MARCH 25 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#11-03 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#11 “What did you go out into the wilderness to see?” (Matthew 11:7)

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

MARCH 25  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#11-03 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#11 “What did you go out into the wilderness to see?” (Matthew 11:7)

085 of 365 - Prayers to JESUS    

Jesus, Lord I pray for the Holy Spirit to consume all my desires, that daily I will take up my cross and follow hard after Jesus. Lord, there is nothing good in me except for Your Spirit so Lord I pray as did John, let me decrease that You may increase. Jesus as You lead I will follow, as You command I will obey, and as You live, so will I live that others may see You in me and come to know You as Savior. Forgive me when I fall short of Your Glory for it is my flesh failing in me and I pray to be strengthened by Your Spirit that I may endure to the end and my spirit will join You, the Father, and the Holy Spirit that we may be “One in the SPIRIT” as You have declared!    AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

MARCH 25  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#11-03 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#11 “What did you go out into the wilderness to see?” (Matthew 11:7) Jesus actually asked this Question to the multitudes that had heard the answer that Jesus had given to John’s disciples question when they directly inquired of Jesus — “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3)  John the Baptist had been preaching about the Messiah in the wilderness probably to this same multitude of those seeking the “Truth of God” that were now following Jesus because the things Jesus had been doing could only have been done by the “Anointing Power of God”. Jesus answered their question with: “Go tell John the things you see and hear.” (Matthew 11:4) Then Jesus listed the things that He had been doing in the Father’s Name for the kingdom’s sake — preaching, healing, and forgiving sins — and as Jesus listed things they had seen Him do and the Message He had been preaching to them, He said: “The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”  (Matthew 11:5) Only the Son of God, the Messiah could  do these things that Jesus had been doing so Jesus is saying by His actions (the “fruit” of His Spirit), “I am the Son of God, the Messiah, the Anointed One.” The things Jesus had been “doing” proved He was the Messiah! Jesus gave the disciples of John a very serious answer because they had asked a serious question to Him that revealed that they were “expecting” the Messiah when they asked Jesus pointedly: “Are You the Coming One..?”  As soon as Jesus gave the proof that He was indeed the Messiah we read that He sent them to give John the Baptist an affirmative message and Matthew notes, “As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John…” (Matthew 11:7a) which the reader today can paraphrase as “As they left to give John the Baptist the message that Jesus was the Messiah, that Jesus turned to the multitudes and started teaching them.”  Jesus is always Teaching. Jesus is God and knows all things so when He wants to Teach a specific Lesson, Jesus often first introduces the subject and then He asks a simple Question that focuses our attention on a specific “Truth of God”. In this case Jesus states without a doubt that He IS the Messiah and then Jesus asks the multitudes to consider their own “spiritual expectations” of Him with a series of Questions in quick succession: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those wearing soft clothing are in king’s houses. But what did you go out to see?” (Matthew 11:7-9) Jesus was definitely referring to John the Baptist who had been out in the wilderness preaching to the “lost sheep of Israel” about the “Coming One”! John was not preaching in the synagogues — John was in the “wilderness” preaching about the coming Messiah and the need for the people to “Repent” and now Jesus immediately Questions the multitudes about their “spiritual expectations” of the Messiah and Questions what they “expect” to see the Messiah do in their personal lives? That is a good question for us to ask ourselves — what are our “spiritual expectations” of Jesus and His Church and have we heard the Message that as His Church we are to “teach and preach the kingdom of heaven in [our] cities” (Matthew 11:1) and take the Message of “Repentance” out of the “synagogue” into the “wilderness” where the “lost sheep” are?

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Then Jesus listed the things that He had been doing in the Father’s Name for the kingdom’s sake — preaching, healing, and forgiving sins — and as Jesus listed things they had seen Him do and the Message He had been preaching to them, He said: “The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”  (Matthew 11:5)…………………..

