JESUS SPEAKING

                “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Mathew 5: 23-24.)               

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                No one can have a close relationship with God in a vacuum; everyone lives within a social structure, made up of family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances, and complete strangers.  Our relationships with others are a reflection of our relationship with God; if we sin against someone, we also sin against God; if we have cheated anyone, we have also cheated God.  When we lie, slander, or feel hatred toward another person, we have lied, slandered, and hated the One True and Living God.  In the first century many Jewish families journeyed long distances to sacrifice animals to atone for their sins and to be restored to a right relationship with God.  Jesus taught that prior to offering a sacrifice to God for restoration and forgiveness, everyone had to make right, the harms they had committed against others.  This principal, known as ‘making amends’ is still very much in effect today. 

                In June of 2005 I landed in a rehabilitation center in Anaheim California.  Although not yet saved, I began working a 12 step program.  The 12 steps have been shunned by many churches that see them as pagan.  Although they are pagan, and do not acknowledge Jesus Christ, the 12 steps and the principals were taken almost completely from the bible.  Those who formed the foundation of Alcoholics Anonymous were Christians, strongly influenced by Jesus; the literature used by those early recovering alcoholics was the bible (specifically the book of James, the sermon on the mount, and 1 Corinthians 13.)  Personally, after about a year and ½ in to my new found sobriety, I received the Lord and began to read the bible.  I continued to work the steps as well.  I came across this scripture, where Jesus commanded his followers to apologize and make restitution for the wrongs they had committed.  I immediately recognized that Jesus’ command had been the basis for the eighth and the ninth steps.  The eighth step reads, “Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to amends to them all,” and the ninth step reads, “Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.”  From 2005 until today, I have continued to make amends to others I have harmed.  I have made restitution, paid off debts, and asked for forgiveness from many who were affected by my sins.  With every debt paid and every apology given, I have felt my Spirit drawing ever closer to my teacher, my Lord, and my God.

                Today, if you are struggling to get closer to God, you might consider examining your past mistakes and previous sins against others; if you have stolen from anyone (and have the capacity to repay what you took) go to them and make restitution.  If you have lied, and your lies have caused hardships for others, return and speak the truth.  If you mistreated someone and they are harboring resentment, humble yourself and ask them for forgiveness.  Making amends is a very real and essential part of what it means to be a Christian; often the pathway toward a more Godly future, leads through the sins of our past; what we do with those sins once we have faced them, will determine whether we go deeper with God, or remain distant from Him.  The choice is ours to make.

                “Lord Heavenly Father, we come before You and lift You up; You are worthy to be praised.  Father, if we have harmed anyone in our past and have not gone back to make restitution, we ask that You would make us aware of our wrongs.  Give us strength and humility, that we might ask for forgiveness, and be reconciled to those who resent 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

                “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle,and said, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’ So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’ So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen” (Mathew 20: 1-16.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                In this parable, the landowner represented God in the form of Jesus Christ.  The first workers represented the Pharisees, religious leaders, and Holy men that God had called to minister to the world; these men had been faithful for many years; some their whole lives; they had avoided lying, adultery, and drunkenness; they prayed, and observed the feasts and the commandments of God.  They felt that their own efforts and righteous deeds had earned them a distinguished place with God.  The sinners of the world were represented by the ‘later workers,’ who had lived the majority of their lives in sin.  Jesus (the landowner), had been calling all sinners to repent; many prostitutes and tax collectors were being baptized and they were turning to God; they began to do the work of the Lord, side by side with those who had never strayed from God’s path.  In this parable, the ‘day’s wage’ represented the salvation God freely offered to all mankind, irrespective of past works of righteousness.  Sinners and saints would receive the same gift from God.  The religious leaders hated Jesus, because he had made them equal to new converts; they felt entitled to a greater reward from God for their many good deeds.  Those who received the salvation they didn’t deserve were overjoyed and glorified God; those who believed salvation was a earned wage, despised the grace of God in favor of glorifying themselves (the sinner thanks God, the self-righteous thanks himself.)  No human being deserves salvation; no one can attain it through strenuous effort; it must be received as a gift.

                Some years ago, I was working in sales, and the housing market bottomed out.  One day, I was called in to my manager’s office, and I was ‘let go.’  I picked up my last check, and began looking for work full time.  I sent in untold numbers of resumes and went on countless interviews.  No call backs, no second interviews; I continued in this strenuous routine for nearly five months, until rejection after rejection finally produced within me, great discouragement and despair.  I decided if no one was going to hire me to work, I would work for free and serve God.  I began volunteering at a non-profit, a local church, and a senior center.  A couple of months later, I received a call from some company, I don’t recall ever submitting a resume too.  I was hired to be a caregiver, and to help a needy man with his daily living needs.  The job was on weekends; at the same time a man told me about a theology school I should attend just up the street; the school met on weekday mornings (which worked perfectly with my weekend job.)  God orchestrated the whole scenario so that I could be trained to serve Him.  Today, I am one week away from graduating from that school (a two year program); I still work for the brain injured man, and it has been the best job I have ever had.  In all my efforts to find work, I was trying to gain for myself, something that only God could provide.  God had used many months of disappointment to humble me.  He brought me to the point at which I was able to receive his gift for myself; I didn’t get the job because I was qualified, or because I had written some fantastic resume; it wasn’t a product of my hard work either.  Instead the job was a gift I gratefully accepted from the Lord.

