MARCH 21 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29)

MARCH 21  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29)

LIVING FOR JESUS Daily Prayer    

JESUS, another day and new mercies and “Hope” for our future. You Lord have commanded us to “take up our cross” daily and then with great assurance You immediately add that once we take up the cross that we are also commanded by You to “Follow Me” — Lord thank you for teaching us that by “following” you that You will help us bear the burden of our cross and even though it is a cross that is heavy to bear physically that it is a “spiritual blessing” and will lead us to the Narrow Gate and we can rest assured that You will be with us each step of the “Way”.    AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JESUS uses a simple sparrows and coin Question that points us to a simple plot of spiritual ground that seems to not hold anything of significance but once we have scratched the surface of His Lesson we find that we have uncovered many kingdom gems and if we continue digging in this tremendous Chapter 10 in the Gospel of Matthew we will find some extraordinary “Truths of God” that will help us to know how to please “our Father in heaven” and to inherit “everlasting life”. As we study the Teachings of Jesus we see that Jesus always Teaches that the physical “Choices” we make have “Spiritual Consequences”. Jesus always Teaches us how to look at the physical with spiritual eyes and Jesus promises that  our “Trust in God” will “cure our spiritual blindness” and we will be able to see the “Will of the Father”. Matthew Chapter 10 is a very important “Lesson” for all who seek to know the Father and want to follow His Only Begotten Son Jesus for we see that Jesus starts Matthew Chapter 10 by calling each of His disciples by name and then He sends them out to the “lost sheep” with His Message that the “kingdom of God is at hand”. Jesus gives His disciples a specific set of instructions of how to demonstrate the Power of God so that the “lost” can be saved and inherit everlasting life. Jesus informs the disciples what the cost of discipleship will be as well as what the compensation and rewards will be for following Him. Jesus always asks a Question in His Lessons that will laser-focus us on the most important aspect of the Lesson and in this very important Matthew Chapter 10 where Jesus is equipping His disciples to share His Message with the lost, Jesus keeps us focused on the “spiritual value” of those that choose discipleship. Jesus instructs the disciples to (1) heal the sick (2) cleanse the lepers and (3) cast out demons — all actions which can only be accomplished by the Power of God — so we can be assured that Jesus will not ask them to perform a task He has not equipped them for!  To draw the disciples attention to trusting God for their daily bread, Jesus tells them to “go” but not to take any money with them, not to pack a bag for their journey, not to take extra clothes, shoes, or staffs because God will provide for all their physical needs and will equip them with all their spiritual needs to accomplish their jobs as Jesus states: “for a worker is worthy of his food.” (Matthew 10:6-10). Jesus reminds them that they will be as “sheep in the midst of wolves” and that men will “scourge” them (Matthew 10:16-18) however, Jesus never told them the “cost” of discipleship without assuring them that God would “equip” them to both endure and prosper and most importantly that God would always be with them. Jesus tells them immediately “But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak: for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” (Matthew 10:19-20) Jesus continually points to the “Truth of God” that God will provide and that the “spiritual” should always take precedence over the “physical” as illustrated in the sparrow and copper coin (Matthew 10:29a) Question! We can glimpse this valuable “spiritual gem” if we but dig into the field of “God’s Truth” and we use these instructions on what to expect as disciples of Jesus doing kingdom work in a lost world, just get ready, roll up your sleeves and keep digging in God’s Word!

MARCH 20 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29)

