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.

JESUS SPEAKING

                “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12: 32-34.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                Jesus commanded his followers to sell their earthly possessions and use the profits to help those in need.  For each sacrifice, he promised a future reward held for them in God’s eternal kingdom.  Although many amass great amounts of excess wealth, all possessions are impermanent; nothing tangible is of any eternal value.  Banks fail, thieves steal, and death is inevitable.  No living person can carry possessions from this life to the next; everything is left behind. Yet, for those who have heeded the command of Christ, far greater treasures await; no compassionate contribution, selfless act, or sacrificial donation is ever lost.  The Lord will credit those who have made charity ‘the backbone’ of their existence.  Death cannot take from the unselfish, what remains within the living God.  He is a divine vault that contains an eternal treasure.  In Him, every believer who has sacrificed their belongings will inherit the true riches of eternal life [Note:  Some things are necessary for living; if you own a home, God is not necessarily asking you to sell it.  If you own two homes, the second one is more than you need; perhaps you can sell it and use the money to help others (needs vary based on culture and circumstance.)]

                When Solomon succeeded his Father David as king, the Nation of Israel was at its Zenith.  King Solomon was one of the wealthiest men who has ever lived.  Over the span of 40 years as king he earned nearly 40 billion dollars worth of Gold (based on one estimate.)  He also acquired 700 wives and three hundred concubines.  He sat on a large mechanical throne covered in gold figures; which was allegedly carried around with him wherever he went.  His monumental building projects astonished onlookers for generations.  He constructed the temple in Jerusalem (one of the largest buildings ever created in the ancient world.)  His palace took 13 years to build and all of his drinking vessels were made of pure gold.  He owned many exotic animals and bread thousands of horses.  He owned 1,400 chariots and employed 12,000 horsemen.  Foreign rulers, the world over, traveled to his Kingdom to marvel at its prosperity.  The bible records that Solomon “made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones.”  With so much wealth and power, did Solomon live a satisfying life?  The answer can be found in the book of Ecclesiastes.  He wrote this book near the end of his life; as he looked back upon his actions and accomplishments, he expressed extreme regret.  He concluded that the large buildings, the Gold and silver, the women, the exotic food, the fine clothes, and the abundant possessions were all meaningless.  He wrote “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, by increase […] there is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: riches kept for their owner to his hurt […] as he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, to go as he came; and he shall take nothing from his labor which he may carry away in his hand […] just exactly as he came, so shall he go.”  As death approached, King Solomon had finally discovered the true value of wealth; homes are unimportant, bank accounts are trivial, and fine clothes are insignificant; but generosity lasts forever. 

                Jesus Christ continually reminds the world of the truth that Solomon discovered so many years ago; wealth is only valuable when it is used to bless others.  Those who have utilized their excesses to help the poor are in fact wealthier than the richest man who has ever lived.  For when death arrives, the wealthy man will have nothing, but the faithful believer will inherit true riches; everlasting possessions that cannot be taken away.  Your wealth serves no purpose, unless it serves His purpose.  The things you have that are not being used, can be used to glorify God and to help others.  Search your closets; search your bank accounts; search your hearts; and give your wealth away.  Do this, and you will one day acquire riches far greater than you could have ever imagined.

                “Lord Heavenly Father, we come before You and ask that You give us the strength and the courage to use our wealth for Your purposes.  May our excesses be given over to help those in need.  Give us opportunities to be instruments of kindness; may we abandon ourselves to You.  May our lives be lived in sacrifice, and self-denial; and may we one day inherit the true riches of Your Glorious 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

                Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.  Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.  So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’  But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’  “And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.  Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’  He said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, you are given authority over ten cities.’  And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’ Likewise he said to him, ‘You also will rule over five cities.’  “Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief; for I feared you, because you are a stern man.  You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’  In turn he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant.  You knew that I was a stern man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.  Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’  “And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’  (But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’)  ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has more will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me’” (Luke 19: 11-27.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                Jesus had no intentions of immediately setting up God’s kingdom upon the earth (contrary to the beliefs of many who followed him.)  He used a parable to express his impending departure, and distant return.  Parables (short stories) forced the listeners to think; through contemplation, they could find the deeper spiritual truth.  Every story had characters, and every character represented a real life counterpart.  In this parable, the nobleman who went in to a far country to become king symbolized Jesus, who ascended in to heaven (and now reigns with divine authority.)  He too, like the nobleman, promised to return.  The rebellious citizens, who hated the nobleman, exemplified all those who refused to accept Jesus Christ as their messiah.  The faithful servants he gathered together before his departure were his disciples (followers.)  In the parable, he gave them each a different amount of money.  The money, likely represents the measure of faith Christ has given every believer.  One day the Lord will return and call together his servants; each one will have to give an account of his (her) stewardship.  In our illustration there were two servants who increased what they had been given; they represent those who have put their faith to work; they have done good deeds, served others, and made great efforts to spread the gospel.  Those who do the same will receive great riches when Christ returns.  The unjust steward did nothing with his faith.  When the king returned, the unwise servant was stripped of all his possessions and numbered with the rebels.  Every believer receives a measure of faith; but Jesus sternly expects great things from his followers; those who have been faithful can expect to inherit eternal life.  Those who have selfishly squandered what they have been given are headed for destruction.

                The surface of the earth is clothed in garment of green.  There are thousands of different kinds of trees and everyone is unique and remarkable.  However, there is one tree that never fails to inspire awe and wonder in the hearts and minds of those who gaze upon it; that tree is the mighty redwood;  these behemoth’s can tower to heights of over 300 feet; their trunks can reach widths of 20 – 26 feet (…wide enough to drive a car through.)  The tallest living redwood is recorded to be 379 feet tall; over ‘70 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty.’  The oldest living redwood is believed to be 3,500 years old; when Moses was leading his people out of Egypt (approximately 1,500 years before Jesus was born) this little redwood was just beginning to sprout.  These trees are so large, it can be difficult to imagine their humble beginnings.  Redwood seeds are just 1mm wide (or 0.0393700787 of an inch.)  Like these mighty coniferous monsters, every living thing comes from a small seed.  Some seeds grow to be large, some remain small, but one thing can never be debated; every seed is designed to grow.  Faith is a seed planted in the hearts of men by the hands of God.  If that seed doesn’t grow, it has failed to accomplish its purpose. 

                Every believer has received a measure of faith; a small seed that must grow; as it grows, the lives of the faithful blossom with it; increased faith means increased kindness, increased obedience, and increased service to God and to others.  When our king returns he will be looking for more than just the seed he planted; he will be looking for a mighty tree; a towering example of divine love in the midst of a dark and desolate forest.  Do not be an unwise servant who tucks away what God has given him.  Instead, allow the faith of God to grow within you.  Push forward, onward, and upward; may you grow with God; may your good works increase; may others come to know Jesus Christ because they have seen your life; and may you receive the eternal blessings of your great king and mighty God.

                “Lord Heavenly Father, we desperately desire for You to increase our faith.  Help us to grow in Your likeness; help us to do astonishing and mighty works for You.  Give us the direction, encouragement, and strength we need to accomplish Your will.  Without You we can do nothing; help us to remain faithful servants; men and woman who are ready to bring You a great increase.  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.