Do You Recognize the Voice?

John 10:1-5

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

10 “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.^(A)2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep.^(B) 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice.^(C) He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.^(D) 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.^(E) 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2010:1%20-5&version=NIV1984)

I have always been told that sheep are not very intelligent and we are compared to sheep many times throughout scripture.  As I read this passage I began to realize that sheep are smarter than most people give them credit for.  Yes, maybe they do wander off to places they should not go at times, maybe they do need someone to watch after them, but they know their master.  When a stranger comes into the pen or tries to lead them astray they do not follow because they know their master’s voice.  What is even more interesting to me is that Jesus tells us that sheep listen to their master and will follow him.

Sheep trust their master but in the Old Testament we see sheep that are taken as a sacrifice for their master.  So, the sheep trust their master as he leads them to slaughter.  Wow, know put that in terms for us.  Jesus is not only the gate, He is the Shepherd, He is the lamb that was slaughtered for us in order for us to have eternal life.  That is so amazing to me!

If we listen to the Shepherd, we recognize His voice, He will lead us and we will follow.  Sometimes He may lead us on trails that seem a little steep or really rocky but He is leading us to that green pasture that waits ahead for us.  We may even feel that we are being slaughtered but it is not because of our sins it is for His Glory.  He has taken the punishment for our sins already!  We need to continue to listen to His voice and go where He leads.

As you seek Him, be sure to listen for His voice.  Run, like the sheep do, from the stranger’s voice and go towards the Master’s voice.  Remember, that if you have accepted the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord, you will hear the stranger’s voice and run; but you will know the voice of the true Shepherd and will follow.  Your sins have already taken the punishment of death and you are now able to trust and follow the Good Shepherd to greener pastures.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

The Work of God Displayed

John 9:1-7

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

9 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

³ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. ⁴ As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

⁶ Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ⁷ “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%209:%201-7&version=NIV1984)

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%209:%2013%20-%2034&version=NIV1984

John 9:35-41

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

 ³⁶ “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”

³⁷ Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

³⁸ Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

³⁹ Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”

⁴⁰ Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”

⁴¹ Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%209:%2035%20-%2041&version=NIV1984)

My format is a little different today.  I would really encourage you to read all of John 9.  This is a fascinating story but I have left the middle part of the story out of the blog but have placed the link to it for you to go to if you desire to read it.  I would encourage you to do so. 

I love this story from the very beginning and I see just how relevant it is today as it was then.  The disciples believe that this man, who was blind from birth, must have sinned or his parents must have sinned because he is blind.  How many people jump to conclusions regarding life situations and think that someone must be doing wrong if they are suffering?  People have a false impression that if you do what is right, good will always follow.  Our Father is the One that is good and He is there with us in all situations.  Sometimes it is necessary for us or others to suffer in order for the Father to be glorified.  It does not mean that we are always happy and content with our situation but if we hold true to what the Father has taught us we will become stronger, not weaker, and all things will be used to show the “work of God” in our lives. 

I can attest to this on several occasions but when I lost my job as a principal because of budget cuts, not because of the job I did, and found myself out of the realm of education, I hurt.  I did not run from God but rather ran towards Him.  I asked a lot of questions, I cried a lot, and I found comfort in His Words.  That is when I began to write what I learned and started sharing it in this blog.  Since that time others have had the chance to read of the Glory of our Father and I hope many have been blessed with His words and are drawing closer to Him as well.  It did not  mean that I was happy and content in my situation but it meant that I was willing to go through that in order for the Father to be glorified.  I still miss my kids, I still miss the special school that helped many parents and students out who were in situations that made it difficult for them to be at school.  I regret that they are not being helped but I know without a doubt that God is in control.  Reading this story today made it even more apparent to me and I praise Him for giving me these words as a source of encouragement today.

If you read on, you will find that this man was questioned by many.  They asked who had healed him and he told them His name was Jesus.  They became angry because Jesus healed Him on the Sabbath and they said that even God rested on the Sabbath.  I am so glad He does not rest on the Sabbath because I need Him every day, even the Sabbath day.  The only time that I remember reading that God rested on the Sabbath was after He created this world, a perfect world at that time.  Sin had not yet entered this earth and He had a moment to rest. 