MARCH 20  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer   

JESUS, Lord I praise You for Your Faithfulness — I am amazed when I read a prayer lifted up to You (or as Pastor Steve says “spread it before the LORD”) that I wrote in 2004 and realize that many years after the prayer request was made and even though the answer to that prayer request took several years to be answered and arrived in a most unexpected “Way”, that the answer is definitely the answer to that specific 2004 prayer and is Your Divine Way, answered in Your Perfect Timing — “Answered Prayers” like this are beyond our expectations and imaginations and is the perfect example of “waiting upon the LORD”! This “looking back” at prayers lifted years ago and were faithfully answered definitely “grows my Faith”. I am also learning that I am to lift my prayer to You and then “wait on the Lord” without me telling You “How” to answer my prayer in the “Way” I think it should be answered but to “trust God” and “Your Perfect Way and Perfect Timing”!       AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JESUS uses a simple sparrows and coin Question as a contrast to a very serious set of commands that He uses to instruct His disciples how to go out into the world and share the Word of God with a lost and dying world, therefore the simple Question should be considered in its entire serious context. So far we have noted that there are some very serious instructions being given for a very serious task Jesus is assigning to His new disciples. A reading of the verses Matthew 10:1-28 are instructions Jesus gave to His disciples as He was equipping them with “tools” to successfully share the Gospel with the world and Jesus made it very clear that this “sharing” is for a very serious purpose and uses a vocabulary of serious terms and and lists  “Eternal Consequences” such as “Eternal life in heaven or Eternal damnation in hell”. Jesus also showed the seriousness of understanding that our lives have a “physical” value and a “spiritual” value and that the ability of men to “kill” the “body” was inconsequential to the ability of God to “destroy” the “soul”. The world has told us the greatest thing to “fear” is our physical death but God reminds us that our physical lives are but a vapor and our bodies come from dust and at our death our physical bodies return to the earth from where it came. But of greater seriousness, our “soul” which God through His Holy Spirit made “eternal” returns to the Creator of our souls when the “physical body” dies. At the time of our physical death, the “body and soul” are separated and our “Eternal Soul” returns to God. Jesus Taught this same Lesson to the most learned man in Jerusalem and a leader of the Jerusalem synagogue in John 3:1-21 as Jesus tells Nicodemus “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3) and again “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5) Jesus then tells Nicodemus that we have two births: (1) a “physical birth” which is of our earthly father and (2) a “Spiritual birth” which is from our heavenly “Father” as Jesus tells Nicodemus plainly “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). Therefore when Jesus is training His disciples to share His Gospel, He asks the sparrow and copper coin Question to make us consider the “value” of our earthly “body” and the lessons of the “flesh” as compared to the “value” of our “soul” and the Lessons of the Spirit which contains “eternal life”. It is the “Choice” we make with our “Spirit” that has “Eternal Consequences”. Jesus gives us “Hope” because He also tells the disciples how to please God so that God will accept them in Heaven as Jesus tells the disciples: “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in Heaven.” (Matthew 10:32) That is GOOD NEWS because we know the Father is “well pleased” with the Son and here the Son is telling us that He will accompany us to Heaven and present us Himself to “our Father who is in Heaven” (Matthew 6:9). Pleasing God is as simple as John 3:16 — read it for yourself and claim your promised eternal life!

PERSONAL TESTIMONY ON THE “WAR OF FLESH AND SPIRIT”:

NOTE: 3/19/17 JOE VEAL, FOUNDER OF UTURN MINISTRIES IN MALAWI, SPOKE AT CALVARY ON ROMANS 7:13-25 “THE WAR OF THE FLESH AND SPIRIT” AND WHEN I WAS IN MALAWI GOD WORKED “THE MIRACLE IN MALAWI” THROUGH ME AS THE HOLY SPIRIT SPOKE THESE PASSAGES FROM JOHN 3:3,5-6 THROUGH ME TO A DYING MAN (WHO HAD JUST DRANK POISON TRYING TO KILL HIMSELF)!!!  THE HOLY SPIRIT PULLED DEATH OUT OF THE POISONED MAN AND THE HOLY SPIRIT ALSO PULLED DEATH OUT OF ME IN THE PROCESS!!!  THE FACT THAT I HAD BEGUN A “WAR” BETWEEN MY FLESH AND SPIRIT ON 3/18/17 SATURDAY AND JOE VEAL SPEAKING FROM ROMANS CHAPTER 7 ON 3/19/17 SUNDAY SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THAT “WAR”, AND THEN ON 3/20/17 MONDAY THIS JESUS QUESTION IS ABOUT THE WORDS JESUS USED TO HEAL THE SUICIDAL MAN IN MALAWI FROM JOHN 3 ARE 3 “CONFIRMATIONS” FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT ON MY “WAR OF THE FLESH AND SPIRIT” AND ALLOWS ME THE FREEDOM TO MOVE ON IN SERVICE TO GOD — AS JOE SAYS FROM A PASSAGE IN ISAIAH — “HERE I AM, SEND ME”!!!

