Our Savior, our Heavenly Teacher speaks these words, teaching us, expecting us to learn as He teaches--
Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Hunger and thirst. Have you ever hungered for something- other than food? What about thirsting after something other than drink? Hunger is a want, but not just a petty want. Hunger is a want that is hard pressed to be denied. Hunger and thirst when denied bring us pain. We've all suffered a bit of hunger and thirst, some of us have suffered a bit more from time to time, and others a great deal of pain has been the result of a constant hunger and thirst that they have to live with. Do many people want to feel great hunger and thirst? No. It's uncomfortable, it's painful.
A normal hunger, a normal thirst- the experience we deal with daily- signals us to eat and drink throughout our day so we can fill ourselves and get rid of the hunger and thirst. No one WANTS to be hungry and thirsty. Some might suffer through hunger to lose weight, or upon dr.s orders while awaiting tests, but the NORMAL person does not want to suffer hunger or thirst. We go to great lengths to make sure we have enough food and drink so we can forestall the worst of any hunger or thirst that might come along. We try to have 3 meals a day along with snacks, and as for drinking, well we do that all day long anytime we feel a touch of thirst. We want to be filled and we want the feeling we get from being comfortably full to last for as long as possible but inevitably that sip of water we took three hours ago isn't going to cut it for much longer, or that piece of toast we had in the morning won't keep us filling full until dinner time 8, 9 hours away. We start to feel hunger, we start to feel thirst and sometimes if we're lucky we'll wait that feeling out and it will abate for a bit, but it doesn't stay gone forever.
Hungering and thirsting creates a desire in us for nourishment.
Hunger and thirst are catalysts- creating the stimulus in us to seek sustenance.
Jesus wants us to have a desire for spiritual nourishment and that spiritual nourishment is … righteousness.
If we hunger and thirst for righteousness we will seek it until we find it and then we'll feed and drink from it until we are sated.
Let's read some verses on righteousness- this spiritual food and drink that Jesus would have us desire.
Pro 12:28 In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.
Pro 13:6 Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner.
Pro 21:21 He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.
Hos 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
Zep 2:3 Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger.
Jer 23:6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Isa 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
Jas 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace
1Jn 2:29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
1Jn 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
Deu 6:25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.
Gal 5:5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
1Pe 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.
Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Christ's righteousness! Righteousness in Christ! We are to hunger and thirst for our Savior! We can't hunger and thirst for OUR righteousness. It doesn't say that at all does it? In fact it's implied that we are seeking something we do not possess, we are seeking something to fill ourselves with, something we don't possess. We need Christ's righteousness. We need to understand that in seeking Christ's righteousness we will be filled because HE IS RIGHTEOUS! He is OUR righteousness!
We have no righteousness--
Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
But our Savior is righteous and our hungering and thirsting after salvation in Christ and Christ alone by His grace is our righteousness.
1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.
Let us hunger for our Savior! Let us thirst for our Savior!
It's by Him we are saved and ONLY Him, we cannot save ourselves, we cannot produce our own righteousness.
By HIS GRACE!! BY HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS may we be filled!
In His love!
Amen!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Learn meekness
Mat 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
The meek- the humble.
Num 12:3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
Do you picture Moses as being meek? Not if we picture a timid, mousy, afraid-of-his-own-shadow type of man we don't. But when we refer to meekness as being humbleness it's a whole NEW story isn't it? The devil LOVES to twist things around and make them seem different so that he can distort the truth in any way possible. This simple word- meek has come to mean something undesirable. The word humble however doesn’t quite make us envision someone spineless.
Blessed are the meek (the humble).
Let's look at some scriptures some containing the word meek and others the word humble--
Psa 25:9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
Psa 37:11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Psa 149:4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.
Zep 2:3 Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger.
Psa 10:17 LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear
Pro 16:19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.
Pro 29:23 A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.
Mat 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
Jas 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
1Pe 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour
*******
Amazing verses! Amazing.
There is a lot said about humbleness, about meekness - meaning humbleness. This last verse- we should be CLOTHED with humility says SO much. Clothed with humility. If we are clothed with something it means what? Let's think about clothing for a moment. We like to dress in things we like, don't we? At least here in America we do and I tend to believe that most people everywhere like to wear clothing they enjoy wearing. Is it always possible to wear things we enjoy wearing? No. Often various things interfere with that privilege- money, position, availability. On the other hand there are some people who become obsessed with clothing, right? Have you heard this saying- 'The clothes make the man.' ? What's that mean exactly? That we impress people with how we are clothed or on the opposite coin we don't impress them. Can people actually turn other people off and disgust them by the clothes they wear? Yes.
Clothing, there really is a lot to consider when we think about clothing. We've most likely all heard this said before… "You reek of guilt!" Or, "You stink of corruption!" Are people really reeking and smelling? Nope. There is no real smell for guilt or corruption, they are figures of speech.
When we read- 'be clothed with humility' is there really a piece of clothing called humility? No. People might argue that different classes of people in different regions around the world wear what is considered clothing of humility- slave robes and the like. But this isn't what we are being told to do.
We are to clothe ourselves with humility. More important than our physical clothes we should be wearing spiritual clothing of humility. Our very natures, our demeanors, our lives must be humble. If we are NOT humble we are proud and pride is something God cannot abide.
For God resisteth the proud...
and giveth grace to the humble.
Do you see?! What does God give to the humbled? GRACE!
Mat 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Reading God's word we are told over and over that meekness- humbleness is of God.
Why?
We are creatures. So many people don't like to admit this because it instantly demands we humble ourselves before our Creator. When we don't humble ourselves before our Creator, when we allowed pride to rise up in us, when we have the audacity to even consider that we are greater than our Creator we are damning ourselves, is there any wonder God resisteth the proud?! We are not anywhere near equal with our God! And… we are not above one another either. We need to be meek because the meek understand their relationship with God and their fellowman, the prideful haven't a clue- they're too busy being self absorbed.
May God help us to be clothed with humility, remembering this…
1Pe 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour
We must be sober, we must be vigilant; because the DEVIL would destroy us all and all it takes is… pride.
Humble us sweet Lord, humble us! Clothe us with humility so we may have Your grace being humbled by You.
In Your love!
Amen.
The meek- the humble.
Num 12:3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
Do you picture Moses as being meek? Not if we picture a timid, mousy, afraid-of-his-own-shadow type of man we don't. But when we refer to meekness as being humbleness it's a whole NEW story isn't it? The devil LOVES to twist things around and make them seem different so that he can distort the truth in any way possible. This simple word- meek has come to mean something undesirable. The word humble however doesn’t quite make us envision someone spineless.
Blessed are the meek (the humble).
Let's look at some scriptures some containing the word meek and others the word humble--
Psa 25:9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
Psa 37:11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Psa 149:4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.
Zep 2:3 Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger.
