Jesus was confronted by His own disciples wanting to know, which of them would be the Greatest or most important when they got to Heaven. In Matthew 18:1-10 we see how Jesus answers that question. In the culture of that day one of the most useless individuals was a child. They could not provide for themselves, they took up your time and effort to care for them, everything from food to clothing to shelter must be provided for them. These things made them one of the most useless individuals around.The only redeeming thing about them was that they would eventually grow up and help take care of things when we got to old to do so ourselves.
As usual, there was a crowd of people following Jesus, so it was from this crowd of strangers Jesus beckoned to a child to come to him. When the child came up Jesus put the child in the middle of them. Now, many preachers will say how we should take the example of the child and be inquisitive, and trusting, and leaving control of our lives up to God. But that was not the only reasons Jesus used this child as an example.
Jesus also wanted his disciples to see themselves as a child, completely worthless and unable to do anything for itself. If left to it’s own devices, it would not last long. It might survive for a time out of luck, but eventually it would be swallowed up by the world around it. He wanted them to realize that their entire existence was dependent on God’s good will for us, and that if God did not have a purpose for them they would be left to die. We must realize the same thing. God has a plan for each of us and it is only by His will and His Plan that we are even alive.
We are to humble ourselves, understand just how worthless and unable to save ourselves we are, and put ourselves under God’s complete control. Only then can we become great in The Lord’s Kingdom. When we get as low a self esteem as possible and think as little of ourselves as possible, get upset with the world and how it treats us, only then can we become the greatest in the Kingdom of God.
Not only are we to be as debased as this but we are to care for anyone we may meet who is as worthless to themselves as this and help them so that they may grow and become a disciple of God. We are not only supposed to help provide for them, but also to protect them from the world around them.
Jesus told them that it would be better for them if they found themselves with a large stone being tied around their necks and being cast into the sea than for them to allow one of these younger disciples, or children, to come to harm in any way. If they have a way to prevent the child from being harmed and do not take it, they are guilty by omission.
If we look at verse 8 of chapter 18 we see Jesus is saying the world itself is in danger because Adam and Eve have allowed sin to enter the perfect world that God had made. Jesus warns that troubles must come, offenses must happen to believers. Even more in danger is the person from whom these offenses, or troubles, come. God will make them to stop hurting His people. He promises to protect the children He is protecting.Only when the trouble you are experiencing is in His will can it continue to happen without reproof. God promises to protect His children and will do so. Jesus says in verse 9, for us to completely do away with something that is causing us to sin. It doesn’t matter what it is do away with it or have very little to do with it. Jesus uses the extreme example of plucking out your eye or cutting off your hand, not saying we should do so, but saying we should act the same way with whatever is causing us to sin. If it is a person, cut them off from you. If it is smoking get the cigarettes away from you. whatever it is have no more to do with it. If you can’t help but be around it then ask the Lord to give you the strength to face up to it and overcome.
Jesus warns us not to look down on anyone who is still learning as they are protected by God’s angels and these angels are great enough to look directly at the Lord, who is to great for any mortal man to look at. Even when Moses looked at the retreating back of the Lord, his face shone so bright that he had to wear a veil.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Casting Pearls- Are you paying attention?
The more and more I look at the social sites of today the more I see the example of what growing up in a modern society has done for the people of today. They are caught up with little bits and bites of cute little sayings that seem to express their feelings, but never actually put across any important points. Their minds are even stretched by reading a blog like mine. I have found that the books I was brought up reading, are totally inappropriate to todays mindset. We are conditioned by TV and being able to receive an entire message about whatever we need to think about something in a 30 second spot. If it takes more than 30 seconds, it must be very important or it must be entertaining.
Our attention span has been shortened by the instant and throw away lives we live. We spend our moments in front of a TV or a computer screen and are conditioned ny these things to be inspired by small sound bites and bits of information we receive. When we get only a small part of the information about something, we are left to assume the rest of the information regarding it.No one gives us all the information because we no longer can keep the attention span required to read through all the information about something. As Christians, we are left with the situation of attempting to reach people trapped in this lifestyle with only a few short words to catch their attention. If we can catch their attention, we can then go on to tell them in more detail about Jesus’ plan for their lives.
