OCTOBER 10 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#30 “Do you not see all these things?” (Matthew 24:02)

 OCTOBER 10  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#30 “Do you not see all these things?”  (Matthew 24:02)

OCTOBER 10  LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer    

JESUS, Praise be to God from whom ALL BLESSINGS FLOW — Let us always remember that our “inalienable rights” are never guaranteed by any document or decree of mankind from “any culture or government” — “inalienable rights” are bestowed by the Creator, and no government nor edict of man can amend those “inalienable rights” — but only by the Grace and Mercy of the Creator can they be restored to a nation, and that restoration will only be accomplished through a Repentant and contrite National Spirit that yearns to return to God the Creator and His “inalienable rights — i.e., rights that cannot be repealed or restrained by human laws”!!!  Lord Jesus, You have shown Yourself Mighty to Your Remnant Body of Christians — Now embolden us with the Holy Spirit that Your Church can now be a Mighty Source of Healing for our Spiritual Blindness and bring America back to Your LIGHT. Forgive us of our collective sin of letting the “doctrines and traditions” of a corrupt political system establish our national morality! Lord Jesus, lead us back to Your Moral Standard in which “all men are created equal” and we will once again Trust in God to make AMERICA a “Chosen Nation” and that we will be known not as “hypocrites” but as a True Christian Nation once again and a LIGHT to the world!!!   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus asked this Question over 2000 years ago and yesterday the Holy Spirit revealed how to apply the Truth of God to America’s “2016 historic” national election for a new President and this blog from the Holy Spirit’s guiding is asking America to look at “all these things” that had happened to America prior to 2016 as the body of previously elected officials had established a set of “new political doctrines” that was taking AMERICA away from God and removing His Spirit from our heritage upon which this “once great nation” was founded! It appears that many Americans indeed could see that if we continued on that free-fall from God and His Moral Standard that we would have “Progressively” disintegrated into oblivion as a nation. Today the Spirit’s leading is reminding us that there will not be any “True Change” in our nation unless we do more than pay “lip service” to the “TRUTH OF GOD” but return as a nation to the Source of TRUE POWER ——— the SUPREME POWER of GOD ALMIGHTY that has established the “inalienable rights” that guarantees TRUE LIBERTY AND EQUALITY FOR ALL MEN — regardless of race, gender, or national identity. God IS the CREATOR and there is only ONE TRUTH, HIS TRUTH and only if we speak the TRUTH IN LOVE will it be known.

****************************************************

Natural rights are those that are not dependent on the laws or customs of any particular culture or government, and therefore universal and inalienable (i.e., rights that cannot be repealed or restrained by human laws). The concept of natural law is closely related to the concept of natural rights.

Natural and legal rights - Wikipedia

****************************************************

I quote from Oswald Chambers “My Utmost for His Highest” a paragraph from his commentary on NOVEMBER 9 “Sacred Service” that summarizes our path back to what made America Great in the first place, and I quote: “When we preach the historical facts of the life and death of our Lord as they are conveyed in the New Testament, our words are made sacred. God uses these words, on the basis of His redemption, to create something in those who listen which otherwise could never have been created…We must make sure that [as a nation] we are living in such harmony with God that as we proclaim His truth He can create in [the world] those things which He alone can do.”   We will never be a “Great Nation” without returning to the True Source of Greatness — it worked for the “founding fathers” and since God’s Power has not diminished even slightly it will work for America if we return to God’s Great Leadership — once again the world will see America as the Promised Land! Can you NOT SEE that this is a time for America to roll up our sleeves and get busy restoring our nation to God and let Him make us a “Great Nation” once again!!!