This man’s parents would not even stick up for him because they were too afraid of the leaders.  They knew they would be thrown out of the synagogue, public ridicule, if they claimed the power of God through Jesus.  So,  they told the people that they would have to ask their son who healed him, after all, he was of age.  Wow, parents who should have been overjoyed that their son was now able to see would not give praise to the Father because they were afraid of public ridicule. 

I found it interesting that the man called Jesus a prophet.  He didn’t recognize Him as the son of God but he knew He was a great man.  Because he declared that Jesus was a man of God, the leaders threw him out of the synagogue, the very thing his parents we afraid would happen to them. 

Now the comforting part of this story and the entire reason for his blindness comes to light.  Jesus found out about this man’s  suffering and came to the man.  He asked the man if he believed in the Son of Man but the man did not know who that was.  When Jesus told him it was He, the man responded that he believed and worshiped Him.  The purpose of his blindness led him to the Lord. 

I always say, there is a purpose for everything.  Sometimes we see healing such as in this case, and other times we see that without the healing we are closer to our Lord than with the healing.  Sometimes our struggles, our despair, and our strong faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will draw people to Him rather than away from Him.  We never know how our suffering may impact others.  This man most likely was an outcast because of his blindness and then when he could see, he was an outcast because he recognized the great power of the One who healed him.  But, we know that he is not an outcast in the eyes of God and we, along with this man can fall down at the feet of Jesus and worship Him.

As you seek Him, remember that He is the purpose for our life, He is the One who created us, He is the One who heals, and He is the One who will be there in whatever situation that comes our way.  We need not worry about what others think of our situation but rather run to Him who will give us strength through our suffering.  He is the One True God.  We need to always keep in check with Him, He is the Only One who is truly in control.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Using Our Resources Wisely

Luke 16:1-15                                       

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

16 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.^(A) 2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

³ “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— ⁴ I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

⁵ “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

⁶ “‘Eight hundred gallons^[a] of olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’

⁷ “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’

“‘A thousand bushels^[b] of wheat,’ he replied.

“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

⁸ “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. ⁹ I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

¹⁰ “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. ¹¹ So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? ¹² And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

¹³ “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

¹⁴ The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. ¹⁵ He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2016:1%20-%2015&version=NIV1984)

How do we handle our money?  Do we even have any money?  Which side of this equation are you on?  Are you one that owes so much money that you can’t possibly pay it all back or are you the one that is in the position to make sure that everyone is happy in the end?  Or are you the manager of another’s money?  In any situation we need to be shrewd or wise about how we handle each and every situation.

We see in this passage that money can do one of two things.  It can either drive people away or it can make friends.  I am sure we have all encountered business people that have driven us away because of their concern more for the money they make than their concern for us personally.  These types of business people are not wise in their dealings with the public.  Furthermore, if they claim to be Christian and are seen doing dishonest acts, they are ruining the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Jesus makes it clear that if we cannot be honest with other people’s money they will not trust us in any other things and especially spiritual matters.

Some of us hold on so tightly to our possessions that we miss the opportunity to befriend someone else with our generous hand.  We hold so tightly to our money that the only thing we do with it is stash it in savings for a rainy day.  When the rainy day comes we find ourselves having to spend the money on brokenness rather than spending it with joy.  Jesus makes it clear here that we should use our money to make friends.   Why do you think He says this? 

On this earth, one of the possessions that everyone wants or has is money.  Those tangible bills running through our fingers, that bank account that either always has money it in or never has money in it.  It is the one thing that people have in common, it is something that we all dream of having or that we have.  It separates people by class, it is a status quo, it is a symbol of power, and the list goes on.  We can all identify with money in some way or another.  Jesus recognizes this and says to use the money we have to befriend people.  Once we befriend them and they know that we are honest in our dealings with them, once they trust us with their money, we are more apt to win them over to the saving power of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Once we are willing to let go of the money and truly serve Him we will realize that we have so much more in Him than we do any earthly treasures.

