relationships (Matthew 10:1-4) Love That Is Matchless

(Matthew 10:1-4)

1 Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness.

2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew; and James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who also betrayed Him.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

For His disciples, Jesus called men from all walks of life, from the savvy and shady tax collector to the gruff and hardworking fishermen, from the zealous and the steadfast in nature to the dangerous imposture.  In the same way, Jesus calls everyone in this world to follow Him and obey.  It is up to each individual to accept Jesus into their hearts and lives, and then it is up to each individual who becomes a believer to strive in obedience.

As for Judas Iscariot, Jesus knew what he would do and what it would all lead to, and still gave him full opportunity to hear and see the Lord God's love in action.  This demonstrates just how much the Lord Jesus loves us!  Imagine having someone in your fold, knowing that they were willing to help your enemies in their attempts to kill you, but you still showed them the same level of love.  

Of course, Jesus is the sovereign Lord God and Creator, and with that He is omniscient (all-knowing).  Since the fall of man, (in Genesis 3:15) the Lord foretold mankind that He would one day come in flesh to pay the price for all sin and death.  Even before He created everything, He knew He would have to humble Himself, to suffer and die on a cross, but He still created mankind anyway!  And, He knew that there would be many people who would reject Him, hate Him, and mock Him, and He still died for every person and every sin.  This is how much love He has for us!!!

While Jesus allowed Judas Iscariot to be included in the body of disciples, if Judas never chose to repent and believe in Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior, then the Lord Jesus would not allow Judas into heaven.  It's very simple.  God is holy and cannot have a relationship with sin.  Only through our repentance and His forgiveness can one be set free from our sin, in order to be given eternal life in heaven. and enter into a personal relationship with the Lord.  Since He created us with a free will, it only makes sense that it is up to us to decide if we want to reject Him, or to love Him back and want Him in our lives forever!

relationships (Matthew 9:32-38) Being Compassionate

(Matthew 9:32-38)

32 And as they were going out, behold, a demon-possessed man who was unable to speak was brought to Him. 33 And after the demon was cast out, the man who was previously unable to speak talked; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees were saying, “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”

35 Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.

36 Seeing the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

We see this in today's society:  people falsely accusing those who are doing good, and then defending those who are doing evil.  We definitely live in a fallen, broken world, and my heart is heavy when I consider this!  We are to have compassion, but let us not confuse that with approving and enabling bad behavior.  We are to make sure that justice is served for the victims.  But more importantly, we are to pray - plead - that the Lord will send out workers, to reach out to those who are desperately struggling to find purpose, direction, healing, comfort, fulfillment and meaningful relationships...  All of these needs are spiritual, and the Lord Jesus is the only answer, solution and true Shepherd.

By asking the Lord to send out workers, let us remember that we, ourselves, are also called.  And we are most like Jesus when we are serving.  It doesn't mean that we have to go to some distant, strange land.  We actually have a great harvest right around us.  It might be as simple as visiting with the next door neighbor.  May we be open to God's calling, and His equipping us, in order to accomplish whatever task, mission or purpose He has called us to, in order to point people towards the Shepherd.  And then, it is in our close relationship with the Lord and our obedience that we, ourselves, will experience the Lord in a mighty and an amazing way!

relationships (Matthew 9:27-31) When You Just Can't Keep Quiet!

(Matthew 9:27-31)

27 As Jesus went on from there, two men who were blind followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 28 And after He entered the house, the men who were blind came up to Him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “It shall be done for you according to your faith.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows about this!” 31 But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout that land.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

Even though these men had been blind, their spiritual eyes were opened!  They knew just who Jesus was and recognized Him as the Son of David, which is another way to say "Messiah".  And they didn't go to Jesus with the expectations that most others had, which was that Jesus would save the Israelites politically, militarily and physically.  But, for healing, these two men sought Him out at a much deeper level, indicating that they knew and remembered God's words.

These men knew that God ruled over blindness and sight!  Because, for instance, in Proverbs 20:12, it says "The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made both of them." And in 2 Kings 6:15-20, Elisha prayed to the Lord and asked Him to open his servant's spiritual eyes to see the army of angels, and then Elisha prayed to the Lord to temporarily blind the enemies' eyes.

And now for the amusingly perplexing part!  Jesus tells the men not to tell others about what happened!  Jesus had several reasons.  One was based on how people saw Him as the Messiah, expecting Him to be the "superhero" who would politically and militarily overthrow the Romans.  Jesus also did not want His ministry to turn into a circus, which would have hindered His ability to preach and move freely.  Not wanting the people to just focus on the physical miracles, His desire was that people focused on His teachings, His example, His sacrifice, and His spiritual joy, peace, love, help and blessings that He offers to the world.

