JESUS SPEAKING

            And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to him, “Are you the coming one, or do we look for another?”

            Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:  The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  And blessed is he who is not offended because of me” (Mathew 11: 2-6.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

            After baptizing Jesus, John came to believe that Jesus was the messiah they had been waiting for.  He, like so many in Israel believed the Messiah would set them free from their oppressors.  Everyone was waiting for Jesus to usher in an earthly kingdom of God and put an end to Roman Rule.  John (who had been imprisoned by Herod) was growing impatient with Jesus and sent messengers to him to ask if he truly was the messiah.  Jesus simply responded by quoting an Old Testament prophecy that stated the messiah would cleanse lepers; heal the blind and the lame and the deaf; and would also raise the dead and preach to the poor.  Jesus wanted John to know he was accomplishing all of these tasks.  The Lord finally addressed John’s impatient heart, saying, “blessed are those who are not offended because of me.”  Jesus had not met John’s expectations; John had expected a conquering messiah, not a messiah that would conquer sin through crucifixion (the lord was encouraging John to accept him as he was.) Many today, like John, have an inaccurate view of Jesus Christ.  Knowing the real Jesus is essential for happiness (blessedness.)  Simple bible reading is the best way to avoid making this mistake.

             Early on in my relationship with God I made the decision that I could no longer call myself a Christian unless I actually knew who Jesus Christ was.  I knew I had to read the bible; I also knew it was going to change and challenge my beliefs.  In my heart, I had an unclear picture of God.  I chose to let go of what I thought I knew in order to learn the truth.  As I read, I began to know the one true God; instead of being disappointed, my heart has been filled with wonder and amazement.  The real God is far greater than any God I could have ever imagined.

            Do you know Jesus Christ?  Do you know his words, or are you holding on to your own expectations.  Have you invented a Jesus for yourself, or have you come to know the real Jesus?  Read his words, get familiar with his works, his message, his truth, and I promise you, you will not be disappointed; instead, you too will find something more amazing than anything you have ever known, and your life will never be the same again.

            “Lord Heavenly Father, we desire to know the real Jesus.  We want to know Your Son and his message.  Implant his words within our hearts and help us to be his disciples, that we might be pleasing to You Father.  Help us to let go of our fear of the truth, and give us a hunger and thirst to know our messiah; your gift to us all.  Give us a yearning to read your word and to know the truth.  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

            He also spoke this parable:  “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.  Then he said to the keeper of the vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none.  Cut it down, why does it use up the ground?  But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.  And if it bears fruit, well.  But if not, after that you can cut it down” (Luke 13: 6-9.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                A parable is story used to illustrate some important truth.  The Lord’s parables contained characters and settings that corresponded to actual settings and characters during the time that he spoke them.  In this parable the vineyard owner represents God.  The ‘vineyard’ represents the whole earth which God created, and the tree represents the nation of Israel which God divinely planted in the midst of all of the other nations.  Jesus Christ represents the ‘keeper of the vineyard.’  He was God’s final attempt to produce goodness in the hearts of the Jewish people (so that they would not need to be removed and replaced.)  For four years he interceded for the Jews, hoping that they would turn and be fruitful; but they repaid his love with hatred; for kindness he was given crucifixion.  With their rejection of Christ came God’s rejection of them.  The nation of Israel was replaced as God’s representatives to the world on the day of Pentecost when Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to everyone who believed.  On that day the words Christ had previously spoken to a gentile woman came true; ‘She said to him, “You Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”  Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father […]The hour is coming and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.”’   Today, the new temple is the body of believers; a building composed of living stones.  The new people are all those who have received God’s Spirit and have become fruitful (Note:  Despite God’s replacement, it is clear that God has not totally cast them away.  In the coming kingdom there will be a remnant of Jews who have placed their faith in Christ; these Jews will rule and reign over the ‘Body of Christ.’)