If you want to win souls to Christ, be honest with people in your dealings with them, treat your employees with respect and dignity with fair pay for their work, help those who need some help getting back on their feet, make your possessions not yours but the Lord’s.  Remember Jesus words in Matthew 19:21

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+19:21&version=NIV1984)  

                                

Jesus does not want us to be without, He wants us to be dependent upon Him.  Wealth is often time equated with our spiritual well-being which is not necessarily the case.  What we do with our wealth is an indication of spiritual well-being.  We need to each assess how we manage our money, do we use it to drive people away or to bring them closer to the Father.  Jesus does not distinguish that only the rich need to do this, quite the contrary.  If we have little we need recognize it is from God and use it in such a way that it is pleasing to Him.  If we have much we need to recognize it is from God and use in in such a way that it is pleasing to God.

As you seek Him may you find that you are using your resources wisely, that you are treating others the way that Jesus would want you to and that through your actions you bring Glory to God.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

The Way to the Father

John 14:1-14

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. ² In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴ You know the way to the place where I am going.”

⁵ Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

⁸ Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

⁹ Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. ¹¹ Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. ¹² I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.  He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2014:1%20-%2014&version=NIV1984)

Just prior to the death of Christ, at the Last Supper, Jesus made these comments to His disciples.  The heading in my Bible was “Jesus Comforts the Disciples”.  He comforted them just prior to His arrest and ultimate death on the cross.  He knew the disciples would be lost, confused, hurting, scared, and probably even a little angry at the events that were about to transpire.  So, He gave them these words and they were written down for us as well. 

We recently lost a dear brother in Christ and attended his funeral yesterday.  This past week has been a tough one for us and even more so for his family.  As I read these verses, I was once again reminded that death does not mean the end of life if you know Jesus.  As Jesus spoke He told His disciples exactly what He was going to do, He was going to prepare a place for them.  He didn’t tell them that He finished with His work, but that He was going on to the next phase of it. 

I know our dear brother is not dead, as he knew Christ. He didn’t need a map or a GPS to find his way to Heaven’s gates, he only needed to know Jesus.  So many times in life we get so busy with life that we forget that there is life beyond this earth.  NASA keeps trying to prove there is life beyond this earth and they really don’t need to go to the expense of trying to find it because the Bible tells us that it is there.  The Bible also tells us that there is only one way to get there.  There is no rocket powerful enough to shoot us up to the other life. 

The way to the Father God is through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Jesus came and lived on this earth just like you and I, with one huge exception, He was without sin.  The only One without sin was crucified on the cross for our sins.  He did not stay dead though, after 3 days He was raised.  Many people witnessed Him on this earth prior to His ascension.   Yet, many still do not believe Him today and they have the Word of God readily available to them.  They get so caught up in their earthly lives that they do not realize the source of comfort and strength. 

If you have not met Jesus, I would like to introduce you to Him.  He is my source of strength, comfort, peace during the good times and the bad times.  He is the One and Only Way to our Father God and He is our source of life.  If you would like to know the Father, come to Him through Jesus in prayer.  Recognize who He is, “Dear Heavenly Father”, tell Him who you are, “I am a sinner, I have done wrong before your eyes, and I repent as ask your forgiveness for the things I have done that has displeased you,” thank Him, “thank you for sending your Son to die on the cross for my sins and thank you for giving me a way to you through Him,” accept the gift that He is giving you, “Father, I accept the free gift of eternal life that you have given me through Christ Jesus our Lord”, recognize that your life is not your own , “I give to you my life Father, may it bring glory to you as Christ brought glory to you, not by His own will but by the will of the Father, not by my will but the will of the Father”,  receive Him, “I receive you Father into my life and give my life to you so that I may come to you through Jesus Christ our Lord”,  thank Him once again, “Thank you Father for receiving me into your family, thank you for preparing a place for me in glory”  come to Him through Jesus, “In the precious and holy name of Jesus I pray, AMEN.”

I know, without a doubt, that our brother in Christ went to the place that Jesus left this earth to go and prepare.  I know without a doubt, that someday I will go there too.  I pray that as you seek Him, if you have not found Him, that today, this very hour, you will pray to Him and receive Him into your life so that you too can say, “Without a doubt, I know the way to Heaven, though Jesus Christ our Lord”.  He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Throw away the confusing maps, stomp on the GPS, go to the Father through Jesus Christ, and find your way to Heaven.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila 

Are Our Reactions Christ-like?

Confrontation with others

Sometimes we have confrontations with those with whom we say we love.  Maybe it is a spouse, close friend, or a brother in Christ or maybe even a church leader.  How did Jesus handle this? 

First,  Jesus put others before Himself.                   

