JESUS SPEAKING

                “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them” (Mathew 18: 19-20.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                God has always desired to dwell within groups of people.  In the Old Testament, the Jewish people wandered in the desert for forty years.  They traveled from place to place, setting up camp where ever God directed them too.  Everyone had a tent, but God dwelled in the tabernacle tent, set up right in the middle of the people.  The idea being, that God was at the center of their nation; He was brought them together.  The Jews shared many things; language, ethnicity, physical features, common practices; but only God could make them one.  Jesus said that in order for him to be present among them, or in the midst of them (dwelling at the center of the group), two or three, or more had to be gathered together.  The Lord promised that their common prayers would be answered by God.  God was meant to be shared; God was meant to bring the believers together; it was impossible to separate fellowship from a true belief in Jesus Christ.  This was reflected when Christ taught his followers how to pray.  He taught them to pray saying, “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven; and give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us; and lead us not in to temptation, but deliver us out of the hands of the evil one; for Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever, amen.”  There is no ‘I’ or ‘my,’ in this prayer; instead there is an ‘us’ and an ‘our.’  God is to be shared between people.  He is meant to be at the center of every relationship, of every group, and of every heart.

                I have been privileged to answer prayer lines at church.  Many callers are in very serious spiritual conditions.  Many are in drug addiction; some are noticeably intoxicated over the phone.  Many have serious emotional problems.  Many are also stuck in some sin; adultery, fornication, dishonesty, etc.  One thing seems to tie many of these struggling people together; when asked where they attend fellowship, many say, “I don’t attend fellowship anywhere right now.”  I ask them, ‘are you a part of a small group bible study;’ many reply, “No, I used to be, but not now.”  I ask, ‘where are you serving;’ they answer, “nowhere, but I have been thinking about getting involved.” I say, ‘do you have any close friends or Christians you talk to on a regular basis;’ often the answer is, “No, not really.”  Somewhere along the way, many got the wrong impression; they came to believe they could have a relationship with Jesus Christ in the absence of others.  They began to move away from God, and the result was selfishness, isolation, and disconnection.  Closeness with God is often directly proportional to a person’s closeness with others.  God brings people together, sin pushes people apart.

                Fellowship is essential for all who believe in God.  Without communion with other believers, there is no way to share God and experience the true love of Jesus Christ.  Our faith is not exercised in a vacuum; God hears common requests that are lifted up to him in gatherings.  If you are not in a group fellowship, or involved with other believers, how can you practice the faith?  If you have always isolated yourself, it’s time to know the true power of love; the true fullness of the faith; a true connection with the body of believers; it’s time to allow the Lord to answer your requests as they are offered up in love.  Go to your church; find a bible study that works for you.  Make friends and begin to call them and pray with them.  Get involved in serving others in the church and in the community.  Share yourself with others.  Come to know your eternal brothers and sisters.  Gather together and give yourselves to one another in the bond of peace, and in the love of Christ.

                “Our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  They Kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  And give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us, out of the hands of the evil one; for yours is the kingdom and the power, and the Glory, forever and ever, Amen.  Father we desire intimacy with others, and closeness with them.  We ask that you would help us now to let go of isolation, and begin to build true friendships with others; help us to enjoy gathering together with other believers, and give a heart of true unity.  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

                “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.  Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled.  Blessed are you who weep now for you shall laugh.  Blessed are you when men hate you […] for the Son of Man’s sake […] for indeed your reward is great in heaven […] But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.  Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger.  Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.  Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets” (Luke 6: 20-26.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                The Jewish people were very familiar with blessings.  Many would bring their children up to the Rabbi’s to be blessed.  A blessing was a prophetic pronouncement of some future good in a person’s life.  The opposite of the blessing, was the cursing.  A cursing was a prophetic pronouncement of some future calamity in a person’s life.  Jesus combined the blessings and cursings.  Those who had wealth and material possessions in excess were being called to give them away to gain eternal life.  Those who were constantly feeding themselves were being told that in the coming life, they would go hungry.  Those who were living lives filled with the pleasures of the world, would enter eternal sorrow.  Those who, in this life, were well liked and of good reputation would be rejected by God eternally.  Jesus lived a life of self denial; a life in which the needs of others were more important than his own, to the point of death.  To follow Christ in to eternal life, self denial and self-sacrifice in the present life are required.  The sacrifices are wealth, power, property, selfish fun (often sinful pleasures), and a good reputation (a desire to be well liked by everyone.)  People hated this message, and today it is still hated.  But people’s hatred for the message will never change the message.  Enduring pain, and denying your own wants and desires in this life is a requirement for entrance in to heaven.  Jesus said, “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”