OCTOBER 09 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#30 “Do you not see all these things?” (Matthew 24:02)

 OCTOBER 09  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#30 “Do you not see all these things?”  (Matthew 24:02)

LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer    

JESUS, Praise Your Holy Name, for that Name is above all names! The Name of Jesus is Holy and Worthy of Praise for the Great Love demonstrated by the One that was born of flesh to live the Perfect Sinless Life yet Sacrificed Himself for our sin and the One Eternal Creator God that gave a sinful world His Only Begotten Son as a Gift of Grace ——— Grace is God’s Out-pouring of His Great Love for the world that He Loved So! Jesus, You were spotless and without blemish in Your walk “in-the-flesh” to free the world from sin and even though our transgressions and iniquities are many, God has provided for the Remission of Sins through our Repentance and belief in the Sacrifice of Jesus, the  Son and the Lamb of God! O Glorious Love, YOU DIED for our sins, O Lord, I BELIEVE and I yield my sin to You, for it is no longer my sin but Your sin that You bore on the cross for me! Let me therefore through the Righteousness that You have imparted to me worship You with all Honor and Praise and to serve You in Spirit and Truth!   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus had just told His disciples about the forthcoming destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and we should understand in our modern world that if God was going to destroy the Grandest temple every built to house the Presence of God in His Holy City Jerusalem because the nation of Israel no longer followed God and His Commands but had fallen into “hypocrisy” then what do you think is the penalty of any nation that is guilty of that deadly cancer of “hypocrisy” among its leaders?  Any nation that has been blessed by the Presence of God but then embraces the rejection of God and His Commands will surely be subject to the same judgement and penalty imposed on God’s chosen nation!?! Indeed Jesus had pronounced “Judgement” on all those that no longer follow God and His Commandments but choose as a nation to follow “the doctrines and traditions of men (our ‘elected’ officials)” — men that have abused and defiled the responsibility of the offices they held that had originally been instituted at the command of God making everyone who accepted the office to be responsible to God!  It was at this point of my reading that the Holy Spirit brought to my mind the fact that our elected officials have always been “sworn into office” and it is not a coincidence that the “swearing into office” has always involved putting their hand on the Holy Bible nor that the American court systems have always had those giving “testimonies” put their hand on the HOLY BIBLE and swear “to tell the TRUTH, the WHOLE TRUTH, and NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, SO HELP ME GOD!” The Holy Spirit then asked me, “Why would God punish His “chosen” nation Israel and destroy the temple in His Holy City Jerusalem because the nation had rejected His Standards and had begun following the “doctrines of men” and then not punish America that had “sworn so many oaths to God” but have now rejected God and His Standards and replaced the Ten Commandments with “Roe vs Wade”, embraced so many abominations against God, and have made ‘legal’ those things that were at one time in our nation an ‘affront’ to God?”?!?!?! There is no way we can enter into any “election” for future leaders of America without admitting the existence of the Living God and our national abandonment of His Standards that was so prevalent in the founding of America and was the Godly-Moral Standard of everything this nation did as it rose to being the greatest nation and power in the world! God is not dead — nor has He lost any of His Supreme Power and Authority — nor will He withhold His Judgement from a nation that continues to reject Him! He would not do it for Israel and He will not do it for America — there is no nation nor any people that are exempt from their responsibility to acknowledge their Creator that has blessed them and made them a great nation and a blessed people — America was not made great because we rejected God like we are doing in this generation,  nor can America escape the “judgement of God” and the TRUTH of GOD that unless we turn back to God and return to His Standards that we  as a former “Christian” nation will certainly “reap what we have sown”! The question that Jesus asked His disciples when He “departed from the temple” and then announced its “total destruction” applies each Election Day in America as we look back on our heritage as a “Christian Nation” based on the Moral Standards set forth by God in His Holy Bible and how can we “not see” that God is still in control and will punish any nation that has previously embraced His Blessings and Bountiful Provisions but is now so full of “hypocrisy” that God the Creator and Great Provider is not allowed in public office — God has given us so many examples for us to observe and now the Voice of Jesus, the Son of God asks a once God-fearing nation:

 +++  “Do you not see all these things?” (Matthew 24:2)  +++

+++ THE GREAT AWAKENING +++ 

OCTOBER 08 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#30 “Do you not see all these things?” (Matthew 24:02)

