JANUARY 05 THE JESUS QUESTIONS Introduction-05: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33

JANUARY  05    LIVING FOR JESUS 

Daily Prayer to JESUS    

Jesus, ever will I praise Your Name, for You are ever-Faithful and Your Glory will endure forever! Lord I praise You for Loving me and dying for me while I was lost in my sin — Your LIGHT has led me into a new day where I pray that my new song will be to “work until Jesus comes!” Lord, You have directed my paths to this point and I pray that my eyes and heart will be kept firmly fixed on You and the kingdom’s work and that I will be a good “witness” to Your Love. Lord Jesus, again and yet anew do I yield my life to serving You and to telling Your “Good News” to those You send my way.      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JANUARY  05  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-05: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17) Jesus told His disciples and even the Pharisees and Sadducees that the Holy Spirit would be a “witness” to who He really was — and Matthew, being an eyewitness who was led and Divinely inspired by the Spirit of God, wrote for a permanent record the events that point clearly to Jesus being the Divine Son of God sent to earth by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob with a specific Purpose. Matthew was primarily writing for the Jews because before the birth of Jesus, it was the Jewish Holy Scriptures (known today as the “Tanakh” or modern “Hebrew Bible”) that the Jewish nation Israel had been reading for thousands of years and were waiting expectantly for the Messiah, God’s Anointed! The prophets from Jewish history were led by the Holy Spirit to write down the “signs” that would point to the Messiah, just like the New Testament writers Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were led by the Holy Spirit to write down eyewitness accounts of how Jesus fulfilled those prophecies of old. You cannot read the Holy Scriptures (the Old Testament and New Testament) without seeing God, His Plan, and the fulfillment of all the Spirit led prophecies that God uses (present tense!) to “lead His people to the Promised Land”. Matthew wrote in his Gospel of Jesus Christ that which was contained in the Jewish Holy Scriptures (the Old Testament of our modern Bible) that pointed to Jesus being the fulfillment of prophecy recorded in the Tanakh. What Matthew wrote about Jesus is true for all that will “seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness” and is fully documented in the New Testament. God has a Plan and a Purpose for each individual person that breathes the breath of life imparted to us by God as was demonstrated by God breathing life into Adam whom God personally created with His own hands as His last act of His Divine Creation. “This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground. And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed…Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and to keep it.” (Genesis 2:4-15) God “Spoke” everything into existence except man and woman — it was “Personal” with God in His creation of mankind, for only with mankind did God use His own Hands to form man and then God “breathed” (with His Own Breath) life into the man — it is imperative for us to note that only after mankind receives the “breath of life from God” that we become a “living being”!  After forming man, God then used His own Hands to form woman out of the rib of the man that He had just breathed His “Breath of Life” into, Eve was the second operation accomplished by God Himself demonstrating His “Hands On” commitment to mankind — and to “seal the deal” and to show that God had all His Creation planned out before “the beginning”,  we read of God’s “intent” for mankind to be special: “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness’…So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:26-27) So let us approach this “Introduction” of God’s Plan for the world as documented in the Gospel of Matthew in this way: The Old Testament is a written record of God revealing His Plan and “how” He intends to “execute” His Plan. The New Testament is a written record of eyewitness accounts of the fulfillment of prophecies in the Person of Jesus Christ as well as general prophecies regarding the “completion” of God’s Plan for all Mankind. Again, the fact that Matthew writes primarily for the Jews is because it is through the Jews and the nation Israel that God has intended to use the nation Israel from BEFORE the beginning of mankind to fulfill God’s Plan for the salvation of the world! The main point is that BEFORE man came into existence God “had a Plan” — and the obvious Truth of God in that statement is that God made His Plan before mankind was created therefore mankind must accept that God is in control and is the Master Plan Maker — and life for mankind must fit God’s Planned Purpose — for God alone is the giver of life, the Creator — and everything made by  God is His Creation — get that part straight and the rest of your life will be a piece of cake! St. Matthew was part of God’s Plan to reveal the Messiah and His Purpose for the world — “For God did not send [the Messiah] His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:17) Good Plan don’t you think??? — No wonder it’s called “THE GOOD NEWS”!!!