Psa 10:17 LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear
Pro 16:19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.
Pro 29:23 A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.
Mat 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
Jas 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
1Pe 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour
*******
Amazing verses! Amazing.
There is a lot said about humbleness, about meekness - meaning humbleness. This last verse- we should be CLOTHED with humility says SO much. Clothed with humility. If we are clothed with something it means what? Let's think about clothing for a moment. We like to dress in things we like, don't we? At least here in America we do and I tend to believe that most people everywhere like to wear clothing they enjoy wearing. Is it always possible to wear things we enjoy wearing? No. Often various things interfere with that privilege- money, position, availability. On the other hand there are some people who become obsessed with clothing, right? Have you heard this saying- 'The clothes make the man.' ? What's that mean exactly? That we impress people with how we are clothed or on the opposite coin we don't impress them. Can people actually turn other people off and disgust them by the clothes they wear? Yes.
Clothing, there really is a lot to consider when we think about clothing. We've most likely all heard this said before… "You reek of guilt!" Or, "You stink of corruption!" Are people really reeking and smelling? Nope. There is no real smell for guilt or corruption, they are figures of speech.
When we read- 'be clothed with humility' is there really a piece of clothing called humility? No. People might argue that different classes of people in different regions around the world wear what is considered clothing of humility- slave robes and the like. But this isn't what we are being told to do.
We are to clothe ourselves with humility. More important than our physical clothes we should be wearing spiritual clothing of humility. Our very natures, our demeanors, our lives must be humble. If we are NOT humble we are proud and pride is something God cannot abide.
For God resisteth the proud...
and giveth grace to the humble.
Do you see?! What does God give to the humbled? GRACE!
Mat 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Reading God's word we are told over and over that meekness- humbleness is of God.
Why?
We are creatures. So many people don't like to admit this because it instantly demands we humble ourselves before our Creator. When we don't humble ourselves before our Creator, when we allowed pride to rise up in us, when we have the audacity to even consider that we are greater than our Creator we are damning ourselves, is there any wonder God resisteth the proud?! We are not anywhere near equal with our God! And… we are not above one another either. We need to be meek because the meek understand their relationship with God and their fellowman, the prideful haven't a clue- they're too busy being self absorbed.
May God help us to be clothed with humility, remembering this…
1Pe 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour
We must be sober, we must be vigilant; because the DEVIL would destroy us all and all it takes is… pride.
Humble us sweet Lord, humble us! Clothe us with humility so we may have Your grace being humbled by You.
In Your love!
Amen.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Our comfort is Christ!
Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying…
Jesus is the teacher, we are the students. Shall we attend His class? It's our choice. We are not forced to go to the school of our Savior. There is no mandatory attendance, no truant officer ready to seek you out for not showing up, no government ready to take action against you for not being in school. There are no parents harping at us to go to this school, no husband or wives wanting us to go to this school in order to become more financially successful, no employer telling us it is a mandatory to go to the school of Jesus or we lose our job. Not ONE single person can force a person to go to this school, not one. Some might argue that sure people force others to go to church all the time- especially parents forcing children. But the school of our Savior isn't necessary found in a church. Shocked? Maybe you are, maybe you aren't, maybe you believe me and maybe you don't. There are A LOT of churches void of our Savior's teachings. Oh there is a FORM of worship, there is a FORM of teaching, there are MANY many traditions of men taught as being from God, but in so many churches God does not exist, not our ONE TRUE GOD. And know this ...our Savior Jesus Christ does not teach in those churches as much as people want to believe He does. I'm not saying the Holy Spirit can't touch the hearts and minds of people in these churches, calling them out of them or calling on them to learn at the feet of Jesus on their own- but the heart of those churches is corrupt and deceptive, Satan acting as an angel of light, Satan stepping in as a counterfeit teacher fooling hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands, and yes, millions. You might not want to believe me I've already said that, but most people do not want to hear the truth not the REAL truth, they want to hear the embellished truth covered in a thick, slick coating of gel that will make it go down oh so easy into their minds and hearts, their consciences soothed of guilt, of true heart conversion. That thick gel coating the truth is made of the devil's lies. Remember no counterfeit that is worth anything is easily recognizable. The counterfeits are HARD and near impossible to detect and only the grace of God will protect us from being deceived.
Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Let's sit at the feet of Jesus upon that mountain and learn as He teaches us… let us attend His school with an eagerness we've never felt for any education we've sought before. These are our lessons on eternal life, wondrous lessons.
Mat 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Again, like yesterday when the previous verse was studied- saying 'blessed are the poor'- we do not consider those that mourn very blessed. We write books on how to mourn and then get on with life because mourning is only a good thing for so long. That we are given a reason for mourning is never good- right? Someone or something usually has died, or is in the process of dying. Yes, we often mourn the living who are dying before they're gone because we know they're going to be leaving us soon. We mourn the pain they are suffering, we mourn that their life is nearing its end. We mourn too because our own mortality is revealed every time another one of our loved ones dies.
I'm not going to say mourning isn't something we need to get over in time- but here we come face to face with these holy words-
Blessed are they that mourn.
What did Jesus mean by this? It is similar to 'blessed are the poor'. Our comfort needs to come from Christ, just as our richness comes from Him. We need to mourn because we live in a sin-filled world degraded to such an extent that evil is called good. We need to mourn that this earth and the people God intended us to be are so far from what He'd created us to be. We need to mourn because we are such sinful beings. Like Paul we want to do good but do evil…
Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Rom 7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
We need to mourn our weakness and know that as we try and understand our mourning that the comfort from that mourning is to come to us only through Jesus.
Those who mourn are in need of a comforter. We have to realize that we NEED to mourn. This isn't a question- Jesus didn't say- Blessed are they that mourn, right? He didn't say- Bless are the few that mourn. Jesus said in very plain language- 'Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.'
Spiritual mourning. This is understanding that without our Savior we have NO reason to be happy. This is understanding that without our Savior we can never find true comfort, never. This is understanding that as we go through life and we mourn so many various aspects of that life- that comfort IS found in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. We might not be healed of our illnesses and mourn the fact we are ill, but we HAVE to live for the hope that we can have spiritual comfort in our Savior. We can be spiritually comforted! We have to be spiritually comforted in our Lord and Savior and NOT seek physical, earthly, temporal, flesh comfort.
This is a lesson we must learn and bring it into our hearts and into our everyday lives because every day we will face reasons to mourn. We can have spiritual comfort in the knowledge of our Savior, in the knowledge of salvation through Him. Our source of comfort is our Savior! Our comfort is Christ! We will be comforted in Him.
Mat 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Amen!
