MARCH 11 The Jesus Questions

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

March 11 / Day 12 

365 Prayers to JESUS

Jesus, Praise you Lord for Your Lovingkindness and for Your Daily Guidance in all things we do. Lord Jesus, I continue to pray for the family, not just mine but for all families that they will grow strong in Your Grace and become the cornerstone for our society. O Lord, I know that 12 years ago when I started praying for my family that I never imagined what Blessings You would rain down on our entire family but then, that is because “Your ways are not our ways” as Isaiah said (Isaiah 55:8). Jesus, forgive us where we daily fail You and forgive us our trespasses against Your Commandments, especially when we do not “Love God with all [our] hearts”  and “love our neighbors as [ourselves]”. (Luke 10:27)

The Jesus Questions

JQ#2 - This Matthew 5:43-48 passage which contains the second of “The Jesus Questions” leaves little doubt in our minds that God is teaching us about His Love. Matthew 5:43 states “you have heard…’Love your neighbor and hate your enemy’…” but Jesus immediately teaches in 5:44, “But I say… love your enemies” and then Jesus replaces “hate” with “…bless those who curse you…” then adds “…pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” If that wasn’t obvious enough that Jesus want us to “love” others as He Loves us, Jesus adds “why” we should “love” as He loves: “that you may be sons [and daughters] of your Father in heaven…” (Matthew 5:45) While Jesus has our attention, He then asks common sense questions from a divine viewpoint for our reasonable consideration: JQ#2a “For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?” (Matthew 5 46a) The answer is implied that if we don’t love as commanded from heaven then there is no reward in heaven. JQ#2b “Do not even the tax collectors do the same?” (Matthew 5:46b) This question implies that if we do not act any better than “tax collectors” (who were at the time of Jesus definitely pagan and serving the Emperor of Rome) then we will receive no reward. I asked the question “why tax collectors?” and my answer is that in God’s great wisdom that He had written in His Word a reference that any one from any generation could relate to and “taxes and tax collectors” definitely is a universal reference point. JQ#2c “And if you greet your  brethren only,what do you do more than others? (Matthew 5:47a) and JQ#2d “Do not even the tax collectors do so?” (Matthew 5:47b) which are essentially the same questions aimed at teaching the same lesson that we are to separate ourselves from the world by doing “more” for others that demonstrate not our character but God’s and demonstrates His Power to change our daily lives into Glory for Him and in the process we add so much “more” good to society! Jesus leaves the lesson with another command that is really, really hard to live up to but we must try. Jesus leaves the “Love” lesson by commanding followers:  “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) Agreed, we will never be perfect in the flesh but the least we can do is give our “Utmost for His Highest” (Oswald Chambers) and the key to heavenly success is to “Love others” as closely as we can to how God loves us, even though we are natural born sinners!