225th Post Jesus on Reproof and Forgiveness Con't. - Mark 4: 24

Mark 4: 24 Jesus talks on judging continued second post.
And he said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you."
This passage seems not to go with the Matthew 7 passage of previous post. The word measure does not seem to be positive or negative. This is correct, depending on if you judge good or bad does not matter, what matters is that you as the judger, what you judge will be added to your bill at the Lord's judgment, either good or bad. Matthew focuses only on the negative judgment, but Mark and Luke focus on the increase of the doer either for positive or negative. Abraham Lincoln is credited for saying "If you look for the bad in people, you will probably find it." Jesus is telling us to focus on our brother's good qualities instead of their negative. This is another attribute of God's that will separate you from the rest of the world. If you are new to Christianity and don't know how you are to change your life, you might check out the list of Beatitudes (Matthew 5: 2 - 11), as you walk with Jesus you should be adding these to your life, if you do this they will change from the Beatitudes to the "Be Attitudes"! Look at Jesus' ministry from this point on and he modeled everyone of these during His Life. To be a Christian is to remember we are Christ- Like. How is your walk?

224th Post Jesus on Reproof and Forgieness Con't. - Matthew 7: 1 - 5

Matthew 7: 1 - 5; Mark 4: 24; Luke 6: 37 - 38 From: Jesus Sermon on the Mount.
Judge not, that you be not judged. For what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, "Let me remove the speck from your eye"; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
This passage was spoken by Jesus about 1.1/2 years into His earthly ministry. The passage mentioned above is from Matthew 7. It is interesting to look at all three of these passages, Matthew seems to focus on the negative, Mark focuses on positive, and Luke focuses on positive increase. Since these seem to be different, we will look at each one by itself. Matthew tells you not to judge, and then gives you the example of a brother with a speck in his eye. And you have a plank or a moat, or a log in your eye. What Jesus was trying to get across is that we tend to find someone who is having the same problem as we are struggling with, but instead of fixing our problem we try to fix our brother's problem first. The problem in our eye causes us not to be able to focus clearly to help our brother with their problem. Jesus tells us to fix our problem first and then try to fix our brother. This is the correct way to fix the problems.

223rd Post Jesus Said Reproof and Forgiveness- New Topic Intoductory Comment.

This is a start of a new topic in this Study concerning reproof and forgiveness. Reproof is just another word for judging. In Chapter 7 of Matthew, Jesus tells us not to judge one another. And then later in His teaching He tells us to test and to discern people's intentions. In Chapter 7 of Matthew, Jesus is telling us not to judge, because this judgment deals with heaven and hell, and only God has the power to judge on this level. We are to make judgments that will keep us safe. We are not to go anywhere we want, it might not be safe for us to go there at this time, but at another time it might be perfectly safe. We are called not to put ourselves knowingly in danger. Keeping yourself safe requires discernment on your part, to know your environment and act accordingly. In this section, we will get a better understanding of what Jesus means by reproof and judgment. The other part of this section deals with forgiveness. We ask the Lord to forgive us whenever we mess up, but we don't seem to be as willing to forgive our neighbor when they mess up. If you pay close attention to the word's of the Lord's Prayer, in order for God to forgive us, what must we do first? Jesus asks us to forgive others first, then God will forgive us. In order to have a good relationship with God, we need also to have a good relationship with others.
As your walk with God increases, you will be able to do this quicker. How fast you forgive depends on the depth of the offense. God's love does not have degrees, or tests that have to be met before He will love you, or forgive you.

222nd Post Jesus On Love & Obedience Con't. - John 15: 17

John 15: 17 Jesus is in upper room with Disciples Maundy Thursday continued.
These things I command you, that you love one another.
Jesus repeats these same words again. Jesus knows us, and the world. Almost 3,000 years later, we are still struggling with these words and feelings. Instead of it getting easier, we seem to have as much trouble with it that the first disciples had with these words. We can not even love our Church family this way; and Jesus told us to love everyone this way. Being friendly, is not the same as loving one another. When you love, you love them even when they are not around, you lookout for their welfare. This is love. This is what Jesus wanted us to do. If you love people genuinely you are friendly as well. If Churches really took this to heart, homelessness would not be the problem it is now. To fix this problem we as Christians would have to work with each other to fix the problem one neighborhood at a time. To do this requires us to get out of our comfort zones, and come together as a community of believer's. Satan, also does not want us to come together; if this happens we become a powerful force and will be able to take back what he has been taking little by little over the years. If you are praying for revival, you need to read 2 Chronicles 7: 14. This passage calls on God's people to do this not new people.

