Are We Skipping Over the Incredible Verses which Surround John 3:16??? 2Timothy 3:10-17

2 Timothy 3:10-17 New American Standard Bible 1995

¹⁰Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, ^[a]perseverance, ¹¹persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! ¹²Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. ¹³But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, ¹⁵and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶All Scripture is ^[b]inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for ^[c]training in righteousness; ¹⁷so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Transformation Through the Word

2 Timothy 3:16-17 New American Standard Bible 1995

¹⁶All Scripture is ^[a]inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for ^[b]training in righteousness; ¹⁷so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

The study of God’s Word is the secret discipline for spiritual formation.

Other books may be useful for information, but the Bible was given for transformation.

Timothy had the privilege of reading, studying, and memorizing God’s Word from infancy. He learned firsthand how the much Scriptures transform us.

Paul explains that God’s Word is profitable “for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”

It is a guide that helps us fine-tune every part of our being.

Teaching focuses our mind and shapes our thinking.

Rebuking pricks our conscience so that we don’t travel the wrong direction.

Correction molds our will so that we see the wisdom of God’s plans.

Training in righteousness shows us how to act more like Christ.

In this way the Word of God initiates a four-step process of transformation.

Put simply, teaching tells us what is right, rebuking tells us what is not right, correction tells us how to get right, and training shows us how to stay right.

The Holy Scriptures are the breath of God.

If you want to be productive, useful, and fertile as a Christian, get into the Word of God. Reading the Bible for its teaching, studying Scripture systematically, meditating on God’s Word devotionally, and memorizing it faithfully—each of these are invaluable transforming activities that you will truly not want to miss.

For Example: Those Verses Surrounding John 3:16

John 3:16 Amplified Bible

¹⁶“For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] ^[a]only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.

One of the most well-known Bible verses is John 3:16.

This is such a powerful message, but it is always important to look at the context. If we just focus on John 3:16, then we miss out on the whole picture. Have you ever wondered what was said right before and after John 3:16? Today, we are going to learn about the incredible verses which surround John 3:16.

John 3:1-21 is often titled, “Born Again.”

The famous verse comes smack dab in the middle of the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus.

Nicodemus was a dedicated Jewish Pharisee who would have known the law and the Old Testament accounts.

Nicodemus was looking for the Messiah, but missed the fact that Jesus was ultimately who he was searching.

In this secret meeting, Jesus revealed the truth:

John 3:13 Amplified Bible

¹³No one has gone up into heaven, but there is One who came down from heaven, the Son of Man [Himself—whose home is in heaven].

Jesus says here that He is God.

This is a huge deal.

Sometimes people will argue that Jesus never claimed to be God.

But, this verse is one example He, the Son of Man, came down from heaven.

This is also significant because He uses the phrase “no one has ascended.”

At that point in history, not a single person had gone up to heaven.

There was no forgiveness for sins by the Messiah.

No person could get back to God without the help of God Himself.

We could no longer approach Him after the garden; we were exiles.

However, Jesus came to us.

Here we read of Jesus revealing His deity and salvation plan without Nicodemus even minimally catching on to the huge significance of what he had just heard.

John 3:14-15 Amplified Bible

¹⁴Just as Moses lifted up the [bronze] serpent in the desert [on a pole], so must the Son of Man be lifted up [on the cross], ¹⁵so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life [after physical death, and will actually live forever].

Here, Jesus points Nicodemus toward Old Testament Prophesy.

Jesus knew His audience. Nicodemus was a scholarly Jew.

He would have known the story of Moses backwards and forwards.

Jesus refers to Numbers 21 when the Israelites were bitten by venomous snakes in the wilderness.

The only solution was to look at the snake on the cross.

Everyone who did not look at the cross died. Everyone who gazed upon the bronze snake on the cross lived. This is such a powerful representation of the living gospel. Jesus became sin for us so we could have His righteousness.

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 Amplified Bible

²⁰So we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us; we [as Christ’s representatives] plead with you on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God. ²¹He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness].

Jesus was perfect, but He took on our sins so we could be freed and forgiven.

When we ponder the parallels of the garden here – the snake, the bite, and death – we cannot help but be amazed at the fulfillment of His covenant.

Jesus was revealing Himself as the Savior in how He was about to fulfill the prophecy of the past and provide the way to eternal life in the future.

During this current moment, He was on this earth well before His death and resurrection. He was in the middle of His time on earth. Nicodemus was given the true answers to His greatest questions, but he had a response to decide.

Jesus Gives Nicodemus the Promise of Eternal Life

John 3:16 Amplified Bible

After this, John 3:16 says,

“For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus shares that God loved the entire world in the way that this snake on the cross was provided for the Jewish people.

God gave His only Son for everyone who believes in Him.

There is a promise of eternal life.

Just like the people with the snake bites were all doomed for death, we are all doomed for hell and eternity away from God.

However, Jesus became the “snake” for us and everyone who looks to Him (Jew or Gentile) will have eternal life with Him and be spared eternal death.

This is a huge deal.

We need to realize the weight of what Jesus is saying.

We need to be busy pointing others towards the cross of Christ in hopes that they too will look and be rescued from the coming death.

Just like a venomous snake bite means death unless we receive the antidote, we are hopeless.

Science Nordic reveals that it takes on average between 20 minutes and 72 hours to die from a venomous snake bite.

This means that when we ponder the time of the Israelites in the wilderness, death was occurring all around them at different rates.

Just like here on earth, we are all destined to die, but Jesus steps in and provides the way to eternal life.

We all have the “bite” of sin, but we do not all have to die and go to hell.

Jesus provides a way for all who look to Him to go to heaven and be restored.

This is the hope of the gospel.

Jesus Has Already Given Us the Victory

John 3:17-18Amplified Bible

¹⁷For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved through Him. ¹⁸Whoever believes and has decided to trust in Him [as personal Savior and Lord] is not judged [for this one, there is no judgment, no rejection, no condemnation]; but the one who does not believe [and has decided to reject Him as personal Savior and Lord] is judged already [that one has been convicted and sentenced], because ^[a]he has not believed and trusted in the name of the [One and] only begotten Son of God [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, the One who alone can save him].

Here we read of God’s heart. He did this not to send judgment, but to send salvation. We read of another visit from Jesus in the second coming, which will be a time of judgement, but this visit to earth was for hope and forgiveness.

Jesus makes it clear that anyone, meaning any person who believes in Him, is not condemned.

I love how this is present tense.

There is a peace that every believer can have right now that Jesus has already given them the victory. There is no reason to wait to celebrate.

Instead, we invite others.

Jesus here describes Himself as the one and only Son of God. In other words, He is the only God. He is the only Way to heaven (John 14:6).

⁶Jesus said to him, “^[a]I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

Jesus Shares the Ultimate Truth

John 3:19-21 Amplified Bible

¹⁹This is the judgment [that is, the cause for indictment, the test by which people are judged, the basis for the sentence]: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the ^[a]darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. ²⁰For every wrongdoer hates the Light, and does not come to the Light [but shrinks from it] for fear that his [sinful, worthless] activities will be exposed and condemned. ²¹But whoever practices truth [and does what is right—morally, ethically, spiritually] comes to the Light, so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are—accomplished in God [divinely prompted, done with God’s help, in dependence on Him].”

Jesus does not hide this truth.

He shares that darkness is real and the light (Himself) has come into the world.

People chose sin, but He is the truth that sets them free.

His life and sacrifice would be done so that people would know that He Himself truly was who He claimed.

Jesus was and is and always will be God.

These verses surrounding John 3:16 are powerful.

As we reflect on the beauty of Jesus claiming to be God, acknowledging the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies, the salvation plan is revealed.

The gospel is, no exceptions for everyone, and Jesus is the Light of this world.

Glory to Jesus our Savior and thank you Lord for Your Holy and Perfect Bible.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 119:1-16 The Message

119 ^1-8You’re blessed when you stay on course,
    walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
You’re blessed when you follow his directions,
    doing your best to find him.
That’s right—you don’t go off on your own;
    you walk straight along the road he set.
You, God, prescribed the right way to live;
    now you expect us to live it.
Oh, that my steps might be steady,
    keeping to the course you set;
Then I’d never have any regrets
    in comparing my life with your counsel.
I thank you for speaking straight from your heart;
    I learn the pattern of your righteous ways.
I’m going to do what you tell me to do;
    don’t ever walk off and leave me.

* * *

^9-16How can a young person live a clean life?
    By carefully reading the map of your Word.
I’m single-minded in pursuit of you;
    don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted.
I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart
    so I won’t sin myself bankrupt.
Be blessed, God;
    train me in your ways of wise living.
I’ll transfer to my lips
    all the counsel that comes from your mouth;
I delight far more in what you tell me about living
    than in gathering a pile of riches.
I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you,
    I attentively watch how you’ve done it.
I relish everything you’ve told me of life,
    I won’t forget a word of it.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Dearest Church, About Your Casting All Your Cares aside; Instead, seeking first His kingdom and Considering How We Grow and Mature in Christ. 1 Peter 5:1-7

1 Peter 5:1-7 The Message

He’ll Promote You at the Right Time

5 ^1-3I have a special concern for you church leaders. I know what it’s like to be a leader, in on Christ’s sufferings as well as the coming glory. Here’s my concern: that you care for God’s flock with all the diligence of a shepherd. Not because you have to, but because you want to please God. Not calculating what you can get out of it, but acting spontaneously. Not bossily telling others what to do, but tenderly showing them the way.

^4-5When God, who is the best shepherd of all, comes out in the open with his rule, he’ll see that you’ve done it right and commend you lavishly. And you who are younger must follow your leaders. But all of you, leaders and followers alike, are to be down to earth with each other, for—

God has had it with the proud,
But takes delight in just plain people.

^6-7So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you; he’ll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

A Word to the Church: Seeking His Kingdom First?

1 Peter 5:1-7 Amplified Bible

Serve God Willingly

5 Therefore, I strongly urge the elders among you [pastors, spiritual leaders of the church], as a fellow elder and as an eyewitness [called to testify] of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory that is to be revealed: ²shepherd and guide and protect the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not [motivated] for shameful gain, but with wholehearted enthusiasm; ³not lording it over those assigned to your care [do not be arrogant or overbearing], but be examples [of Christian living] to the flock [set a pattern of integrity for your congregation]. ⁴And when the Chief Shepherd (Christ) appears, you will receive the [conqueror’s] unfading crown of glory. ⁵Likewise, you younger men [of lesser rank and experience], be subject to your elders [seek their counsel]; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another [tie on the servant’s apron], for God is opposed to the proud [the disdainful, the presumptuous, and He defeats them], but He gives grace to the humble.

⁶Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service] at the appropriate time, ⁷casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].

Anxiety can creep up at times when we least expect it and quickly overwhelm us.