Matthew 11:5 can very well be used as a List of Divine Tasks for His Church:

1. The blind see - We are to enlighten the spiritually blind with the Holy Scriptures that they may see the “Truth of God”
2. The lame walk — We are to teach those crippled with sin how to walk upright  on the straight and narrow “Pathway of Righteousness”
3. The lepers are cleansed — We are to teach them God’s statutes and His judgements that they may be made “clean” by God’s standards
4. The deaf hear — Only the “Truth of God” spoken with a small still voice can speak loud enough to be heard over the noise of the world
5. The dead are raised up — We are all “dead in our sins” and only the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the Pathway to Everlasting Life
6. The poor have the gospel preached to them — We seldom find the “poor” sitting in the pews but are “lost” in the “wilderness” of the world, and like John preaching “in the wilderness” we should take the Message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ into the poor neighborhoods of our cities.
7. Consider our own “expectations” of the Messiah and align them with the Declared Truth of God 

MARCH 24 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#11-02 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#11 “What did you go out into the wilderness to see?” (Matthew 11:7)

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

MARCH 24  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#11-02 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#11 “What did you go out into the wilderness to see?” (Matthew 11:7)

084 of 365 - Prayers to JESUS    

Jesus, Lord, my God, my Redeemer Praise, Glory, and Honor to the Only Begotten of the Father, the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the earth! O Blessed Thought — THOU ART MINE!! Jesus, the Name above all names, have mercy on this sinner saved by Your Grace, guide me each day as I look for Your Daily Manna to “reign” down from Heaven for my daily “spiritual” bread!      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

MARCH 24  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#11-02 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#11 “What did you go out into the wilderness to see?” (Matthew 11:7) Jesus moves from one Question to another in a way that keeps us focused on the “Spiritual Lessons” needed for us to live our lives in a manner pleasing to God “our Father in heaven” by building “precept upon precept, line upon line” — St. Matthew who was led by the Holy Spirit, divinely documented these “logical transitions” from one JESUS Question/Lesson to the next; for example, Matthew starts Chapter 11 with “Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.” (Matthew 11:1)  Recall that JQ#10 was themed “What is your spiritual value?” (Matthew 10:29) because Jesus asked JQ#10 by referring to two sparrows and a copper coin in the middle of equipping His twelve disciples to go out into the world as we read in Matthew 10:1 “…[Jesus] gave them power..” (Matthew 10:1) before sending them out “…as sheep in the midst of wolves…” (Matthew 10:16) and then Jesus assured His disciples of their “spiritual value” in verses Matthew 10:30-42 where Jesus states “…[My disciples] shall by no means lose [their] reward!” — essentially telling His disciples that if we go in His Name that we will never lose our “spiritual value”! Now Jesus transitions to His next Lesson/Question as He asks JQ#11: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?”  (Matthew 11:7) There is no doubt that the Lesson Jesus is going to Teach is about our “spiritual expectations” and the Lesson is meant for all generations; because in verses 1-6 preceding the Question, Jesus refers to Himself as the “Coming One” to the disciples of John the Baptist [recall that John’s mission was] to point to “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) and as soon as Jesus explained to John’s disciples why He declares Himself the “Coming One” that Matthew 11:7 states: “And as [the disciples of John the Baptist] departed [with the revelation that Jesus is the Coming One], Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning [the message of] John [the Baptist]…” (Matthew 11:7A)  “What did you go into the wilderness to see?” (Matthew 11:7B) Therefore Jesus establishes the fact that He is moving from equipping the disciples and teaching about our “Eternal Spiritual Value” in JQ#10 in Matthew Chapter 10 to a new Lesson in Matthew Chapter 11 about our “Spiritual Expectations” as He establishes clearly the fact that JESUS IS THE COMING ONE and we should evaluate our individual “expectations” of who we believe is the “Coming One” and what do we “expect” from the “Messiah”? Jesus revealed Himself as the “Coming One” first to the disciples of John because they had read the Holy Scriptures and were “expecting” the "Messiah" spoken of by the prophet Isaiah and John the Baptist had borne “witness of Him and cried out saying, ‘This is He’ [the Messiah]…”.  (John 1:15) John the Baptist had clearly stated that his personal mission was to “Make straight the way of the Lord” (John 1:23) and then as John the Baptist first laid eyes on Jesus, John made his famous declaration “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) There is no room for doubt, in the JQ#11 Question that Jesus is teaching that He IS the Messiah and we should evaluate our “expectations” of Him --- the Divine Truth of God is that God sent His Only Begotten Son to the world as the Messiah — the Truth of God is not based on our “expectations” — but The Truth of God is based entirely and singularly on God’s Declarations! Did you ever stop to consider your personal “spiritual expectations” of Jesus Christ?    SPIRITUAL FACT:

