their pride and refused to be humbled would be ‘ground in to powder,’ or destroyed.

             For centuries, the Egyptian culture inspired awe, and wonderment; they seemed like a mysterious, vibrant people that had the capacity to build huge structures, and possessed knowledge that no one else possessed.  No one could read their strange symbols (hieroglyphics), which heightened the mystery.  In the 1800’s a stone was found that changed everything.  On the stone one message was written in three languages, two of which were Greek and Egyptian hieroglyph.  From this stone linguists were able to translate the strange writing; the mystery was no longer a mystery.  A single stone became a light that illuminated the understandings of thousands of scholars across the world.  They had been unable to see what was right in front of them.  Jesus Christ is the key to understanding the Old Testament, and the New Testament.  He is the bridge that connects God and man.  He is the light that illuminates the mystery.  Those who reject him do so because they prefer darkness rather than light; they prefer mystery to the truth and questions above answers.

              Today, there are two kinds of people; those who reject Jesus, and those who, in humility, make him their foundation and truth.  Pride is the enemy of every person who rejects Jesus Christ.  So many people want to believe that they are good, that they themselves can be at peace with God without knowing and accepting his Son, and without realizing their own unworthiness.  No one can walk in light and truth, if they have rejected the ‘Light of the world.’  Today, we can stretch out to people with the truth.  We can bring them to the foot of the cross and let them know that the answer to the emptiness in their hearts is Jesus Christ.  Today, let’s not be afraid to spread the good news, to make it known that God can be known intimately.  The mystery is no longer a mystery, the truth can be seen by all, and the path is clearly marked by the cross of Christ.

             “Lord Heavenly Father, we come before You today, and we ask that You break us, and make us to come to rest upon Your Son.  Give us a humble heart; be our foundation, our truth, and illuminate our lives with the light of Your Son.  Live in us, and make Your home in us.  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

Scripture One:

             “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come” (Mathew 12: 31-32.)

 Scripture Two:

            “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”—because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”  (Mark 3: 28-29.)

Scripture Three:  (Who is the Holy Spirit?)

            “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper that He may abide with you forever—the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor know Him; but you know Him, for he dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14: 16-18.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

            Although from different gospels, these three scriptures deal with the Holy Spirit.  In the first two scriptures, Jesus had just finished defending his miracles from the Pharisees and religious leaders who said that he was casting out demons by the power of the Devil.  They were calling God’s Holy Spirit evil, for it was God’s Spirit that had worked the miracles.  God’s Spirit, His essence, His authority, His power, was being condemned by those who were threatened by Jesus.  What is the Holy Spirit?  The Holy Spirit is the third form of God.  The ‘Trinity’ is a term given to describe the three forms of God; there is God in heaven, God in the form of Jesus Christ, and God in the form of a Spirit that dwells in the human heart (the Holy Spirit.)  Before ascending in to heaven, Jesus promised that he would send a replacement to his disciples; that replacement was the Holy Spirit.  God never wanted to dwell in fancy temples, but rather, deep down inside of every human being.  The Holy Spirit is this indwelling of God that testifies about the truthfulness of God’s word and His existence and plan.  To blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to call God’s Holy Spirit, evil; this condemnation carries with it eternal consequences.  In the broader sense, to blaspheme the Holy Spirit is also to reject God’s sacrifice, and to deny the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ.  When a person accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior, the Holy Spirit comes in to their hearts and in to their lives.  Sadly, many turn their back on the Holy Spirit; they commit the only sin that is unforgivable, because without the sacrifice of Jesus, God does not bestow forgiveness. 

            Interestingly enough, I have discussed and shared the Gospel message with many people, and I have yet to come across anyone who has said that the work of Jesus Christ was the result of the Devil; not one single person has said that the healings were done by demonic forces.  I have heard people call Jesus a liar; and many have said that God doesn’t exist and that the entire thing was made up, but very few have called Him or His Spirit evil.  So blaspheming of the Holy Spirit in word is very rare.  In a broader sense, many people refuse to accept God in to their hearts, and lives, and this kind of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is quite common.  The majority of people will never submit their lives to God, and will never ask God to send his Spirit in to their lives and into their hearts; for these individuals the consequences are severe, and eternal.