MARCH 19 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29)

MARCH 19  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29)

Daily Prayer to JESUS

JESUS, praise to the Name that is above all names, the Name by which the sinner can be forgiven and blessed of God, for our sins are against God only, and only Jesus met the requirement of the Lamb Without Spot and presented Himself to God as the Perfect Sacrifice for the Atonement of the sins of the world. Jesus, I call on Your Name and beg again for Your Mercy that is renewed in our lives fresh every morning. Lord there are more reasons than can be numbered why we should praise You but Lord it is enough that You Loved me and died on the cross for me but alas my heart leaps for Joy when I read that God Resurrected You on the Third Day and You now sit at the Right Hand of God making Intercession for this sinner saved by GRACE — Praise the Holy Name of Jesus!      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JESUS asks a simple Question about “sparrows” and “a copper coin” which just doesn’t seem relative to our lifestyles of iPads and Smartphones, besides no one sells sparrows any more and certainly no business man today in our “Profit-is-king-world” that would present a “two-for” product that costs a “penny”. So the question we must ask of JQ#10 is “Why was the simple question about birds and a penny asked in the first place?”  Therein lies the answer, and the Question only makes sense if we look at the circumstances surrounding both the Question and the “One” who is asking it. The first consideration is “who(?)” is asking the Question and the answer is all the way back in Matthew 10:5 as we read, “These twelve (disciples) JESUS sent out and commanded them saying…”. In my Scofield Red-Letter Edition all the Words of Jesus are in Red Letters and in this passage (or context) preceding JQ#10 about the two sparrows and a copper coin, the text is all Red Letters starting at the end of verse 5 and is Red up to verse 29 where Jesus asked this Question of the “two sparrows” and “a copper coin” which identifies Jesus as the “One” asking the Question. Not only is the Question asked by Jesus but we must consider that just before He asked the Question that He had “commanded” His hand-picked disciples as He “sent [the disciples] out” to share with the world that “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 10:7) Contained in verses Matthew 10:5-28, this set of commands Jesus is giving His disciples to share about the “kingdom of heaven being at hand” is (1) “heal the sick” (2) “cleanse the lepers” (3) “raise the dead” (4) and “cast out demons” then Jesus warns them (5) they “are sheep in the midst of wolves” (6) to “be wise as serpents” (7) and “beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils” (8) and men “will scourge you in their synagogues” (9) “brother will deliver up brother to death”. Jesus also warned them that His disciples will (10) “be hated by all for My names sake” (Matthew 10:8-22). These serious warnings and commands do not seem to fit with the simple question about “two sparrows” and “a copper coin” and especially when we consider that the last phrase Jesus used just before asking the sparrows and coin question in Matthew 10:29 was “fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell.”(Matthew 10:28)!?!?  Considering the context before the Question gives much more weight to the Question, especially since the Question was asked by Jesus in the process of Teaching His disciples how to share with “the lost sheep” that the “kingdom of heaven is at hand”.  Jesus talks of life, death, betrayal, heaven, and hell and the destruction of “both soul and body” to prepare His disciples who are about to enter into the world to preach the Gospel which the very contrast itself makes the sparrow and coin Question jump out and grab our attention — which is most probably the exact effect Jesus intended for the disciples and that He also intends for us! The Lesson Jesus is Teaching with the simple Question of sparrows has great kingdom impact and Jesus takes a very serious topic and Jesus asks a simple Question that anyone can answer in order to show us that the “kingdom of heaven” is within everyone’s grasp! If Jesus was Teaching His disciples how to teach the “lost sheep” of Israel about (1) the “kingdom of heaven” and (2) how to address their eternal souls: “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32); then we should (1) take the sparrow and coin Question very serious and (2) honestly answer this JESUS Question — — — because Jesus is talking about such serious issues as “eternal life and death, lost sheep, and destruction of our souls” then His question deserves an honest answer! Let Jesus and the Holy Spirit teach us the Lesson that He has intended for us — Remember Jesus wants a personal relationship with us!!! So in order to build an intimate relationship with the ONE that Loved us enough to die on a cross for us, don’t You think an honest Question asked with the Best of Intentions should be honored with an honest answer?

MARCH 18 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29)

MARCH 18  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29)