                We need only look at credit cards to understand this scripture.  Denying pleasure is pain, and many use credit cards to avoid denying what they want.  When someone goes out shopping or out to have fun and they can’t afford it, many will pay with a credit card to avoid denying themselves of some pleasure.  Food, possessions, recreation, lust; pleasure can take various forms, but usually costs money.  But paying for things with money you don’t have doesn’t make the pain go away, it simply postpones it.  Eventually the credit card company is going to want their money, and the pain you avoided will have to be endured.

                Many people have spent an entire lifetime avoiding pain and indulging in pleasure; but the pain hasn’t been avoided, only postponed.  Eventually they are going to have ‘pay the check.’  Chasing after wealth, material possessions, careers, food, and even a good reputation will lead to an eternity of pain.  Saving up money for the future, and making recreation and personal time a focus of your life will only lead to destruction.  Vacations in Hawaii, hours of television time, golf, weekend partying, lying, lusting, unholy relationships, and other forms of pleasure will end in a curse.  Self-denial is the way to eternal blessings.  Volunteer work, giving excess money away to the needy, spending time listening to others, giving up T.V. time to evangelize, visiting widows, orphans, the elderly, working with someone caught in addiction, caring for the sick, loving others, giving people rides, to name a few.  Where can you refuse your own desires to better serve others?  What do you have in excess?  Is it time, money, knowledge; what can you give away?  When you deny yourself, and make others more important, you are serving The Living God in this life, and in turn, you will serve him in His eternal Kingdom.

                “Lord Heavenly Father, we come before You and we ask and pray that You will help us to endure pain and to give away what we have in excess; to deny our own wants and pleasures to fulfill Your purposes in the lives of others.  Father, help us to deny ourselves and to take up the cross and to follow You.  Reveal to us where we can be more self-less; where we can be more giving; and where we can be more like You.  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

                “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15: 12-13.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                God’s commandment to His disciples was to love one another in the exact manner that He had loved them.  Of all of the different kinds of love, God identified the greatest love to be self-sacrifice; the very love that Jesus Christ portrayed upon the cross.  True love could only come through the denial of the self.  He was commanding his followers to crucify themselves daily, by denying their own wants and needs to provide for the wants and needs of others.  All those who were, and are disciples of the Lord, should manifest selflessness as the proof that the Love of Christ is in them.

                Everyone wants to be heard.  Children naturally have a difficult time listening instead of talking. As they grow old, they learn to be listeners.  Yet even as adults, the majority of people still enjoy being the topic of discussion.  Some people are so self-centered it’s difficult to speak with them because conversation is not a two-way-street; it’s a long dark alley with no exits.  However, disciples learn to make others the focus of conversation.  They ask more questions (with more sincerity), and become active listeners.  Their own wants, needs, and desires become secondary; they in essence die, and in turn, they can nurture and love others.  Anyone who is more concerned with their own wants, needs and desires, cannot love others as Christ has commanded them, and in turn, they cannot be his disciples.  In order to live and love as Christ we must die.  Paul wrote, “To live as Christ, to die is gain.”  To die is the way to life. 

                In conversation today, are you a listener, or a talker?  Are you a giver, or a taker?  Are you dying, or are you living?  The less concerned you are with yourself, the more you can manifest the love of Christ.  There are many areas where you can die.  You can give up the time you spend in recreation to serve others (not necessarily all your time.)  You can pray for others instead of yourself.  You can listen to others instead of talking.  You can spend your extra money on others.  You can love where you used to hate, and give where you used to take.  You can show God’s love, the greatest love, to a world who needs it desperately.

                “Lord Heavenly Father, we come before You and we ask that You would help us to die; to lay down our lives for our friends and strangers.  Give us a strong desire to esteem others above ourselves, and to show the Love of Your Son to all those who need it.  Reveal opportunities in our lives where we can improve, and become more selfless; more like You.  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.