                Today, there are many people who believe that they deserve God’s favor; some go so far as to make self-righteousness and human effort the means by which a person is saved.  Jesus Christ came to offer to mankind something they were incapable of earning; he came to bring salvation to those who were willing to throw up their hands in frustration and admit, “I am unworthy.”  No man, woman, or child can be right with God, unless they first realize that apart from God’s grace they are doomed.  Those who follow Christ rejoice in knowing that they, like the late workers, are freely forgiven; they stand side by side with those who have labored long in the faith.  In God’s eyes, the sinner and the saint are drawn together as one by the sweet blood of His one and only Son. [Note:  Genuine faith, once it has been experienced and received, produces a desire to be more pleasing to God.  God’s Spirit makes real changes in the heart; it is not enough to say, ‘saved by grace,’ while continuing to live in sickness without remorse or repentance.]

                “Lord Heavenly Father, we come before You today, and we ask that You help us to accept Your salvation as a free gift.  Give us the humility to realize the greatness of Your mercy and grace.  Help us to avoid being judgmental; may we rejoice with new believers, knowing that they have received the same great gift that You have given 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

                Then one of the scribes came and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”  Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.  And you shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, will all your mind, and with all your strength.’  This is the first commandment.  And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no other commandment greater than these.”  So the scribe said to him, “Well said teacher.  You have spoken the truth.” (Mark 12: 28-32.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                A teacher of God’s law happened by and was captivated by the wisdom of Jesus.  The scribe tested him by asking which commandment was the most important.  The Lord responded by proclaiming the oneness of God.  What separated the Jewish people from every other culture was their faith in one God; an almighty and unseen Creator (unlike the surrounding pagan cultures who worshipped many Gods.)  Jesus identified man’s place in relation to the One True and Living God; every person has been designed by God to be in fellowship with Him (to love Him with their whole heart, soul, mind, and strength.)  The second commandment was an expression of the first; complete love for God would be revealed in true love for others.  It says in 1 John, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar.”  Loving God and loving others are the same commandment; it is impossible to do one without the other.  A person who claims to be near to God, and to love and cherish Him completely, but seems distant, cold, and unloving toward others is either deceived or disobedient (neither of which is good.)  [Note:  Many leaders and members in the church, who proclaim to be close to God, reveal, through their indifference toward others, that they are very distant from Him.] 

                Some weeks ago, I was walking and praying to God behind the coffee shop where I study.  I was practicing, one of the greatest commandments (loving God with my whole heart, mind, soul and strength.)  After having made my connection with the Lord in prayer, I was headed back to the coffee shop to continue studying, when God gave me the opportunity to love another person as I would love myself.  Glancing over at the intersection next to the coffee shop, I spotted an accident; a truck had flipped over on its side.  I rushed across the street; I arrived at the scene to find most people standing at a distance; there was a woman who was trapped inside the overturned vehicle.  The police and the fire department had not yet arrived, so I moved forward and cleared away some debris.  I got down on my stomach and was able to slide my head and one of my arms between the concrete and the driver’s side window opening.  The girl inside was young, and obviously upset.  She was hanging in place by her seatbelt.  I held her hand, and reassured her that everything was going to be okay.  I talked with her as the tears flowed from her eyes.  After a short while, the fire department arrived, I told her that I would be praying for her, and she had the sense of mind to say ‘thank you.’  I walked away from the accident knowing that I had loved that woman as myself; the love of God, a God that lived within my heart had made Himself known to that woman in the hour of her greatest need.

                There is one God, and the two greatest commandments He has given are actually one in the same.  Those who love God and draw near to Him, become like Him.  He is kind; He is compassionate; He is loving; He is merciful; He is truthful; and those who love Him with all of their heart are moved to love others as God loves them.  Throughout your day, connect with God in prayer; cherish His words and hold them within your heart, and contemplate His truth within your mind.  If He is the priority in your life, then you will have a supernatural love for others that will shine the like sun; a love that cannot be denied; a love that comes from the One True and Living God.

                “Lord Heavenly Father we desire to be close to You, and to be in love with You; fill us with Your Holy Spirit.  May our hearts be completely devoted to You, and to others.  Give us opportunities throughout the day to express our love for You, in the lives of those around us.  Use us to reveal Your goodness to the world.  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.