From the very start of Jesus’ Ministry He made it clear that He was sent to do the Will of God the Father. When asked by the disciples how to pray, Jesus began His prayer this way, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-13 The Lord’s Prayer) At every turn, Jesus exalted God the Father’s Will over His own…even to the point in the Garden of Gethsemane when He said, “Yet not as I Will, but as You Will.” (Matthew 26:39) This is probably one of the toughest things for us humans to do…to defer our Will to His…to submit what we want to God’s plans instead…and to yield our wishes and desires in obedience to His good pleasure for our life. But God’s Will is perfect in every way and we need to be obedient to it. Thus Psalm 143:10 is a good prayer for us all, “Teach me to do Your Will.”
Category: Daily Inspirational Devotional
Luke 12:51 ” Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.”
What Jesus was saying here is that complete dedication to Him may sometimes bring about rejection even from one’s immediate family…or as He said in Matthew 10:37, “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me…” Our love, trust, and faith in the Lord needs to always be at the top. But when we allow ourselves to indulge others to continue in ungodly beliefs and/or practices, and when we choose to turn a blind eye in order to keep peace in the family, we’re taking God off the throne and placing the person there instead. That’s because when we promote tolerance and inclusivity at all cost…we end up compromising our beliefs for white-washed harmony.
Matthew 5:11 ” Blessed are you when people persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.”
Jesus stated it many times…”If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also.” (John 15:20) And if you are a Believer, you know that the life you have here on earth can’t begin to compare to the one promised in heaven. But many Christians want it both ways. They want God to promise them their best life now, plus a glorious after-life. But that’s not what Jesus taught, and not what His disciple, Peter wrote in I Peter 4:12-19 when he was encouraging fellow Christians to endure the persecution that was prevalent and to prepare them for even more difficult times ahead. As Christians, we are not of this world, and to think we deserve a easy go of it here on earth while Jesus suffered unspeakable trauma goes against all His teachings. Or as James put it into perspective…”Hasn’t God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?”
Mark 11:28 ” ‘By what authority are You doing these things?’ they asked. ‘And who gave You authority to do this?’ “
During His time on earth, Jesus was constantly being questioned by the religious leaders as to who had given Him permission to teach and preach the way He did. For Jesus came commissioned from God with divine authority, and He used this authority to charge the people towards repentance. In Matthew He explained this divine right to His disciples, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Me.” (Matthew 28:18) But many feel that when Jesus ascended to heaven His authority here on earth went with Him. We only have to look at Ephesians 1:21 for the correct answer. It tells us that Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father, “far above all rule and authority, power and dominion and every title that can be given, not only in the present age, but also in the one to come.” Or as I Corinthians 15:27 reminds us, “Everything is under His feet.” Simply put…all power and authority is the Lord’s and He is and will remain in control.
John 3:19-20 ” This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”
All during His Ministry, Jesus pointed out and exposed the truth about sin. He never minced words or sugar-coated His hatred for sin and it’s ramifications on the human race. Over and over again Jesus would address the truth and consequences of sinful behavior…but as Psalm 52:3 points out, “You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth.”…we would rather remain in spiritual darkness with our dirty little secrets. So the idea today that Jesus has somehow changed His focus to overlooking sin and never correcting His people is completely false. Correction is a good thing, for in Job 5:17 it says, “Blessed is the man who God corrects; so don’t despise the discipline of the Almighty.” We are also told to correct fellow Believers, as Jesus said in Luke 17:3, “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.” Finally, if angels weren’t spared when they sinned, but sent to hell (II Peter 2:4), how do we think our sins will be glossed over and excused now? Jesus hasn’t changed, and neither has the truth about sin.
John 15:18 ” If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first.”
Jesus was hated and despised by the world, and the idea that He’s now loved and accepted by the same world is one of the biggest lies we could believe today. Jesus was not of this world, and neither was His kingdom, and His Gospel Message flew directly in the face of the world’s selfish ambition, then and now. Even back into the Old Testament we can see this hatred that the world had for Jesus, when Isaiah wrote, ” He was despised and rejected by men…” (Isaiah 53:3) The world will never love Jesus, for what He stands for, it will never receive.
John 14:27 ” Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I don’t give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your hearts be troubled and don’t be afraid.”
What Jesus preached while He was here on earth was a message of Salvation called the Gospel of Peace. And the peace, hope and joy that came from it was brought about only by God’s divine mercy on mankind. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) But the difference today between the Biblical Jesus and the modern Jesus who we think needs to fulfill all our earthly desires can be seen in the the phrase above…”I don’t give to you as the world does.” What the world wants is temporal and temporary…it’s of gauging our existence on material standards and our achievements and value by earthly measures. That’s the big difference between putting your trust in things that are temporal or things that are eternal…of short-term health, wealth, and happiness over long-term peace, joy, and hope…or of things seen or unseen. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (II Corinthians 4:18)
Matthew 4:17 ” From that tfor moral reorientation of the soulime on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.’ “
From the start, Jesus proclaimed the need for repentance from sin. He made it plain in Luke 5:32 when He said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” But over the course of time the requirement of repentance has softened…the need for moral reorientation of the soul passed over…and the command to turn away from unbelief and rebellion against God minimized. Again, we don’t want to offend, so we intentionally overlook or turn a blind eye from blatant sin in a person’s life, not calling a spade a spade and entreating them to repent and put their trust in Jesus. The Lord’s command of repentance has not changed and still remains the first step on the road to salvation and eternal life.
John 9:39 ” Jesus said, ‘For judgment I have come into this world…’ “
Jesus made it crystal clear throughout His ministry here on earth that we were to turn from our sins…for we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…and if we didn’t…the wages of our sin is death…which is eternal death…or everlasting punishment in Hell. Make no mistake, Jesus warned that our willful unrighteousness would someday be judged, and that both Heaven and Hell are real. However, to listen to some today, Jesus has become this kindly old man who wishes no one harm and allows everyone into Heaven. But in Mark 10 we read about the rich young man who asked how to go to Heaven. But when Jesus told him…he walked away. Why? Jesus said it was easier to thread a camel through a needle than for the rich to go to heaven. And that premise hasn’t changed throughout the ages…repentance and salvation and your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life are still required for admission into Heaven.
Matthew 6:19-21 ” Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
The message of the Gospel always points us to eternal treasures in heaven, and here Jesus made it clear that our minds need to be on things above, not on earthly things. We read in Philippians 4:19, “And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” But with one word we see the glaring difference between the Biblical Jesus and what the modern version of Him has become. The word is “need” as opposed to the word “want”…for in many circles the Prosperity Message is still being preached…the name it and claim it gospel that promises earthly wealth. But what Jesus talks about are heavenly riches, but also our needs being met here on earth…meaning the essentials of food, shelter, and clothing. Still somehow He’s become this cosmic sugar-daddy that we can come to with all our cravings, desires, and wishes…demanding He give us all we lust after. But it doesn’t work that way, and in the end …”What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26)
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