JANUARY 04 THE JESUS QUESTIONS Introduction-04: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33

JANUARY  04   LIVING FOR JESUS

Daily Prayer to JESUS    

Jesus, I awoke this morning with the need to pray first in my mind but when I started to pray there was some sort of “spiritual” distraction of unknown origin that seemed to prevent me from praying in “Spirit and in Truth” — and I was disturbed!?!?  I lay in bed and struggled to “commune” with God but the “perceived separation” caused me great uneasiness! After meditating on “cause” and coming up empty, I then thought about the “effect” and almost immediately I was confident that I was being given a “taste” of going on my journey alone. Jesus, I am also confident that I no longer want to walk by myself and be alone as I traverse this “valley of the shadow of death” and I praise You for the glimpse of where I could end up if I had not started following You.  Lord Jesus, You simply told Your disciples “Come follow Me” and You still today invite those that do not wish to travel this journey of life alone to “walk” with You. Lord Jesus, in going before us and walking the extra mile with us, You add the promise that You will never leave us nor forsake us! The “glimpse” today was a reminder to me that if we get separated it will be my fault — Lord Jesus, I pray with all my heart, keep me focused on following Your “LIGHT” and always staying on Your “paths of righteousness”!     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JANUARY  04  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-04: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17) Jesus and who Jesus “really is” was a topic of debate from the time of His virgin-born arrival on earth and who Jesus “really is” continues to be debated today. It is very interesting to note that there is a great “double standard” being applied to the debate on the “person and purpose” of Jesus Christ and whether or not He should even be given the title of “Christ”. Today in our highly “legal” society here in America, our government is dominated by “lawyers” and it is a fact that our government now has more “control” over our personal lives than at anytime in the past — and in the debate on the “TRUTH of JESUS”, our society is  being forced to accept as “truth” what “elected” lawyers, “party-appointed” judges, and “self-serving legislation” passed by our “elected law makers” decide is “truth-for-the-common-good”????  These “anti-God” laws imposed by “progressive” legislators on our modern society today include the “legal-right” to kill unborn children, which should give us a clue as to what the main problem with our society “really is”!  For example; in our “double-standard” society today there are “laws” addressing “slander” (the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person’s reputation) and “libel” (a published false statement that is damaging to a person’s reputation; a written defamation) which directly apply to the debate on “who Jesus really is” and the “double standard” (a rule or principle that is unfairly applied in different ways to different people or groups) that is prevalent in this ongoing debate is that the government that has passed the laws on “slander and libel” are themselves the most guilty of both since they have legislated God out of government and will not allow God Himself, through His Holy Bible, to declare “who Jesus really is”!!!!!  The “irony” in this “double standard” is that the legal system today will make witnesses put one hand on the Bible and have them “swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God” and yet the same legal system has legislated God and the Bible out of the legal system and will not allow the Bible as a “witness” in the same courtroom that the Bible must be sworn upon to make a testimony valid!?!?!?!?  I am sure that in the highly legalist religious theocratic system of the Pharisees and Sadducees that there were many of the same such “double-standard legalistic self-serving laws” existing in Israel to protect the “power” of the “legalist elite” and therefore the New Testament writers would have been held accountable in the Jewish legal system in place at the time of Jesus. All the writers of the New Testament were not only “evangelists” that were clearly stating Jesus had addressed problems with the “legal authority” of the Pharisees and Sadducees but the New Testament writers wrote these claims as a matter of public record! Jesus Himself by today’s standards would be labeled a “terrorist” because He made “direct threats” against their “legal system” and said the temple itself would be destroyed — just imagine if someone today said that the U.S. Government, the White House and our legal system was going to be “destroyed” and this person was also directly claiming that the U. S. Government's “rule” would be “taken from them” and further, if that person was publishing public documents and writing letters (or emails) stating how the government would be overthrown, that person would be arrested and their statements and writings would be used to convict them of “crimes” against the government and these “crimes” would carry the severest penalty! However, in today’s society the very evidence that would be used to convict Jesus of being a “terrorist” would not be allowed in the same courtroom to prove that Jesus was and IS who the Bible documents Him TO BE!!!  So as we begin our Journey to discover “TRUTH” then we must agree we need a “reasonable unbiased Moral Standard” to be be used to determine the final verdict as to the validity of “TRUTH” itself!>!>!>! Because the Moral Standard itself is in the hands of biased “progressive” legalist who control both the Moral Standard and the legal system we can rightly assume that a government of “legalists” find it to their advantage to impose their will on “we the people” ———and we can readily see the problem of letting a “special interest” group decide on the Moral Standard to be applied to an entire society (by government force and legal action)!?! St. Matthew wrote a document dated C. A.D. 50 which puts his “eyewitness” account very close to the actual event of which he wrote about “who Jesus really was” and the “facts” that St. Matthew wrote down would have to have been highly scrutinized by the “legalist” of that era and all the claims of Jesus that St. Matthew put in his document would have been “judged” as to it being “libel” based on “slander” which was directed against the “reputation” of those that were in “power”! To be fair we must read Matthew”s document and ask ourselves, “If St. Matthew did not write what is true then why has there been so many printed copies of his testimony and why was Matthew been made a ‘Saint’ instead of being punished for his ‘crime’?”