LIVING FOR JESUS Daily Prayer    

JESUS, Jesus, Jesus O just to say the Name above all names! Often Lord I just stop and say the Name JESUS and my soul is flooded with PEACE for I am uttering the Name as a greeting to the beginning of a conversation with YOU and I am overwhelmed that I am having a conversation with God!  Just the thought that God exists and has good plans for my life and that GOD has planned for my future is mind-boggling! But when I think of the reality that I am calling Him by the precious Name above all names in order to start a conversation with the Creator, it is beyond any imaginable thought! The LORD of ALL, the ALMIGHTY GOD, the EVERLASTING FATHER both HEARS and ANSWERS — and my heart is melted by His Compassion and all I can do is utter again, JESUS, JESUS, JESUS!    AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JESUS is talking about simple birds and a near worthless copper coin which would seem to the casual reader as an “outdated” Question and would have no relevance in our world today of trillion dollar deficits and $15/hr minimum wage! The casual reader however must consider as all must consider, the “Truth of God” that lies within both the answer as well as “why” the Question was asked in the first place?!?.  The more I meditate on the Bible and its very existence, the more I am amazed that the Bible is the Bible because it CONTAINS THE WORDS OF GOD AND HIS PLAN FOR ALL MANKIND!!!  WHY OH WHY WOULD A CREATOR GOD GO TO SO MUCH TROUBLE??? Jesus was not trying to get us to consider the product and the price, Jesus was calling our attention to a “Deep Truth of God”, and that “Truth of God” is that He equally values everything in His Creation! We cannot casually read the Question because God immediately reveals His Divine Intent when He asks the Question and immediately directs our thinking to His Divine Will when he finishes JQ#10 (Matthew 10:29a) with: “And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.” (Matthew 10:29b) And when we add the immediate context of verses Matthew 10:28 and Matthew 10:30 surrounding the Question of “our personal value to GOD” posed by Jesus in Matthew 10:29, we cannot miss the seriousness of this Question when in verse 28 Jesus reminds us that we have a “soul” and that the  “soul” can be “destroyed” ——— then Jesus in the same sentence adds that having the “soul destroyed” is infinitely worse than the “killing of the body”!!! Verse 28 draws our attention to the fact that there is a “physical body” and a “spiritual body” but while the physical body is finite and has a time limit and can be killed, that the death of the “physical” body is nothing compared to the “destruction” of our “spiritual body” which is our eternal “soul”. Jesus points out that our body can be killed by man but only God controls the soul which is eternal. Matthew 10:28 alerts us of the ultimate “judgement” when God decides where our “soul” will spend eternity — we will either please God and be with Him in Heaven forever in fellowship with Him or we will displease God and be found guilty of rejecting His gift of Grace and the eternal punishment of rejecting God will be spending eternity in Hell without Him. This Eternal Heaven/Hell subject should not be considered as outdated and we should consider what God tells us in Matthew 10:30 “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” God talks of Eternal rewards in verse 28, then two sparrows in 29, and then in 30 He informs us that He knows the number of hairs on our head with the overall message being, (1) There will be a judgement and the reward/punishment will be earned by our decisions in life {See Law of Choice and Consequence} (2) Everything in God’s creation has a purpose and value in the eye’s of God and (3) God has planned out the details in our lives and we can rest assured His desire for us is “good” when He sums up with “Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:31) Jesus never leaves us hanging as He tells us how easy it is to please God in Matthew 10:32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.”— anyone interested in the “God-pleasing Truth”?  

MARCH 17 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29)

MARCH 17  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29)

