JESUS SPEAKING

            “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

            Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going, and how can we know the way?”

            Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14: 1-6.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

            Peter has just been told he will deny Christ three times before sunrise.  Jesus has also just made his disciples aware of his impending crucifixion, which was not a plan that was pleasing to them.  Their hearts were troubled, and so he addressed what was troubling them.  He pointed them to their belief in him.  Faith was the cure for what ailed them.  He imparted hope to them; hope of a future with him after his death and resurrection.  He wanted them to know that their time apart would not be forever.  Many of us know this scripture is speaking of what is called, ‘The second coming.’  He reminded them that they knew the way to the place he was about to go to.  Thomas said, “Lord, we do not know where you are going, and how can we know the way?”  Jesus responded with three statements pertaining to himself; he said I am, “the way, the truth, and the life.”  He also implies that no other religion, or philosophy, or way of life could bring them to that place.  ‘The way’ is a path, a direction, a road that leads from one place to another.  In life, there are many paths, and many roads, and each leads to a different location.  There are people who are leading others down these pathways, with promises of great rewards, but all fail to deliver what they promise, which leads to the second claim Jesus makes.  He says that he is ‘the truth.’  The truth is a characteristic of God alone.  God never lies, never fails to honor a promise, and can always be trusted.  There are many liars that seek to mislead people.  He revealed that he is the only way to get to God, making other religions and their leader’s empty deceivers.  So, either Jesus is a liar and there is another way to get to God, or he is telling the truth and every other religious leader is lying, whether willfully, or in ignorance.  He also claims to be ‘the life.’  God is life, and He is eternal, and those who follow Jesus enter in to eternal life; the promise of God is that we can be with him, where he is.  Death is the absence of God, so all other ways lead to a place where God does not exist.  There is one way to God, and one truthful guide in a sea of liars.  There is one destination where God is and where we may be with him for an eternity.

            Jesus gave an excellent illustration describing the following of false prophets and spiritual leaders; he talked about ‘the blind leading the blind.’  He said, “Can the blind lead the blind?  Will they not both fall in to a ditch?”  Blind people are completely dependent upon someone who can see to direct them and lead them safely to where it is they are going.  There are many people who claim to see, but they themselves are blinded.  The religious leaders during the time of Jesus Christ were these blind guides he was referring too.  Today, we still have blind guides who are attempting to gain followings for themselves and not Jesus Christ.

              ‘All roads do not lead to God,’ as is the proper speech in our culture today.  The message of the Lord is not one that is politically correct.  If the message was, we would not have seen the deaths of the apostles, or the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, or the persecution of the church today.  To suggest that anyone’s beliefs are not correct will bring distain and contempt.  If Jesus Christ is telling the truth, then Buddhism leads to death, as does Islam, as does scientology, as does Judaism (without Jesus Christ), as does everything that is not a belief and a faith, and a following in Him.  To follow him, is to follow God.  (When we speak the truth, it is important that we speak the truth in Love; how we say something can be the difference between someone listening to our testimony, and turning away from the Lord because of our testimony.)

            “Lord Heavenly Father, we come before You today and we ask that You lead us.  Help us to give our entire lives over to You, and to listen to You and to trust You, and to have faith in You, and Your return.  Give us that future hope daily, that we may know and follow You, and be with You for an eternity in that place where You are.  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 Peter said to him, “Lord do you speak this parable only to us, or to all people?”

           And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.  Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.  But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers” (Luke 12: 42-46.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

             Jesus is speaking with his disciples about his future delayed return; we are still waiting; impatience with his return can lead to sin as illustrated by the servant who began to beat the other servants.  Jesus references a Jewish marriage tradition to illustrate this truth.  Often, during wedding feasts, the master of a house would leave to celebrate a wedding; when all of the guests arrived at the home where the wedding was to take place, the doors were locked.  The wedding could go on for a day or two, or it could go on for a week or more.  The master’s return therefore could not be predicted.  He could return at 4:00 in the morning on Wednesday, or at midnight on Saturday.  When the master of the house left for the wedding feast, he placed someone in charge of his affairs, and they were all to be ready for his eventual return.  The lamps were to be filled with oil, the bed made ready, and the servants were to be prepared to serve the master upon his arrival.  Jesus used the description of the wedding feast, and the absent master to draw a picture for his disciples of something they didn’t yet understand.  They didn’t know that Jesus would be crucified and that he would leave for the Kingdom of God with a promise to return again.  Their duties would be to serve the body of Christ, and to give them their physical and spiritual food.  Failure to do so would result in punishment, and a reward would be given to those who were faithful in doing this daily.  Interestingly, Jesus puts the believing leaders who misrepresent God, and abuse their power, in the same category as those who are not believers.  It is possible that leadership in a church carries with it a greater condemnation than those who are members of the congregation.