Once we get someone’s attention we can begin teaching them in more detail about the plan God has for their lives and how Jesus plans to use them to spread His message of salvation to the world.The world is lost, not because it is evil, but because we are as mankind inherently evil. It has been passed on to us from Adam and Eve, who brought sin into this perfect world God made for us. If it were not for this we would not need a sacrifice or intercessor to make us worthy in God’s sight. With Jesus as our advocate, when God looks at us He sees Jesus kiving in us instead of our sinful selves. It is Only through Jesus that we are made worthy to be in God’s presence. We have an eternal home in Heaven because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us.
Without some way of reaching people to bring them into the group listening to our teaching about Jesus, we cannot get them to hear the Gospel. God has given us the quotes we need and the interesting quips we need to reach out to the lost world. All that is left is for us to bring to them the Gospel message.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Casting Pearls- Are you being calledto do something?
If we look at the tale of the calling of Simon-Peter, Andrew,James and John in Matthew Chapter 4:18-22 we see that first Jesus was supposedly just walking by the Sea of Galilee and saw Simon and Andrew fishing with their nets and said to them, ‘Follow me and I’ll make you fishers of men‘ , then later on saw James and John in another boat with their father Zebedee and called to them to follow him, so they left the boat and their father and followed Jesus.
However we must remember that this was written by a man who was originally a tax collector for the Romans, and knew very little about fishing. Almost all preachers who have taught on these verses, taught that James and John left the entire family fishing business, including their father, and followed Jesus just because Jesus asked them to. We should all be willing to leave the old things in our lives behind and Follow Jesus, Just because He called us too. We can find the same tale in a slightly different fashion of telling in Luke. Luke was a learned man, a doctor, who was very learned in the ways of man. Luke was not one of the original twelve disciples and was more than likely a close friend of the apostle Paul. Even though the tale seems very different, they are really the same story from two different perspectives.
In Luke 5:1 Jesus was not just walking beside the Sea of Galilee as Matthew told it, but teaching to a crowd of people beside the Sea of Galilee and was pressed by the crowd until to keep from being pushed into the water he climbed aboard a ship by the seashore in which Simon-Peter had been fishing and was now on the shore cleaning out his nets. All the little things like sticks and seaweed and other debris that had become caught up in his nets over the night of fishing he had just done was being cleaned out of the nets in anticipation of putting them away for the day.
Jesus climbed aboard one of the ships, Simon-Peter’s, and asked Simon to pull a little way out from the shore so He could continue to teach without fear of being pushed into the water by the crowd. The whole time Simon-Peter and the others had been drying and cleaning their nets, they had been listening to Jesus teach the people, so they could tell he was a respected teacher. then we come to verse 4 where Jesus finished His teaching the crowd and He turned to Simon-Peter and Jesus asked Simon-Peter to do something that seemed normal for a fisherman, but not so as it was the wrong time of day for Simon-Peter to do it, Jesus asked him to row out into the deep water and throw the nets back out. Normally the fish could not be easily caught except at night because they only came up close to the surface at night when the water was cooler and went back down when the sun came up and the surface water became warmer.
Now even though it was normal for Simon-Peter to do, it was hard for him to do as Simon-Peter had already cleaned his nets and rolled them up to store away for the day, on top of the time of day being wrong by the common knowledge of fishermen. However, having heard Jesus’ teaching and having gotten nowhere with his complaints to Jesus, he finally agreed. he did not let down the nets as asked, because thinking it a fools errand The Bible says he let down the NET, only one of the many he normally would have fished with.
Even though Simon-Peter did not believe the fishing would catch anything, when he began to pull up the net it began to break from the great multitude of fish in it. We limit the blessings God may bestow on us through our disbelief of the actions Jesus leads us to do because we are focused on what the world thinks is right and not what Jesus is telling us to do. Simon-Peter immediately called over his partners James and John in the other Ship and had them help with the great catch of fish.