LIVING FOR JESUS Daily Prayer    

JESUS, Lord, may thanksgiving and praise always be on my lips for You Lord have blessed me beyond anything I could have imagined and certainly more than I deserve. Jesus, thank You for showing me that True Blessings are so much more valuable than anything money can buy! Lord, to know that we are held safe in the hands of the Father and that His Perfect Will is directed towards only “good” for us is the most comforting assurance life can provide, and we know that YOU LORD JESUS — YOU ARE —  THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE — Praise God from Whom ALL BLESSINGS flow.     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JESUS uses two sparrows and a copper coin, common everyday things, but leave it to the Master to use the common everyday things in our daily lives to teach the “Sublime”! Though the objects are common, the Lesson Jesus Teaches is all about “value”! “Value” is a relative term, for instance, if a man has a million dollars but is lost in the desert and is dying of thirst, how many millions of dollars would the thirsty man give for a single class of water? We are all familiar with the term “inflation” and the affect “inflation” has on our “household income” — “inflation” is nothing more than money losing its “value” thereby we can observe in our daily lives that the “value” of money is not constant and therefore the “true value” of money is SUBJECT TO THE EVER-BLOWING WINDS OF CHANGE! God is addressing “spiritual value” in JQ#10 — and the “Way” that He conveys His message about how we think about our “spiritual value” is truly “Divine”! The immediate context to the Question of “true value” found in JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? (Matthew 10:29) focuses our attention to the important Lesson of how we assign “true value” to our lives. Jesus in Matthew 10:28 directs our thinking so that we will understand that “value” is relative and that there is both “physical value” and “spiritual value” to our lives when He declares to His Disciples (whom Jesus is sending out into the world with His Message): “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28) Jesus is very specific and very serious because He specifically uses the terms “fear”, “kill the body”, “kill the soul”, “fear Him”, and “able to destroy both body and soul in hell”. Jesus has just introduced the most serious terms that anyone, anywhere, anytime will ever have to address. Let’s look at these terms that Jesus uses to introduce the specific topic of “spiritual value” and keep in mind that Jesus is in the middle of Teaching His disciples how to go out into the world to witness about the “kingdom of God”. Therefore there has to be a “Divine Reason” that Jesus gets so serious and so specific!!! Therefore, we should “listen and learn” with equal seriousness. The first term that gets our attention is “fear” and again if we look at how Jesus uses the word “fear” it is to tell us first “do not fear” and then turns around in the same sentence and says “but rather fear”?? Jesus is revealing one of those “deep” mysteries of God! The secret God reveals here is the “Truth of God”  that “fear” is a good thing if it is directed towards the purpose God intended when He spoke “HIS TRUTH” into the world. “GOD’S TRUTH” NEVER changes therefore  ——— GOD’S TRUTH IS OF ETERNAL-INFINITE VALUE so we must dig deep enough into these statements that Jesus makes to discover the “Truth of God” about “proper fear” and see the “good” that only God can bring forth from every element of His Creation — all earthly “value” is “relative” to its association with God’s Kingdom. In this case Jesus places “do not fear” with “those who kill the body” and immediately Jesus points to the “Truth of God” that there is something more “deadly” than killing the “body” and that we should be concerned more about our “soul” than about our “body”. Jesus is telling us that the death of the “body” is of no “consequence” to our “eternity” but that our “soul” is “priceless”!!! Jesus is seriously Teaching that all our energy should be expended towards consideration of our “spiritual eternity” ——— and that, my “brothers and sisters”, is where the “rubber hits the road”. Have you checked your “spiritual condition” lately?

MARCH 16 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29)

MARCH 16  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29)

LIVING FOR JESUS Daily Prayer    

JESUS, each day the sun rises and I awaken to the “Hope” that is Christ Jesus. My soul is expectant, for I know that You are FAITHFUL in Your Promises and I know You have plans for my good stored up for me. Your Word teaches “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: Great is Thy faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22). Lord, I know I deserve “punishment” and I give thanks that I am “not consumed” and acknowledge that my punishment was paid for on the Cross because of Your Compassion and Great Love for the “unloveable” and that with each new day I can look to the faithful rising of the “Son” to “Light” my new day with Your Mercy and Grace!    AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JESUS has used two common sparrows and a simple common copper coin to point us to a “Spiritual Treasure” of greater value than any earthly treasure one could accumulate or even imagine — for when the context of JQ#10 is studied we will find that the deeper we dig into God’s Word the more “spiritual” gems and treasures we will uncover. Jesus had already Taught us in JQ#02 & JQ#03 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth…” which are not lasting but Jesus pointed us to the lasting value of gathering “spiritual gems” when He continued commenting on “treasure hunting” … “…but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…” then Jesus added the bonus gem, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21) This great jewel of a Lesson that if we lay up “treasures in heaven” that our “heart” will be in “heaven” also came sandwiched between the reward for praying “for those who spitefully use you and persecute you that you may be sons of your Father in heaven…” (JQ#02 - Matthew 5:44-45) and “…is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? (JQ#03 - Matthew 6:25) Remember Jesus shows us where to look to find our “spiritual treasures” as He pointed out how to prioritize our earthly desires and our heavenly opportunities: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these [spiritual gems/truths] shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33) Therefore let us dig into the “treasure filled” Chapter 10 in the Gospel of Matthew and see what “spiritual gems” will surface! Matthew Chapter 10 begins with Jesus calling His twelve hand-selected disciples (Matthew 10:1-4) and then gives them their first “assignment” (Matthew 10:5). Again, if we just read the first 5 verses in Chapter 10 and note the obvious we are actually robbing ourselves of “spiritual treasures” that are reserved for those that dig below the surface of the obvious because they know that “treasures” are always “buried” and that in order to find those “buried treasures" we will need to allow for “some deep-digging” if we are to “uncover the spiritual-treasure”. Jesus had Taught in JQ#08 that just our thinking about digging never gets the hole dug and if we are to grab hold of the treasure we must put “feet to our prayers” and “action to our words” therefore I paraphrase Matthew 9:5 “Arise and [dig]”. Digging into Matthew 10:1-5 we can notice that (1) Jesus called each disciple where that disciple lived. (2) None of the callings came as the disciples were getting out of their Mercedes in fancy clothes in the church parking lot or in air-conditioned sanctuaries with padded pews but rather Jesus calls us as we are doing the task of everyday living. (3) Jesus not only knew each of their names, Jesus called them by their first names. (4) By example of His Personal Invitation to each disciple individually it is demonstrated that ***JESUS wants a personal and intimate relationship with each individual and is willing to come to us where we live***, dressed the way we are, doing the things we do on a day-to-day basis. (5) In other words, Jesus wants us to “Follow Him” just the way we are and He knows our name! (6) In verse 5 we read, “These 12 Jesus sent out and commanded them…” which says that Jesus will teach those that answer His individual call, that His teachings have purpose, and (7) Jesus trusts us to share His message with others. That’s a lot of “spiritual treasures” but keep in mind that heaven is big enough to store them all!