JANUARY 03 THE JESUS QUESTIONS Introduction-03: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33

JANUARY  03    LIVING FOR JESUS 

Daily Prayer to JESUS    

Jesus, I pray for Your Mercy and Grace with each new day that you present to me as Your Gift of Life! Lord Jesus, I know that if I follow You as You commanded that Your blessings will be upon my life and I can experience Your Rest which You have promised. Lord I have made many wrong turns and foolish mistakes in my life by going out on my own and each wrong turn ends up proving that I truly need “Guidance” and You have “led me safe thus far”. Lord Jesus, daily I look to You for my “daily bread”, both physical and spiritual and I thank You Jesus for providing both “spiritual bread” and “physical bread” to me in such abundance even though I am so undeserving! Lord Jesus, my goal still is that one day I will stand in Your Presence and hear You say “Well done thy good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21)    AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JANUARY  03  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-03: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17) Jesus led a “Lifestyle” that has never been approached by any other person throughout all of history and the “Lessons” that He Taught as part of His Lifestyle are still being successfully applied to every person’s life that is willing to “learn” from the “Master”. On my spiritual journey to “TRUTH” I have been introduced to several sources that claim to know who Jesus really was but then the thought struck me that if a person claims to be an “authority” on someone that lived over 2000 years ago, then how could any person so far removed from the “factual Jesus” proclaim 2000 years later that they know the “TRUTH” about Jesus? It does not make sense for someone to take a document like the Holy Bible that has been unchanged and undefiled and “divinely” preserved for thousands and thousands of years and 2000 years later arrogantly proclaim that all those “eyewitness” accounts of the Life of Jesus are not accurate accounts of the “real” Jesus!?!? I want to ask those making those arrogant claims what “authority” do they claim to be the “source” of this newfound ?Truth? and I am guessing that they will reply with some vague statement that puffs up their own personal intellect which is obviously a greater intellect than anyone before them and also greater than God’s own Supreme Intellect because now 2000 years later, the world is now obviously being blessed by someone smart enough to point out God’s “mistakes”! Believers should now abandon thousands of years of commentary and eyewitness accounts and personal testimonies because after all these misguided people writing and reading the Bible could not possibly know what this new “intelligence” has had revealed to them therefore believers should abandon their old faith and accept a new faith in the word from someone that lived 2000 years after Jesus died on a cross for our sins (surely this new intelligence has more authority than this “Son of God” who got himself killed by His own people!) — yes, believers indeed should ignore everything the Holy Bible attests to as the “TRUTH” (as per the very WORD OF GOD HIMSELF ) and listen instead to this new “superior intellect”!?!?!?  I have learned to distrust those who claim to “know what God really meant to say” {{see Genesis 3:1-7 that gives a description of one such “superior intellect” who claims to know “what God really meant”}} — the purpose of this blog is to encourage you to read the Holy Bible FOR YOURSELF and to let the Spirit of God reveal the “TRUTH” to YOU PERSONALLY from the TRUTH OF GOD contained within those Sacred Pages and BELIEVE that God Himself has Promised that the “TRUTH” is waiting to reveal itself to you personally. There is no claim from the writer of this blog as to being a superior intellect that wishes to share with the less intellectually endowed the “TRUTH” according to some “new revelation” as if “TRUTH” has been hidden from even God for all these years!?!? The purpose of this blog is to go through the “eyewitness” account of the writer of the first book in the New Testament, St. Matthew, and to listen to what this person that lived with JESUS and observed the Lifestyle of JESUS had to say about the most well known person in history. The Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus has had more positive influence on more lives than any person or event in the past, including Mohammed Ali who claimed himself to be “The Greatest” (and boy was he good!) or the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended the 2nd World War!  If Jesus has accomplished all these things that are now historical facts witnessed by literally billions of people in their personal lives then surely we can learn from those who wrote down for future generations what Jesus had personally Taught them and what their BELIEF in Jesus has accomplished in their lives — they wrote because they recognized the “TRUTH” when they saw it and heard it! Remember that none of the writers of the 66 books in the Bible received any financial compensation and on several occasions the things they wrote resulted in their death so we know they were not “profit driven” and we must assume they were inspired to write by a “Source” greater than their fear of starvation and death!!!  The Holy Bible begins with the only “TRUTH” we will ever really need to know as Genesis 1:1 starts with the five most powerful words ever written, “In the beginning, God created…” and if you can get past those first five words then you have moved past the greatest roadblock on your personal journey to “TRUTH”. So the purpose of this blog then is to encourage you to read the Holy Scriptures and to let them “Teach” you “TRUTH” ! This blog will also point out that on this spiritual journey that you must travel your path alone with your chosen guide and you will do so in your life until you find and “believe” the “TRUTH” when it is revealed to you! Welcome to The Journey, let’s see what St. Matthew wrote about Jesus as we will start our “spiritual journey” with the assumption that the Holy Bible is TRUTH and GOD HIMSELF is the SOURCE and then when we read the Holy Scriptures we know that we are reading the “DIVINE RECORD” of God’s Instructions on Life — If you cannot begin your reading with GOD IS TRUTH then there is no need for you to bother to read neither the Bible nor this puny blog!