             In the United States, a brand new industry has arisen, known as ‘Mystery Shopping.’  Most employers and corporations have recognized that when they tour their facilities the employees behave in a way that is unnatural; they ‘put on a show’ so to speak, to impress their bosses.  Some employees are lazy, and some are hard workers; some are polite, and some are cold, but when the boss is around, everyone is a hard worker, and everyone is polite.  Many employers now hire regular people off of the street to become shoppers at their stores and facilities; they observe and report all that they see and experience.  They are disguised to discover the truth, because it is human nature to pretend when it benefits the individual who is pretending.  When the employees experience a mystery shopper, it changes the environment.  They must continually be prepared to behave as though every customer were an in disguise ‘mystery shopper.’ 

             Jesus makes it clear that his servants are to treat each day, each hour, each minute, and each second, as the time of his possibly return.  Today, a lack of faith in the promised return of Jesus Christ has caused a great many church leaders to misbehave; many church leaders have used the churches money to gain vast quantities of material wealth and possessions.  Many have used their positions of authority and trust to gain sexual favors, and to commit sexually deviant behaviors.  Many have abandoned teaching the gospel, in favor of promoting some new ‘feel good book.’  Still others have completely walked away from God because they have become dissatisfied with God’s delayed return.  What can we do to avoid making these mistakes?  Being genuine for starters, and keeping hope alive in our hearts.  We can become disobedient when we lose hope in his return.  We must live in expectation of that return, every moment, every second, every day, and every hour.  We can recognize that God’s promise to return will come to pass.  We should all be serving God, continually, and we must never lose hope, but continue in faith to serve him, and to serve others, daily.

             “Lord Heavenly Father, we come before You now and we ask and pray that You would give us an expectant heart, and a hope in Your return that is not fleeting.  May You increase our faith in Your promises and give us a heart to serve You and to serve others.  Direct us Lord to know the duties and the responsibilities that You have given each one of us, individually.  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 who believes in me, believes not in me, but in Him who sent me.  And him who sees me sees Him who sent me.  I have come as a light into the world, that whoever abides in me, should not abide in darkness.  And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.  He who rejects me, and does not receive my words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.  For I have not spoken on my own authority; but the Father who sent me gave me a command, what I should say, and what I should speak.  And I know that his command is everlasting life.  Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told me, so I speak” (John 12: 44-50.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

             Jesus is making himself equal to God in this particular passage.  Many people had been placing their faith in God, and here he saying, ‘put your faith in me, and you will be putting your faith in God.’  Man was made in the image of God, implying that God has a shape, and here Jesus is confessing to be that shape.  Seeing Jesus is seeing God.

             Every human being is already under judgment and condemnation.  Most people don’t realize that even a little sin causes a person to be separated from God, and everyone sins.  Jesus says, “For I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.”  He doesn’t need to condemn and judge those who are already condemned.  His purpose is to present every person with a way to avoid the judgment of God.  That way, is too believe and have faith in Jesus Christ and to abide in him.  Anyone who rejects the provision that God has made is judged rightly and has no excuse for the wrath that remains on them.  This is why Jesus says, “The word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.”  When we all stand before God those who have rejected Gods plan, and God’s son, and the message of Jesus Christ will stand condemned by their own free will.  The word ‘abide’ is used to refer to ‘physical location’ in other portions of scripture, and it is used in similar fashion by Jesus here.  When someone goes home for the night to sleep, they abide in their home.  When a person puts their money in the bank, that money abides in the bank.  When we put our lives in Jesus we abide in him.  He lives within us, and we live within him.

             To illustrate what it means to ‘abide’ in Christ, let’s imagine Noah and his family.  A man builds a boat in the middle of nowhere; in a place where there is no water.  The people who lived around him at that time were so wicked, perversion was common public practice.  Noah knew of the impending destruction, but no one outside of that boat knew they were doomed, and none recognized their own sin, and need for repentance.  Noah’s boat was a vessel, and when the rain came, Noah and his family did ‘abide’ in that boat.  They entered and shut the door, and as the world died Noah’s family lived because his boat was able to protect them from the destruction of the flood.  Had Noah decided to not enter the ark, he and his family would have been destroyed.  God provided this boat for Noah, just as He has provided Jesus Christ for us.  When we place our hope, our faith, and our trust in Jesus Christ we are entering God’s sanctuary; we are entering God’s protection from the coming storm (judgment.)  To abide in him is to live inside of his promise, and to dwell within his commands. 

             Today, we can place our lives, our hope, and our faith in Him.  When destruction comes, anyone who has believed, and has placed their hope in him will avoid destruction and inherit eternal life.  He has told us, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”  Do we truly believe that today?  Do we look to the cross when things get difficult?  Are we resting in the promises of God?  Are we living for a time that has not yet come?  Are we living a life that resembles someone who lives in Jesus Christ?  If yes, continue on; if no, pray to him and ask Him to help you to have faith, and he will answer you, and your life will never be the same.

             “Lord Heavenly Father, we ask and pray that You would help us to abide in You.  Please assist us in giving ourselves completely over to You and to Your Son.  Help us to look to Your Son and to have faith in him, and to believe in all that he has told us.  Help us Lord, to live by faith, and to walk in faith, and to rest in 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.