 OCTOBER 08  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#30 “Do you not see all these things?”  (Matthew 24:02)

LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer    

JESUS, all days are Your days for all Eternity is Yours and all that is in it, but Lord Jesus this day my Spirit is leading my soul to give this day as a “Special” day to worship You in a “Special” way! Lord Jesus, I do not want to think of the world but of what You are and Your Glory for You Lord Jesus are Worthy! Lord, neither the world nor my worldly life in the flesh would have even the smallest meaning without You and the Love of God being poured out on us in such a blessed way. Lord, I trust in You to lead me by the Holy Spirit to do the kingdom work You would have me to do so Lord, let me on this day especially think only thoughts of You and Your Glory that I might truly worship You in Spirit and in Truth!   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus was asked by His disciples to give them a “sign” of “[His] coming [again]”  and “of the end of the age” which was probably prompted by Jesus announcing as they left Jerusalem heading to the Mount of Olives that “not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down” indicating that the Great Temple built by Solomon was going to be totally destroyed! (Matthew 24:1-3) By this time His disciples had been with Him almost 3 years and had seen Jesus perform miracle after miracle, heal the lame and the blind, cast out demons, resurrect the dead, and not once had Jesus declared anything but the glory of His Father in heaven! So the disciples knew by now that Jesus had come to do the will of God and to return the nation to worshipping the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who had led them out of bondage in Egypt and had by His Mighty Hand delivered them to the “Promised Land”, so if Jesus said the temple would be destroyed, they knew full well the temple and all its grandeur would be destroyed!  The nation of Israel had built their existence around this temple of God built by Solomon in Jerusalem and now that Jesus was telling them that God is going to remove His Presence and the temple will be destroyed that the disciples were thinking that surely this was the end of an age! Jesus has repeatedly told them that He would be betrayed in Jerusalem and that He would die there but Jesus always added that even though He would die, that on the 3rd Day He would be “resurrected” and perhaps this was what the disciples were asking in terms of “Your coming [again?]” — Jesus has been telling His disciples all along that the “Judgement” was coming — at this time Jesus is still alive and therefore everything He is telling them about the future is “prophetic” so the disciples are now trying to get a handle on His leaving and what to do without a temple made of stone? Jesus begins His Olivet Discourse with a warning that others will come saying, “I am the Christ” and "deceive many” (Matthew 24:4-5) then Jesus starts making a list of “signs” of the “end of the age” and His “Coming Again”. The list of “signs” started with (1) others coming claiming they are the Christ, and then Jesus continued, (2) “there will be wars and rumors of wars” and Jesus added “See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass…” (3) “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” (4) “there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places” and again Jesus added, “All these [things] will be the beginning of sorrows.” (5) “they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.” (6) “many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another” (7) “many false prophets will rise up and deceive many”  (8) “lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold”, but before Jesus announces the last sign He gives them this encouragement: “But he who endures to the end shall be saved” then Jesus concludes the signs with (9) “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and THEN the END will come.” (Matthew 24:4-14) I cannot read this list without thinking about the state the world is in right now which makes me believe that any day now the last person to be added to the kingdom before the “Tribulation” begins will be preached “this gospel of the kingdom” and then the END WILL BEGIN! Everything on this list of signs has happened in the past generation and surely the END could happen with THIS GENERATION — I know that it is a good time to stop and listen to the ONE who gives HOPE and promises that all who “endures to the end shall be saved” — or you can listen to those preaching death and hate — it’s your “Choice”!?!?!