Well, aside from not adhering to what Jesus asked of them (only in that moment)... if only we could all be like these two men who could not keep quiet about Jesus!!!  Like, if and when we meet one of our heroes (be it a speaker, athlete, musician, actor...), we are typically telling everyone all about it, and posting every detail of it in our social media.  

But, here is the Lord God, who humbled Himself, died on the cross for our sins and rose again, conquering sin and death - just because He wants to have a close relationship with everyone of us, and help us navigate life with awesome purpose!  So, as the Lord's love and blessings pour into our lives, may His love and blessings pour out of us to all those around us, so that more people will come to see, recognize and embrace the greatest Relationship one could ever have!

relationships (Matthew 9:18-26) The Touch of Love

(Matthew 9:18-26)

18 While He was saying these things to them, behold, a synagogue official came and bowed down before Him, and said, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will become alive again.” 19 Jesus got up from the table and began to accompany him, along with His disciples.

20 And behold, a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind Him, and touched the border of His cloak; 21 for she was saying to herself, “If I only touch His cloak, I will get well.” 22 But Jesus, turning and seeing her, said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” And at once the woman was made well.

23 When Jesus came into the official’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd in noisy disorder, 24 He said, “Leave; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him. 25 But when the crowd had been sent out, He entered and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. 26 And this news spread throughout that land.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

Not too long ago we read this verse...

(Matthew 5:17)  “Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill."

Now, according to anyone like the Pharisees, watching Jesus during His ministry here on earth, they would have accused Him of breaking several of God's Laws, just in this one day alone. By allowing a menstruating woman to touch Him, it would have rendered Him unclean for the rest of the day, according to Leviticus 15:19-33. And by touching a corpse, the most defiling kind of ritual uncleanness, He would have been considered impure for seven days, according to Numbers 19:11-22.

What we have to remember is that Jesus is God!  Not only is He sinless, He was able to remain sinless in touching these people to heal and give them life.  In the same way, because He is sinless, He was able to die on the cross in our place, taking onto Himself all sin, of all time, and paying the price, so that He could offer forgiveness, heal and give us eternal life when we put our faith in Him.    

The Lord God desires that all come to know Him, personally, and so, makes Himself available to us everywhere, all of the time, in any circumstance!  It is up to us to set aside our pride, and humbly go to Him, in faith, knowing that He alone is able.  

Just like this woman who acted with such great faith, was willing to be scorned by society, because she had been suffering a disease that deemed her continually unclean, which therefore kept her isolated, and most likely unable to have children, therefore kept her unmarried.  In that state, she should not have even been out among people, never mind touching someone.  Many teachers avoided touching women altogether, just in case they would become accidentally contaminated.  But,  knowing and having faith that Jesus loved and cared, and would understand, and would be able to supernaturally heal her, she reached out to Jesus! 

Just like this synagogue official, who humbled himself before the Lord by bowing before Him, with an onlooking crowd!  A man of this status would never have bowed to anyone, except before a king.  And man with that kind of knowledge of scripture, would have known that it was okay to prostrate oneself before God.  As well, he would have known that to touch a corpse was asking a lot, but he did it anyway.  Therefore, we know that this man recognized Jesus' power in a serious way, and that he knew just who Jesus was - the King of kings, and Lord of lords!

As for the people at the official's house, typically when someone passed away, families were expected to hire flute players and professional female mourners, to lead the people in cathartic release, with shrieking and the beating of breasts.  And, the richer you were, the more you would hire.  So when Jesus said that the girl was not dead, but was asleep, the laughter would have been mostly from those professional people who had no personal attachments to the girl, and would have known exactly what dead people look like!  Yet still, this official knew that Jesus is able to resurrect people from the dead!

These miracles that Jesus performed were physical, but even more amazing is that Jesus is able and desires to:  forgive us and wash us clean;  spiritually heal us and make us a new creation in Him;  give us purpose and a much better way;  supply us and equip us with everything we need;  AND give us eternal life!  This is because He is love, and desires that all come to have a personal relationship with Him!  Then, once we become a child of God, in faith, we are to run to Him, to be touched by Him, for His healing, comfort, peace, joy, strength and help... because we should know that He is more than willing and able to do the impossible!

relationships (Matthew 9:14-17) Being Made New

(Matthew 9:14-17)

14 Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “The attendants of the groom cannot mourn as long as the groom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results. 17 Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

I'm going to start with a basic social norm that is an unhealthy outlook.  There are those who equate and evaluate someone's love by how much time and money is spent on them, and/or how many extravagant hoops someone jumps through.  Like, "you must prove your love to me by fulfilling every single whim that I have!"  As well, there are those who say their "love language" is gift-giving.  Even if they say it is only about GIVING gifts, if they are really honest, it'll also be about GETTING gifts!  And even if these gifts are inexpensive and/or handmade, the cost still adds up, with a lot of time and effort that has to go into this.