Matthew 14: 14 - 15

^13 “When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴ When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+14%3A+13-14&version=NIV1984)

Jesus had just lost the one that came before Him, the one who baptized him, a cousin and I am sure, a friend.  He needed some time away from the crowds, some quiet time, a time of solitude.  Even though I am sure He mourned the death of John the Baptist, I believe he also knew His time would soon come as well.  He needed to process all of this and talk to His Father, so He retreated.  Now the crowds were even more interested in what He had to say and they followed Him.  The question I must ask myself is, “How would I have reacted to the crowds?”  I have a feeling that I would have told the disciples to get rid of them.  When I am upset I want to be alone and alone does not mean a great deal of people demanding things of me.  Yet Jesus took their needs above His own and He had compassion and He healed the sick.  At then He fed them and then sent them on their way.  Wow, this is a prime example of putting others before ourselves.

When I was growing up and would share a conflict that I was having towards a friend with my dad, he would always say, “How do you think that made them feel?”  He would always take the other person’s side and it would make me so mad.  It would make me mad because I knew he was right.  I knew that I needed to consider the feelings of others not just my own.  That is what “loving your neighbor” is about, trying to understand one another to the point of stepping out of your own shoes and stepping into the shoes of others.  That is not always easy to do but it must be done in order to resolve conflict.  I have been a part of conflict resolution where I went away feeling worse than when I went in and I have also been a part of conflict resolution where I felt both parties left with a better understanding of each other and left with joy in their hearts.  Which way do you think Jesus wants us to react to conflict?  One person bearing the weight of the entire problem or everyone realizing that they are human and that everyone makes mistakes?  The answer can be found in Matthew 18:15 – 18 where Jesus spells out how we should react.  First go to the brother; second, take someone with you; third bring it to the church; lastly treat him like a pagan or a tax collector.  How did Jesus treat the pagans and the tax collectors?  Matthew 9:10  New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

¹⁰ While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples.  He didn’t cast them out but showed the love and compassion, He dined with them. 

Now the question is, “How did Jesus handle those within the church who refused to listen to what He had to say?  How did He handle those who did not show honor to the Father? 

Matthew 21:12-13 New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

¹² Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ¹³ “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.’”

Jesus became angry when He saw how the house of His Father was being treated.  He stood up for the Father.  Notice, this did not happen in the city itself, it happened in the synagogue, a place that was to be dedicated to prayer.  He did not get angry at those who did not know any better He got angry with those who did.

Matthew 23:29-36 New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

 

²⁹ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. ³⁰ And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!

 

³³ “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? ³⁴ Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.  ³⁵ And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel^(J) to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2023:29-36&version=NIV1984)

 

Jesus, the man of compassion, had more compassion for the Father’s house than he had for those who tried to make it something that it was not created to be.  Sometimes I feel that our church’s today are getting to be more of a showplace than a place of worship.  I have seen it go from a place where we honored God to a place where we honor our on earthly pleasures.  Think about that for a little while.  Are you honoring God or are you seeking your own pleasures when you attend church?  What are ways that we show that we are putting God before ourselves in our churches today? 

 

 

Matthew 16:21-23

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

^21 “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

²² Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

²³ Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.’”

If there is ever a time that I would say that Jesus spoke against prosperity teaching is in these verses.  Peter, I think was trying to tell Jesus that He was too good for these things to happen to Him.  He was trying to be of encouragement yet was rebuking the very words of Jesus.  Jesus very bluntly identifies this as words from satan.   

 

Notice Jesus is a man of compassion, love, forgiveness but when His Father is being compromised He is a man of righteous anger, bluntness, and may even seem a little harsh.  As we go through life, we are not always going to be liked, Jesus was not always liked.  We are not always going to be perceived as gentle, kind, compassionate because there are times that we will need to stand up for what we believe to be the truth.  We must always make sure that our anger, bluntness, harshness, is not because of our own selfish desires.  We need to make sure that when we speak we speak the truth, and that in doing so, we draw others unto Him.  If they refuse to listen, we need to move on to others who are willing to listen to the will of the Father.  That is what Jesus did.

 

Seek Him and know what His reactions would be and then go and be Christ-like to the world.

 

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

How Do We Respond?