Or it can take up unwelcome and apparently permanent residence in our lives.

Few people do not experience it; few Churches will not have to contend with it.

All those inevitable cares and concerns will take on different faces, manifest themselves very deeply throughout the life of the church and may be propelled by different circumstances, but overall, the issue itself is remarkably common.

When we face anxiety, we often try to ignore it by distracting our minds:

“Let me listen to some different liturgy, or to worship music. Let me go for a drive, look for a church that meets my vision of the correct Kingdom of God. Let me run one mile or a marathon. Let me do something… just let me run away!”

Notice, though, that in verses 6 and 7, Peter does not say we are to deny, ignore, or flee from anxiety. Instead, we should be “casting all [our] anxieties on him.”

The Greek word for “cast” here is a decisive, energetic action word.

It could be used to describe vigorously throwing out a heaping bag of trash.

We don’t put painstaking effort into moving it; we simply grab it and hurl it with great force into the bin. Likewise, instead of going through our days pressed down by the burden of anxiety, we throw it, we hurl it, upon the Lord.

To do this requires us to give up our pride—our desire to control and triumph over circumstances – seek Ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Being humble is what enables us to give our worries to God: humility’s presence leads to anxiety’s absence.

When, with our own perverted righteousness, we attempt to take matters into our own hands through too much worry, we indicate an absence of humility.

We are significantly more concerned with ourselves than with our heavenly Father, or more determined to navigate our own course than to leave it to Him.

There will always be a circumstance that can make we the Church very anxious.

Peter doesn’t address any specific circumstances, though; rather, he addresses the anxiety produced by the circumstances which are specific to his own time.

Considering How We Grow and Mature in Christ?

Luke 12:13-34 English Standard Version

The Parable of the Rich Fool

¹³Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” ¹⁴But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” ¹⁶And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, ¹⁷and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ ²⁰But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ ²¹So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Do Not Be Anxious

²²And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. ²³For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?^[a] ²⁶If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? ²⁷Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,^[b] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ²⁸But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! ²⁹And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. ³⁰For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹Instead, seek his^[c] kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

³²“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ³³Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. ³⁴For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

We the Church of today, have to navigate with God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirits guidance and direction – the complexities of our stuff.

The vast complexities of our anxieties being gender issues, sexual orientation, racism, clergy sex abuse and the Boy Scouts sex abuse against our children, the shrinking and closure of our churches, and left – right theological extremism, the right to life, the freedom of choice, abortion, false teachers, and much more.

Our mountains and oceans of anxiety itself is what we ought to be casting upon the Lord, doing exactly what the Bible says to do: repenting, bowing, kneeling, humbling ourselves under God’s hand, saying, “My Father knows best. He cares for me better than I can care for myself.” When worries weigh us down, we can refuse to be burdened by them by calling to mind the Lord’s willingness to help.

Churches, their leaders and their congregations are very definitely struggling through today, seriously wondering how they’re going to make it to tomorrow.

Perhaps it’s been a long time since they knelt beside their altars and truly cast their burdens upon the only One who is able to carry it, saying, “God, I cannot, my Church cannot live its life with this burden on our back. Take it. It’s all Yours.”

If that’s you, if that’s your Church, for Kingdom’s sake don’t hesitate any more.

Pray, seek God’s Will, Kingdom first, Cast your anxieties into the loving arms of your heavenly Father and to experience the freedom, peace only He can provide.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 91 tHE MESSAGE

91 ^1-13You who sit down in the High God’s presence,
    spend the night in Shaddai’s shadow,
Say this: “God, you’re my refuge.
    I trust in you and I’m safe!”
That’s right—he rescues you from hidden traps,
    shields you from deadly hazards.
His huge outstretched arms protect you—
    under them you’re perfectly safe;
    his arms fend off all harm.
Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night,
    not flying arrows in the day,
Not disease that prowls through the darkness,
    not disaster that erupts at high noon.
Even though others succumb all around,
    drop like flies right and left,
    no harm will even graze you.
You’ll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance,
    watch the wicked turn into corpses.
Yes, because God’s your refuge,
    the High God your very own home,
Evil can’t get close to you,
    harm can’t get through the door.
He ordered his angels
    to guard you wherever you go.
If you stumble, they’ll catch you;
    their job is to keep you from falling.
You’ll walk unharmed among lions and snakes,
    and kick young lions and serpents from the path.

^14-16“If you’ll hold on to me for dear life,” says God,
    “I’ll get you out of any trouble.
I’ll give you the best of care
    if you’ll only get to know and trust me.
Call me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times;
    I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party.
I’ll give you a long life,
    give you a long drink of salvation!”

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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What Do You Want Me to do For You? “I Need to be Seen, I Want to be Seen, I Want to be Heard, Need to be Seen!” Mark 10:46-52

Mark 10:46-52 New American Standard Bible 1995

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

⁴⁶Then they *came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. ⁴⁷When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they *called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.” ⁵⁰Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹And answering him, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the blind man said to Him, “^[a]Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” ⁵²And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has ^[b]made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

What Do You Want Me to do For You?

Bartimaeus was in the dark, a blind man who had to beg—until the day Jesus came by on his way to be crucified in Jerusalem (Mark 10:32-34).

³²They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, ³³ saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be ^[a] delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will ^[b]hand Him over to the Gentiles. ³⁴They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.”

Shouting above the crowd, Bartimaeus calls to the Savior,

“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

People tell him to be quiet, but he shouts all the louder,

“Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Graciously Jesus responds: “What do you want me to do for you?”

Jesus had just asked James and John the same question (Mark 10:35-39).

^35 [a]James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, *came up to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” ³⁶And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³⁷They said to Him, “^[b]Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.” ³⁸But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” ³⁹They said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.

They had said they wanted places of honor in heaven with Jesus.

And he had replied, “You don’t know what you are asking.”

But Bartimaeus only pleads,

“Rabbi, I want to see.”

And Jesus does not disappoint.

Bartimaeus knew what he needed; Jesus’ followers were the ones in the dark.

They wouldn’t see the light of Jesus until later.

This incident has raised a question ever since: Who is truly blind, anyway?

And after Jesus restores Bartimaeus’s sight and sends him away, the man sees what he must do next.

Bartimaeus is a model disciple. No longer blind, he unhesitatingly follows Jesus.

Jesus’s question echoes through history: “What do you want me to do for you?”

As we consider his words, can we say, “Rabbi, we want to follow your way”?

“Take Courage, Stand Up! He is Calling For You!”

Mark 10:46-49 New American Standard Bible 1995

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

All around the blind man, the Passover was approaching, and the crowd was building.

There was a great sense of anticipation.

For most in the crowd, there was no time for stopping—certainly not for the ever-present beggars that lay around at the city gates.

They were always there, known well to the people on the outskirts of Jericho.

Many of the crowd likely would have seen this blind man, Bartimaeus, so often that they didn’t even notice him anymore.

The crowd was so consumed with Jesus that Bartimaeus was probably regarded as a dreadful inconvenience.

Their reaction to his cries for mercy—to rebuke him and attempt to silence him—suggests that they thought this marginalized member of society clearly could make no useful contribution to what Jesus was doing – so give him no chance.

In seeking to quieten him, seeking to push him aside, out of the way, however, they became a barrier to the mission of Jesus—to the very one they claimed to be following and the very cause they claimed to be so very zealously pursuing.

This long bullied, ignored marginalized particular blind man didn’t have merely a minor interest in Jesus, though, so he continued his crying out louder to Him.

Mark’s narrative demonstrates Christ’s perfect compassion with a simple phrase: “Jesus stopped”—two words of grace.

Can you imagine the crowd’s reaction when Jesus said to the people who had been rebuking the man, “Call him”?

That surely brought a measure of deserved embarrassment!

Perhaps there are people in your life for whom you struggle to pray.

Maybe there are some you just want to rebuke or ignore.

Maybe you just don’t want to deal with the inconvenience.

It can seem like such a nuisance to invite somebody to church, sit with them, eat with them, and be involved in their lives.

It is messy, and it demands time and effort.

We’d rather such people heard the gospel from someone else.

It is so easy to slip into this way of thinking without really noticing; but when we do, we become just like the crowd: a barrier to people meeting their Savior.

Jesus says to us, Don’t rebuke them. Call them. This is precisely why I came.

May God forgive us when we, the contemporary church like the excited crowd, are full of high indignation at the interference to our plans and inconvenience to our traditional preferences caused by those who are crying out for His mercy.

Christ alone does the work of opening blind eyes, but He has entrusted us with the missional responsibility and privilege of ministry of our proclaiming these words: “Take heart he is calling you!” Take Heart he has heard you, seen you!”

Dear Church, be on notice, take heart Jesus is calling you, Jesus has heard you, Jesus has most definitely seen you – take that all in for what it is worth to you!

“What Do You Want Me to do For You?”

Good, bad or indifferent, logical or illogical, rational or irrational, right, wrong,

Considering the state of being we believe it is in,

What could be the churches response

What should the churches response be?

What will be the churches “politically correct” response?

Just my thought … “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom?”

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Son of David, like Bartimaeus we cry, “Have mercy on us!” Give us eyes to see your way, ears to hear your Word so that we can live as your disciples. In your holy name, Amen.

Psalm 42 New American Standard Bible 1995

BOOK 2

Thirsting for God in Trouble and Exile.

For the choir director. A ^[a]Maskil of the sons of Korah.

42 As the deer ^[b]pants for the water brooks,
So my soul ^[c]pants for You, O God.
²My soul thirsts for God, for the living God;
When shall I come and ^[d]appear before God?
³My tears have been my food day and night,
While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
⁴These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me.
For I used to go along with the throng and ^[e]lead them in procession to the house of God,
With the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.

⁵Why are you ^[f]in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
^[g]Hope in God, for I shall ^[h]again praise ^[i]Him
For the ^[j]help of His presence.
⁶O my God, my soul is ^[k]in despair within me;
Therefore I remember You from the land of the Jordan
And the ^[l]peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
⁷Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.
⁸The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime;
And His song will be with me in the night,
A prayer to the God of my life.

⁹I will say to God my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning ^[m]because of the oppression of the enemy?”
¹⁰As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me,
While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
¹¹Why are you ^[n]in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
^[o]Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him,
The ^[p]help of my countenance and my God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Serving Ourselves, Serving Culture, or Serving God; Our Choice No Matter What Else May Happens. 2 Timothy 3

2 Timothy 3:1-8 New American Standard Bible 1995

“Difficult Times Will Come”

3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. ²For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, ^[a]haters of good, ⁴treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵holding to a form of ^[b]godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. ⁶For among them are those who ^[c]enter into households and captivate ^[d]weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, ⁷always learning and never able to come to the ^[e]knowledge of the truth. ⁸Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith.