Jesus is the teacher, we are the students. Shall we attend His class? It's our choice. We are not forced to go to the school of our Savior. There is no mandatory attendance, no truant officer ready to seek you out for not showing up, no government ready to take action against you for not being in school. There are no parents harping at us to go to this school, no husband or wives wanting us to go to this school in order to become more financially successful, no employer telling us it is a mandatory to go to the school of Jesus or we lose our job. Not ONE single person can force a person to go to this school, not one. Some might argue that sure people force others to go to church all the time- especially parents forcing children. But the school of our Savior isn't necessary found in a church. Shocked? Maybe you are, maybe you aren't, maybe you believe me and maybe you don't. There are A LOT of churches void of our Savior's teachings. Oh there is a FORM of worship, there is a FORM of teaching, there are MANY many traditions of men taught as being from God, but in so many churches God does not exist, not our ONE TRUE GOD. And know this ...our Savior Jesus Christ does not teach in those churches as much as people want to believe He does. I'm not saying the Holy Spirit can't touch the hearts and minds of people in these churches, calling them out of them or calling on them to learn at the feet of Jesus on their own- but the heart of those churches is corrupt and deceptive, Satan acting as an angel of light, Satan stepping in as a counterfeit teacher fooling hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands, and yes, millions. You might not want to believe me I've already said that, but most people do not want to hear the truth not the REAL truth, they want to hear the embellished truth covered in a thick, slick coating of gel that will make it go down oh so easy into their minds and hearts, their consciences soothed of guilt, of true heart conversion. That thick gel coating the truth is made of the devil's lies. Remember no counterfeit that is worth anything is easily recognizable. The counterfeits are HARD and near impossible to detect and only the grace of God will protect us from being deceived.
Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Let's sit at the feet of Jesus upon that mountain and learn as He teaches us… let us attend His school with an eagerness we've never felt for any education we've sought before. These are our lessons on eternal life, wondrous lessons.
Mat 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Again, like yesterday when the previous verse was studied- saying 'blessed are the poor'- we do not consider those that mourn very blessed. We write books on how to mourn and then get on with life because mourning is only a good thing for so long. That we are given a reason for mourning is never good- right? Someone or something usually has died, or is in the process of dying. Yes, we often mourn the living who are dying before they're gone because we know they're going to be leaving us soon. We mourn the pain they are suffering, we mourn that their life is nearing its end. We mourn too because our own mortality is revealed every time another one of our loved ones dies.
I'm not going to say mourning isn't something we need to get over in time- but here we come face to face with these holy words-
Blessed are they that mourn.
What did Jesus mean by this? It is similar to 'blessed are the poor'. Our comfort needs to come from Christ, just as our richness comes from Him. We need to mourn because we live in a sin-filled world degraded to such an extent that evil is called good. We need to mourn that this earth and the people God intended us to be are so far from what He'd created us to be. We need to mourn because we are such sinful beings. Like Paul we want to do good but do evil…
Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Rom 7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
We need to mourn our weakness and know that as we try and understand our mourning that the comfort from that mourning is to come to us only through Jesus.
Those who mourn are in need of a comforter. We have to realize that we NEED to mourn. This isn't a question- Jesus didn't say- Blessed are they that mourn, right? He didn't say- Bless are the few that mourn. Jesus said in very plain language- 'Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.'
Spiritual mourning. This is understanding that without our Savior we have NO reason to be happy. This is understanding that without our Savior we can never find true comfort, never. This is understanding that as we go through life and we mourn so many various aspects of that life- that comfort IS found in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. We might not be healed of our illnesses and mourn the fact we are ill, but we HAVE to live for the hope that we can have spiritual comfort in our Savior. We can be spiritually comforted! We have to be spiritually comforted in our Lord and Savior and NOT seek physical, earthly, temporal, flesh comfort.
This is a lesson we must learn and bring it into our hearts and into our everyday lives because every day we will face reasons to mourn. We can have spiritual comfort in the knowledge of our Savior, in the knowledge of salvation through Him. Our source of comfort is our Savior! Our comfort is Christ! We will be comforted in Him.
Mat 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Amen!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Our richness is in Christ
Mat 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
Mat 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus went up into a mountain when He saw a lot of people, He wanted them to be able to hear Him and be comfortable there in the mountain. He found the best spot - most likely a place where the majority of people would be able to see and hear Him in the best possibly way. He settled Himself there on the mountain and then the people came to Him.
Jesus opened His mouth and… TAUGHT them saying…
Blessed are the poor in spirit-for theirs in the kingdom of heaven.
Poor- needy in spirit.
Why would anyone poor be blessed? It seems contradictory doesn't it? If you are poor you have a need and you are barely meeting that need rather than being secure in that need. We are much more inclined to believe that someone is blessed if they are wealthy in something. If you are wealthy in spirit you are blessed- to our way of thinking.
The wealthy find it much harder to realize they have a need- a need they cannot provide for. The wealthy use their money to fulfill their needs and get to a place they start to believe that money can buy anything they want and/or need and in a lot of ways they're right- but not in all ways. That old cliché 'money can't buy happiness', is true to a degree, but ask most people and they'd tell you that money can buy a lot of happiness. When we believe that we don't have a need for something we certainly won't seek for that something. If I believe I don't have a need for a cow I'm not going to go out looking for a cow, I'm not even going to think about needing a cow, having a cow in my life would be the farthest thing from my mind. It's hard for us to think about, and seek something we don't want or need. If you are poor in spirit- YOU REALIZE YOUR NEED. You realize that the need of your spirit is outside of yourself. You cannot provide that need, you are POOR in spirit, needing Christ to fill that need. Without Christ in your life you do not have the Spirit, cannot have the Spirit. Any spirit you have will not be of God if you do not have the Spirit our Savior has to give to us.
Blessed are those who realize they are in need of a Savior, blessed are those who understand without Jesus they cannot be filled with the spirit, and blessed are they who understand that they are ONLY rich in spirit as long as they have a constant relationship with their Savior.
Blessed are the poor in spirit because they know they are lost without Christ. The kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor in spirit because Christ is the heart of that kingdom and they know, they understand, they believe.
May we ALL be poor in spirit, knowing our richness is in Christ alone!
Taught by Christ. We have to learn this, it is our duty to learn from our Savior. This IS a lesson He is teaching us… have we learned it? Has this knowledge imparted to us by Jesus really been learned by us? He is our TEACHER.
Our Savior, our Teacher.
By His grace!
Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
Mat 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus went up into a mountain when He saw a lot of people, He wanted them to be able to hear Him and be comfortable there in the mountain. He found the best spot - most likely a place where the majority of people would be able to see and hear Him in the best possibly way. He settled Himself there on the mountain and then the people came to Him.
Jesus opened His mouth and… TAUGHT them saying…
Blessed are the poor in spirit-for theirs in the kingdom of heaven.
Poor- needy in spirit.
Why would anyone poor be blessed? It seems contradictory doesn't it? If you are poor you have a need and you are barely meeting that need rather than being secure in that need. We are much more inclined to believe that someone is blessed if they are wealthy in something. If you are wealthy in spirit you are blessed- to our way of thinking.