                 ***THERE IS NO TRUTH BUT WHAT GOD HIMSELF DECLARES!!!***

MARCH 23 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#11-01 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#11 “What did you go out into the wilderness to see?” (Matthew 11:7)

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

MARCH 23  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#11-01 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#11 “What did you go out into the wilderness to see?” (Matthew 11:7)

083 of 365 - Prayers to JESUS    

Jesus, Lord, my Redeemer, all praise to You for it is amazing to see how You have worked in my life through these prayers that I have been writing daily in a journal since 2004 for I can see Your Hand, Your Grace, Your Mercy working in my life and the life of the family. Each year You are reminding me through  those journal prayers how You have taught me and I can more clearly see the Lesson You intended --- but it has taken all these years to develop my “Spiritual Discipline” to the point that my “Faith is becoming sight” and my “Spiritual Discipline is becoming discernment”. Jesus, on this day in 2004 the Holy Spirit was guiding my prayers and led me to write this question: “Lord, are you trying to teach me that it is my choices that determine who I am and who I will be and that how I choose to live and act should not be influenced by how others live and act, but that I should use my Free Will to choose how to live based on how You want my life to be lived and not how the world tells me I should  live?” Lord Jesus, today in 2017 I praise You that I am now understanding that if I indeed choose to live my life as Your disciple that whatever happens in “the world” will have no bearing or impact on who I am nor on my final destination, for who I am is determined by choosing You and Your Divine Leadership and not “the world”. Lord, I pray that You will continue to teach me “Spiritual self-discipline” for Lord it is my humble desire to “learn from the Master”!    AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

MARCH 23  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#11-01 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#11 “What did you go out into the wilderness to see?” (Matthew 11:7) Jesus has focused our attention on our “spiritual value” by asking the simple sparrows and coin Question and He follows that Question with another that without studying the context of the Question we will fail to see the Divine Truth that will emerge with an honest answer! Before moving to the next “JESUS Question  JQ#11”, the Holy Spirit is leading me to share a selection from my Oswald Chambers Daily Journal “My Utmost for His Highest” that I read every morning to start my devotionals and Bible Study. To be honest with you, I did not write for many years because my thoughts were that there are so many good writers like Oswald Chambers, A.W. Tozer, and C.S. Lewis just to name a few, plus hundreds of great daily devotionals like Charles Stanley, Daily Bread, Guiding Light, and Adrian Rogers and I felt that there was no need to add more written words about Jesus. But now I know that Jesus is Worthy of All Praise and that His Glory cannot be written even if every believer wrote every thought and every answered prayer about Jesus! In other words there are not enough words to give Jesus the Praise, Glory, and Honor He deserves! I have now been writing for several years and I know that my writing is insignificant but who I am writing about is not and today I am led to share in my writing some grand thoughts written by Oswald Chambers titled “The LIGHT That Never Fails”  APRIL 22: “We must build our faith not on fading lights but on the Light that never fails. When ‘important’ individuals go away we are sad, until we see that they are meant to go, so that only one thing is left for us to do — to look into the face of God for ourselves. Allow nothing to keep you from looking with strong determination into the face of God regarding yourself and your doctrine…A Christian servant is one who perpetually looks into the face of God …the ministry of Christ is characterized by [His] abiding glory…the secrets of [the life of a disciple of Christ] is that [the disciple] stays in tune with God all the time.”   After I read this passage in 2004 I realized that in my prayer (which I wrote before reading the commentary) that same day that I had written “teach me the proper self discipline to love others like Christ at all times, regardless of how I am treated by others” and this passage to me was the Holy Spirit answering me and saying “the secret to being like Christ is to focus on Him all the time and you will learn Spiritual Self Discipline which is what allowed Jesus to suffer the cross for sinners!” This lesson of “Spiritual Self Discipline” is important to discerning the “Holy Will” and the “Truth of God” as we continue studying the Word in order to learn the Lessons the Master is Teaching.  