When Simon-Peter first agreed to do as Jesus asked he called Jesus, Master, because he was showing his respect for Jesus being a teacher. After Simon-Peter caught the great catch of fish he fell down at knees, as there were to many fish in the bottom of the ship for him to fall down at Jesus’ feet, and said, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man O Lord”. Notice Simon was now calling Jesus Lord because he now realized the true presence of the man in front of him. We do the same as well, we give Jesus only passing reverence in our lives and after he works a great miracle in our lives we suddenly see His reverence and that He is the one in control of all the things around us. In fact, He was the creator of all the things around us.
It wasn’t until later that Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter - (the rock). It is important that it be pointed out that it was not Peter, (the rock) that Jesus’ church would be built upon, but Jesus Himself (the Rock that Our Faith is built upon) that the church would be built upon.
However we must remember that this was written by a man who was originally a tax collector for the Romans, and knew very little about fishing. Almost all preachers who have taught on these verses, taught that James and John left the entire family fishing business, including their father, and followed Jesus just because Jesus asked them to. We should all be willing to leave the old things in our lives behind and Follow Jesus, Just because He called us too. We can find the same tale in a slightly different fashion of telling in Luke. Luke was a learned man, a doctor, who was very learned in the ways of man. Luke was not one of the original twelve disciples and was more than likely a close friend of the apostle Paul. Even though the tale seems very different, they are really the same story from two different perspectives.
In Luke 5:1 Jesus was not just walking beside the Sea of Galilee as Matthew told it, but teaching to a crowd of people beside the Sea of Galilee and was pressed by the crowd until to keep from being pushed into the water he climbed aboard a ship by the seashore in which Simon-Peter had been fishing and was now on the shore cleaning out his nets. All the little things like sticks and seaweed and other debris that had become caught up in his nets over the night of fishing he had just done was being cleaned out of the nets in anticipation of putting them away for the day.
Jesus climbed aboard one of the ships, Simon-Peter’s, and asked Simon to pull a little way out from the shore so He could continue to teach without fear of being pushed into the water by the crowd. The whole time Simon-Peter and the others had been drying and cleaning their nets, they had been listening to Jesus teach the people, so they could tell he was a respected teacher. then we come to verse 4 where Jesus finished His teaching the crowd and He turned to Simon-Peter and Jesus asked Simon-Peter to do something that seemed normal for a fisherman, but not so as it was the wrong time of day for Simon-Peter to do it, Jesus asked him to row out into the deep water and throw the nets back out. Normally the fish could not be easily caught except at night because they only came up close to the surface at night when the water was cooler and went back down when the sun came up and the surface water became warmer.
Now even though it was normal for Simon-Peter to do, it was hard for him to do as Simon-Peter had already cleaned his nets and rolled them up to store away for the day, on top of the time of day being wrong by the common knowledge of fishermen. However, having heard Jesus’ teaching and having gotten nowhere with his complaints to Jesus, he finally agreed. he did not let down the nets as asked, because thinking it a fools errand The Bible says he let down the NET, only one of the many he normally would have fished with.
Even though Simon-Peter did not believe the fishing would catch anything, when he began to pull up the net it began to break from the great multitude of fish in it. We limit the blessings God may bestow on us through our disbelief of the actions Jesus leads us to do because we are focused on what the world thinks is right and not what Jesus is telling us to do. Simon-Peter immediately called over his partners James and John in the other Ship and had them help with the great catch of fish.
When Simon-Peter first agreed to do as Jesus asked he called Jesus, Master, because he was showing his respect for Jesus being a teacher. After Simon-Peter caught the great catch of fish he fell down at knees, as there were to many fish in the bottom of the ship for him to fall down at Jesus’ feet, and said, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man O Lord”. Notice Simon was now calling Jesus Lord because he now realized the true presence of the man in front of him. We do the same as well, we give Jesus only passing reverence in our lives and after he works a great miracle in our lives we suddenly see His reverence and that He is the one in control of all the things around us. In fact, He was the creator of all the things around us.