OCTOBER 07 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#30 “Do you not see all these things?” (Matthew 24:02)

 OCTOBER 07  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#30 “Do you not see all these things?”  (Matthew 24:02)

LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer   

JESUS, Lord of lords, Savior, Redeemer, the Good Shepherd, King of kings, praise be to the One that came in the Name of the LORD and became the Sacrificial Lamb of God. The Only Begotten SON of the Father that became flesh and dwelt among us not as a conquering king but as an innocent Babe who grew up as we grow up, who was tempted by the world as we are tempted yet Jesus did not yield to temptation but was obedient to the Father even unto death on the cross to complete the Plan of Salvation. Lord Jesus we know You LIVE today for You are still changing lives and resurrecting those dead in their sin to a New Life in Christ — we praise Your Holy Names and bow before You with a Repentant Heart seeking both Your Mercy and Your Grace. Lord, I anxiously await the appointed day when I stand face-to-face with the One that gave His Life for mine. Even so, Come LORD Jesus!!!     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus starts His Olivet Discourse on the Mount of Olives after He and His disciples had left Jerusalem just after Jesus had pronounced the “Seven Woes” against the scribes and Pharisees because their “hypocrisy” had become a deadly cancer which had infected the whole nation of Israel! Jesus entered the City on Palm Sunday and demonstrated His Messiahship after His Triumphal Entry when He went straight to the temple and restored it to a house of prayer as it was intended by God where Jesus began immediately healing the lame and the blind that came to Him in the temple. But now several days later, “Jesus went out and departed from the temple” (Matthew 24:1) and when the disciples stopped and looked back at the temple buildings that were among the greatest structures in the world, Jesus asked them, “Do you not see all these things?” (Matthew 24:2) then Jesus told them that the grand temple and all its buildings would be utterly destroyed and “not one stone shall be left here upon another…” which was a complete shock to His disciples for the nation’s identity was this grand temple in Jerusalem! As they left the city I am sure the disciples were silent and were contemplating their lives without a temple in the City of David! Once they arrived at the Mount of Olives they approached Jesus and began to question Him about His comment for they knew that Jesus “spoke” and things happened just like He said they would — and there were NO EXCEPTIONS! (Matthew 24:1-2) His disciples asked Jesus, “Tell us, when will these things be?…” which started Jesus on His Olivet Discourse in which He started with a warning, “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying. ‘I am the Christ’, and will deceive many.” (Matthew 24:3a-5) Jesus then started answering the other questions asked privately by His disciples, “…And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3b) Just by looking at the disciples questions we can assume that Jesus has been talking to them about two very specific events that will happen in the “future”: (1) Jesus is going to “Come again” for the disciples are sitting talking to Jesus and asking “What will be the sign of Your coming…” and (2) Jesus has talked about the “end of the age” for the disciples used that very phase when asking for “signs” to know also when the “end of the age” was coming? Just the fact that the disciples are asking these two questions about the “future” is a Lesson we often miss, the Truth of God is that He has a Plan and that God always tells us what is required of us — then God “provides” whatever tools and information that are necessary for us to complete the task or instructions He has given us! The disciples could not have come to the knowledge that Jesus is “coming again” or that the “age is coming to an end” without getting that information from God! This is information that God revealed through the Holy Spirit to the disciples like when Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say I am?” and the Holy Spirit revealed to Peter that Jesus was the Son of God: “Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’” and Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:15-17) So now that Jesus has told them the temple would be destroyed, the disciples were certain that Israel’s golden age was drawing to an end. Jesus had already mentioned several times that in Jerusalem that He (the Messiah) would be “betrayed into the hands of men and killed” (Matthew 17:22) so if His death as the Messiah was imminent then His “coming again” as the Christ would certainly be a miracle performed by God the Father Himself for His Son Jesus Christ!!! This is something that each of us should keep foremost in our daily lives and our daily thoughts: (1) Jesus IS Christ, the SON of the LIVING GOD and (2) Jesus came once and died for our sins and Jesus IS “Coming Again” and (3) we should all “Take heed that no one deceives [us]” Remember, “The LORD of hosts has sworn, saying, ‘Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed, so it shall stand.’” (Isaiah 14:24) and “So shall My WORD be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11) Remember the words of Jesus at the beginning of His Lessons, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

OCTOBER 06 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#30 “Do you not see all these things?” (Matthew 24:02)

 OCTOBER 06  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#30 “Do you not see all these things?”  (Matthew 24:02)

LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer    

JESUS, Lord and Savior, my Redeemer, I bow before You today again seeking Your Mercy and Grace for my soul is calling out Praise to Your Holy Name! You Lord, You alone are the Way, You alone died on Calvary’s cruel cross for my iniquities, You alone have been given the Authority by the Father to Forgive sin! You are the Creator of all things and I pray that the Father God restore unto You Your Glory as it was before the creation existed. Lord, I place my soul and my physical being in subjection to Your Will and Your Way. Grant it Lord that the remainder of my eternity be of good and faithful service to You alone!   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus and His disciples are leaving Jerusalem much like they had done after Jesus had first entered the city on Palm Sunday and Jesus had gone to the temple and “drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.” (Matthew 21:12) Jesus returned the temple to a “house of prayer” and “the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and [Jesus] healed them.” (Matthew 21:14) . Here the confrontations with the “chief priests and scribes” surfaced again and Jesus had to address the fact that the religious rulers over Israel were the “source” of the cancer of “hypocrisy” that had crippled and blinded the entire nation Israel which Jesus had come on a mission to heal! After the confrontation with the chief priests and scribes on Palm Sunday, Jesus and His disciples left the city through the Eastern Gate going to the Mount of Olives and Bethany. Jesus has completed addressing the problem and pronounced judgement on those that had chosen to follow the “defiled doctrines and traditions of men” instead of following God and His Commands and He and His disciples are again going to leave the city. It is of significance that His disciples stopped and admired the temple and commented on the “buildings of the temple” (Matthew 24:1) before leaving the city this time and Jesus asked JQ#30 “Do you not see all these things?” Matthew 24:2) Then Jesus immediately started a series of prophetic statements beginning with the total destruction of the temple that His disciples were admiring on their way out of Jerusalem. Their departure signifies the completion of the “Work” Jesus had come to Jerusalem to accomplish — Jesus had started this Jerusalem mission days earlier “when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives…” and Jesus had sent two of His disciples “into the village” to retrieve “a donkey tied, and a colt with her…” which Jesus then used to make His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  (Matthew 21:1-12) Now the circle is completed as Jesus has cleansed the temple both “physically” and “spiritually”  and now they are departing Jerusalem after Jesus the Son has completed the task given Him by God the Father. Jesus again departs out the Eastern Gate and goes a second time to the Mount of Olives where Jesus gives His disciples a series of prophetic statements including the prophet Daniel’s seventieth week of years of the end times, including the Abomination of Desolation and the Great Tribulation and ends with the Return of Jesus the KING to earth at the end of the Great Tribulation. This series of Prophecies by Jesus given on the Mount of Olives is commonly referred to as the Olivet Discourse and started with a couple of questions from the disciples who were probably still contemplating what Jesus had just told them about the total destruction of the “temple” and its grand “buildings” as they were leaving the city! “Now as [Jesus] sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’” (Matthew 24:3) So Jesus had peaked His disciples interest when He asked, “Do you not see all these things?” (Matthew 24:2) and had announced the total destruction of the temple in Jerusalem which for the Jews would be symbolic to the end of their national identity because the nation of Israel was built around God’s Temple in Jerusalem in the City of David. This section of Jesus’ Teaching is very, very important so let us start by “understanding” that Jesus has asked the question “Do you not see…” to focus our attention on what He is about to Teach us regarding “…all these things <<the past, the present, and the future>>”!!! So this is a good time to get in a quite place with the Holy Spirit and  carefully read Matthew 24:1-31 and LISTEN TO HIM!!!