The wealthy find it much harder to realize they have a need- a need they cannot provide for. The wealthy use their money to fulfill their needs and get to a place they start to believe that money can buy anything they want and/or need and in a lot of ways they're right- but not in all ways. That old cliché 'money can't buy happiness', is true to a degree, but ask most people and they'd tell you that money can buy a lot of happiness. When we believe that we don't have a need for something we certainly won't seek for that something. If I believe I don't have a need for a cow I'm not going to go out looking for a cow, I'm not even going to think about needing a cow, having a cow in my life would be the farthest thing from my mind. It's hard for us to think about, and seek something we don't want or need. If you are poor in spirit- YOU REALIZE YOUR NEED. You realize that the need of your spirit is outside of yourself. You cannot provide that need, you are POOR in spirit, needing Christ to fill that need. Without Christ in your life you do not have the Spirit, cannot have the Spirit. Any spirit you have will not be of God if you do not have the Spirit our Savior has to give to us.
Blessed are those who realize they are in need of a Savior, blessed are those who understand without Jesus they cannot be filled with the spirit, and blessed are they who understand that they are ONLY rich in spirit as long as they have a constant relationship with their Savior.
Blessed are the poor in spirit because they know they are lost without Christ. The kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor in spirit because Christ is the heart of that kingdom and they know, they understand, they believe.
May we ALL be poor in spirit, knowing our richness is in Christ alone!
Taught by Christ. We have to learn this, it is our duty to learn from our Savior. This IS a lesson He is teaching us… have we learned it? Has this knowledge imparted to us by Jesus really been learned by us? He is our TEACHER.
Our Savior, our Teacher.
By His grace!
Monday, March 7, 2011
He taught them
Mar 2:1 And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.
Mar 2:2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.
He preached the word unto them.
The word.
Do you suppose the majority were there to hear Jesus speak or to be healed by Him? Do you imagine those who had no illness, no possession by unclean spirits, were just as interested in listening to Jesus speak? Jesus wasn't known as just *The Healer*, Jesus had a message to give, Jesus was first and foremost a teacher- a preacher- with more God-given authority to teach the Scriptures than all the scribes in existence. The way Jesus taught was captivating to His listeners because He taught them differently than others. In imagining this we can only think of the best teacher we've ever had and then think of how it would be if another teacher came along that was a hundred times better.
People make jokes of enlightenment. If you say you've been enlightened you'll get a *knowing* glance from people, perhaps a smirk and a chuckle, people will either outright mock your enlightenment or play along, very few would ask to be enlightened along with you because few believe in enlightenment they equate it with going a bit off your rocker. Of course it all depends on how you've been enlightened- if you've been enlightened to the joys of cooking, heh, people love that. If you've been enlightened to the joy of the mundane that's fine- we all have our passions, right? But if you've been spiritually enlightened then things are just a bit wrong with you. However, if a group of people are enlightened, sometimes that's called mass hypnosis of some sort. Jesus wasn't beyond being called a deceiver, a devil, there were many who were outraged at His ability to *fool* people, to *control* people, to *deceive* people. And we get a glimpse of this sort of belief when we hear of cult leaders and we are the scoffers. Of course we're scoffing with justifiable reason because we know that Jesus alone is our *leader* and no man can take His place. But there were many during Jesus' ministry that scoffed at Him, scoffed at the newly enlightened.
For a long time though Jesus would continue to bring enlightenment to people, lots and lots of people. These people would be so changed by Jesus- not just those healed but those enlightened spiritually and they tell others and if the others scoffed they quickly changed their minds if they went to listen to Him for themselves. This was a MIRACULOUS time! Yet for all that it was a miraculous time - the scoffers existed and would continue to exist growing stronger in their opposition the stronger Jesus became. They saw Him as a threat refusing to all themselves to be enlightened or in their minds- deceived.
Jesus preached and crowds and crowds of people wanted to hear His every word.
Here is yet another instance of His miraculous healing...
Mar 2:3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
Mar 2:4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
Mar 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
Jesus saw their faith- their belief in Him- and Jesus said… 'Thy sins be forgiven thee.'
What powerful words! Words probably seldom uttered outside of a sacrificial ceremony, as GOD giving forgiveness when people ask for it and offer a sacrifice, when an atonement is made for their sins. No man EVER dared tell another that their *sins* were forgiven them. People could offer forgiveness and tell another that they forgive them for something, some harm committed against them personally, but a person cannot forgive the sins of another that have nothing to do with them personally. I can forgive someone for hurting me, but I can't forgive anything else, any other sin they may have committed in their lives. For me to tell another 'Thy sins be forgiven thee.' would be ludicrous. I have no power to forgive sins another has committed. I can't give you forgiveness for stealing something from a store, I can't forgive you for cursing at your mother, I can't forgive you for coveting your neighbor's house. I can be understanding - one sinning human to another but only God can forgive you- absolve you of your guilt, of my guilt.
To hear this man, albeit a wonderful amazing man- a preacher, a miracle worker, a prophet say those words- 'Thy sins be forgiven thee.'- had to be shocking to those who were not enlightened spiritually by our Savior.
Mar 2:6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
Mar 2:7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
Unenlightened these scribes could not understand that the man working miracles right in front of them had power from God to perform these miracles. They'd read about prophets, they'd read about miracles being performed in the past by God's holy men, but they couldn't let themselves believe that Jesus was from God, that Jesus was the Messiah, that Jesus was God's Son on earth.
Mar 2:8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
Jesus knew their hearts, their thoughts, He didn't have to hear them aloud. Jesus knew right away that they were shocked by His words. He was revealing more of Himself, revealing more of the new covenant and they would either accept it or deny it.
Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
Mar 2:9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
The power from God gave Jesus the ability to heal. The power from God would heal people of their illnesses- freeing them from the bondage of sickness. Jesus was to free them from the power of sin as well, forgiving them their sins so He could heal them. When He healed them physically He was healing them spiritually. Free from the oppression of sickness, from the weight of sin. Later on we read Him tell one He'd healed- 'Go and sin no more'. Freed from sin, but still a sinner needing the forgiveness of a Savior daily. We need our Savior, we cannot live without our Savior, He died for us because we could not save ourselves.
Mar 2:10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)
Mar 2:11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
Mar 2:12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.
They were ALL amazed!
They glorified God!
They'd never seen anything like it before!
Miracles, forgiveness- and what a miracle forgiveness is! Praise God!
Mar 2:13 And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them.
He taught them.
Praise God!
Mar 2:2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.
He preached the word unto them.
The word.