MARCH 22 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#10-09 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29)

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

MARCH 22  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#10-09 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29)

082 of 365 - Prayers to JESUS    

Jesus, O the blessed joy of starting my day with You and to know that it is Your desire that we have fellowship with the Father as we go through our day and that all our physical and spiritual needs will be met on a “daily” basis. Lord Jesus, I thank You that many years ago that You had turned my thoughts to the Great Sacrifice You made for the Atonement of sin, all sin, and that all who believed that Sacrifice was Your Purpose and understood it as the Will of the Father could be heirs in the Kingdom of God and partake in His Righteousness. Lord, we do not deserve Your Gift of Sacrifice and the Father’s Gift of Free Will but I accept both because I BELIEVE and ACCEPT YOUR LOVE and I desire to return an acceptable “Offering” to the One that imparts Eternal Life on Believers.    AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

MARCH 22  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#10-09 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29) Jesus and the simple Question of sparrows and coins has been a very “profitable” study spiritually. Matthew Chapter 10 in its entirety is filled with so many wonderful spiritual treasures that profit us on our spiritual journey so let us look at the tremendous promises God gives to those willing to “pay the cost” of being a disciple of Jesus. Matthew 10:1-28 lists some serious “costs” of discipleship leading up to JQ#10 where the seemingly simple sparrows and copper coin question was asked by Jesus to focus our attention on the “spiritual value” of discipleship and then the rest of the chapter we find assurance that our efforts of discipleship will be met with great spiritual compensation for “paying the cost”. We know the “rewards” will be “spiritual” because Jesus told His disciples in verses 10:9-10 not to take money or any physical possessions on our journey. What Jesus promised the disciples however was that they were not going empty handed. His disciples were assured of their daily bread and would be given the very Power of God to complete their assigned tasks for the kingdom’s sake! All instructions Jesus gives on  discipleship warns of “physical” costs to pay for following Him but that we are “not to fear” or worry because the “Spiritual Compensation” far outweighs the “physical cost”! Jesus adds some very significant spiritual compensations for He states that we should not worry about our physical death because our souls are eternal and if we will focus on our “spiritual value” that God Himself will provide for “followers of Jesus”! God promises to give us eternal security and that our eternal lives will be spent with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit if we but “follow after [Jesus]” (Matthew 10:38). Jesus then adds “spiritual assurance” as He states clearly: “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. He who receives you receives Me , and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” (Matthew 10:39-40) Jesus concludes our list of “spiritual” compensations by throwing in a lifetime warranty and Divine guarantee: “…assuredly, I say to you, [My disciples] shall by no means lose [their] reward.” (Matthew 10:42) I can’t help but start singing a song, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine. Heir of salvation, purchased of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His Blood!”. It’s a simple Question of two sparrows and a copper coin but with the right answer we can be assured of eternal salvation if we just believe in our “spiritual value”: “Do not fear therefore: you are of more value that many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:31) With this kind of “assurance” it makes the “daily cross” a little easier to bear, don’t you think? 

MARCH 21 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#10-08 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29)

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

MARCH 21  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#10-08 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29)

081 of 365 - Prayers to JESUS    

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

MARCH 21  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#10-08 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29) 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 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 chapter 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” 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#10-07 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29)

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

MARCH 20  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#10-07 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29)

080 of 365 - Prayers to JESUS    

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 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

MARCH 20  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#10-07 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29) Jesus uses a simple sparrows and coin Question as a contrast to a very serious set of commands 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 Question should be considered in its entire 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  “Consequences” such as eternal life in heaven and 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 has 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) and Jesus 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!

MARCH 19 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#10-06 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29)

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

MARCH 19  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#10-06 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29)

079 of 365 - Prayers 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 enough to die on the cross and 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 us — Praise the Holy Name of Jesus!      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

MARCH 19  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#10-06 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” (Matthew 10:29) 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 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 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 5-28 of 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 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 He 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 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 the “kingdom of heaven” and 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 take the sparrow and coin Question very serious and honestly answer this JESUS Question for if 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 He has intended — Remember Jesus wants a personal relationship with us so in order to build an intimate relationship don’t You think an honest Question asked with the Best of Intentions should be answered in like manner?