OCTOBER 05 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#30 “Do you not see all these things?” (Matthew 24:02)

 OCTOBER 05  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#30 “Do you not see all these things?”  (Matthew 24:02)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, Lord there is no circumstance in my life that is beyond what You can handle and I pray for forgiveness today for letting “worldly doubt” creep into my thoughts. I realize that I am effectively saying with my “doubt” that there is a circumstance that I am having to deal with myself because I do not have “faith” in God’s Ability to Provide and I fall back on the “WORLDLY lie” that “I’ll have to do it myself!” — Depending on "self" is the formula for "failure" and the “Truth” in my life is that God has ALWAYS Provided Abundantly for ALL my needs just like He Promised! For me to “doubt” God in any way, form, or fashion is bordering on “sin” at the least and is a full-blown “sin” at the worst! Lord, I repent of my “doubt” and turn to praying for others and looking for opportunities to “serve” You doing “kingdom work” — Lord keep me busy “serving You” instead of wallowing in self-pity and doubt so that my JOY may be made complete in You and my “doubt” will be destroyed!   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus is spending His last couple of days on earth clearing up and cleaning up problems that are preventing many of God’s chosen people from “entering” the kingdom or as Jesus pronounced in Woe #1: “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” (Matthew 23:13) Once Jesus addressed the source of the “big” problem He now turns to His disciples and begins Teaching them what is about to happen to Israel because of their “hypocrisy” and the nation for following the “doctrines and traditions of men” instead of following the “Commands of God”. Jesus started the Lesson of what happens to a nation that “rejects” God with a Question that would focus our attention on the main point of the Lesson — Jesus began this Lesson with the Question: “Do you not see…” (Matthew 24:2) which introduced the scenario of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem that His disciples had just admired for its physical grandeur. When Jesus stated, “Assuredly, I say to you…” His disciples knew Jesus was going to say something very important and then Jesus continued, “not one stone [of this grand temple you are admiring] shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2) which indicated the total destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. This Question is similar to the Question Jesus asked His disciples while He was Teaching them about the “leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees” when Jesus had asked His disciples point blank, “Do you not yet understand…” and again, “How is it that you do not understand…?”. Jesus was always checking with His disciples to make sure that they truly “understood” what He was trying to Teach in each Lesson and Jesus always kept with it until He was sure that they “knew what HE was Teaching them” — Jesus kept asking until we read that after checking with them several times that — “Then [His disciples] understood…” (Matthew 16:6-12) Jesus also had asked the same Question of Peter when Jesus was Teaching that the Pharisees were “blind leaders of the blind…” and Peter had asked Jesus to “Explain this parable to us…” and Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand [My lesson on what defiles a man]?” Jesus is concerned about His disciples “understanding” because Jesus had started the parable on what defiles a man with this statement: “Hear and understand.” (Matthew 15:10-20) Therefore when Jesus starts this Lesson with the Question: “Do you not see all these things?” (Matthew 24:2) that He is clearly saying “Do you not yet understand [all these things I have been doing to clean the temple and turn Israel back to God]?” Maybe all of us should reflect on what we have seen Jesus do in our lives and know that He wants us to “understand” — I guess this would be a good time to take God’s advice when God said of Jesus, “This is My Son in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him” (Matthew 17:5)

OCTOBER 04 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#30 “Do you not see all these things?” (Matthew 24:02)