Do you suppose the majority were there to hear Jesus speak or to be healed by Him? Do you imagine those who had no illness, no possession by unclean spirits, were just as interested in listening to Jesus speak? Jesus wasn't known as just *The Healer*, Jesus had a message to give, Jesus was first and foremost a teacher- a preacher- with more God-given authority to teach the Scriptures than all the scribes in existence. The way Jesus taught was captivating to His listeners because He taught them differently than others. In imagining this we can only think of the best teacher we've ever had and then think of how it would be if another teacher came along that was a hundred times better.
People make jokes of enlightenment. If you say you've been enlightened you'll get a *knowing* glance from people, perhaps a smirk and a chuckle, people will either outright mock your enlightenment or play along, very few would ask to be enlightened along with you because few believe in enlightenment they equate it with going a bit off your rocker. Of course it all depends on how you've been enlightened- if you've been enlightened to the joys of cooking, heh, people love that. If you've been enlightened to the joy of the mundane that's fine- we all have our passions, right? But if you've been spiritually enlightened then things are just a bit wrong with you. However, if a group of people are enlightened, sometimes that's called mass hypnosis of some sort. Jesus wasn't beyond being called a deceiver, a devil, there were many who were outraged at His ability to *fool* people, to *control* people, to *deceive* people. And we get a glimpse of this sort of belief when we hear of cult leaders and we are the scoffers. Of course we're scoffing with justifiable reason because we know that Jesus alone is our *leader* and no man can take His place. But there were many during Jesus' ministry that scoffed at Him, scoffed at the newly enlightened.
For a long time though Jesus would continue to bring enlightenment to people, lots and lots of people. These people would be so changed by Jesus- not just those healed but those enlightened spiritually and they tell others and if the others scoffed they quickly changed their minds if they went to listen to Him for themselves. This was a MIRACULOUS time! Yet for all that it was a miraculous time - the scoffers existed and would continue to exist growing stronger in their opposition the stronger Jesus became. They saw Him as a threat refusing to all themselves to be enlightened or in their minds- deceived.
Jesus preached and crowds and crowds of people wanted to hear His every word.
Here is yet another instance of His miraculous healing...
Mar 2:3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
Mar 2:4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
Mar 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
Jesus saw their faith- their belief in Him- and Jesus said… 'Thy sins be forgiven thee.'
What powerful words! Words probably seldom uttered outside of a sacrificial ceremony, as GOD giving forgiveness when people ask for it and offer a sacrifice, when an atonement is made for their sins. No man EVER dared tell another that their *sins* were forgiven them. People could offer forgiveness and tell another that they forgive them for something, some harm committed against them personally, but a person cannot forgive the sins of another that have nothing to do with them personally. I can forgive someone for hurting me, but I can't forgive anything else, any other sin they may have committed in their lives. For me to tell another 'Thy sins be forgiven thee.' would be ludicrous. I have no power to forgive sins another has committed. I can't give you forgiveness for stealing something from a store, I can't forgive you for cursing at your mother, I can't forgive you for coveting your neighbor's house. I can be understanding - one sinning human to another but only God can forgive you- absolve you of your guilt, of my guilt.
To hear this man, albeit a wonderful amazing man- a preacher, a miracle worker, a prophet say those words- 'Thy sins be forgiven thee.'- had to be shocking to those who were not enlightened spiritually by our Savior.
Mar 2:6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
Mar 2:7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
Unenlightened these scribes could not understand that the man working miracles right in front of them had power from God to perform these miracles. They'd read about prophets, they'd read about miracles being performed in the past by God's holy men, but they couldn't let themselves believe that Jesus was from God, that Jesus was the Messiah, that Jesus was God's Son on earth.
Mar 2:8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
Jesus knew their hearts, their thoughts, He didn't have to hear them aloud. Jesus knew right away that they were shocked by His words. He was revealing more of Himself, revealing more of the new covenant and they would either accept it or deny it.
Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
Mar 2:9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
The power from God gave Jesus the ability to heal. The power from God would heal people of their illnesses- freeing them from the bondage of sickness. Jesus was to free them from the power of sin as well, forgiving them their sins so He could heal them. When He healed them physically He was healing them spiritually. Free from the oppression of sickness, from the weight of sin. Later on we read Him tell one He'd healed- 'Go and sin no more'. Freed from sin, but still a sinner needing the forgiveness of a Savior daily. We need our Savior, we cannot live without our Savior, He died for us because we could not save ourselves.
Mar 2:10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)
Mar 2:11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
Mar 2:12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.
They were ALL amazed!
They glorified God!
They'd never seen anything like it before!
Miracles, forgiveness- and what a miracle forgiveness is! Praise God!
Mar 2:13 And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them.
He taught them.
Praise God!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Wondrous Healing!
Mar 1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
Mar 1:36 And Simon and they that were with him followed after him.
Mar 1:37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee.
Mar 1:38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.
Having spent a long time healing people, Jesus went to pray. The disciples He'd gathered so far followed Him and when they'd FOUND Him, they told Him something He already knew. All men seek Him.
Let's note for a moment here that word 'found'.
Jesus went up to pray- alone. Simon and the rest followed Him. Jesus didn't tell them where He was going, He rose up a GREAT while before day and went to a solitary place. The disciples with Him woke up as well and followed Him but obviously NOT right behind Him. They had an idea of where He was at but they still needed to find Him. Jesus wasn't going to be FOUND until He wanted to be FOUND. He needed time alone to pray to the Father. He needed that time and what does that tell us? Perhaps we as individuals as well NEED to spend time alone with our Father. Okay, there is no perhaps about it. We do need to spend time alone with our Father away from everyone else, even when well intentioned people want to be with us. Even when we *don't * want to be alone, we need to take that time to spend with our Heavenly Father. All things are through our Heavenly Father just as they were for Jesus, His Son. We can't forget where our spiritual power comes from, we have NONE of our own. All we have is a spiritual side to us and that spiritual side is what connects us to our Spiritual Father allowing His power to work in us. We can ignore that spiritual side we have and let our flesh nature rule us, we don't HAVE to pray to our Heavenly Father and we'll keep on living but the life we are living is not the life we are intended to live.
Jesus went off to pray and His disciples *found* Him and when they did they told Him that all men were seeking Him. They wanted Him to go to the crowds of people as He had the day before and teach them, and heal them.
Jesus had other plans though - Jesus replied - 'Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.'
He wanted them to go to the next town, other towns, so He could preach there too. The whole reason for His existence right then and there was to preach - repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand- that was His message for people. Jesus preached, Jesus taught, and Jesus healed. Jesus had to give His message to as many people as He possibly could. Jesus wasn't about to settle down in any one town as some might have done- expecting people to come to Him- Jesus was going to go to others, He would NEVER take on any airs, never. He was there to SERVE the will of God, and it was God's will that He bring the message of salvation to all.
Mar 1:39 And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.
Mar 1:40 And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
Mar 1:41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.
Mar 1:42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.