¹⁰Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, ^[g]perseverance, ¹¹persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! ¹²Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. ¹³But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, ¹⁵and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶All Scripture is ^[h]inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for ^[i] training in righteousness; ¹⁷so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

What do we believe is the meaning of 2Timothy 3:1-5?

2 Timothy 3:1-5Amplified Bible

“Difficult Times Will Come”

3 But understand this, that in the last days dangerous times [of great stress and trouble] will come [difficult days that will be hard to bear]. ²For people will be lovers of self [narcissistic, self-focused], lovers of money [impelled by greed], boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane, ³[and they will be] unloving [devoid of natural human affection, calloused and inhumane], irreconcilable, malicious gossips, devoid of self-control [intemperate, immoral], brutal, haters of good, ⁴traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of [sensual] pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵holding to a form of [outward] godliness (religion), although they have denied its power [for their conduct nullifies their claim of faith]. Avoid such people and keep far away from them.

What is the meaning of 2 Timothy 3:1-5? I don’t know about you, but I have too often heard people recite these verses as evidence that we are living in the End Times. If you look at this following list, you would be hard-pressed to disagree.

Let’s go through the list quickly:

Difficult times – certainly many would say our 2024 times are difficult
Lovers of self – people sure do look out for number one over everything else
Lovers of money – we are a money loving world
Boastful, arrogant, revilers – all true of people today
Disobedient to parents – scarily true, thanks to Dr. Spock for this one
Ungrateful, unholy, unloving – yes, yes and yes
Irreconcilable, malicious gossips – Unforgiving? Check. Gossips? Check.
Without self-control – absolutely
Brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited – all true
Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – It’s all about what makes people feel good and God has been removed from all areas of life
Holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power – Everyone thinks they’re good people and going to heaven, though they want nothing to do with the God who is in Heaven.

There we have it. These verses are evidence that we are living in the End Times.

There’s only one problem.

These verses are not speaking about society in general. They are speaking about a very specific group of people.

The People Mentioned in 2 Timothy 3

Here’s the reality: people have always been like this. Go through the list again and think of a time that those types of people did not exist.

We see them today, for sure, but they were around 100 years ago as well.

They were there in the time of Jesus; just look at the Pharisees.

They were there in the times of the Jewish Kings and the Jewish Judges.

They were there when Joseph was thrown into the pit and then sold into slavery.

They were there when Noah was building the Ark.

So if these people have always been around, then why would God give us this passage from Timothy ?

It’s like saying, “The End Times will come about when people are walking and talking.”

The whole entire world itself cannot be the subject of these verses.

Although it is sufficient to acknowledge there is no shortage of these people living amongst us as our neighbors, governing authorities, business leaders. and a whole host of other common places including of our own workplaces.

But, the “whole world,” It makes no sense.

We just cannot rationally lump everybody into these categories Paul mentions.

He must have something else in mind.

God gives us these verses to look at ourselves, The Church.

Christians are the subject God has in focus in these verses.

The Church in History

Throughout her history, the Church has been known as sanctified.

In other words, she was separated out from the world.

She did not look like the world, sound like the world, or act like the world.

This was why people were drawn to her in the first place.

She was different from anything else in the world.

Here is one view of what Christians looked like, from a Greek convert named Aristides:

“They love one another. They never fail to help widows; they save orphans from those who will hurt them. If they have something, they give freely to the man who has nothing; if they see a stranger, they take him home and are happy, as though he were a real brother. They don’t consider themselves brothers and sisters in the usual sense, but brothers instead through the Spirit, in God.”

Chuck Colson, in his book, The Faith writes:

“The Christians’ God expected that His followers would acknowledge His love by sacrificing themselves for others. They were to extend God’s love not merely to their families and friends but to their enemies as well. “Love one another” became their standard… (Regarding those who had fallen ill due to the plague) The care Christians showed often did result in their succumbing to the plague themselves. But paradoxically, their compassion did not deplete Christian ranks in the long term – quite the reverse. Tending to the sick increased the disease survival rate by as much as two-thirds and this witness attracted many new converts. By acting on the teachings of Christ, without regard to their own welfare, these Christians, against all expectations, progressed from being a small sect to the dominant cultural group.“

This is what the church looked like – loving selflessly, persecuted unto death, giving sacrificially.

Testing Ourselves and Testing the Church

2 Timothy 3:10-17 Amplified Bible

¹⁰Now you have diligently followed [my example, that is] my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, steadfastness, ¹¹persecutions, and sufferings—such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, but the Lord rescued me from them all! ¹²Indeed, all who delight in pursuing righteousness and are determined to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be hunted and persecuted [because of their faith]. ¹³But evil men and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴But as for you, continue in the things that you have learned and of which you are convinced [holding tightly to the truths], knowing from whom you learned them, ¹⁵and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings (Hebrew Scriptures) which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus [surrendering your entire self to Him and having absolute confidence in His wisdom, power and goodness]. ¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; ¹⁷so that the ^[a]man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

We go back to the passage in 2 Timothy 3 and review these aspects again.

However, this time with an eye to the Church today rather than the world as the subject of Paul’s writing:

Difficult times – Christians are the most persecuted people group in the world, even now in America
Lovers of self – Unfortunately, most Christians now look like the world, putting themselves and their families before others
Lovers of money – As Christians look more like the world, they also act like the world. Ask them to put all the money that is in their wallet into the offering. Good luck with that.
Boastful, arrogant, revilers – just check out the social media of many Christians
Disobedient to parents – scarily most Christians raise their children using the wisdom of the world rather than the wisdom of the Bible, resulting in Christians who always spare the rod
Ungrateful, unholy, unloving – Can you be a Christian and be ungrateful, unholy and unloving? Look at the members of your nearest megachurch and it will be easy to find them.
Irreconcilable, malicious gossips – I’ve met many Christians who are unforgiving and gossips
Without self-control – Ask a Christian to fast for a day. How about pray for an hour? Or study the Bible for an hour? Too hard, can’t do it. Zero discipline.
Brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited – Christians hate those who disagree with them. They can be brutal in their thought, words and deeds. Most Christians hate the idea of Discipline, Humility, Meekness and Sacrifice – all good things. Many are thoughtless. Most are proud.
Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – How many Christians would rather go to a 3-hour church service or prayer meeting than to a movie or ball game?
Holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power – Most Christians more resemble the Pharisees of Jesus’ time than they resemble Jesus. Jesus called them white washed tombs.

Matthew 23:25-28 Amplified Bible

²⁵“Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and robbery and self-indulgence (unrestrained greed). ²⁶You [spiritually] blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the plate [examine and change your inner self to conform to God’s precepts], so that the outside [your public life and deeds] may be clean also.

²⁷“Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which look beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. ²⁸So you, also, outwardly seem to be just and upright to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

What is to be our Response

Are we in the End Times?

Does the Church, our home church, look like 2 Timothy 3, Matthew 23:25-28?

Maybe, maybe not.

The more important question is what are we to BIBLICALLY do about this?

2 Timothy 3:14-17 Amplified Bible

¹⁴But as for you, continue in the things that you have learned and of which you are convinced [holding tightly to the truths], knowing from whom you learned them, ¹⁵and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings (Hebrew Scriptures) which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus [surrendering your entire self to Him and having absolute confidence in His wisdom, power and goodness]. ¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; ¹⁷so that the ^[a]man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

If we think or believe that the Church today indelibly proves we are living in the End Times, how then will you and I and the Church conduct ourselves today?

Will you reach out to a lost person to share the gospel before it’s too late?

Will you or I or we the church repent and confess and decide to become obedient to the word of God in all ways, not only just those things that you can do easily?

Here’s the truth: whether we are in the End Times or not, Jesus has given us a playbook to live by.

Matthew 9:35-38 Amplified Bible

³⁵Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages [in Galilee], teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news (gospel) of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness [His words and His works reflecting His Messiahship].

³⁶When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion and pity for them, because they were dispirited and distressed, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is [indeed] plentiful, but the workers are few. ³⁸So pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

He expects that we will follow it regardless of how soon His coming might be.

The reason He did not give us a Time and Date of His coming is so that every day, we might live as if it was the last day.

Acts 2:43-47 Amplified Bible

⁴³A sense of awe was felt by ^[a]everyone, and many wonders and signs (attesting miracles) were taking place through the apostles. ⁴⁴And all those who had believed [in Jesus as Savior] ^[b]were together and had all things in common [considering their possessions to belong to the group as a whole]. ⁴⁵And they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing the proceeds with all [the other believers], as anyone had need. ⁴⁶Day after day they met in the temple [area] continuing with one mind, and breaking bread in various private homes. They were eating their meals together with joy and generous hearts, ⁴⁷praising God continually, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord kept adding to their number daily those who were being saved.

If every Christian did these things, the Church would look completely different.

It would look more like the early church that we read about earlier.

We may not be able to change the Church in a day, but we can change ourselves.

Let’s live like Biblical Christians (Acts 2), even as we watch, wait for His return.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 84 The Message

84 ^1-2What a beautiful home, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
I’ve always longed to live in a place like this,
Always dreamed of a room in your house,
where I could sing for joy to God-alive!

^3-4Birds find nooks and crannies in your house,
    sparrows and swallows make nests there.
They lay their eggs and raise their young,
    singing their songs in the place where we worship.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies! King! God!
    How blessed they are to live and sing there!

^5-7And how blessed all those in whom you live,
    whose lives become roads you travel;
They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks,
    discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!
God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and
    at the last turn—Zion! God in full view!

^8-9God-of-the-Angel-Armies, listen:
O God of Jacob, open your ears—I’m praying!
Look at our shields, glistening in the sun,
our faces, shining with your gracious anointing.

^10-12One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship,
    beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches.
I’d rather scrub floors in the house of my God
    than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin.
All sunshine and sovereign is God,
    generous in gifts and glory.
He doesn’t scrimp with his traveling companions.
    It’s smooth sailing all the way with God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Is There Someone Interested in the Kingdom of God Who is Still Being Intrigued by the Teacher from God? John 3:1-12

John 3:1-12 New American Standard Bible 1995

The New Birth

3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; ²this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these ^[a]signs that You do unless God is with him.” ³Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born ^[b]again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

⁴Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” ⁵Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. ⁶That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born ^[c]again.’ ⁸The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

⁹Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” ¹⁰Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? ¹¹Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. ¹²If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

The Word of God for the Kingdom of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Are We Just as Intrigued by The Teacher From God?

John 3:1-3 Amplified Bible

The New Birth

3 Now there was a certain man among the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler (member of the Sanhedrin) among the Jews, ²who came to Jesus at night and said to Him, “Rabbi (Teacher), we know [without any doubt] that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs [these wonders, these attesting miracles] that You do unless God is with him.” ³Jesus answered him, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a person is born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified], he cannot [ever] see and experience the kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus was intrigued by all that Jesus was doing.