It wasn’t until later that Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter - (the rock). It is important that it be pointed out that it was not Peter, (the rock) that Jesus’ church would be built upon, but Jesus Himself (the Rock that Our Faith is built upon) that the church would be built upon.
Monday, March 3, 2014
Casting Pearls- Are we telling the world?
Today it was announced that Carrie Underwood, the writer and singer of the song ‘Jesus take the wheel’ announced that she was not against homosexuality because God was about love and God loved even the Homosexuals. To believe this is to say the word of God is wrong and God has ‘changed’ His mind. It is plainly spelled out in the Bible that Homosexuality is an abomination to God. However, Satan has again twisted the Bible to mean what he wanted instead of what God means.
Along with many other ‘Celebrities’ Carrie Underwood has been led astray from the truth by a half truth of Satan. God ‘is’ love, and God does love homosexuals. However to say that because God is love that we should be like unto God and love homosexuals just the way they are is short sighted and foolish. It is possible to love someone without loving how they act. I for one am glad that God loved me enough to save me through His Son Jesus, even though I have done things just as bad as the things the homosexuals have done. That is not to say I have been involved in Homosexuality, but I have sinned against God in bad enough ways that If God was not a God of love, he would have seen fit to kill me already. The Lord God has kept me alive despite my sins. Just like me, He has kept the Homosexuals alive, for the most part, despite their sins. Their risky lifestyles have caused many of them to die anyway.
We should not condemn Mrs. Underwood either as she has mearly been led astray to promote the falsehoods Satan wants us to believe. Satan has used the notoriety of Mrs. Underwood to give his lie credence. Instead of condemning Mrs. Underwood, we should pray for her to understand the truth and be willing to face the public derision for standing up for what is right instead of giving in to the world to keep her from being hated by the public. I have found, if you are loved by man, more than likely you are agreeing with sin.
Most of those in the limelight of celebrity and thereby influential to the public are working against God’s truths. If you were to ask who was most notorious to people across the world you would find that about 40% of people have heard of Jesus Christ. The same group were found to have a group of about 85% who have heard of Michael Jackson. How sad! More people have heard of Michael Jackson than of Jesus Christ. This is why it is so important that we fulfill the Great Commission and tell the entire world about Jesus while there is still time.
Along with many other ‘Celebrities’ Carrie Underwood has been led astray from the truth by a half truth of Satan. God ‘is’ love, and God does love homosexuals. However to say that because God is love that we should be like unto God and love homosexuals just the way they are is short sighted and foolish. It is possible to love someone without loving how they act. I for one am glad that God loved me enough to save me through His Son Jesus, even though I have done things just as bad as the things the homosexuals have done. That is not to say I have been involved in Homosexuality, but I have sinned against God in bad enough ways that If God was not a God of love, he would have seen fit to kill me already. The Lord God has kept me alive despite my sins. Just like me, He has kept the Homosexuals alive, for the most part, despite their sins. Their risky lifestyles have caused many of them to die anyway.
We should not condemn Mrs. Underwood either as she has mearly been led astray to promote the falsehoods Satan wants us to believe. Satan has used the notoriety of Mrs. Underwood to give his lie credence. Instead of condemning Mrs. Underwood, we should pray for her to understand the truth and be willing to face the public derision for standing up for what is right instead of giving in to the world to keep her from being hated by the public. I have found, if you are loved by man, more than likely you are agreeing with sin.
Most of those in the limelight of celebrity and thereby influential to the public are working against God’s truths. If you were to ask who was most notorious to people across the world you would find that about 40% of people have heard of Jesus Christ. The same group were found to have a group of about 85% who have heard of Michael Jackson. How sad! More people have heard of Michael Jackson than of Jesus Christ. This is why it is so important that we fulfill the Great Commission and tell the entire world about Jesus while there is still time.
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