Mar 1:43 And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away;
Mar 1:44 And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
Fame. Wanted or unwanted, Jesus had fame. He needed fame really, it was all in God's plan. People were becoming very receptive to everything Jesus had to say and He was gaining many followers.
Healing this leper, Jesus charged him before sending Him away to SAY NOTHING to ANY MAN, but go to the priest and offer for cleansing as Moses commanded, a testimony. After receiving healing they were required to go to the priest-
Lev 14:2 This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest:
Lev 14:3 And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper;
Lev 14:4 Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop
(Read Lev. 14:2-32)
Jesus wanted the leper to go and do as He was required in the testimony of Moses, but the leper had other ideas. He was HEALED of a disease that meant his wasting away, flesh rotting, ostracized for his condition and the only future he had was to be one of misery. We don't know what stage of leprosy he had, we do know that the leper even getting close to Jesus was daring because lepers were supposed to stay far away from others. Jesus had pity on this suffering man and healed him completely and the JOY the man had to feel was beyond what most of us can imagine. I say most of us because some of us do know the joy of healing- though few know the instantaneous healing that our merciful Savior healed the leper with.
Overcome with pure joy, the leper went out and told EVERYONE he saw about his miraculous healing! There had to be people who knew this man before he'd become a leper, people who mourned his coming down with the disease that would leave Him wasting away, never to be with those he loved again. It's no wonder that the news spread far and wide and Jesus couldn't going into that city any longer because there were just TOO many people. Jesus stayed in the desert places- and people came to Him from all over!
Mar 1:45 But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.
We have to understand how wondrous all this was. You know someone that is sick, most people do if they aren't sick themselves and wouldn't you just be overwhelmed if they were healed, if you were healed, if all others around you were healed. If hospitals filled with people were suddenly empty?! If doctor offices closed, if pharmacies had no reason to give out any medicine? If we think of it that way then we are really shocked, really amazed and yes- disbelieving. But this is what was happening on the same level for the time and place- Jesus was healing all that came into contact with Him- hundreds, thousands of people were being healed. Just as we'd be overwhelmed and willing to listen to the Healer's message, people then were willing and Jesus brought them the message of salvation- step by step He was bringing it to them and it was amazing, just as amazing as it is to us today, that same wondrous message. No, we don't have the Healer here, but we have the FULL message given to us in the Word of God and salvation in Christ is everything, EVERYTHING!
By the grace of God may we have FULL understanding! We need full understanding, we need Faith, we need the grace and mercy of our Savior, we need SPIRITUAL healing and that we can have today by the grace of God.
Amen!
Mar 1:36 And Simon and they that were with him followed after him.
Mar 1:37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee.
Mar 1:38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.
Having spent a long time healing people, Jesus went to pray. The disciples He'd gathered so far followed Him and when they'd FOUND Him, they told Him something He already knew. All men seek Him.
Let's note for a moment here that word 'found'.
Jesus went up to pray- alone. Simon and the rest followed Him. Jesus didn't tell them where He was going, He rose up a GREAT while before day and went to a solitary place. The disciples with Him woke up as well and followed Him but obviously NOT right behind Him. They had an idea of where He was at but they still needed to find Him. Jesus wasn't going to be FOUND until He wanted to be FOUND. He needed time alone to pray to the Father. He needed that time and what does that tell us? Perhaps we as individuals as well NEED to spend time alone with our Father. Okay, there is no perhaps about it. We do need to spend time alone with our Father away from everyone else, even when well intentioned people want to be with us. Even when we *don't * want to be alone, we need to take that time to spend with our Heavenly Father. All things are through our Heavenly Father just as they were for Jesus, His Son. We can't forget where our spiritual power comes from, we have NONE of our own. All we have is a spiritual side to us and that spiritual side is what connects us to our Spiritual Father allowing His power to work in us. We can ignore that spiritual side we have and let our flesh nature rule us, we don't HAVE to pray to our Heavenly Father and we'll keep on living but the life we are living is not the life we are intended to live.
Jesus went off to pray and His disciples *found* Him and when they did they told Him that all men were seeking Him. They wanted Him to go to the crowds of people as He had the day before and teach them, and heal them.
Jesus had other plans though - Jesus replied - 'Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.'
He wanted them to go to the next town, other towns, so He could preach there too. The whole reason for His existence right then and there was to preach - repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand- that was His message for people. Jesus preached, Jesus taught, and Jesus healed. Jesus had to give His message to as many people as He possibly could. Jesus wasn't about to settle down in any one town as some might have done- expecting people to come to Him- Jesus was going to go to others, He would NEVER take on any airs, never. He was there to SERVE the will of God, and it was God's will that He bring the message of salvation to all.
Mar 1:39 And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.
Mar 1:40 And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
Mar 1:41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.
Mar 1:42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.
Mar 1:43 And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away;
Mar 1:44 And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
Fame. Wanted or unwanted, Jesus had fame. He needed fame really, it was all in God's plan. People were becoming very receptive to everything Jesus had to say and He was gaining many followers.
Healing this leper, Jesus charged him before sending Him away to SAY NOTHING to ANY MAN, but go to the priest and offer for cleansing as Moses commanded, a testimony. After receiving healing they were required to go to the priest-
Lev 14:2 This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest:
Lev 14:3 And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper;
Lev 14:4 Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop
(Read Lev. 14:2-32)
Jesus wanted the leper to go and do as He was required in the testimony of Moses, but the leper had other ideas. He was HEALED of a disease that meant his wasting away, flesh rotting, ostracized for his condition and the only future he had was to be one of misery. We don't know what stage of leprosy he had, we do know that the leper even getting close to Jesus was daring because lepers were supposed to stay far away from others. Jesus had pity on this suffering man and healed him completely and the JOY the man had to feel was beyond what most of us can imagine. I say most of us because some of us do know the joy of healing- though few know the instantaneous healing that our merciful Savior healed the leper with.
Overcome with pure joy, the leper went out and told EVERYONE he saw about his miraculous healing! There had to be people who knew this man before he'd become a leper, people who mourned his coming down with the disease that would leave Him wasting away, never to be with those he loved again. It's no wonder that the news spread far and wide and Jesus couldn't going into that city any longer because there were just TOO many people. Jesus stayed in the desert places- and people came to Him from all over!
Mar 1:45 But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.
We have to understand how wondrous all this was. You know someone that is sick, most people do if they aren't sick themselves and wouldn't you just be overwhelmed if they were healed, if you were healed, if all others around you were healed. If hospitals filled with people were suddenly empty?! If doctor offices closed, if pharmacies had no reason to give out any medicine? If we think of it that way then we are really shocked, really amazed and yes- disbelieving. But this is what was happening on the same level for the time and place- Jesus was healing all that came into contact with Him- hundreds, thousands of people were being healed. Just as we'd be overwhelmed and willing to listen to the Healer's message, people then were willing and Jesus brought them the message of salvation- step by step He was bringing it to them and it was amazing, just as amazing as it is to us today, that same wondrous message. No, we don't have the Healer here, but we have the FULL message given to us in the Word of God and salvation in Christ is everything, EVERYTHING!
