JESUS SPEAKING

                Then his brothers, and his mother came, and standing outside they sent to him, calling him.  And a multitude was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are outside seeking you.”  But he answered them saying, “Who is my mother, or my brothers?”  And he looked around in a circle at those who sat about him, and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!  For whoever does the will of God is my brother and my sister and my mother” (Mark 3: 31-35.) 

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                During the Holiday season, families gather to celebrate the birth of Christ.  What makes a family is a common parent.  Christ says, that “unless a man be reborn, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”  He is referring to the spiritual birth, the inward birth, that makes a person a son or a daughter of God.  Everyone who calls Jesus Christ Lord, also calls the eternal God, their Father.  In another scripture, we read, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but spirit gives birth to spirit.”  His mother and brothers had come to see him (they were his family by means of a fleshly birth.)  Yet all those sitting around him, listening, were his brothers and sisters and mother, by means of a spiritual birth.  The evidence that they had become sons and daughters of God was in their actions.  Jesus says, “For whoever does the will of God is my brother and my sister and my mother.”  God is loving, so his children are loving.  God seeks the lost, so too, his children seek them.  God is kind to both the evil and the good alike; his children pray for evil people, show them kindness, and love them.  God gives to everyone who asks of him; therefore Jesus says, “Give to everyone who asks.”  God forgives even the worst sinner who turns to him; Jesus instructs his followers to forgive everyone in like manner.  God hears everyone who speaks to him, so his children should be good listeners.  God is patient; so a child of God must also be patient.  Whatever God does, those who call him Father will also do.

                In the animal kingdom, there are a variety of different species.  Each species is unique in the way they are shaped, in the way they behave, in the way they find food, and even in the way they procreate.  Mating is a huge part of life for all of God’s creatures.  When a wolverine gives birth, it gives birth to one of its own kind.  Kangaroo’s give birth to kangaroo’s, frogs to frogs, horses to horses, goats to goats.  Every newborn is raised to act and behave as it has been designed to do, and as it has been taught by its parents.  Human beings are different.  Though we are all made in the image of God, inside, every person is the offspring of two possible Fathers.  There are those whose father is the devil, and they do the works of their father (They strive to get ahead; they strive for money, for power, for beauty, for self-fulfillment; they store things up in abundance that they cannot use; they seek to take advantage of others, and to turn other people away from God.)  Then there are those who are the offspring of God and they do the works of their Father (they strive to love others, to give to others, and to be self-less; they strive to care for those in need, to reach out to the lost, and to bring hope to the hopeless; they desire to set others free from the bondage of sin, and restore them to healthy living.  They strive to please their Father, and to turn others away from the devil and back toward God.)     

                Who is your Father?  Are you doing the works of God, or the works of the devil?  Are you serving others, loving others, reaching out to others, or are you serving yourself, trying to get ahead, and seeking the lusts of the flesh?  If you are serving God and doing His will, you are brother and sister and mother to those who have come to call God their Father.  You have a family of people who were reborn of The Spirit of God; who are doing all of the works He has asked of them; fellowship with your new family and gain strength from them.  Always remember, you are not alone, and God is with us (If you have never been born of the spirit, you can be.  God is calling everyone.  He is standing at the door of your heart and He is knocking.  You simply need to let Him in.  If you would like to open the door and let Him in, then go somewhere quiet and ask Him to come in to your heart, and to come in to your life.  Ask Him to forgive you of your sins; ask Him to be your teacher, your Father, and your guide.  Ask Him for His Holy Spirit and a new birth.  Ask this all in the name of Jesus, and your life will never be the same.  [Then get a bible and begin reading and applying it to your life.  Get involved in a fellowship, and call someone right away and tell them about the decision that you have made.  And, remember, if you have given your life to Christ, then you have an entire family of people you’ve never met just waiting to get to know you.  I myself am now one of your new brothers, and I would love to chat with you; you can call or email me at any time, for prayer, for support, for anything.])

                “Lord Heavenly Father, we come before You now and we lift You up.  You are an awesome and mighty God; worthy of praise.  We ask You now to help us to be more like You.  We desperately seek to do Your work in this place.  We want You to be our Father, and we desire to be closer to You, and closer to all those who call You Father.  Give us a desire to be loving, to be caring, to read Your word and to do Your will in this place, so others would look at us and see You, and praise You for the works that You are doing through 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.”  May God bless all of you.

JESUS SPEAKING

                “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he was drowned in the depth of the sea.”

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                Children are filled with goodness and a natural faith.  Evil seeks to corrupt and defile what is good.  Children are innocent, and for the most part, adults desire to keep them from experiencing things that can rob them of their innocence.  God is an enemy of anyone who would actively seek to harm any child; Jesus forewarns about the harshness of the punishment for such actions.  The punishment is so harsh that death is a more desirable option.