221st Post Jesus on Love & Obedience Con't. - John 15: 12

John 15: 12 Jesus with Disciples in upper room Maundy Thursday Continued.
This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Look here it is again, "Love one another as I have loved you." Jesus knows our human condition all too well. Jesus knows how hard this is for us to do, but it is necessary for us to do this to show the rest of the world that we are different. Look back a few hours earlier, Jesus was having to deal with the disciples wanting to know who the greatest was going to be. When you really love someone they don't have to fight for placement on the how much you care for them scale. You love them for who they are and not for what you hope they will be able to do or get for you. This is how the world loves, God and His followers love because we are commanded to and without scale markings. Paul lists the attributes of agape love in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Many couples have these words said at their weddings, because the words sound nice; but not understanding that we as humans cannot love this way. Only God can love without measure or without expecting something in return. Agape love is our model, and should be strived for. We can achieve some level of this with God's help only. The motto of Churches in the 1960's was "They will know we are Christians by our love." This should still be true today. How are we as a Church doing at this? What form of love is the Church today adopting? Can we be linked to the Church Jesus started when He put His Hands on Peter's Head?

220th Post Jesus on Love & Obedience Con't. - John 14: 23 - 24

John 14: 23 - 24 Jesus with disciples on Maundy Thursday in upper room.
If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.
This passage was spoken by Jesus the night He was to be betrayed, this was the last time Jesus would speak this openly to His disciples. Look how many times, and how many different ways Jesus seems to be saying the same thing. Jesus keeps stressing how important it is to love Him and keep His words. In this passage He says that if you do this the Father will also love you, because Jesus' words are really the Father's. Even this far into Jesus ministry, He is still pointing to the chain of command. These should be looked as links in a chain, and when you begin a relationship with God you are linked to a chain of believer's, if you are the first believer in your household, you are linked with the person who brought you and they are linked to someone else, etc. It is your being part of the chain that gives you strength, you are never alone, nor face things alone. This is why tradition is important, and must be part of a believer's heritage. New Christians do not understand the importance of this, and seem ready to embrace the next new thing that comes down the pike. We say that God is the same, today, tomorrow and yesterday, but they worship as God is only TODAY!!!

219th Post Jesus Said on Love & Obedience Con't, - John 14: 21

John 14:21 Jesus in Upper Room Maundy Thursday Discourse continued.
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.
This was spoken by Jesus the night He was to be betrayed in the upper room with his disciples.
The Jews of the Old Testament had the Temple and its laws to prepare them for the coming of the Messiah. Now that the Messiah had come, Jesus is telling his disciples that keeping His words and Commandments are more important than keeping the Temple traditions. This is a continuing of the transition from the old to the new. God is still the same, His Laws are still the same, the focus in the Old Testament was on God the Father, the focus in the Gospels is on Jesus Christ; and the focus of Acts and the Epistles is on the Holy Spirit showing you how to focus on Jesus Christ and live your life. Look at the passage above, he who has and keeps, loves Me and will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. There are many teaching today that would say see Jesus says if you remain in Him and you do His Will you will be rich and famous and have all you want. Is that really the promise? Or is Jesus telling you, He will grow near to you and reveal more of Himself to you. I think the latter is closer to the truth. What do you think? Still on the fence? Or are you ready to make that commitment to follow your Lord and Savior? Only you can make that choice.

218th Post Jesus Said on Love & Obedience Con't. - John 14: 15

John 14: 15 Jesus with disciples in Upper Room on Maundy Thursday Continued
If you love Me, keep My commandments.
This passage was spoken by Jesus on the last night of His earthly ministry, before He was to be betrayed. Jesus knows that His disciples still do not know who He was, why He was sent here; or why He had to die. Jesus is telling them to be true to Him, knowing full well that in a couple of hours from now they will completely forget this and run in all different directions to stay alive. We must remember that all the disciples failed in their commitment to Jesus, not just Peter and Judas.
This situation the disciples found themselves in, is not exclusive to them; we today and all through history will find ourselves in this type of situation. The question is that when it happens to you, will you act like the disciples and run, or will you remain true to Jesus. Remember, to whom much is given, much is required. We know more today about Jesus, then the twelve that walked with Him over a period of 3.1/2 years. Unlike them, we know why Jesus came into the world, why He had to die; and what it accomplished. And yet with all this added knowledge, are we better disciples then they were? We say that was a long time ago, things are different now. Is that true?? I wonder if it came down to defending your faith our cutting and running, which would you do?? You are the only one who can answer for you. What will you choose??

217th Post Jesus Said on Love & Obedience Con't - John 13: 34 - 35

John 13: 34 - 35 Jesus on Maundy Thursday on the Upper Room with Disciples.
A new commandment I give you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
This was spoken by Jesus on the last day of His freedom, the night of His betrayal in the Upper Room. Jesus knew His time was short with His disciples, and He was still struggling with them over who will be the greatest in His Kingdom. To get an idea of how unprepared the disciples were you have to read this passage carefully. Look how many times Jesus used the word love or loved. Why did Jesus say love so much? Remember that Jesus and Moses gave the Jews the exact same message. You can tell from the discussions Jesus had with the religious leaders that they were only teaching to love God, and treat your neighbor as the world teaches. Jesus kept saying there are two Commandments. Love the Lord, and Love your neighbor. Compassion was lacking from the religious leaders of Jesus' day. Jesus could see that even His disciples were having a problem with compassion as well. You have to remember that Jesus was a model Jew, obeyed the law and the prophets. Compassion was forgotten before, Jesus was afraid it would happen again. Christians seem to talk about loving each other, and when compared with the Old Testament, we are better; but there is room for improvement. We call each other "Brother or Sister", but do we really treat each other like family? Does your walk match your talk?? Only you can answer for yourself.

216th Post Jesus on Love & ObedienceCon't. - Luke 6: 32-36

Luke 6: 32 - 36; Matthew 5: 46 - 48 Jesus Sermon on the Mount.
But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies; do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
This passage was spoken by Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount teaching. This is about 1..1/2 years into His earthly ministry. This separates the faux from the true. How many of us think we are walking close to Jesus and are completely in His Word. Being human, we value our possessions and have a hard time sharing them, and if we do lend them; we are quite uncomfortable until all we have lent has come back, or they have paid us back for what was lost or destroyed during their temporary handling. This seems good to us; then we read Jesus say that even sinners do as much. This is part of turning away from what the world says and following the will of Jesus. Christ died for all sinners and we should as followers, try to do all He says. When you do for others who do not have the ability to repay you, you will understand what this passage is teaching.

215th Post Jesus on Love & Obedience Con't. - Luke 6: 27 - 28

Luke 6: 27 - 28.
But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.
These words were spoken by Jesus about 1.1/2 years into His earthly ministry. The Sermon on the Mount was the sermon Jesus used to introduce the Kingdom of God. His concept of the Kingdom, was located in three different places; first was Heaven, second was on earth, and third is in the heart of the believer. After the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus would elaborate on how you would go about entering the Kingdom of God. The world teaches, that you treat those who are nice to you, nicely. Jesus turns this thinking on its ear, when He tells us to love our enemies. Think back to the audience that first heard these words. Israel was being occupied by the Romans, and they would make the most of their occupation. The Jews were constantly reminded, that the Roman army was large and in charge. Then to have Jesus tell you that to enter the Kingdom of God you must love your enemies. This would be very hard for them to do. The Jews hated the Romans, probably more than the Romans hated the Jews. When we start to put the teachings of Jesus into practice, we are starting to build the Kingdom of God on earth. To build this Kingdom, it starts with a commitment from each of us the believer's to change our thinking to agree with the Kingdom of God, when this happens revival is not far behind. It must start with you!

214th Post Jesus On Love & Obedience Con't. - Matthew 22: 37 - 40

Matthew 22: 37 - 40; Mark 12: 29 - 31; Luke 10: 27. Jesus was asked by the Pharisees which is the "Great Commandment".
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: "You must love your neighbor as yourself." On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.
This passage was spoken by Jesus at the end of His earthly ministry, before He was to be crucified.
The religious leaders of the Jews were trying very hard to catch Jesus in some kind of misspeak, so that they could arrest Him for false teaching. Jesus had already silenced the Sadducees, when this Pharisee, a lawyer asked Jesus which is the "Great Commandment". On the surface it looks like Jesus reduced the Ten Commandments, down to two. If you look at what Jesus said, and look at the Ten Commandments, Jesus did not reduce, but grouped all of them. The first commandments deal with God, and the rest deal with our relationship with others. Once again their attempt to trap Jesus failed. After this, the religious leaders did not try to trap Jesus again. It is very interesting that the very people who study God's Word and explain it to the rest of the people, did not recognize Jesus as the very Messiah (Savior), they were praying and searching the Scriptures for. This is why we have so many forms of Jesus today. If you ask the Holy Spirit to help you, you will be able to spot false teaching, and separate it from the true teaching. Ask and it shall be given you. How is your walk?

213th Post Jesus on Love & Obedience Con't. - Mathew 5: 43 - 45

Matthew 5: 43 - 45 - Jesus Sermon on the Mount.
You have heard it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
This passage was spoken by Jesus about 1.1/2 years into His earthly ministry. The difference between the Jews of the Old Testament and His teaching, is Jesus was making God's laws to live by, not live within. The Jews of the Old Testament lived like the words were written on stone, they were not alive. Jesus on the other hand applied the Law to their lives and made the Law live within them. Love your neighbor and hate your enemy, that is what the world teaches. We are called to follow Christ's example, and to imitate Him. When you call yourself a "Christian", you are declaring that you are trying to be Christ-like. Christ is our model, not other people. Jesus tells us that we have to love our enemies. When we follow Jesus' teaching, we stick out from the rest of the world. This is what Jesus meant when He said, to be in the world but not of the world.