JANUARY 02 THE JESUS QUESTIONS Introduction-02: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33

JANUARY  02   LIVING FOR JESUS

Daily Prayer to JESUS    

Jesus, we pray as You instructed us to pray: “Our Father who is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread…” (Matthew 6:11) and we have confidence in Your Provisions that we will proclaim as did David, “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want…” (Psalm 23:1) Lord Jesus we come humbly before You each morning to start our day knowing that You ARE what You say You ARE: You Lord Jesus ARE “The Way, the Truth, and the Life…” (John 14:6) Lord we cannot on our own know Your Truth without “Faith” in Your Holy Word and “Trusting” that the “Way” that You lead us will produce the “Abundant Life” fruit You have so Graciously Promised — Lord we know that You are good to us because You choose to Love us in spite of ourselves and we thank You and give You praise. Lord I pray that You and Your Holy Spirit will move me and my selfish desires out of the darkness and into YOUR LIGHT!    AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JANUARY  02  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-02: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17) Jesus is a Name that is unlike any other name in history and this blog seeks to discover the TRUTH of Jesus because there are some very bold and “miraculous” claims associated with the Name of Jesus in the Holy Bible! The challenge of this blog is not to provide “proof” because this blog does not seek to be either the “judge” or the “jury” but rather this blog is simply a common ordinary, everyday “Joe” that takes the “witness” stand and with my left hand planted firmly on the Holy Bible and my right hand raised toward the heavens I proudly proclaim before all men, “I swear to tell the TRUTH, the whole TRUTH, and nothing but the TRUTH, so help me God!” I seek no personal secular gain but seek desperately for Spiritual guidance to live my life in “peace” and in the many years that I have been searching for a “shelter in the storm” I have learned that when you find that unexpected umbrella that it is smart to open it up and let it protect you from the rain. I stand before you and say that I did not expect to find TRUTH in any particular place, person, or philosophy because all my previous expectations and explorations of places where I “just knew” that TRUTH could be found had landed me in some very peculiar predicaments! My “witness” that I share in this blog is a daily journal started in 2001 and has continued to the present that is the results of the reality of applying the TRUTH that I found in a book called the Holy Bible to my daily life — and I can document through that daily journal of my journey seeking TRUTH that by following God’s instructions found in the Holy Bible I have avoided personal spiritual disaster and I know that my “deliverance” came not because of anything that I have done! My personal efforts are all selfish in nature and have always landed me in some form of trouble from which the TRUTH of GOD always has to rescue me! The Bible then has given me confidence that the Holy Scriptures are the Inspired Word of God and that the Holy Scriptures are designed to reveal The TRUTH of GOD. In my life and my personal experience, the TRUTH that I have discovered in the Holy Bible has been constant and it consistently produces successful results in my personal life when I follow the TRUTH found in God’s Word. This blog then does not look to “prove” that the Word of God is infallible, this blog is simply to document how in my personal life the Word of God has proved Itself to me to be infallible in the results the WORD OF GOD produces in my personal physical and spiritual life and I challenge you to answer for yourself the question posed by a man who was desperately seeking answers in his life, “What is truth?”. Take any book or any philosophy and search for the TRUTH within that book or philosophy and when you apply what is proclaimed by that book or philosophy to be the “truth” to your own life, you must then “test” your newly discovered “truth”: Ask yourself “Is this ‘truth’ actually making an improvement in my personal life?” The success or failure will be determined by what you “believe” and you must ask yourself and respect yourself by answering honestly this very personal question: “Am I willing to bet my life, my soul, and my eternity on this newfound ‘truth’ ?” The world was telling me loudly and rudely “You can find ‘TRUTH’ without God” — but Reality is: GOD IS TRUTH!!!  CONCLUSION: NO GOD = NO TRUTH!!! I close with the words of a famous country song: “That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!”  Remember, “You are only ‘lying to yourself and living the lie’ if you are not believing in and living your life through the TRUTH as TRUTH proves itself TO YOU BY THE FRUIT IT PRODUCES IN YOUR DAILY LIFE AND DOCUMENTED THROUGH YOUR OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE ———  ONLY YOU KNOW WHAT YOU REALLY BELIEVE!!!!