                The human body is a wonderfully designed machine composed of many different organs, each with a different function; yet by far the most important is the heart.  It’s so essential to life that heart dysfunction is the number one cause of death in the United States.  Since 1967 it has become possible to take out a dead heart and replace it with a fully functioning one.  Many people have been saved because they were willing to part with something that no longer produced what it was intended to produce; life.

                The products of a correctly functioning believer are kindness, love, compassion, peace, respect, generosity, friendship, outreach, selfless action, patience and truth (to name a few.)  If these things are not visible in your life, then your heart may need to be replaced.  The only person who can take your dying heart and replace it with a living heart is Jesus Christ.  Ask him to make the change in your life, and he will do a miracle.  Let go of your old life and grasp on to your new life (eternal life); let his Spirit flow in to you, and you will produce an abundance of fruit.

                “Lord we desperately want to be productive for You.  We want to see others come to You and be healed.  We ask that You not forsake us, but that you give us new hearts filled with Your Spirit; and nourish us so we can produce much fruit for You.  We can’t do it on our own Lord, we need You; we need a miracle; we need a work of Your hands to be the men and women You have called us to be.  We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask we ask all of these things in Jesus Christ’s name.  Amen.”  God bless all of you.

JESUS SPEAKING

                And he looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and he saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites.  So he said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had” (Luke 21: 1-4.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                The heart is the deepest part of every human being.  Truth resides in the heart; but the heart is so deeply buried that it’s difficult to see it’s contents (most don’t even know what is in their own hearts.)  In Jeremiah we read, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.  Who can understand it?”  Only God can truly see the heart.  God is not fooled by appearances.  Jesus watched many wealthy people approach the offering box and give large sums of money.  He saw a widow woman give two mites (one penny.)  Those who couldn’t see the truth would have honored the large donors; but Jesus was looking at their hearts.  The wealthy donors had used up the first part of their riches on themselves, and God received His share from their leftovers.  The woman however, gave from what she needed to live.  She chose to honor God rather than feed herself.  The Lord came first in her life, and for that Jesus honored her. 

                This past Christmas, while sitting around the kitchen table, my wonderful niece Jaden asked me why I talked about God so much.  To help her understand, I pulled a plate in front of me; the plate had a main dish on it, and near the edge of the plate was a smaller portion (the side dish.)  I said, pointing to the main course, “In life most people put the cares of living in the center of their plates, and they make God ‘the side dish.’  But God doesn’t want to be the side dish; He wants to be ‘the main course.’  Do you understand that?”  “Yes,” she replied.  In this scripture, we see a bunch of wealthy men who had filled their vaults full of worldly wealth, and what they didn’t consume or covet, they gave to God.  Because God was secondary in their hearts, He got their leftovers.  The widow woman however was concerned first with pleasing God, and second with pleasing herself; in her heart, God was the ‘main course.’

                Today, God is not fooled by large sums of money; he’s not fooled by crosses around the neck, or bumper stickers that say, “Jesus Saves.”  He’s not fooled by weekly church attendance either.  The world can be easily fooled, but God sees straight in to the heart.  In the heart, God is either the ‘main course,’ or the’ side dish.’  ‘If He’s not first he’s last.’  What is God to you?  Does He get the first of your time, or what’s leftover?  Does He hear prayers from you throughout the day, or only in the last few minutes before you go to bed?  Does God receive the first of your finances, or just the surplus?  Put God first in your life, and withhold nothing from Him; the world may take no notice; they will throw no parades in your honor or name any buildings after you; but the Lord, who sees your heart, will honor you; the one true and living God is watching, and He will write your name in the book of life and raise you up in the last day.

                “Lord Heavenly Father we come before You and lift You up.  You are an awesome and mighty God.  We love You Father, and we love Your Son.  Help us to make You the center of our lives.  Give us genuine hearts; hearts that are submitted to You; hearts that are wholly sacrificed for You.  May we see with Your eyes lord, and not be deceived as the world is deceived.  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.