                [This illustration is rather intense; I felt led to share it because it accurately describes the warning of this scripture.]  I grew up in a home with a stepfather who was a child molester.  He was a Boy Scout troop leader and a respected lawyer in the community.  He was also very skilled at hiding his evil deeds.  He molested many in my family, and many in the small community where I grew up.  This man robbed so many children of their innocence.  Some of his victims went on to lead sinful lives as a result.  Many became alcoholics and drug addicts.  Most victims struggled through life as they attempted to deal with the pain he inflicted upon them; relationship problems, psychological disturbances, job difficulties; I believe one victim even went on to commit suicide.  Yet, while his evil went unseen by others, it didn’t go unseen by God.  God’s wrath was being stored up; after over 11 years of robbing children of their innocence, he was led away from his law office in handcuffs and publicly shamed; in one day his entire life suddenly became a nightmare.  Truly, it would have been better for him “if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he was drowned in the depth of the sea” (just as Jesus proclaimed in this scripture.)  The judge sentenced him to decades in prison.  Everyone he had known turned their backs on him; his freedom was taken; his clothing, his work, his family, his privileges; a comfortable bed was exchanged for a cot; his suites were replaced with prison issued clothing.  We later learned that he was most likely being sexually abused in prison.  The very atrocities he had brought in to the lives of little children were being visited upon him.  He eventually died in that place.  (I can only hope that he accepted the Lord before his death.  I have forgiven him of what he did because God has given me a new heart.  But his life is an example of how God’s wrath comes to visit those who harm children.)

                Today, as believers, and as Christians, we should seek to protect children from the evils of the world.  We have to be careful about how we behave, and what we might expose the innocent too.  Movies for instance that are inappropriate for certain ages should not be watched if they could be harmful to the development of a child.  We should use proper speech, and behave in a ways that model Jesus Christ.  Children have the Lord as their defender, so we should tread carefully, and always seek to edify them, build them up in the faith, and protect them from evil.

                “Lord Heavenly Father, we come before You now and we lift You up.  You are just an awesome and mighty God.  We pray for all those who would seek to harm a child, and we ask that You would enter their hearts and transform them.  Please continue to protect children from those who would seek to abuse them or destroy their faith in Your Son.  And Lord, help us to be good examples to the youth that are in our lives.  We don’t want any of our actions to cause children to behave in a manner that is not in keeping with Your will.  Help us Father to be good examples, and good role models.  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

             A blind man calls out to Jesus saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” […] So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to him.  And when he had come near, he asked him, saying, “What do you want me to do for you?”  He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”  Then Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.”  And immediately he received his sight and followed him, glorifying God.  And all of the people when they saw it, gave praise to God (Luke 18: 40-43.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

             There are two people in this scripture; a blind man, and God; there is a man in need, and there is the God who can fulfill that need.  The man’s belief in God’s ability to provide him with his sight was worthy of praise from God.  Jesus himself pointed to the man’s faith saying, “your faith has made you well.”  God honors faith in man, while man honors God by praising Him for the needs that He fulfills in the lives of those who ask Him.  The man who was healed followed Jesus and outwardly praised God’s miracle.  Those who witnessed the healing, as well, gave praise and honor to God for what he had done.  What is it you need? 

             Before I new Jesus Christ I was sitting in a one bedroom apartment, doing drugs and hording things; staying up all night, thinking of killing myself.  I had an answering machine that was completely full of messages (I was fearful of listening to them.)  I had a warrant out for my arrest; I had no money in the bank; I had been writing bad checks; I spent some time in a psychiatric facility.  I had already attempted suicide but failed.  I was smoking cigarettes out of the trays because I couldn’t afford a new pack.  I believed I was one of the world’s smartest people and that no one truly understood me.  I couldn’t hold down a job, or even look for one.  Laziness had swallowed me up.  I was watching huge amounts of pornography.  My laundry was dirty, there was garbage lying around my apartment.  I had nearly died of an overdose; in that moment when I was near death, I cried out to God, “Jesus Help me.”  I didn’t know it at the time, but as I look back, that was the moment my life began to change.  Jesus Christ began his work in me.  Everything I needed, he began to provide.  Soon after I was shipped out to California to get sober; I began working full time; I began showering, doing laundry, paying bills.  I began to get healthy physically; I began praying daily and growing closer to God.  I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior, and began to read the bible on my lunch breaks.  I bought a car, and began to pay off my old bills.  I started to call my family.  I discontinued fornicating, and watching pornography.  I started to tell other people about what God had done for me; I started buying things for strangers, helping orphans, doing ministry.  Today, I sit and listen to people and take time to give people rides.  I teach bible studies and pray for others.  I look around my room today and it is neat and tidy; the books are neatly placed upon the shelves, the floor is clean; my laundry is hanging and folded.  Everything is swept and in order.   I no longer smoke cigarettes, chew tobacco, or drink alcohol.  I’m working full time in a care giving field.   I love and feel deep empathy for other people today.  My heart has come alive.  My mind has been healed, and the insanity has left me.

             I had cried out in desperation just like the blind man, and just like the blind man, I had been healed.  The man I am today is not the result of my doing but of God’s doing.  My life had gone from Chaos to order because God is Good; because he hears the cries of those who seek Him.  God receives all of the honor, and all of the glory, and all of the praise for the dead man He brought back to life.  Praise God for all of his wonderful works.

             What chaos remains in your life?  What insanity is their still inside of you?  Cry out to Him and He will hear you.  Ask Him in desperation and your needs will be met?  For God is good, and He can and will provide you with a miracle, if you are only willing to ask Him, and let him lead you!  Life for you will never be the same; give Him that opportunity.

             “Lord Heavenly Father, we come before You now and we thank You for all of the lives that You have changed.  You are so awesome, and so praise worthy.  So we praise You now.  May all honor and glory be Yours.  Give us what we need Lord, and increase our faith, that we may know Your power and experience Your goodness.  Heal us now from anything that is a sickness in us, and give us new hearts, with new desires.  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.