So he went to talk with Jesus.

“We know that you are a teacher who has come from God,” he politely began.

And Jesus seemed to agree, for he went on to teach Nicodemus things from God.

However, at that time of the might, the very first thing Nicodemus heard from this teacher threw him completely off guard, woke him up. Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

Nicodemus certainly looked for the coming of God’s kingdom—every pious Jew did. He believed that God was coming, and that everyone would see his coming.

But Jesus told Nicodemus that he wouldn’t see God’s kingdom at all unless he was born again—not in the sense of becoming a baby once more, but in being “born from above.” (The Greek word for “again” also means “from above.”)

Jesus means that entering into God’s Kingdom we need new eyes if we are to see God’s presence, new ears to hear his voice, and a new heart to love and obey the Lord. We need to be reborn, this time from above, by the power of God’s Spirit.

For me, this is an ongoing project. (See 2 Corinthians 3:18.)

2 Corinthians 3:12-18 Amplified Bible

¹²Since we have such a [glorious] hope and confident expectation, we speak with great courage, ¹³and we are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the Israelites would not gaze at the end of the glory which was fading away. ¹⁴But [in fact] their minds were hardened [for they had lost the ability to understand]; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed [only] in Christ. ¹⁵But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil [of blindness] lies over their heart; ¹⁶but whenever a person turns [in repentance and faith] to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom]. ¹⁸And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.

Each morning I need to pray for new eyes and new ears and a new heart to see and hear and respond to God. I’m thinking we all do too. Would you join me?

Are we just as Intrigued with Entering God’s Kingdom

John 3:4-12 Amplified Bible

⁴Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” ⁵Jesus answered, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot [ever] enter the kingdom of God. ⁶That which is born of the flesh is flesh [the physical is merely physical], and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷Do not be surprised that I have told you, ‘You must be born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified].’ ⁸The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

⁹Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be possible?” ¹⁰Jesus replied, “You are the [great and well-known] teacher of Israel, and yet you do not know nor understand these things [from Scripture]? ¹¹I assure you and most solemnly say to you, we speak only of what we [absolutely] know and testify about what we have [actually] seen [as eyewitnesses]; and [still] you [reject our evidence and] do not accept our testimony. ¹²If I told you earthly things [that is, things that happen right here on earth] and you do not believe, how will you believe and trust Me if I tell you heavenly things?

When we read the Gospel Narratives, we discover that a large part of Jesus’ earthly ministry involved him preaching the good news of God’s kingdom.

He traveled through towns and villages telling people, essentially teaching us, There is a kingdom, and I’m the King. You’re not in the kingdom yet—but if you’ll give it all up, follow Me, you will be the King’s subject and a citizen of the kingdom.

Jesus teaches that when we pray “Your kingdom come” (Luke 11:2), therefore, our very desire should be that men and women would be brought into Christ’s kingdom by new birth—that they would become committed followers of Jesus.

Luke 11:1-2 Amplified Bible

Instruction about Prayer

11 It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.” ²He said to them,

“When you pray, ^[a]say:
‘^[b]Father, ^[c]hallowed be Your name.
^[d]Your kingdom come.

We pray for those who still live in rebellion against God to be “delivered … from the domain of darkness and to be transferred … unto the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13-14).

Colossians 1:13-14 Amplified Bible

The Incomparable Christ

¹³For He has rescued us and has drawn us to Himself from the dominion of darkness, and has transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption [because of His sacrifice, resulting in] the forgiveness of our sins [and the cancellation of sins’ penalty].

Jesus made it perfectly clear that the only way to enter into His kingdom is by this new birth.

Jesus’ encounter with High Rabbi Nicodemus in John 3 underscores this truth.

Nicodemus was a highly educated highly respected religious man, a man of high authority and great influence—yet he was still restless, intrigued, still seeking.

As he secretly engaged Jesus in this 2 or 3am shadowed conversation, Jesus pointed out the necessary prerequisite for both seeing, entering His kingdom: to be born again by the Spirit.

This new birth is brought about, Jesus said, not by nature but as a result of God’s Spirit working a miracle in the human heart.

No one is able to enter the kingdom without Him working in them and through them; that no one is too far away from the kingdom for Him to work in them.

When we pray for God’s kingdom to come, we are asking for eyes to be opened and ears to be unstopped, mouths to be shut to just sit or stand still to just listen so our wisest wisdom and our personal, well taught, “understood,” “practiced” orthodoxy is thoroughly challenged, and so men and women may be born again.

God’s Truth is The King is coming to usher in His everlasting kingdom, and the King is at work today by His Spirit to bring men and women into that kingdom.

Until the day of our King’s return, may your measure of intrigue be raised, may your interest in people, awareness of the way people enter Christ’s kingdom, produce an increasing awe and wonder over your own conversion and a burning passion to pray the Spirit would do what only He can in the hearts of we the lost.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

You are right, Jesus. I desperately need different eyes and ears and a new heart to live with you and for you today. Grant them to me, pray raise higher my intrigue of You. raise my awareness of You, my interest in my neighbors, far deep into Your heavens.

Psalm 119:1-23 New American Standard Bible 1995

Meditations and Prayers Relating to the Law of God.

Aleph.

119 How blessed are those whose way is ^[a]blameless,
Who walk in the law of the Lord.
²How blessed are those who observe His testimonies,
Who seek Him with all their heart.
³They also do no unrighteousness;
They walk in His ways.
⁴You have ^[b]ordained Your precepts,
^[c]That we should keep them diligently.
⁵Oh that my ways may be established
To keep Your statutes!
⁶Then I shall not be ashamed
When I look ^[d]upon all Your commandments.
⁷I shall give thanks to You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.
⁸I shall keep Your statutes;
Do not forsake me utterly!

Beth.

⁹How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping it according to Your word.
¹⁰With all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me wander from Your commandments.
¹¹Your word I have treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.
¹²Blessed are You, O Lord;
Teach me Your statutes.
¹³With my lips I have told of
All the ordinances of Your mouth.
¹⁴I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
^[e]As much as in all riches.
¹⁵I will meditate on Your precepts
And ^[f]regard Your ways.
¹⁶I shall ^[g]delight in Your statutes;
I shall not forget Your word.

Gimel.

¹⁷Deal bountifully with Your servant,
That I may live and keep Your word.
¹⁸Open my eyes, that I may behold
Wonderful things from Your law.
¹⁹I am a stranger in the earth;
Do not hide Your commandments from me.
²⁰My soul is crushed ^[h]with longing
After Your ordinances at all times.
²¹You rebuke the arrogant, ^[i]the cursed,
Who wander from Your commandments.
²²Take away reproach and contempt from me,
For I observe Your testimonies.
²³Even though princes sit and talk against me,
Your servant meditates on Your statutes.

Daleth.

²⁵My soul cleaves to the dust;
Revive me according to Your word.
²⁶I have told of my ways, and You have answered me;
Teach me Your statutes.
²⁷Make me understand the way of Your precepts,
So I will meditate on Your wonders.
²⁸My soul ^[k]weeps because of grief;
Strengthen me according to Your word.
²⁹Remove the false way from me,
And graciously grant me Your law.
³⁰I have chosen the faithful way;
I have ^[l]placed Your ordinances before me.

²³
Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart;
Test me and know my anxious thoughts;
²⁴
And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Grace Greater than our Circumstance; Embrace That Timeless, Inescapable, Revealed, Extravagant, Grace of God. Ephesians 1:1-14

Ephesians 1:1-14 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Blessings of Redemption

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus ^[a]by the will of God,

To the ^[b]saints who are ^[c]at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus: ²Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, ⁴just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before ^{[d ]}Him. In love ^5 [e]He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the ^[f]kind intention of His will, ⁶to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. ⁷In ^[g]Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace ⁸which He ^[h]lavished on ^[i]us. In all wisdom and insight ⁹He ^[j]made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His ^[k]kind intention which He purposed in Him ¹⁰with a view to an administration ^[l]suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things ^[m]in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him ^11 [n]also we ^[o]have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, ¹²to the end that we who were the first to hope in ^[p]Christ would be to the praise of His glory. ¹³In ^[q]Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also ^[r]believed, you were sealed in ^[s]Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴who is ^[t]given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Extravagant Grace

Ephesians 1:1-2 Amplified Bible

The Blessings of Redemption

1 Paul, an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative) of Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed), by the will of God [that is, by His purpose and choice],

To the ^[a]saints (God’s people) ^[b]who are at Ephesus and are faithful and loyal and steadfast in Christ Jesus: ²Grace to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being] from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Extravagance. Now, that’s something few of my friends accuse me of!

I am guilty of many things, but as miserly as I tend to be in these cash strapped days, wasting money or spending lavishly is not among them. That’s too bad, because I’ll never be fully like Jesus until extravagance is a part of my behavior.

Extravagance can be a good great and wonderful thing.

In opening his letter to the Ephesians, Paul immediately writes of his own acknowledgement and recognition of God’s personal extravagant blessing;

1 Paul, an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative) of Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed), by the will of God [that is, by His purpose and choice],

Paul writes that God has blessed us with “every spiritual blessing.”

God’s grace is “freely given” to us.

“The riches of God’s grace” are “lavished on us.”

Look at the stories of Jesus.

Aren’t 180 gallons of “the absolute very finest of wines” saved for the very end of a seven day wedding and wedding reception extravagant? (See John 2:1-11.)

Jesus didn’t think so.

Feeding all the gathered thousands with a few loaves of bread and small fish, Aren’t twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish an extravagant miscalculation of what it takes to feed a crowd? (See Mark 6:30-44.)

Jesus didn’t think so.

Isn’t a miraculous catch of fish, where none had been the previous night, that breaks the nets and then begins to sink boats extravagant? (See Luke 5:4-11.)

Jesus didn’t think so.

We might casually think, “If God really knew what I am like, he wouldn’t be so extravagant toward me.” But God does know exactly what we are like. Paul notes that God lavished his grace on us “with all wisdom and understanding.”

As with the people who enjoyed wine and bread and fish with Jesus, there are only two reasons for God’s extravagance—our forever need, his forever grace.

Timeless, Inescapable, Revealed, Extravagant Grace

Exodus 12:1-13 New Living Translation

The First Passover

12 While the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt, the Lord gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron: ²“From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you. ³Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household. ⁴If a family is too small to eat a whole animal, let them share with another family in the neighborhood. Divide the animal according to the size of each family and how much they can eat. ⁵The animal you select must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no defects.

⁶“Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight. ⁷They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal. ⁸That same night they must roast the meat over a fire and eat it along with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast. ⁹Do not eat any of the meat raw or boiled in water. The whole animal—including the head, legs, and internal organs—must be roasted over a fire. ¹⁰Do not leave any of it until the next morning. Burn whatever is not eaten before morning.