By the grace of God may we have FULL understanding! We need full understanding, we need Faith, we need the grace and mercy of our Savior, we need SPIRITUAL healing and that we can have today by the grace of God.
Amen!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Sin encrusted hearts- freed!
Mar 1:29 And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
Mar 1:30 But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her.
Mar 1:31 And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.
Leaving the synagogue after astonishing all with the authority with which He spoke and commanding an unclean spirit to come from a man, Jesus went into the house of Simon and Andrew. Inside the house Simon's mother-in-law was sick with a fever. The brothers told Jesus about the sick woman and Jesus went to her.
Taking her by the hand he lift her up and IMMEDIATELY the fever was gone! Healed instantly! The poor woman lay there all morning maybe into the afternoon sick with a fever and we all know how awful you feel when you're feverish. Too sick to get out of bed, she languished there and was probably longing for the fever to leave her just as we all long to feel better when we're ill. I know after a recent illness where I was feverish and sickly, confined mostly to bed that, I couldn't wait to feel better again. Had someone came into my bedroom and taken my hand lifting me up from the bed and I was instantly healed I would be in shock! This woman was healed and instantly grateful she was eager to minister to them. They'd just come from a Sabbath morning/early afternoon in the synagogue and they were most likely in need of sustenance. Ministering to them as if she'd never been bed-ridden earlier was amazing! I don’t know about you but for a lot of illnesses which make me bed ridden it takes a while to get my full strength back, a few days at the least as I gradually recover. This woman felt none of the lingering weakness an illness brings, she was fully healed and able to minister to the men. Praise God! Can you just imagine the joy in that house? I can.
After the sabbath was over people began to leave their houses. While they'd been taking their own sabbath repast, while they'd been continuing their worship of God in celebrating the weekly rest, the weekly God ordained sabbath, they were all thinking about Jesus. They'd witnessed something miraculous and they weren't forgetting it at all, would you have? I doubt very highly any of us would forget witnessing a miracle such as that. We know they didn't forget in fact every one in that synagogue went to their homes and discussed all they'd witnessed. As soon as the sabbath was passed they came to Jesus as Simon and Andrew's house and they didn't come alone. Just picture it… that first knock upon the door. Inside Jesus and the four disciples with him along with Simon's mother-in-law had enjoyed a wonderful sabbath and well rested physically, mentally, spiritually they were probably ready to discuss what would Jesus have them do next, where would they go next, what would they do, what were they going to learn. Then that knock sounded. Behind that door there was a gathering crowd of people who had brought their sick and possessed loved ones to Jesus. How big do you think the crowd was? Well ALL the city was gathered there! All the people of the city gathered at the door to that one house with all the hope of a miracle in them. Do you know anyone who is sick? Do you know anyone who you might suspect is possessed? Chronic illness is very, very common today and in younger and younger people, it'd be shocking if you didn't know of a single sick person, a single person suffering. I know of more than one personally and if I'd been there I'd have had them there waiting at that door praying for a miracle for them.
Jesus did not disappoint. He healed many that were sick of all sorts of diseases and He cast out many devils. It's important to note here that we are told that He suffered NOT the devils to speak- why? Because the devils knew Him. Of course they did! All the devils, all the evil spirits know who the Son of God is! They all know the sinless Son of God, they knew who He was from the moment He was born. God's protection kept them from attacking and killing Him, but they tried. Remember Herod asking the wisemen to come back and tell them where the Messiah was born? The wisemen didn't do that and an angry Herod had all the male babies two and under killed. Why'd he do that? It was at Satan's urging and it was because he had to try and destroy the Savior. Jesus at that point had been taken to Egypt at the urging of an angel to Joseph, and to safety. The Savior would be allowed to grow, to mature and then to begin His ministry. The devils all knew Him though. In His presence they couldn't survive and they knew that too.
So why didn't Jesus want the devils naming Him for who He was? Because He was creating a new covenant way and that new covenant would be established on faith in Him as the Savior, through a personal acceptance of Him after hearing His message. The healing, the freeing from possession was all part of opening the hearts, the minds, and the eyes of a people long blinded by untruths. To have devils speaking from the mouths of those they possessed would have meant people listening to the evil spirits as they cried out against their destruction- and honestly- people hearing these others speaking with the evil spirit voice declaring Jesus the Son of God would not have made those people believe in Jesus as the Son of God. They would not suddenly have an opened mind and heart saying to others- that's Jesus, the Son of God- an evil spirit said so. No, Jesus would not be declared the Son of God by evil spirits. The evil spirits wanted to fight for their existence, they wanted to bring the spiritual fight into the corporal world. The things they would say would not bring any edification to the people at all. It was enough that Jesus was destroying them, He didn't have to let them give voice to their existence- the recovered people were proof enough that they'd been possessed. We know evil spirits tell lies and there was no telling at all what sort of lies they might spew if they'd been allowed to speak.
Mar 1:32 And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.
Mar 1:33 And all the city was gathered together at the door.
Mar 1:34 And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.
After all that healing Jesus went to sleep but He couldn't have slept long because before day light had come He was out of bed and out of the house. Jesus found a place where He could be completely alone and there He prayed.
Mar 1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
We pray to Jesus don't we? We pray to God the Father but we also pray to Jesus and someone might contend that Jesus didn't need to pray. But HE DID, He needed to pray! And if the Son of God needed to pray how much more do WE need to pray? Seriously. Jesus received ALL His power from the Father. Jesus had to commune with God! Jesus was committing His life to God's will, wanting God's plan, the plan they'd made together before He'd taken on humanity, wanting their plan to be realized. Jesus was no longer in spirit form, Jesus no longer of His own self to anything. All things had to be done through the power given to Him by God the Father.
Joh 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
Joh 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
Joh 8:28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
Jesus alone, without God the Father could do NOTHING. This is the truth spoken of by Jesus Himself!
Yes, Jesus prayed and prayer is what? Prayer is talking to God, it's talking to the Father. Jesus even told us to pray…
Our Father which art in heaven.
How wondrous was the message our Savior was bringing to us! Jesus was revealing the Father to us in a way no other could do! It was the will of the Father that people be healed. It was the will of the Father that people be freed from unclean spirits, freed from devil possession. It was the will of the Father that people understand that the bondage they were captive to was a result of living in a sin-sick world and it wasn't a sin-sick world that God wanted! He wanted people to live free from sickness, free from possession! Revealing this to people was vital because sin had hardened the hearts of so many, the hearts needed to be cultivated, the hard ground broken so that the message of the Savior could have a chance to thrive.