JANUARY 01 THE JESUS QUESTIONS Introduction-01: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33

JANUARY  01    LIVING FOR JESUS

Daily Prayer to JESUS    

Jesus, we begin this new year with HOPE, not because of anything we have done but because of WHO YOU ARE! Lord Jesus, I have year after year made resolutions and tried to make changes in my lifestyle, but on my own I have to admit that very little positive progress was ever made — until — until I learned of the HOPE that is given as a Free Gift called Grace included in a single verse of scripture that is so familiar that  the verse is considered cliche — but to those who read the verse and know why the verse was inspired and the original intent, the verse itself can be read a thousand times a day and with each reading NEW HOPE springs eternal: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) Therefore looking expectantly towards a year that HOPE reigns sovereign in my day-to-day life, I start this day, January 1, with this prayer to my Lord Jesus and Trust that You will “never leave nor forsake” me and I will look forward with HOPE to You leading me in “paths of righteousness”!!!    AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JANUARY  01   THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-01: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17) {Note from the writer of this blog: This blog is not meant to “argue” or “prove” the existence of God. The writer of this blog sits down each day with an open Bible and writes what reading the Bible inspires! There is no claim that “I am right” but I simply scribe what the WORD OF GOD speaks to me, fully admitting to all, that my intellect is limited. However, I can proclaim loudly, my spirit is free!} This blog is a “Daily Devotional” — for me — and you are invited to make it part of YOUR DAILY TIME WITH GOD as I encourage you to spend EACH DAY of your NEW YEAR ahead in the WORD OF GOD and LET GOD SPEAK DIRECTLY TO YOU THROUGH HIS WORD. The Holy Bible contains all the TRUTH each unique individual needs to live an abundant life and this blog is simply a window into my soul which has found Peace with God from the WORD OF GOD! The cliche then is to desire “World Peace” yet deny the TRUTH that can achieve “Inner Peace”. The writer of this blog was given an “Inspiration” in April of 2016 and that “Inspiration” is the basis of this daily blog: The Holy Spirit presented the challenge to me in this way: “Read through the complete Gospel of Jesus Christ written by St. Matthew (the first book in the New Testament) starting with Matthew 1:1 and every time you come to a ‘Question’ that Jesus asks, your challenge is to give Jesus a ‘Truthful answer’.”  Think about that challenge and your “mission” <<< should you choose to accept it >>> is to read the Gospel according to Matthew and “give Jesus a TRUTHFUL answer”— we are all different and each of us has a unique perspective. This blog therefore is simply me sharing my “perspective” of what the WORD OF GOD has done for my life once I started my “Spiritual Journey to Truth”.