¹¹“These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed,^[a] wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the Lord’s Passover. ¹²On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the Lord! ¹³But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.

The grace of God for His people knows no bounds and remains within no limits.

To know the truth of this, we need look to nowhere else than the cross of Christ, by which as the Apostle Paul writes “we have redemption through his blood.”

In the book of Exodus, God instituted the Passover, which painted a picture of freedom bought at a price.

He instructed the Israelites to sacrifice a family lamb and spread its blood across their doorposts to prevent a visit from the angel of death as he passed through Egypt. The residents of each of those faithful households avoided God’s judgment of the death of the firstborn son only because a lamb died in his place. (Exodus 12:3-13).

The Israelites were enslaved to Pharaoh.

Similarly, all of us enter this world as slaves in bondage to sin and to death.

The price of our forgiveness was the very blood of Christ, who accomplished redemption as the great Passover Lamb for all who might believe in Him.

It is the power of His blood alone that frees us from death, for life, eternally.

Christ did not come to earth to tell us how to live, to make ourselves Christians.

He did not come to tell us what we have to do to save ourselves.

He came to do what we could not—to save us.

He acted on our behalf, offering forgiveness that is free to us but costly to God.

2 Corinthians 5:11-21 New Living Translation

We Are God’s Ambassadors

¹¹Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. ¹²Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us,^[a] so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. ¹³If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. ¹⁴Either way, Christ’s love controls us.^[b] Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.^[c] ¹⁵He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

¹⁶So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! ¹⁷This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

¹⁸And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. ¹⁹For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. ²⁰So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” ²¹For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin,^[d] so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

We dare not believe that God simply decided to overlook our sin; rather, Christ’s death on the cross absorbed the judgment that you and I deserve. God’s purist holiness requires sin’s penalty to be paid—and His Son provided that payment.

As he considers this, Paul is moved to exclaim, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” (Ephesians 1:3).

Considering God’s grace should always move us to praise.

But notice the phrase Paul uses in verses 7-8: “the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us.”

God’s grace is torrential. It is overwhelming. He has poured it out over each one of His children, holding nothing back. And He will continue to do so for eternity.

Imagine that you have just finished your first meal in a high-end restaurant and someone picks up your check, saying, “I’ve got you covered—I’ll pay.”

That’s precisely what God has said to you, me on the grandest scale imaginable.

That is exactly what God is saying to me, to you, to His badly fractured church.

He isn’t saying there is no payment to be made.

He’s saying He has already made the payment.

God’s grace is beyond all limits, extending further than the eye can see or the human heart and soul can possibly grasp.

So, although as you look back on the last day or week, or even the last minutes, you will know that you are 100% sinful, you can also know this: you cannot sin as much as God can forgive, and you can be confident that He who began a good work in us will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).

Will you believe that the experience of God’s matchless grace in with you NOW?

Will we finally enter our dusty attics, open the long neglected “God in the Box?”

Will we enjoy the experience of grace upon grace upon grace for all of eternity?

Do we want to enjoy the experience of grace upon grace upon grace for eternity?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

God of abounding extravagant grace, we thank you today that you do not give in moderation but that you pour your grace lavishly on us. Through Jesus Christ, Amen.

Psalm 23 New Living Translation

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

¹The Lord is my shepherd;
    I have all that I need.
²He lets me rest in green meadows;
    he leads me beside peaceful streams.
³    He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
    bringing honor to his name.
⁴Even when I walk
    through the darkest valley,^[a]
I will not be afraid,
    for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
    protect and comfort me.
⁵You prepare a feast for me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
    My cup overflows with blessings.
⁶Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
    all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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God’s Growing Kingdom 2024: Let us just talk a little about some of those Radical Demands of Following Jesus. Acts 2: 1-13

Acts 2:1-13 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Day of Pentecost

2 When the day of Pentecost ^[a]had come, they were all together in one place. ²And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³And there appeared to them tongues as of fire ^[b]distributing themselves, and ^[c]they ^[d]rested on each one of them. ⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other ^[e]tongues, as the Spirit was giving them ^[f]utterance.

⁵Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. ⁶And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own ^[g] language. ⁷They were amazed and astonished, saying, “^[h]Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸And how is it that we each hear them in our own ^[i] language ^[j]to which we were born? ⁹Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and ^[k]Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and ^[l]visitors from Rome, both Jews and ^[m]proselytes, ¹¹Cretans and Arabs—we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.” ¹²And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³But others were mocking and saying, “They are full of ^[n]sweet wine.”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

God’s Growing Kingdom 2024

On the day of Pentecost, God-fearing Jews from many nations were staying in Jerusalem.

They were gathering to celebrate the Feast of Weeks that God had established for his people Israel some 1,500 years earlier (Deuteronomy 16:9-12).

⁹“You shall count seven weeks for yourself; you shall begin to count seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain. ¹⁰Then you shall ^[a]celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give just as the Lord your God blesses you; ¹¹and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants and the Levite who is in your ^[b]town, and the stranger and the ^[c]orphan and the widow who are in your midst, in the place where the Lord your God chooses to establish His name. ¹² You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.

They all converged on the temple on Pentecost (fifty days after the Feast of Passover) to bring their offerings of the best firstfruits of their harvests.

That day people from many nations heard the good news of Jesus for the first time. And about 3,000 believed and were baptized (Acts 2:41).

Scholars estimate that the world population was about 300 million people at that time.

That is 1/27th of today’s population.

At the time of his birth, the earth’s entire population was just 300 million, smaller than the U.S. by itself today. The United States 2023 population is estimated at 339,996,563 people at mid year. the United States population is equivalent to 4.23% of the total world population. the U.S.A. ranks number 3 in the list of countries (and dependencies) by population.

In biblical times it is estimated that about 45 million of those people, including Jesus himself, had lived in the Roman Empire, whose borders stretched in Jesus’ time from modern-day Portugal in the west to Turkey in the east.

From there, it took 1,800 years for the world’s population to grow to a billion.

Prior to the 1800s there were few formal immigration laws.

But with the world’s population at over 8 billion today, almost every country has decided to regulate immigration.

Christians are free to differ and disagree over the details of immigration laws.

However, as immigrants, migrants, refugees, and others cross borders today, many hear the gospel for the first time.

God’s people have the opportunity and responsibility to share the gospel with them. As the gospel is shared, many people continue to enter God’s kingdom each day! That of course is a good thing—regardless of views on immigration.

What Are those Radical Demands of Following Jesus?

Luke 14:25-35 The Message

Figure the Cost

^25-27One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, “Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one’s own self!—can’t be my disciple. Anyone who won’t shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can’t be my disciple.

^28-30“Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so you’ll know if you can complete it? If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you’re going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: ‘He started something he couldn’t finish.’

^31-32“Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of the other? And if he decides he can’t, won’t he send an emissary and work out a truce?

³³“Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can’t be my disciple.

^34-35“Salt is excellent. But if the salt goes flat, it’s useless, good for nothing.

“Are you listening to this? Really listening?”

Without any doubt, there are a great number of the teachings of Jesus that are often easy to remember and even memorize, a bit more difficult perhaps to understand, discern, then extremely challenging to live out in our daily lives.

These lessons are frequently, but not always, described by Jesus through parables, as was his way of teaching. For example:

The parable of the talents. (Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:12-28)
The rich young ruler. (Matthew 19:16-23; Mark 10:17-27; Luke 18:18-30)
God or money – we each have to choose. (Matthew 5:38-42)
Forgive others, or God won’t forgive you. (Matthew 6:14-15)
Serve the poor and needy – or go to hell. (Matthew 25:41-46)
Blessed are the poor, the hungry, those who weep, and those who are hated. (Luke 6:20-23)
Woe to the rich, and those who are well fed, and those who laugh now, and when everyone speaks well of you. (Luke 6:23-26)

And we could go on. “Turn the other cheek.” “Love your enemies.”

In these and many—perhaps most—of Jesus’ parables, he taught about the life we are called to live—the real terms of discipleship.

He taught about what it would mean to truly follow him.

Perhaps, though, one of the most compelling is when Jesus taught that we must count the cost of becoming his disciples.

Luke 14:25-35 New International Version

The Cost of Being a Disciple

²⁵Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: ²⁶“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. ²⁷And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

²⁸“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? ²⁹For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, ³⁰saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

³¹“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? ³²If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. ³³In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

³⁴“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? ³⁵It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.

“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

Wait…what? Hate father and mother, wife and children? Hate our own life?

If those are the terms of discipleship, then we would certainly each be smart to measure that cost, wouldn’t we? But…is that really what Jesus meant?

An Argument Against Cultural Christianity

During his ministry, Jesus had a great many crowds following him, very often thousands upon thousands.

Everyone had heard about the miracles, the healings, and free food!

But Jesus knew their hearts were not always with him. He knew they desired the benefits of what he did.

They wanted to reap the rewards.

They loved his gifts—but not him.

They loved the idea of Jesus without understanding who he truly was.

We see them even today.

Jesus is the one who is going to get us into paradise when we die, right?

He died on the cross to pay for our sins and to give us our forever home in heaven. Right? That’s all, folks! We have our mansion in the sky waiting for us!

Leave it to Jesus to mess up our comfortable lives. Jesus knows our hearts; clearly, a comfortable easy chair life here on earth was not his expectation.

How many today speak the words yet don’t live them out?

How many today can memorize the teachings but not apply them to their lives?

How many put on the show of performing deeds in and for church yet don’t know Christ in their hearts?

We see them even in church.

They have the verses memorized and repeat them as if they believe the words to be true. And maybe they do believe them – but the words don’t move from their heads to their hearts. But God will not be mocked, and Jesus will not be fooled:

Matthew 7:21-29 New International Version

True and False Disciples

²¹“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

The Wise and Foolish Builders

²⁴“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

²⁸When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

The lesson certainly seems directed at those who do the work and go through the motions but have never given their hearts to Christ.

Or perhaps they made the claim, knowing the expectation, but had never actually lived out the words.

After all, if indeed they had prophesied, cast out demons, and performed miracles in his name, then Jesus would indeed have known them.

Either way, the lesson is that mere words or mere acts without faith—without heart—are not the discipleship Jesus is looking for.

James, the brother of Jesus, put it this way:

James 2:14-24 New International Version

Faith and Deeds

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? ¹⁵Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

¹⁸But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. ¹⁹You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

²⁰You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless^[a]? ²¹Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”^[b] and he was called God’s friend. ²⁴You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

In other words, if you claim to have faith but it has no impact on how you live your life, your faith is worthless.

If your life isn’t following the teachings of Christ, then you are still lost despite your words.

So many today say they believe.

They love the idea of eternal life, escaping hell, and being able to pray whenever they need anything.