 OCTOBER 04  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#30  “Do you not see all these things?”  (Matthew 24:02)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, Lord thank You for the answered prayer for the family and for the opportunity to “witness” to two of our granddaughters yesterday by “living Christ” — Lord I thank You for the moving of the Holy Spirit in our family and thank You for the vision of how You are going to bless the “parents” through the “faith” of their “children”! Lord Jesus, I pray that Your Holy Spirit will always keep me aware of how important it is that we live our daily lives for You — for yesterday I saw first hand the fruits of following You day-in-and-day-out with our daily lives because the grandkids are noticing Jesus in our home and are now wanting to come to You, all because of the blessing that You have given us with our weekly family night! Jesus, praise, glory, and honor to Your Holy Name and Your Holy Spirit!!!   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus uses every circumstance to take us to a new level of “understanding” the Truth of God. Jesus has just a couple of days left to Teach before He will be crucified as “The Lamb of God” and has just spent the last few days addressing the problem of “hypocrisy” in the nation of Israel. Jesus exposed the “source” and clearly identified the “fruit” of “hypocrisy” and then Jesus did not “pull any punches” as He announced that by “appearing” to worship God on the “outside” yet on the “inside” we are actually “rejecting” God and that we ourselves are guilty of “hypocrisy” which is the main problem with every generation!  Jesus made it clear that “rejecting God” was “self condemnation” and the penalty for “rejecting God” was “eternal separation from God” and “eternal separation from God” is the True Definition of “HELL!”  (Be careful what you ask for - for you just may get exactly that!) Jesus never leaves one circumstance without tying it to the next circumstance and demonstrates that God has a PLAN and that nothing is happening or will happen “randomly” but everything is part of the PLAN of GOD!  Jesus has been spending His Last Week on earth in Jerusalem and so far Jesus has made His Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday and His first order of business as the Messiah upon entering Jerusalem was to “clean” the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus then spends the next couple of days addressing the problem of the nation Israel following the “doctrines and traditions of men” instead of following the “Commands of God”. Jesus summarized the main problem as “hypocrisy” among those in authority over the nation but the bigger problem was that the nation itself had embraced the “[defiled] doctrines of men” and as individuals they were themselves guilty of “hypocrisy” and were “condemning themselves”. Jesus made it clear that there was “no escape” from “self-condemnation” and the verdict (God’s predetermined and published “Consequence”) of being “Guilty” of the sin of “hypocrisy” will result in eternal separation from God and “condemnation of hell.” (Matthew 23:13-36) Now Jesus is using that context to Teach His disciples about what is going to happen to the nation and to the temple because of the collective  national sin of “hypocrisy” as we read, “Then Jesus went out and departed the temple…” (Matthew 24:1a) which was a “prophetic” gesture of the future of the nation of Israel. Jesus showed when He “went out and departed the temple”  that the verdict of “Guilty” had been passed by God and the previous Words of Jesus now made more sense to His disciples for Jesus had just Taught them in His Parable Lessons: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone…” and then because of the “rejection” of Jesus by those in “authority” Jesus pronounced, “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you…” (Matthew 21:42-43) Jesus “departing” from the temple foreshadows Israel’s future and is the beginning of Jesus giving details and prophecy about the temple which history tells us was completely destroyed 70 years later and the nation Israel was taken into captivity by the Babylonians. Jesus always uses His “Questions” to focus our attention on His next Lesson and so we must look at the present context of Jesus “departing” from the temple and His disciples call His attention to the beautiful buildings that “men” have built and in my mind’s eye I can see Jesus shaking His head in disappointment because His disciples had not noticed that Jesus had “departed” the temple! Instead of seeing how God felt about the temple being defiled on the “inside”, His disciples only saw the “outside beauty” of the buildings. Jesus had just Taught about “whitewashed tombs” being full of “dead men’s bones” and the disciples could not see that this was a “whitewashed” temple and was full of “dead men’s bones”! Jesus then turned to His disciples as they were admiring the “works of men’s hands” and at that point Jesus asked: “Do you not see all these things?” (Matthew 24:2a) and to make sure they focused on His Lesson, Jesus immediately said, “Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” (Matthew 24:2b) If the disciples could not see the prophetic truth of Jesus as He “went out and departed from the temple” they surely could not miss the message Jesus gave them when He clearly drew a prophetic “Word” picture of the temple being completely destroyed and “not one stone shall be left here upon another…”?!?!? We should stop here at the start of a new Question Jesus is asking and ask ourselves, "What has Jesus been Teaching and showing us about the sin in our lives that we are missing because of the blindness caused by us rejecting the LIGHT and walking in the darkness of the world?” His disciples had been with Jesus all week listening to Him pronouncing a guilty verdict on the hypocritical rulers of Israel and the temple in Jerusalem and then when His disciples looked at the temple from the “outside”, they could not see that God was no longer there and had left the “inside” empty which is a “Word” picture of our lives and our nation without God! Pray that the Holy Spirit will open our spiritual eyes so we “[can] see all these things”  that Jesus is painting in our lives and what Jesus is trying to show us about the kingdom of God!?!?!?!