  TRUTH can only be found where TRUTH exists, not where we want it to exist 

As you read this blog remember that the TRUTH OF GOD will change you from the inside out and that you will see that person in the mirror in a different “LIGHT” — remember also that TRUTH is FREE so what have you got to lose??? The Holy Spirit left me with these words of wisdom: “No one but God owns the TRUTH and He gives it FREELY to all who search for it, so if someone tries to charge you for TRUTH, don’t buy it — no matter how pretty a package they present their LIE with!” 

DECEMBER 31 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#1-33 Conclusion >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#1-33 The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

DECEMBER 31  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#1-33 Conclusion  >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#1-33  The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ 

Daily Prayer to JESUS    

Jesus, Lord and Savior, as this year ends, let us rejoice that it ends with Hope, Your HOPE!!! The past year You have filled our Cup of Grace to overflowing and Your Mercy has showered upon us an abundance of Your Spirit of Peace and Joy. Thank You Jesus for Your Mercy and Grace that You have bestowed so Graciously upon us and as the year ends today we rely on Your Promise that You will never leave us nor forsake us so just as each new day is given to us as the sun rises because of God’s Faithfulness to Provide for our daily needs we look forward to a New Year that will be filled with Promise and Hope because each day we will have the SON RISE to LIGHT our way.  O the Blessed Walk from darkness into LIGHT!!!     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

DECEMBER 31  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#1-33 Conclusion  >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#1-33  The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ:   Jesus Lived a Perfect Life that proved He was the Chosen One, God’s Messiah, for only this Jesus, born in Bethlehem to a “virgin” could have Taught the world about the “kingdom of heaven” filled with the Promise that “whosoever” believes that “God so loved the world” that He “gave His only begotten Son” SO THAT EVERY BELIEVER WOULD INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE as part of GOD’S Master Plan of Salvation sealed with the Blood of Jesus Christ would indeed receive GOD’S ASSURANCE THAT THE BELIEVER “SHALL NOT PERISH” (JOHN 3:16)!!! From Genesis to Revelation God has revealed this Plan of Salvation through the Sacrifice of the Passover Lamb to Provide Deliverance of God’s Chosen People to the Land of Promise! Only the Messiah would have lived a Perfect Life and then Sacrificially die a cruel death and  VOLUNTARILY Shed His Innocent Blood for the Remission of ALL SIN. The study of Matthew is a study of the “kingdom of heaven” as revealed to us through the eyes, heart, and mind of One who had been there.  Jesus made it clear that “all authority” was His because God the Father had willed it so and Jesus laid out the pathway for us to “inherit the Father’s kingdom” — but at the same time Jesus was also making it clear that if we chose to live for ourselves that we would spend an eternity separated from God. As much as Jesus Preached “Salvation” He also Preached the “Final Judgement” when at the end of our lives EACH INDIVIDUAL will stand before God and we will be judged by how we lived our lives! Jesus Preached “you will know a tree by its fruits” and on several occasions Jesus said plainly that “by [our] own words” [and beliefs] we will condemn ourself and we will either be rewarded by our Faith in God and His Son or we will receive judgement for rejecting God and His Plan of Salvation. If one “choses not to be saved” then that person has “condemned oneself to eternal lostness”! God is Faithful and Jesus Taught that everyone is given the opportunity to either “Accept” or “Reject” God’s Plan and it is this “Choice” alone that determines our “Eternity”!!! God is Sovereign and has declared that we have the right to “Act according to our Choices” but in His Sovereignty God has reserved the Right to determine the “Consequence of our actions” thereby establishing the Eternal Consequence of Self Determination — God does not send anyone to hell, “WE PUNCH OUR OWN TICKET TO OUR CHOSEN DESTINATION” — we either choose to believe God and spend eternity in heaven with Him or we choose to reject God and by our own choice we condemn ourselves to eternity separated from God — BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR BECAUSE GOD NEVER FORCES HIMSELF ON ANYONE, IT IS OUR CHOICE TO BELIEVE IN HIM OR NOT, IF ONE CHOOSES TO NOT BELIEVE IN GOD THEN GOD WILL GRANT YOU YOUR REQUEST AND LEAVE YOU TO YOUR OWN DEVICES. Just remember, Heaven and Hell are where we must live Eternally with our Choices we make in our lifetime ——— TRUTH ETERNAL is that GOD IS LOVE and we will know for Eternity we were RIGHT TO CHOOSE GOD or WRONG TO REJECT HIM!!! Jesus Taught us above all that we were to “Choose Life” and “Reject Evil” and spend an ETERNITY WITH GOD — and Jesus not only Taught us “How”, He Taught us “Why” and made it clear “Where” our Choice to Accept or Reject Him would take us!!! Let us therefore end this year and this study of Jesus with thankful hearts and look forward to another year knowing that we need not worry about tomorrow (or next year) for God the Father is already there and has all the provisions we need already waiting for us!!!   Life is a Gift, but like any gift we must open it and accept it before it becomes ours!   In the famous Christmas quote from Tiny Tim, “God Bless us everyone!!!” 