But they are unwilling to give up their earthly desires and the life they now live.

They are more in love with their sinful habits than with Jesus.

1 John 2:15-17 New International Version

On Not Loving the World

¹⁵Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father^[a] is not in them. ¹⁶For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

The Cost of Discipleship

So what is it that Jesus expects of us…really?

Jesus often uses hyperbole to make his point.

Clearly, Jesus would not expect us to “gouge out our eye” or “cut off our hand” if they cause us to sin. (Matthew 5:29-32)

Neither are we to truly “hate” our father and mother, our wife and children, or our brothers and sisters.

We know this, as we are called to hate no one.

But Jesus is unmistakable in what he does expect: He wants everything from us.

He wants our full commitment, our entire hearts, entire souls, all our strengths.

Luke 9:21-25 New International Version

Jesus Predicts His Death

²¹Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. ²²And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

²³Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. ²⁵What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?

We often tend to understate the meaning of “bearing our cross.”

But when Jesus spoke those words, his listeners thought of the cross only as a means of execution.

We use it as a metaphor.

Jesus was asking them to put to death their prior lives and follow him.

To die to themselves, to life as they know it, to everything they hold near and dear – to follow him to the cross.

Jesus often spoke volumes with just a few words – this being one of those times.

When he calls us to “count the cost,” he does not want us to think we can go halfway naively or be surprised later with the expectations.

And there is no negotiating.

The gift of eternal life is free to anyone who asks and believes (John 3:16) – but it is not a free welfare program.

It requires a commitment on our part – a transfer of ownership of our lives, if you will, to him.

To follow him and follow his commands and teachings.

We can no longer simply follow our own selfish desires – we must give up our “me-first” attitudes and approach to life.

Jesus once described the kingdom of heaven in this way:

Matthew 13:44-51 New International Version

The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

⁴⁴“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

⁴⁵“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. ⁴⁶When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

The Parable of the Net

⁴⁷“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. ⁴⁸When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. ⁴⁹This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous ⁵⁰and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹“Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.

“Yes,” they replied.

Yes! They Replied … Reality would later prove radically different in the Garden of Gethsemane and again in the courtyard and again at the Hill called Calvary.

In each parable, the man sold everything he had.

Each gave up everything to gain the valuable treasure he had found.

That is what Jesus asks of us – to give up all we have, all we are, to be called his disciple.

What Is the Reward?

The disciples of Jesus are either all in—or they are not in at all.

Jesus has laid down some pretty high costs, but with those costs come some incredible rewards.

Matthew 7:24-29 New International Version

The Wise and Foolish Builders

²⁸When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

When we simply give lip service to giving our lives to Christ, the words become like political talking points written on cardboard.

They have no strength, no foundation.

Like a house built on sand and cardboard, Christianity cannot stand against the storms of life.

But when we build the house—build our lives—on the rock of faith in Jesus Christ, we can withstand anything and everything that comes against us and will not fall.

We will not fall because our faith is built on the foundation of Jesus Christ.

By losing our lives, we save them. (Luke 9:24)

When we give up ourselves and give up our lives, we will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. (Luke 14:14)

In other words, what we think we lose here is nothing compared to what we gain with Jesus in eternity.

Paul expressed it very well when he said:

Philippians 3:7-11 New International Version

⁷But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in^[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. ¹⁰I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

This Pentecost Day of 2024 and in the days, months ahead, May we each say,

“I consider everything I have lost garbage that I may gain Christ.”

In the name o God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 16 The Message

16 ^1-2Keep me safe, O God,
I’ve run for dear life to you.
I say to God, “Be my Lord!”
Without you, nothing makes sense.

³And these God-chosen lives all around—
what splendid friends they make!

⁴Don’t just go shopping for a god.
Gods are not for sale.
I swear I’ll never treat god-names
like brand-names.

^5-6My choice is you, God, first and only.
And now I find I’m your choice!
You set me up with a house and yard.
And then you made me your heir!

^7-8The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake
is confirmed by my sleeping heart.
Day and night I’ll stick with God;
I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go.

^9-10I’m happy from the inside out,
and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed.
You canceled my ticket to hell—
that’s not my destination!

¹¹Now you’ve got my feet on the life path,
all radiant from the shining of your face.
Ever since you took my hand,
I’m on the right way.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Why Do I, Might I, Should I, Would I, EVER Desire to Doubt My Salvation? Psalm 37:34-40

Psalm 37:34-40 New American Standard Bible 1995

³⁴Wait for the Lord and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

³⁵I have seen a wicked, violent man
Spreading himself like a luxuriant ^[a]tree in its native soil.
³⁶Then ^[b]he passed away, and lo, he was no more;
I sought for him, but he could not be found.
³⁷Mark the ^[c]blameless man, and behold the upright;
For the man of peace will have a ^[d]posterity.
³⁸But transgressors will be altogether destroyed;
The ^[e]posterity of the wicked will be cut off.
³⁹But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength in time of trouble.
⁴⁰The Lord helps them and delivers them;
He delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they take refuge in Him.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
leaning on the everlasting arms. Text: Elisha A. Hoffman

Most of us have had frightening times during our Christian walk where we doubt our salvation and the salvation of our family members and friends.

Knowing what they believe, knowing what they think, knowing their mindset, in comparison and contrast to what I know I believe, what I think, my mindset.

In light of events from the recent General Conference of the United Methodist Church, the seismic shift of beliefs, of orthodoxy, leaves many to wonder if a whole portion of the Body of Christ has just turned their backs on Salvation.

Isaiah 53:1-6 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Suffering Servant

53 Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
²For He grew up before Him like a tender ^[a]shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should ^[b]be attracted to Him.
³He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of ^[c]sorrows and acquainted with ^[d]grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

⁴Surely our ^[e]griefs He Himself bore,
And our ^[f]sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
^[g]Smitten of God, and afflicted.
⁵But He was ^[h]pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our ^[i]well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
⁶All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To ^[j]fall on Him.

“All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way”

Rather than feeling secure in our salvation, going astray to our own way, do we now feel somehow that we are not really saved. Maybe we feel we didn’t believe “enough” or we feel we wouldn’t doubt our salvation if we were truly saved.

If we are going through this or have gone through this, or know somebody is, or wonder if someone or a whole group of someone’s, or suddenly become aware there are others whom God sees, has compassion for where we ourselves are lacking or ignoring because of our deeply seeded biases and prejudices or self imposed legalistic “do not touch” avoidance measures, know you are not alone.

With words and phrases such as “who has believed our message, And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” and Romans 10:14 “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?“ in the Word of God,

It’s probably very common for believers to doubt their salvation at least once during our lives, non believers to wonder about another Christians salvation.

Micah 6:6-8 New American Standard Bible 1995

What God Requires of Man

⁶With what shall I come to the Lord
And bow myself before the God on high?
Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings,
With yearling calves?
⁷Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams,
In ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
⁸He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love ^[a]kindness,
And to walk ^[b]humbly with your God?

Knowing what God Requires of me, am I Really Saved?

Personally, I have faced the question of “Am I actually saved?” countless times.

Just last week I had the same question come into my mind after finishing the Gospel of Matthew.

Rather than focusing on the salvation that Jesus has given us,

I was focused on all of Jesus’ statements on hell, of weeping and gnashing of teeth, on “begone I knew you not,” the very foreboding words of Matthew 25.

All the admonishments of “always being ready, the Parables of the Talents, and the soils and always investing myself into the work of laboring, planting toiling harvesting” of the Kingdom of God but find myself too biased, too hesitant, too fearful of too many unproven self imposed prejudices and untouchable beliefs.

I started connecting salvation with works, which is never very good to do.

While Jesus does talk more about hell than any other topic during His earthly ministry, he never tells us that if we place faith in Him, we will go to hell.

There is so much irrational over rationalization coming from too many places.

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
leaning on the everlasting arms. Text: Elisha A. Hoffman

Salvation is based solely on placing faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Placing faith in Jesus means believing that Jesus died for your sins, was buried, and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

The Lord tells us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16-17).

As Jesus tells us, the Father loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us.

Moreover, Jesus tells us that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.

Now, if you’re like me and have been told John 3:16-17 too many times for you to count, most likely the effect of the verse has been watered down, washed out.

Since you’ve heard it so many times, John 3:16-17 has become mindless words.

If it has become mindless words to you, the all encompassing truth of the verses have become muddied, have become an ocean of quicksand, I then challenge all of us to carefully read and pray John 3:16-17 just as I did, see how it highlights the deeper truths of God’s love, how we have eternal life by believing in Jesus.

Our heartfelt believing in Jesus is sufficient for salvation. (Romans 10:9-13)

We don’t have to follow the law in its completeness, nor are we required to be the “perfect” Christian people.

By the words of truth contained in Acts 4:8-12, rather, believing in Jesus and accepting Him as your Savior and Lord is all that is required for salvation.

⁸Then Peter, ^[a]filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “^[b]Rulers and elders of the people, ⁹if we are ^[c]on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, ^[d]as to how this man has been made well, ¹⁰let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that ^[e]by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—^[f]by ^[g]this name this man stands here before you in good health. ^11 [h]He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. ¹²And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

We cannot earn salvation in any other way. Salvation is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-10).

⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith; and ^[a]that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

There is nothing we can do to earn salvation, and there is nothing we can do to lose it. There are many people who spread the lie that one can lose salvation, but this isn’t true. Once you have placed faith in Jesus, you are eternally saved.

Doubting Salvation

Truth is we don’t have to know the exact moment when we were saved in order to be saved. As long as we have placed our heartfelt faith in Him, we are saved.

Yet, even with this being established, we can still often doubt our salvation.

Even many strong Christians I know also have doubted their salvation at some point. I have been around Christian pastors, professors and read from Christian authors how they, have doubted their salvation at least once in their lifetime.

What of the Samaritan woman at the well who has been divorced five times?

What of the woman with the chronic years long issue of blood for whom no cure could be found no matter how much money was spent, which doctor treated her in that chronic never ending state of “hopelessly unclean and untouchable?”

If mankind wants nothing to do with me, wont talk to me, wont even touch me, ignores me, ignores my family and friends, my people, go so far and treats me like the Leper’s walling me off from society trying to separate me from my God?

Those thoughts, beliefs and actions have not disappeared in thousands of years!

No one would stand innocent of these grievous sins before the judgment of God!

Doubts are ever before me, crashing into my thoughts

Truth also is (Genesis 3) The one who plants these seeds of doubt is Satan.

The devil wants to make us unproductive for the Lord and cause us to stumble.

By planting uncountable numbers of the seeds of doubt in our minds, it is the perfect way to make us unfruitful for the Lord. Instead of going out and making disciples or growing in our own walk with Jesus, we are being plagued by the lies of Satan—that we aren’t ever saved or that we didn’t believe “enough.”