Today we live in a world even more immersed in sin than ever before and it's the message that Jesus came and gave to us that we need to live and breath in order to allow Him to thrive within us. We have His message it is given to us as it was given to them and we need to live it, really live the message, really live the faith!
By His amazing, amazing grace!
In His love!
Amen.
Mar 1:30 But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her.
Mar 1:31 And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.
Leaving the synagogue after astonishing all with the authority with which He spoke and commanding an unclean spirit to come from a man, Jesus went into the house of Simon and Andrew. Inside the house Simon's mother-in-law was sick with a fever. The brothers told Jesus about the sick woman and Jesus went to her.
Taking her by the hand he lift her up and IMMEDIATELY the fever was gone! Healed instantly! The poor woman lay there all morning maybe into the afternoon sick with a fever and we all know how awful you feel when you're feverish. Too sick to get out of bed, she languished there and was probably longing for the fever to leave her just as we all long to feel better when we're ill. I know after a recent illness where I was feverish and sickly, confined mostly to bed that, I couldn't wait to feel better again. Had someone came into my bedroom and taken my hand lifting me up from the bed and I was instantly healed I would be in shock! This woman was healed and instantly grateful she was eager to minister to them. They'd just come from a Sabbath morning/early afternoon in the synagogue and they were most likely in need of sustenance. Ministering to them as if she'd never been bed-ridden earlier was amazing! I don’t know about you but for a lot of illnesses which make me bed ridden it takes a while to get my full strength back, a few days at the least as I gradually recover. This woman felt none of the lingering weakness an illness brings, she was fully healed and able to minister to the men. Praise God! Can you just imagine the joy in that house? I can.
After the sabbath was over people began to leave their houses. While they'd been taking their own sabbath repast, while they'd been continuing their worship of God in celebrating the weekly rest, the weekly God ordained sabbath, they were all thinking about Jesus. They'd witnessed something miraculous and they weren't forgetting it at all, would you have? I doubt very highly any of us would forget witnessing a miracle such as that. We know they didn't forget in fact every one in that synagogue went to their homes and discussed all they'd witnessed. As soon as the sabbath was passed they came to Jesus as Simon and Andrew's house and they didn't come alone. Just picture it… that first knock upon the door. Inside Jesus and the four disciples with him along with Simon's mother-in-law had enjoyed a wonderful sabbath and well rested physically, mentally, spiritually they were probably ready to discuss what would Jesus have them do next, where would they go next, what would they do, what were they going to learn. Then that knock sounded. Behind that door there was a gathering crowd of people who had brought their sick and possessed loved ones to Jesus. How big do you think the crowd was? Well ALL the city was gathered there! All the people of the city gathered at the door to that one house with all the hope of a miracle in them. Do you know anyone who is sick? Do you know anyone who you might suspect is possessed? Chronic illness is very, very common today and in younger and younger people, it'd be shocking if you didn't know of a single sick person, a single person suffering. I know of more than one personally and if I'd been there I'd have had them there waiting at that door praying for a miracle for them.
Jesus did not disappoint. He healed many that were sick of all sorts of diseases and He cast out many devils. It's important to note here that we are told that He suffered NOT the devils to speak- why? Because the devils knew Him. Of course they did! All the devils, all the evil spirits know who the Son of God is! They all know the sinless Son of God, they knew who He was from the moment He was born. God's protection kept them from attacking and killing Him, but they tried. Remember Herod asking the wisemen to come back and tell them where the Messiah was born? The wisemen didn't do that and an angry Herod had all the male babies two and under killed. Why'd he do that? It was at Satan's urging and it was because he had to try and destroy the Savior. Jesus at that point had been taken to Egypt at the urging of an angel to Joseph, and to safety. The Savior would be allowed to grow, to mature and then to begin His ministry. The devils all knew Him though. In His presence they couldn't survive and they knew that too.
So why didn't Jesus want the devils naming Him for who He was? Because He was creating a new covenant way and that new covenant would be established on faith in Him as the Savior, through a personal acceptance of Him after hearing His message. The healing, the freeing from possession was all part of opening the hearts, the minds, and the eyes of a people long blinded by untruths. To have devils speaking from the mouths of those they possessed would have meant people listening to the evil spirits as they cried out against their destruction- and honestly- people hearing these others speaking with the evil spirit voice declaring Jesus the Son of God would not have made those people believe in Jesus as the Son of God. They would not suddenly have an opened mind and heart saying to others- that's Jesus, the Son of God- an evil spirit said so. No, Jesus would not be declared the Son of God by evil spirits. The evil spirits wanted to fight for their existence, they wanted to bring the spiritual fight into the corporal world. The things they would say would not bring any edification to the people at all. It was enough that Jesus was destroying them, He didn't have to let them give voice to their existence- the recovered people were proof enough that they'd been possessed. We know evil spirits tell lies and there was no telling at all what sort of lies they might spew if they'd been allowed to speak.
Mar 1:32 And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.
Mar 1:33 And all the city was gathered together at the door.
Mar 1:34 And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.
After all that healing Jesus went to sleep but He couldn't have slept long because before day light had come He was out of bed and out of the house. Jesus found a place where He could be completely alone and there He prayed.
Mar 1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
We pray to Jesus don't we? We pray to God the Father but we also pray to Jesus and someone might contend that Jesus didn't need to pray. But HE DID, He needed to pray! And if the Son of God needed to pray how much more do WE need to pray? Seriously. Jesus received ALL His power from the Father. Jesus had to commune with God! Jesus was committing His life to God's will, wanting God's plan, the plan they'd made together before He'd taken on humanity, wanting their plan to be realized. Jesus was no longer in spirit form, Jesus no longer of His own self to anything. All things had to be done through the power given to Him by God the Father.
Joh 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
Joh 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
Joh 8:28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
Jesus alone, without God the Father could do NOTHING. This is the truth spoken of by Jesus Himself!
Yes, Jesus prayed and prayer is what? Prayer is talking to God, it's talking to the Father. Jesus even told us to pray…
Our Father which art in heaven.
How wondrous was the message our Savior was bringing to us! Jesus was revealing the Father to us in a way no other could do! It was the will of the Father that people be healed. It was the will of the Father that people be freed from unclean spirits, freed from devil possession. It was the will of the Father that people understand that the bondage they were captive to was a result of living in a sin-sick world and it wasn't a sin-sick world that God wanted! He wanted people to live free from sickness, free from possession! Revealing this to people was vital because sin had hardened the hearts of so many, the hearts needed to be cultivated, the hard ground broken so that the message of the Savior could have a chance to thrive.
Today we live in a world even more immersed in sin than ever before and it's the message that Jesus came and gave to us that we need to live and breath in order to allow Him to thrive within us. We have His message it is given to us as it was given to them and we need to live it, really live the message, really live the faith!
By His amazing, amazing grace!
In His love!
Amen.
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