            Many of you have already accepted Jesus Christ as you Lord and savior, and in turn you have received the Holy Spirit in to your heart.  Many of you have not!  If you desire to become one of God’s children, simply go somewhere quiet, and ask God to give you His Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ, and He will.  A God who is full of mercy and goodness will make His home in you, and your life will never again be the same.

            “Lord Heavenly Father, we lift You up as an awesome and mighty God.  We thank You for all that You have done, and we ask now that You send in to our hearts Your beautiful Holy Spirit, to fill us up, and to overflow out of our hearts and lives.  Give us more of Your Spirit; we open ourselves up to You now.  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

            In the meantime his disciples urged him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 

But he said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” 

Therefore the disciples said to each other, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?”

            Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work.  Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!  And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows, and he who reaps may rejoice together.  For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors” (John 4: 31-38.)

 INSPIRED THOUGHTS

The disciples had just gone in to the city to buy food and they had left Jesus sitting by a well.  He opened up a dialogue with a woman who came to draw water, and she became a believer.  The disciples returned with the food, but Jesus wasn’t hungry because converting the woman had nourished him.  Jesus made it known that converting others was more urgent than the need for food.  Between the planting and harvesting seasons there was a period of patient waiting, a time to relax; the Lord revealed that the time to relax and be patient was over; the time for harvesting souls had begun.  The heads of wheat would turn a white color when it was time for them to be harvested; in this way, Jesus compares men and wheat, saying, “look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest.”  From the beginning of creation, God’s words were the seeds, and every human heart was the ground in which these words were sown.  The sowers were the prophets, who labored to get His words to the people.  The reapers were the disciples, who had not labored in the sowing of the word, but were commissioned by Jesus to gather the fruit that came from the labors of the prophets.  So, both the prophets and the disciples would celebrate together in the Kingdom.  The work of God continues today; the eternal sowing and reaping proceeds with just as much urgency as when Jesus spoke these words.  And today, if we reap, or if we sow, in the coming kingdom, all who have labored for God will rejoice together.

Recently I took a gentleman to the emergency room; there happened to be quite a large number of people who needed care.  We sat there for most of the day, waiting.  The order in which the people were ushered in to the back was based upon the severity of their condition.  Shortness of breath, severe abnormal headache, hemorrhaging, were all considered life threatening.  The likelihood of death was what set the priority in that emergency room; not order of arrival.  In life, the entire world is an emergency room, filled with dying people.  Many don’t know they are dying, and others do, but everyone is sick, and everyone needs to see the Doctor.  Those who are the Lord’s have been healed, and they have the cure.  The cure is an experience with Jesus Christ.  The fruit is made up of people who give their lives over to God, and make the teachings of the Lord their foundation for living.  Those who are healed look forward to an eternal life with God in His Kingdom.

              The person sitting next to you on the bus is dying; the person beside you in the coffee shop is headed for a cliff; the cashier at the bank is sick and needs help.  Can you help them today?  Will you help them today?  Can you plant a seed, can you harvest a crop?  How difficult is it to lean over and tell another person about what Jesus Christ has done in your life, and tell them what he can do in their life?  How much discomfort does it cause you to let a nonbeliever know that you will be praying for them; or to quote a scripture when another person is down and in need of hope?  The planting and the harvesting began a long time ago, but they continue today in all those who choose to do God’s work.

            “Lord Heavenly Father, we ask and pray that You would please give us divine appointments; bring us people that are sick and need to hear the gospel; speak through us, to them, and to their hearts.  Help us to serve You with a fervency, and diligence, and may we bear much fruit for You, and for Your kingdom.  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.