These doubts are enough to paralyze or make you question your entire beliefs.

As someone who has been there, know you are not alone.

Know also that these lies are but lies, and they are not true.

If you have placed your heartfelt faith in Jesus, you are saved.

You believe, and you believe enough.

My Pastor in my Lay Speaking and Licensing classes talked deeply about this subject as it was something he freely confessed also had struggled with during his early years of walking with the Lord and in his call into ordained ministry.

He shared his epiphany that there is no point in someone believing more than someone else.

As long as you heartfelt believe in Jesus, you are saved.

There are no differing degrees of belief, nor are there people who believed more than you or knew more than you, were older wiser that would nullify your faith.

When you believe, you believe.

You did not have “not enough” faith when you placed faith in Christ.

The devil wants to cause these doubts to rise in our minds, but we can talk back to them. Whenever you doubt your salvation, pray to God, talk back to the lies.

Tell them that Jesus saved you and that you are saved.

Nothing and nobody can take away your salvation.

Remind yourself that you are eternally saved by God, and this will never change.

Acts 4:12 tells us, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Jesus is the ONLY Name we are saved by.

We are not saved based on our works.

Rather, we are saved by the Name of Jesus.

When doubts circle your mind too much, and you find yourself paralyzed, call out to God and ask Him for His help. It’s God alone who reads all of our hearts.

1 Samuel 16:7 New American Standard Bible 1995

⁷But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for ^[a]God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

As Psalm 51 so rightfully teaches; Tell Him you are struggling with assurance of your salvation and that you need exactly Him to fill your heart with the blessed assurance of knowing you are completely and unconditionally saved in Him.

While these thoughts may return, you can talk back to them and ask God for His help again and then by Psalm 32, communicate the truth about His forgiveness.

Psalm 32 New American Standard Bible 1995

Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.

A Psalm of David. A ^[a]Maskil.

32 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
²How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit!

³When I kept silent about my sin, my ^[b]body wasted away
Through my ^[c]groaning all day long.
⁴For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My ^[d]vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. ^[e]Selah.
⁵I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I did not hide;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;
And You forgave the ^[f]guilt of my sin. Selah.
⁶Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You ^[g]in a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
⁷You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with ^[h]songs of deliverance. Selah.

⁸I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
⁹Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
¹⁰Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.
¹¹Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.

Causing you to doubt your salvation is a common tactic of Satan because he knows it is efficient.

Don’t allow Satan the pleasure of doubting your salvation or feeding into it. If you have placed heartfelt faith in Jesus and accepted Him as your Savior and Lord, you are eternally saved. You are given forgiveness of sins, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and eternal life. None of these things will ever be taken from you.

Confide in God

Matthew 11:28-30 New American Standard Bible 1995

²⁸“Come to Me, all ^[a]who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For My yoke is ^[b]easy and My burden is light.”

Whenever you begin doubting your salvation, turn to God.

Tell Him your doubts and ask Him to help you overcome your unbelief.

He is faithful, and He will help you in your time of need.

As you continue to grow in your walk with Christ, you might have these doubts rise again, but talk back to them and return to the Bible.

Remind yourself of John 3:16-17 and how salvation is only found in the Lord.

Placing faith exclusively in Christ is the only requirement for salvation.

There is no way for someone to be saved apart from Christ.

A person cannot earn their own salvation nor do other faith systems save a person.

The Source of Salvation

Psalm 37:34-40 The Message

³⁴Wait passionately for God,
don’t leave the path.
He’ll give you your place in the sun
while you watch the wicked lose it.

^35-36I saw Wicked bloated like a toad,
croaking pretentious nonsense.
The next time I looked there was nothing—
a punctured bladder, vapid and limp.

^37-38Keep your eye on the healthy soul,
    scrutinize the straight life;
There’s a future
    in strenuous wholeness.
But the willful will soon be discarded;
    insolent souls are on a dead-end street.

^39-40The spacious, free life is from God,
it’s also protected and safe.
God-strengthened, we’re delivered from evil—
when we run to him, he saves us.

Every person wants a life that is rich, full, abundant, and free.

These good things satisfy the deepest longings of our heart.

We receive these gifts by focusing on our creator God.

St. Augustine of Hippo, an early church leader, wrote these words to God:

“Our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.”

Our inner peace comes when we turn our life over to God, who made us.

By the revealed Word of God, by the revealed truth inside, We yearn for a special relationship with God, but it can be hard for us to rest in him. We don’t see God; we don’t hear, smell him or talk with him the way we do with people around us.

Our relationship with God is different from every other relationship in life.

God is absolutely unique.

How do I find and focus on God?

Where do I get faith in God?

What makes me feel that God and I belong together?

Thankfully, knowing God is a gift from him.

He reveals himself freely.

David discovered that and wrote about it in Psalm 37.

You want the great life with God?

Just ask for it. Jesus said, “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete” (John 16:24).

John 16:21-24 The Message

^21-23“When a woman gives birth, she has a hard time, there’s no getting around it. But when the baby is born, there is joy in the birth. This new life in the world wipes out memory of the pain. The sadness you have right now is similar to that pain, but the coming joy is also similar. When I see you again, you’ll be full of joy, and it will be a joy no one can rob from you. You’ll no longer be so full of questions.

^23-24“This is what I want you to do: Ask the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I’ve revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and he’ll most certainly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks!

God wants us to ask for all kinds of things like this that are within his will for us (see 1 John 5:14).

1 John 5:14-15The Message

The Reality, Not the Illusion

^13-15My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he’s listening. And if we’re confident that he’s listening, we know that what we’ve asked for is as good as ours.

Ask God to make himself known to you.

He did that already when his Son, Jesus, died for you.

This is the time for a right relationship with God!

Only Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected three days later.

Only Jesus is God in the flesh (John 1:14; Philippians 2:6-8).

The Lord has the victory, defeated death, and all who will place faith in Him, too, will overcome death and spend eternity with Him. (1 Corinthians 15:50-57)

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

How desperately I want a rich and right relationship with you, dear God. Thank you for giving it as a gift through the death and resurrection of your son, Jesus. Amen.

Psalm 24 The Message

24 ^1-2God claims Earth and everything in it,
God claims World and all who live on it.
He built it on Ocean foundations,
laid it out on River girders.

^3-4Who can climb Mount God?
    Who can scale the holy north-face?
Only the clean-handed,
    only the pure-hearted;
Men who won’t cheat,
    women who won’t seduce.

^5-6God is at their side;
with God’s help they make it.
This, Jacob, is what happens
to God-seekers, God-questers.

⁷Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
King-Glory is ready to enter.

⁸Who is this King-Glory?
God, armed
and battle-ready.

⁹Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
King-Glory is ready to enter.

¹⁰Who is this King-Glory?
God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
he is King-Glory.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Continually Being Reminded by God exactly who we are: the Worlds Worst and Greatest Sinners! 1 Timothy 1:15

1 Timothy 1:15-17New American Standard Bible 1995

¹⁵It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. ¹⁶Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those ^[a]who would believe in Him for eternal life. ¹⁷Now to the King ^[b]eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory ^[c]forever and ever. Amen.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Am I the World’s Worst, World’s Greatest Sinner?

When we think of the Apostle Paul, we think of a Saint.

Yet, here in the opening words of his letter to his protégé Timothy, in his own words, written by his own thoughts, he counted himself the very worst sinner.

But how is that even possible, because Paul wrote much of the New Testament?

Paul, more than most of us, had a deep understanding of what it means to be a sinner. He didn’t look at others around him and feel any better about himself.

He recognized the depth of sin that was born within him, and each one of us is so deep, that, without a Savior, sin taints our blood to the point of eternal death.

He understood very well that there is no difference between a little sinner and a big sinner. Without Jesus, all sin leads into the same destructive destination.

A Little Self-Examination Goes a Long Way

It’s easy to look at others and feel like we’re doing better overall. But with this type of attitude can come pride and haughtiness.

Proverbs 16:18 explains how “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

2 Corinthians 13:5 urges us to “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”

2 Corinthians 13:5-9 The Message

^5-9Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it. I hope the test won’t show that we have failed. But if it comes to that, we’d rather the test showed our failure than yours. We’re rooting for the truth to win out in you. We couldn’t possibly do otherwise.

We don’t just put up with our limitations; we celebrate them, and then go on to celebrate every strength, every triumph of the truth in you. We pray hard that it will all come together in your lives.

Sometimes, we decide how we’re doing compared to another person, rather than looking at God’s word to see how we’re doing in life. Often, if we do, we’ll discover more areas of our lives where we are off-track in following God’s ways.

Worldly Effects

So many people today, some Christians included, are living their lives based on how well or poorly others seem to be doing.

With nearly continual moment by moment social media’s daily updates, many individuals, across the globe, are comparing their lives to the lives of others to see if they are succeeding or see what they need to do next to get ahead in life.

But as believers in Jesus Christ, we don’t want to follow the world’s leading but look to God for our future.

1 John 2:15 warns, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.”

1 John 2:15-17 The Message

^15-17Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.

As well, Paul in Romans 12:2 urges, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Romans 12:1-2 The Message

Place Your Life Before God

12 ^1-2So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Being conformed to current cultural trends, the world can be so gradual in our lives, that we don’t recognize what direction we may be taking in life. Before long, we can be miles off course without really knowing what’s taking place.

Feeding Our Faith

When it comes to matters of living into a steadfast and immovable faith, we don’t just stay in one place; we are either growing steadily in it or we’re slowly, steadily slipping back into worldly patterns and thinking without realizing it.

James 1:13-15The Message

^13-15Don’t let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, “God is trying to trip me up.” God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one’s way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer.

So how do we keep the world at bay?

Paul states, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

Philippians 3:12-14 The Message

Focused on the Goal

^12-14I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.

As James 1:27 explains, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

James 1:26-27 The Message

^26-27Anyone who sets himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.

Jesus Sets Us Free from the Power of Sin

Like Paul, we want to remember that sin can so fool us, easily lead us astray.

Genesis 3:1-7 The Message

3 The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?”

^2-3The Woman said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’”

^4-5The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.”

⁶When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.

⁷Immediately the two of them did “see what’s really going on”—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves.

Because sin can be so insidious, so maliciously subtle. we do not want to lose sight of where our Salvation lies and where our power to resist sin comes from.

Romans 5:21 explains, “So that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Romans 5:20-21 The Message

^20-21All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn’t, and doesn’t, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it’s sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. All sin can do is threaten us with death, and that’s the end of it. Grace, because God is putting everything together again through the Messiah, invites us into life—a life that goes on and on and on, world without end.

We are set free from its power, as Romans 6:14 describes, “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”

Romans 6:14The Message

^12-14That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day. Don’t even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you’ve been raised from the dead!—into God’s way of doing things. Sin can’t tell you how to live. After all, you’re not living under that old tyranny any longer. You’re living in the freedom of God.