Today, I decided I wanted to do a summary of Jesus life.  We have been in Matthew for quite some time and have looked at the Words of Jesus and the Actions of Jesus.  As Christians we are called to be “Christ-like” in our words and actions.  For some, they think of the gentleness of Jesus.  The forgiving Spirit of Jesus.  They think that as a Christians we should be all about peacemaking and never confrontations.  While I believe it is wonderful to have a calm, gentle spirit, I also believe that there are times that we are to confront our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Conflict is inevitable but how we handle that confrontation can either be Christ-like or humanistic. 

First of all I was drawn to Matthew 5:17-20, ¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ¹⁹ Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205:%2017%20-20&version=NIV1984)

God gave the law to Moses and Jesus makes it clear that the law remains.  He fulfilled the law, something none of us can say that we have done on our own.  We can only do it through the blood of Jesus Christ.  He also tells us that the law can be summed up in two commands, Matthew 22: 37 – 39, ³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2022:37-39&version=NIV1984)

Confrontation is between us and God.  How did Jesus handle this?

Throughout the Old Testament we see that the people were commanded to Love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, and strength/mind.  Jesus too calls us to do this.  Yet there are times in our lives that disappointments come, troubles come, heartbreaks come and we find ourselves questioning why God allowed it to happen.  Is that okay?  As I looked back at the ten commandments I see that He is saying not to put anything before Him.  It does not say that we cannot question Him or call out to Him.  But, when our TV quits working and we use the Lord’s

name to swear at it, as we throw the controls, have we not broken two of the commandments?

Looking at Jesus for the answer we can find Him in the garden just before the crucifixion crying to the Father with sweat like blood drops. I believe Jesus loved His earthly body and did not want it to go through any pain yet He put God before Himself when He said, Matthew 26: 39, ³⁹ Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup^(A) be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”  

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2026:39&version=NIV1984)

Ultimately we need to give in to God’s will.  His ways are best even when we don’t seem to think that they are. Even when they sting.

Confrontation with the evil one.

Jesus had this conflict out in the desert after fasting for 40 days.  Do you think that He just didn’t eat or do you think He was so much in communion with God that He didn’t take time to eat?  Was He led into the wilderness without time to plan for His trip or did He know exactly what He was doing and why He was doing it?  I have to believe that He knew what He was doing, that He didn’t eat because He knew that satan would be coming to attack Him.  Even though He was physically weak He was spiritually strong.  That is how we too need to approach life.  When we are at our lowest moment in life that is when we apply all of those truths that we learned in our high moments.  When we have taken time to commune with the Lord we will be stronger through those tough times when satan comes to attack us.  When our friends, like Peter, are used by satan to try to convince us that we are wrong even though we know that God is working through us.  When people come to us and say that we are going through hard times because of our spiritual life we need to be able to examine our spiritual life and make sure that it is intact.  And when they tell us lies we can respond back with the very Words of God. 

Next time, Lord willing, we will look at the confrontations with others and how Jesus handled them and how we too should handle them.

Until then, be sure to seek Him to guide you through your life’s pain and misery and have blessed communion with Him during your times of joy and peace. 

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Why Doubt?

Matthew 28:16-20

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2028:16-20&version=NIV1984)

They worshipped but some doubted.  Does that happen today?  If you read the accounts of Jesus appearances after He was raised in Luke and John you will see that all did believe in the end.  They were all given the power to understand the scriptures and they all went out and made disciples.  Why do you think that some doubted?  After all, they had been told prior to His death that He would be raised but they still doubted.  All of these men had walked with Jesus and had seen the miracles that He performed and yet some still doubted.

In our churches today I am sure there are those who attend who doubt.  They worship but they still doubt.  Many have seen others touched by His hands.  They have heard testimonies of those who believe, they have read the word, yet they doubt.  They may doubt that Jesus could ever love them, the sinners that they are.  Maybe that is what the disciples thought, He could not surely love them, they had run and hid, they deserted Him, so they doubted.  But Jesus makes it clear that He does forgive.  Those very ones that deserted Him He gave the command to go, make disciples, baptize, and teach.  At the very end He promises to them something that they did not do for Him, He promised that He would never leave them!

As you seek Him, as He reveals His words to you, as you learn to love Him more, you too are called to go, make disciples, baptize, and teach.  You too can rest assured that He will never leave you.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila