JESUS SPEAKING

             “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me, receives the one who sent me.  He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward.  And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.  And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward” (Mathew 10: 40-42.) 

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

            In the culture of Jesus’ day, communication across long distances was done through the use of messengers.  Emissaries of one king would bring that kings message to another king.  To mistreat a king’s messenger was to mistreat the king who sent him.  To treat the messenger well, was to treat the king well.  Many messengers were treated exactly the way the king would be treated; acting as a substitute for the king in his absence.  They were rewarded for being his messengers.  The receiving of the messenger would be reported back to the king, and this would dictate future relations.  Those who received the messenger joyfully, would receive a reward, but those who mistreated the messenger would be mistreated.

            God sent his son in to this world, and in turn, Jesus Christ sent his disciples in to the world to baptize and make disciples.  Nearly two thousand years have passed, and the links in a long chain of God’s messengers has not been broken.  When you receive God’s messengers you are receiving God himself.  The way to know a messenger is to determine whether or not he or she has twisted the message, or has altered it in any way; to altar God’s message is to bring upon oneself future destruction.  Jesus says, “My doctrine is not mine, but his who sent me.  If anyone wills to do his will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on my own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.”

            There are many false teachers, and false prophets today who are not connected to the apostles’, nor to Christ, nor to his Father.  Anyone who has distorted the message is someone that should not be received warmly.  Sinners we always welcome, but false disciples and prophets should be rejected (those who are attempting to use God’s word to benefit themselves.)  Despite many deceivers, there are many who are still preaching the gospel; they are still seeking to get God’s message across to others today.  That message is, ‘that God has made a way; that God loves them, and that through Jesus Christ, anyone can have a relationship with the eternal creator of the universe.  Anyone who puts their faith and trust in Jesus Christ has eternal life, and is called to be a disciple.  We who share that message share one another.  We are all brothers and sisters in the Lord.  We share the same Father.  We all carry the same message.  As you go out today, recognize that you are another link in a long chain of those who have been sent by God out in to the world to do his work, and to carry his message to those who are lost.  Sow some seeds today in the hearts of those around you.  Share a scripture with them.  Tell them what the gospel is, and give them the opportunity to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior.

            “Lord Heavenly Father, we thank You for all that You have done, and for all that You are going to continue to do.  We ask Lord that You will send us into the world, with Your message and not ours.  Give us the strength to continue spreading Your gospel, and Your message to the world, and help us Lord, to make more disciples for Your Glory, 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.

JESUS SPEAKING

                “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.  And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.  Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?  And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Do not fear therefore; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Mathew 10: 29-31.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                The command of Jesus Christ is clear; preach the gospel and do not fear anyone who threatens you, or attempts to silence you, even with death.  There are two kinds of death; bodily death, and eternal death.  Jesus makes this life and the next adversaries.  Wanting to keep this life and the one to come are incompatible.  He tells the people in this scripture not to worry, because they are worth more than many sparrows who die every day.  If something so invaluable is remembered by God, how much more is God going to care for the lives of his human children.  The images and comparisons Jesus uses here are used to bring his listeners out of fear.  They, like most people, were afraid of dying.  They had forgotten that God was in control of their lives, and they began to live as though the bodily life was all there was.  Those who stood for God during this time period were constantly being tested.  Israel was subject to whichever conqueror decided to invade them next.  And every conqueror, whether it be the Greeks, or the Romans, or the Egyptians, often made laws and decrees that made practicing the Jewish faith a very dangerous thing.  At one point, any mother who chose to circumcise her son would be crucified along with that son.  During another period, if one chose to not make a sacrifice to a pagan Idol they would be immediately killed.  Yet God allowed these things to occur.  Jesus is clear that these deaths were not outside of God’s control.  So many of these Jews had become like their conquerors because they feared the conquerors rather than God.  Jesus reminds them to not fear death, because the life that really matters is the internal one that lives within each human beings heart.  The body may die, but the soul shall live.

                If we look at all of the apostles, we see a wonderful example of how God controls the death of every human being; and we are reminded of the commitment we are making when we choose to live for God.  According to the church historians, Peter was crucified upside down in Rome.  Andrew was crucified in Greece.  James was beheaded by King Herod.  Philip was crucified and then stoned to death.  Bartholomew was flayed alive (skin cut from the body) and then crucified.  Thomas was stabbed to death by four soldiers with spears.  Mathew was axed to death.  James the less was apparently clubbed to death.  Thaddeus was crucified.  It is believed that Simon was crucified in Persia.  Matthias, the one chosen to take the place of Judas Iscariot, was burned to death.  John was nearly burned in oil.  What I’m about to say is what makes the deaths of these men more beautiful than a sunset on a warm summer night.  None of these men are dead.  Peter, Andrew, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Mathew, James the less, Thaddeus, Simon, Matthias, and John never died.  They are with the Lord, as is every human being who has ever made Jesus Christ their’ everything.  Jesus said, “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it” (Luke 17: 33.)