Intersecting Faith & Life:

Psalm 139:23-24 The Message

^23-24Investigate my life, O God,
    find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
    get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
    then guide me on the road to eternal life.

Am I, are you, are we, the Body of Christ, the church, comparing ourselves to how most people in the world are living their lives for direction in your own?

If so, look to God’s Word, plumb its depths to see where we are in our faith.

119 ^1-8You’re blessed when you stay on course,
    walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
You’re blessed when you follow his directions,
    doing your best to find him.
That’s right—you don’t go off on your own;
    you walk straight along the road he set.
You, God, prescribed the right way to live;
    now you expect us to live it.
Oh, that my steps might be steady,
    keeping to the course you set;
Then I’d never have any regrets
    in comparing my life with your counsel.
I thank you for speaking straight from your heart;
    I learn the pattern of your righteous ways.
I’m going to do what you tell me to do;
    don’t ever walk off and leave me.

Ask Him to examine each one of our collectives heart and collective souls and reveal the remotest areas where we have unknowingly wandered far off track.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 119:9-16 The Message

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Maybe now is the right time for us all to be reminding ourselves of just who God says we are? 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 New American Standard Bible 1995

¹⁶Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, ¹⁸while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

In a world filled with endless mixed messages, it’s easy to get lost in the fog and be deceived by half-truths or flat-out fabrications of God’s Word.

Just take a gander at some commonly used phrases below.

This, too, shall pass.

God helps those who help themselves.

God works in mysterious ways.

God will never give you more than you can handle.

The eyes are the window into the soul.

Treat others the way you want to be treated.

Spare the rod and spoil the child. And on and on.

While many of these well-known statements contain good wisdom and little nuggets of truth, some even referred to or “noted” in the Scriptures, they are often badly taken out of context to spin, weave some sort of personal narrative.

While generally shared in a purposeful and meaningful way to express a softer sentiment or extend comfort, these platitudes can undermine the words of our Savior, causing us take our eyes of the Bible and to lose sight of the real truth.

That said, now, more than ever, we need to have handheld copies of the Bible, maybe even in multiple translations, so when something doesn’t seem to add up or make sense, we can go straight to His Word and seek to find the real and absolute truth God is trying to reveal to us.

In addition, there are even more mixed messages in today’s culture about how we identify, that baffle many, including believers, about who God says we are.

For example, do we know how many total genders are there?

Besides being male and female, there are 72 other genders, which include the following: Agender: A person who does not identify themselves with or experience any gender. Agender people are also called null-gender, genderless, or gender -void or neutral gender. Abimegender: which is Associated with being profound, deep, and infinite.

https://www.medicinenet.com/what_are_the_72_other_genders/article.htm

About trying to sort out these identifications, still being a “good neighbor,” in the divisiveness which currently exists in the church, communicate the gospel?

Communicate, evangelize those who have been “marginalized” by these highly volatile, highly charged, highly politicized and politically motivated divisions?

Are we really precious in His sight? Priceless? Cherished? A one-of-a-kind, unique creation made on purpose? Are we really fully known and fully loved?

Who are we, exactly?

More importantly, nonjudgmentally communicating who does God say we are?

Well, my dear friend, I invite you to grab your Bible and open it up so we can discover some sweet verses that declare who God says you are.

While the list below only scratches the surface, let it prayerfully become a new, refreshed springboard to relish in His love as He proclaims who He says we are!

Then let His Words, beautiful truths, settle into your heart, reminding you that you were so intricately made with love and called to a greater purpose, setting your sights beyond this world and embracing eternity. (2 Corinthians 4:18).

1. God says we are each His beloved child.

1 John 3:1-2 New American Standard Bible 1995

Children of God Love One Another

3 See ^[a]how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. ²Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

The very nature of our God is love, which envelops His holiness, purity, righteousness, compassion, justice, and mercy.

While God loves all His creation, when we make our heartfelt profession of faith, we each immediately become His “beloved” children (Romans 10:9-13)

Being a beloved child of God is a powerful statement that holds so much significance as no other relationship will even come close or compare (1 Corinthians 13:11-13).

¹¹When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I ^[a]became a man, I did away with childish things. ¹²For now we see in a mirror ^[b]dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. ¹³But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the ^[c]greatest of these is love.

When we understand the gravity of that, we learn to revere and respect God as Father.

You are the beloved child of the Creator of the universe, and He wants to have an intimate and personal relationship with you. Tuck that in your heart today!

2. God says we are each chosen.

1 Peter 2:9-10 New American Standard Bible 1995

⁹But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; ¹⁰for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

God has always had a special place in His heart for the people of Israel.

We see this weaved throughout the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 7:6).

⁶For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His ^[a]own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the ^[b]earth.

As believers, we have the honor and privilege of gaining a spiritual connection to God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

In His sovereignty, God chose you (Titus 1:1-3, Ephesians 1:10-14).

I know it is naïve of me to ask; Can we each just say “Praise be to God for that?”

3. God says we are each His holy temple.

1 Corinthians 3:16-20 New American Standard Bible 1995

¹⁶Do you not know that you are a ^[a]temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? ¹⁷If any man destroys the ^[b]temple of God, God will destroy him, for the ^[c] temple of God is holy, and ^[d]that is what you are.

¹⁸Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. ¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness”; ²⁰and again, “The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.”

Paul is addressing the church in Corinth, stating that as a church body, God dwells inside of us, allowing each one of us to go forth and live on a mission.

As a church, we are to honor this sacred and holy dwelling and use it to connect and reflect on the nature of God, deepening our faith while also striving to reach out to the lost and unbelievers. God says we are to live with a mission mindset.

We are the light to a lost and dark world (Matthew 5:14-16)!

¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A city set on a ^[a]hill cannot be hidden; ¹⁵nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a ^[b]basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

4. God says we are each made in His image.

Genesis 1:26-27 New American Standard Bible 1995

²⁶Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the ^[a]sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

God never takes His creation lightly.

In fact, when He speaks things into existence, there is value and a grander plan far beyond what we will fully know or begin to understand.

That being said, the very specific human blueprint not only claims we differ from anything else He created but that God’s unique and distinct love for us is quite beautiful and wholly and entirely “one of a kind” unique. Psalm 139:13-18

We matter so deeply to Him that He made us with attributes that resemble His own so that we can connect with Him in a meaningful and purposeful way. Just take time to ponder the thought next time you see your reflection in the mirror.

5. God says we are each valuable.

Matthew 6:25-26 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Cure for Anxiety

²⁵“For this reason I say to you, ^[a]do not be worried about your ^[b]life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶Look at the birds of the ^[c] air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

In this teaching exchange, Jesus reminds His followers (and us) that our value is far more than that of any other creation, and therefore, if He cares for their basic needs, how much more will He care for us, His most beloved creation?

Obviously enough to ensure our salvation so that we can spend eternity with Him (1 Peter 1:17-19)!

¹⁷If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; ¹⁸knowing that you were not ^[a]redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, ¹⁹but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

Yes, we are each, without exception, in the eyes of God, seen as a far beyond priceless treasure, which is why Jesus paid it all so we could each freely live.

There are more and more examples of Holy Scripture which I will continue to bring to you in future posts of this blog. So, please be anticipating, expectant.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 8 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Lord’s Glory and Man’s Dignity.

For the choir director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of David.

8 O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have ^[a]displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
²From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established ^[b]strength
Because of Your adversaries,
To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.

³When I ^[c]consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ^[d]ordained;
⁴What is man that You ^[e]take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
⁵Yet You have made him a little lower than ^[f]God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
⁶You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
⁷All sheep and oxen,
And also the ^[g]beasts of the field,
⁸The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

⁹O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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2 Timothy 3:10-17 New American Standard Bible 1995

Transformation Through the Word

2 Timothy 3:16-17 New American Standard Bible 1995

For Example: Those Verses Surrounding John 3:16

John 3:16 Amplified Bible

John 3:13 Amplified Bible

John 3:14-15 Amplified Bible

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 Amplified Bible

Jesus Gives Nicodemus the Promise of Eternal Life

John 3:16 Amplified Bible

Jesus Has Already Given Us the Victory

John 3:17-18Amplified Bible

Jesus Shares the Ultimate Truth

John 3:19-21 Amplified Bible

Psalm 119:1-16 The Message

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1 Peter 5:1-7 The Message

He’ll Promote You at the Right Time

A Word to the Church: Seeking His Kingdom First?

1 Peter 5:1-7 Amplified Bible

Serve God Willingly

Considering How We Grow and Mature in Christ?

Luke 12:13-34 English Standard Version

The Parable of the Rich Fool

Do Not Be Anxious

Psalm 91 tHE MESSAGE

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Mark 10:46-52 New American Standard Bible 1995

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

What Do You Want Me to do For You?

“Take Courage, Stand Up! He is Calling For You!”

Mark 10:46-49 New American Standard Bible 1995

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

Psalm 42 New American Standard Bible 1995

BOOK 2

Thirsting for God in Trouble and Exile.

For the choir director. A [a]Maskil of the sons of Korah.

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2 Timothy 3:1-8 New American Standard Bible 1995

“Difficult Times Will Come”

What do we believe is the meaning of 2Timothy 3:1-5?

2 Timothy 3:1-5Amplified Bible

“Difficult Times Will Come”

The People Mentioned in 2 Timothy 3

The Church in History

Testing Ourselves and Testing the Church

2 Timothy 3:10-17 Amplified Bible

Matthew 23:25-28 Amplified Bible

What is to be our Response

2 Timothy 3:14-17 Amplified Bible

Matthew 9:35-38 Amplified Bible

Acts 2:43-47 Amplified Bible

Psalm 84 The Message

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John 3:1-12 New American Standard Bible 1995

The New Birth

Are We Just as Intrigued by The Teacher From God?

John 3:1-3 Amplified Bible

The New Birth

2 Corinthians 3:12-18 Amplified Bible

Are we just as Intrigued with Entering God’s Kingdom

John 3:4-12 Amplified Bible

Luke 11:1-2 Amplified Bible

Instruction about Prayer

Colossians 1:13-14 Amplified Bible

The Incomparable Christ

Psalm 119:1-23 New American Standard Bible 1995

Meditations and Prayers Relating to the Law of God.

Aleph.

Beth.

Gimel.

Daleth.

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Ephesians 1:1-14 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Blessings of Redemption

Extravagant Grace

Ephesians 1:1-2 Amplified Bible

The Blessings of Redemption

Timeless, Inescapable, Revealed, Extravagant Grace

Exodus 12:1-13 New Living Translation

For the choir director. A ^[a]Maskil of the sons of Korah.

A Psalm of David. A ^[a]Maskil.