What if money is tight?  What if one has to work longer hours or get a second job just to accommodate these acquisitions in their budget?  What if one gets sick or is laid off?  What happens when the gifts stop?  Does that mean they no longer love you, or that you no longer love them?  In the Bible, we are told to love, and we are given the definition of how, in 1 Corinthians 13.  And the ways that we are told to be generous with our resources, is to give to God, His church... and to those in need, while always making sure that we do not neglect our family's needs!  These are very practical things, but in God's kingdom, everything that we do, which includes serving God and others, should be done with God's agape (unconditional and sacrificial) love!

We know that all of God's commandments can be summed up into two:  love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength;  and then, love others!  Christianity and our faith is not about the do's and don'ts, it is all about God's love and having a personal relationship with Him!!!  Then, our obedience to God's will, in everything we say and do in His love, strength, wisdom and guidance will be the evidence of our love for Him.

Now to tie this into the verses above.  Not that giving or getting gifts, or having traditions is wrong, but these should not become religious.  Traditions can run very deep, and for the Israelites, there was a big problem with the Pharisees who kept adding to them, and not just as traditions, but as spiritual tenants and must-do-rituals.  Like, IF you say you love God - if you REALLY love God - then you are going to do this and this and this and this... but "this" is only in efforts to APPEAR righteous, and nothing about BEING righteous (which is to HAVE God's righteousness in our lives)!

The only place that God asked the Israelites to fast, was on the Day of Atonement, to be accompanied with prayer.  As we just saw in previous verses, fasting and prayer was to be kept personal, and not to become a big production for attention.  But the very religious Jews added many other mandatory fasts.  Many Pharisees would fast two days a week without food and even without water.

Meanwhile, wedding feasts traditionally were seven days of festivities and joy!  Therefore, people were not to fast or mourn or even do difficult labor during the time of a wedding feast.  Therefore, Jesus likens Himself to a groom who is celebrating with His attendants (the disciples).  The time for fasting and mourning would happen later - when Jesus went to the cross.  And then after His ascension, during the Church Age, there are times we can take to fast, and really focus on Him in prayer.  

Jesus in flesh is not here with us, but He is always with us in spirit... as the Lord is omnipresent, as well, all believers have His indwelling Holy Spirit.  We just kind of forget and/or take Him for granted, and so, we require daily devotions, praying without ceasing, being with our church family, and periodic fasting...!

So, now, how does the clothes and wineskin analogies apply?  Very practically, just doing nice things in efforts to please God and others, is like unwisely putting a patch of new fabric onto older fabric, which shrinks and causes clothing to tear!  And new wine as it ferments will expand and burst old wineskins, because they have already been stretched to capacity.  But Jesus isn't even recommending that we try to patch ourselves up!  Jesus wants to make people new!  

When we become believers, and put our faith in the Lord, there is a spiritual transformation.  As soon as we repent and ask the Lord into our lives, we are born of water and the Spirit, being cleansed from sin and receiving His indwelling Holy Spirit which comes with a spiritual renewal.  Dying to sin, we are born again into God's family.  We are covered in the righteousness of Jesus and become a new creation in Christ!  Then..

In our spiritual journey, it is our decision to strive in obedience and steadfastness.  We just have to remember that we have the Lord with us at all times, and He wants to help us in everything!  It is not about appearing righteous, and certainly not about doing what we think is right, which diminishes or adds to God's word.  It is about allowing God to help us be righteous... in His righteousness!

I recently heard it being put this way, and it's an amazing way to view this... Let us not ask ourselves what we can do for God, but let us ask God what He wants us to do for Him, and experience how He is going to equip and help us in our obedience, and bless the process and result!

relationships (Matthew 9:10-13) True Acceptance

(Matthew 9:10-13)

10 Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and began dining with Jesus and His disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Now go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

In society today, there is rhetoric being thrown around about being compassionate, tolerant, accepting, affirming and approving.  Let us not be deceived.  These words are often used to manipulate us in some way, to make us feel guilty and/or prideful and selfish.  Therefore, when we hear something, we need to look at facts and compare these against God's truth.  

Yes, we are to have compassion, but this should not enable or encourage people to commit crimes against others, otherwise, we are only showing compassion on criminals and not on the victims.  Yes, we should be tolerant in allowing people to express their ideas and beliefs, but if and when they contradict with God's will and His word, we should not buy into wrong thinking.  And yes, we should be accepting - as in loving everyone!!!  But we are not affirm or approve of wrong behavior!  To say that something is right and good, when it is actually harmful and wrong, is not love!