                The 12 Disciples couldn’t be made to shut up, but today His followers need to be reminded to speak up.  Why?  Do we have a different message today than they had?  How many of us profess Christ in our daily lives to those who know nothing about Him?  Today missionaries across the globe are putting themselves in harm’s way to bring the message in to Muslims countries, but we it seems difficult to convince a churchgoer in the United States to lean over in a coffee shop and ask the person next to them if they know Jesus Christ.  Today, if we are afraid of anything but not doing the work of spreading the gospel in love, then we may not be on the side we think we are on.  This week let’s get moving.  Let’s look for opportunities to insert in to our conversations with other the truth of the Gospel, without fear, no matter what may come.

                “Heavenly Father, remove from us the fear of death and the fear of other people, and give Your message to give to others.  Father, make Your message like a burning in our hearts that we just can’t bear to keep hidden from others.  Father, help us to remember that we share eternal life with all those who died for their faith in You and in Your son.  Give us opportunities to give away the eternal life we have been so freely given.  Amen.”  God bless all of you.

JESUS SPEAKING

            Jesus shared his crucifixion with two other men; both of them were criminals.  Below is the account of their interaction with him.

            ‘Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed him, saying, “If you are the Christ, save yourself and us.”  But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?  And we justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”  Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when you come in to your kingdom.”

            And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23: 39-44.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS           

           The religious leaders who were standing at the foot of the cross were taunting Jesus and teasing him; telling him to come down from the cross as a show of his power.  The first criminal joined in on this taunting.  Mockingly he added in the request that Jesus save he and the other criminal from death as well.  The second criminal made the decision to chastise the criminal for teasing Jesus.  He recognized his own guilt, and the guilt of the other man, and professed the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  He understood that he was paying for a life of sin, and that Jesus did not deserve to die. The second criminal asked for salvation, but a different kind of salvation.  He knew he was going to die on that cross, but he believed that Jesus was able to save his soul.  He was focused on the eternal, unlike the first criminal who was thinking only of his bodily life.  Jesus granted him eternal life, not because of any work that he did, or because he lived a good life, but because he believed in the one and only son of God.  He acknowledged his sin and recognized the purity of Jesus, and in humility, asked to receive eternal life.  The purpose for the crucifixion, and for the life of Jesus Christ is revealed in this scripture, and it applies today.  He divides people.  Some choose to deny him and make him a myth.  Others choose to recognize him as the ‘Son of God,’ capable of granting them eternal life in a kingdom that will have no end.  Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth.  I did not come to bring peace but a sword.  For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’” (Mathew 10: 34-35.)  There are only two categories in to which every person must fall; those who believe in Jesus Christ and join him, and those who deny him and make themselves the friends of those who ridicule him and blaspheme him. 

            There was man named Polycarp who lived from 65 A.D. to 155 A.D.  He was an early Christian who headed the church in Smyrna.  The Romans required that everyone in the City burn incense to their Gods.  Polycarp refused to engage in this activity.  The Romans gave him an ultimatum, roughly stating that if he did not burn the incense, he himself would be burned at the stake.  Polycarp’s reply was, “Eighty and six years I have served him.  How then can I blaspheme my King and Savior? Bring forth what thou wilt.”  The Romans did just that.  Apparently he requested that they not tie his hands down to the stake, indicating that he would not attempt to flee from the flames.  Legend has it that he did not burn, and that the flames simply swirled around him.  A Roman soldier was then commanded to run him through with the sword.  The flames were put out by the blood that poured from his body.  Polycarp today is in paradise with his king, in his kingdom.  He chose to stand for Christ rather than to lay down with the world.

          Today, everyone is still offered the choice to call Jesus Christ their king.  We can stand for him, or we can stand against him.  We can trust him, call him our king, and receive eternal life, or we can join the world as they deny him and tease him; as they call him a myth and a legend.  Those who are lost believe he was just a man.  They don’t believe he has the power to give eternal life because they believe he is dead.  But those who know him, know differently.  Today, do you believe that he is able to grant you eternal life in paradise?  Is it possible that just on the other side of death lays a life of overflowing goodness?  Are you willing to stand with him now?  The answer to this question is very important.

“Lord Heavenly Father, we ask and pray that You will give us eternal life.  Help us to stand for You and to be courageous in professing our faith in You and in Your Son.  Father, give us more faith that we might do Your will in this world, and continue that work in your kingdom to come.  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.