MARCH 15 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29)

MARCH 15  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29)

LIVING FOR JESUS Daily Prayer    

JESUS, thank You Lord for answering our prayers, but even more, thank You Lord that You Taught us the necessity of praying every day and how to be successful in our prayer life, and the blessings that flow down from the Father because of our prayers. Prayer is a miracle of God that is available to everyone 24/7/365 and has no physical limitations, no age limits, and is not restricted to race, color, or nationality — there are no gender restrictions, nothing exists to prevent anyone of any age, of any culture, of any social status to talk directly to God! Prayer is a miracle and I thank You Lord for the answered prayer that You gave me yesterday as I was allowed to serve and to witness to Your Mercy and Grace that You have bestowed on my family. Forgive me all my iniquities and guide me deeper into Your Truth and to share Your Love with those You have allowed me to serve in Your Name!    AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus has indeed been asking “simple” Questions yet the “simple” is “profound” when it is a Truth of God Taught by the Master Teacher. The individual Question/Lesson with their mere simplicity but deep “Truth of God” is a Lesson in itself. As I reflect on the Lessons learned from JQ#1-9, the additional Lesson that I have learned is that Jesus takes us a step at a time with simple Questions that we can easily answer even with our finite and limited intellect. Yet, when put together, as only the Master can, each Lesson builds upon the previous to coalesce into deep Spiritual Truths that give us guidance how to live successful Spiritual Lives and these Question/Lessons brings peace to our physical trials we all face during our worldly journey. As we seek to learn these Spiritual Truths we must focus on what the Master has asked us to focus on for the individual Lesson before us and Trust Him to put it together with the previous Lessons so that we will exclaim “…all things work together for good…” (Romans 8:28) and watch as our “Faith in the Rock” grows stronger as we learn “precept upon precept” (Isaiah 28:13). JQ#10 is found in the middle of a tremendous chapter in Matthew therefore we will use the whole of Matthew Chapter 10 as the context for JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29) which Jesus uses to encourage us “Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:31)  Jesus first asked the Question “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29a) and then Jesus followed the Question with this encouragement immediately after “… And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.” (Matthew 10:29b) Jesus is a Master Teacher because He asks a Question that can always be easily answered by every individual just by observing the world around us.  Also Jesus assures us that none of these Lessons are beyond anyone’s intellect, all we have to do is to look at our world and observe the “Truth of God”. Jesus then Teaches us how to apply the “Truth of God” that we observe in our day-to-day world to living a successful life in the world created by the “God of Truth”! Again we see that the “Question/Lesson” is simple in nature — JQ#10 is about 2 sparrows — everyone knows a sparrow when they see one and a sparrow is a common bird everyone is familiar with and everyone is also familiar with a simple copper coin, but then look at the great “Truth of God” that Jesus Teaches with these everyday items! Though they are simple and everyday items everyone is familiar with, the Lesson Jesus Teaches with them is about our “great individual value” to “our Father in heaven”! Jesus always encourages us if we will listen, for Jesus never lets us take off on a tangent with some wild answer for He immediately directs our attention to the “good” we will find with an “honest” open answer to His Divine Questions, such as is the case with JQ#10. For as soon as Jesus asks the Question, Jesus immediately assures us that our Abba Father values us and that the Father’s will for us is as Jeremiah states: “… plans for good and not for disaster, to give [us] a future and a hope…” (Jeremiah 29:11). Matthew Chapter 10 is a great insider’s look at what are the expectations and “Truth of God” about being a “follower of Jesus” and Matthew Chapter 10 includes the “costs of discipleship” and the “rewards of faithful service” — and like everything in God’s Economy, the ROI (Return On Investment) is out of this world, in fact it is HEAVENLY !!!