As it should be, the people in the passage above were criminals and sinners who felt remorse for their crimes and sin!  And as it should be, they went to the Lord who is the only one who can forgive sin.

God is only "tolerant" in the fact that He has created everyone with a free will, and therefore does not force anyone to love Him back or be obedient to His will.  He patiently gives everyone fair opportunity to realize their sinful nature and their need for Him to be in their lives, as their heavenly Father, as their close Friend and Confidant, as their Mentor and Teacher, as their Lord and Savior!

And the Lord God is the only one who truly is accepting.  Being holy, He cannot have a relationship with sin.  This is why we need His forgiveness.  Because He loves us, He desires to have a close relationship with EVERYONE.  This is why He came in flesh to pay the price for sin and death.  THEREFORE, He wants us to go to Him - AS WE ARE - but with a humble heart, and in His salvation, He changes us from the inside out.

We have to realize that we are sick, in need of a physician!  A person cannot be religious and attempt to work or earn their way to heaven.  Self-righteousness is actually a sin.  It's funny how people over evaluate their efforts.  But if we compare our goodness to the goodness of God, our good deeds are but filthy rags!  When we compare our love to the love of God, we will realize how self-centered and selfish we really are! 

No good deed is good enough to work our way into heaven!  No sin is too great for God to forgive.  When we humbly repent and ask the Lord to come into our hearts, the Lord forgives us, covers us with His righteousness, and gives us His indwelling Holy Spirit, so that we can continue on in close communion with Him.  And one day, the Lord will judge and reward all believers according to the good deeds done with His love and righteousness!

relationships (Matthew 9:9) Hungry For More

(Matthew 9:9)

9 As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew sitting in the tax collector’s office; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

First of all, no one LIKES to pay taxes, but the tax collector in Israel, in those days, were extra hated, because these Israelites were working for the Romans, and collecting taxes which went mostly to Rome.  AND, these tax collectors would raise the amounts in order to skim off the top, so, they also got super rich from cheating their fellow citizens.  Therefore, they may have been rich, but they would have been very lonely:  not fitting in with the Romans, and not fitting in with their own people.  And, let's just add to that the guilt they would have felt for stealing.  

Let's go over this again.  This man, Matthew, was being used by the enemy, and hated by his people.  He would have felt lonely and guilt-ridden, as well as empty... because when you are just living for money and yourself, it'll never be enough!  So, what other diabolical strategies were floating around in his mind as to how to get more?  How long until he started wondering if this was really worth it?  How much was he thinking that there must be more to life, and there must be a better way?

Now, Jesus comes along!  Jesus already knows what is in Matthew's heart and mind, and sees his empty, hungry soul!  Jesus knows that Matthew is ready!  And, all Jesus has to say is, "Follow Me!"  And Matthew gets up immediately to follow!  There wasn't any, "Wait, first let me earn just a little bit more money", or "Let me think about this..."  Matthew was willing to leave it all behind.  

Since Jesus was staying in Capernaum for the most part, we can be very sure that Matthew knew a lot about Jesus already.  Maybe Matthew frequently saw Jesus and His disciples walk past him.  Perhaps Matthew had watched as Jesus taught and healed others.  Nonetheless, at some point Matthew might have realized that this is God in flesh.  At the very least, he would have recognized that there was something very different about Him, and he wanted to know more.

While Matthew didn't fully know Jesus yet, he dropped everything to follow Jesus, to pursue a personal relationship with Him, as His disciple, student, friend, servant...  How willing are we, us believers who say that we love others because we love God, and know so much about the Lord already?  When God calls us to serve in some way, or talk to someone who is ready, are we willing and ready to drop everything?

Imagine if someone were sitting on the side of the road, starving, holding up a sign saying that they need something to eat, and we, feeling filled, have a bit of food with us - are we just going to keep walking?  This is a lesson for me, for sure.  God sees and knows those who have hungry souls, so when He asks us to talk to someone about Jesus and the good news, imagine that they are starving, and we have the spiritual food that will fill them, satisfy them, and nourish them for all eternity!

Could someone reject this food when we offer it to them?  Sure.  Just like a person who is physically hungry.  There are times people will turn down food, because of pride and not wanting to be seen accepting charity.  There are times people will turn down food, because they're hoping for something they think is tastier.  

There's that saying, beggars can't be choosers, yet people will still feel so entitled... UNTIL they are truly, truly hungry!  So, even if we offer a hungry person spiritual food, and they turn this down - maybe they even persecute us - but perhaps over time they will remember this offering that was graciously presented to them with God's love, and they accept Jesus into their hearts!  We don't know who is that hungry, or who will be that hungry in the future, but the Lord does!  So again, when God calls us to follow, are we - not just willing - but are we excited to do so!!!???