DECEMBER 30 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-16 >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#1-33 The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

DECEMBER 30  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-16  >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#1-33  The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ 

Daily Prayer to JESUS    

Jesus, Lord as I come to the last days of another year that You have so graciously provided for us, my thoughts are turned to the wonders of Your Love which You have so graciously bestowed on such an unloveable creature as me. Lord Jesus, I know that aside from those Good Things You have given me and my family over the past year that there would be little to no good at all in my life and were it not for Your Forgiveness of my many shortcomings that I would still be lost in my sin — BUT GOD, O the Mystery of God’s Love that has been given without condition or limit and we, the recipients of that UNCONDITIONAL LOVE OF GOD, have experienced the Abundant Life.  As I look toward another year I confidently pray, not my will, but Thine be done!      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

DECEMBER 30  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-16  >>> Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus <<< JQ#1-33  The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ    Jesus was shown by circumstance to be the Messiah as recorded in the first four chapters of Matthew’s Gospel of Jesus Christ and starting with Chapter 5, Matthew records the Sermon on the Mount with which Jesus started demonstrating through His Life and Teachings that He was the Son of God and the long awaited Messiah. Jesus was first recognized as an extraordinary Teacher after the Sermon on the Mount and throughout the remaining writings of Matthew, Jesus then asked a series of Questions which would focus our attention on a specific topic or Lesson that Jesus used to explain to us “How” to live a life pleasing to “our heavenly Father”. The Lessons that Jesus Taught from His Questions were always built around an Example that Jesus Himself had Lived. That Jesus was Teaching Spiritual Lessons from God the Father was evident to everyone that had witnessed the Life that Jesus Lived and the Lessons of God that Jesus was Teaching. This Teaching of God and His Kingdom of Heaven “Fact” was best expressed in a conversation Jesus had with “a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. He [Nicodemus] came to Jesus by night and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with Him.’” (John 3:1-2) Jesus went right to the “Point” of His Teachings: “Jesus answered [Nicodemus] and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’” (John 3:3) Nicodemus knew that Jesus was Teaching about the things of God and if we study all the Questions Jesus used to introduce each Kingdom Lesson we too will know Jesus is the Greatest Teacher of the Mysteries of God that will ever walk the earth and in our “understanding” (that Jesus was so concerned about) of His Lessons that we also will “know” that Jesus IS the Son of God and was sent to bring Salvation to a lost and dying world. Jesus certainly didn’t ask Questions to gain “understanding” from us but rather Jesus asked His Questions to impart “understanding” to us that we may know that God “so loved the world” (JOHN 3:16)  that there were no limits to what God would do to impart Kingdom Knowledge to us in order to lead us “Home to be with our Heavenly Father”!!! The Gospel of Matthew begins: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ…” (Matthew 1:1) and ends with Jesus summing up His Lessons: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen (Matthew 28:19-20) Jesus never got off Point and Jesus never spoke without Teaching and for certain, after studying the Birth, Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus, we can confidently proclaim Jesus as the Messiah. To confirm to yourself the intent of The JESUS Questions, all one needs to do is “understand” that Jesus the Son of God is asking the Questions directly to you and if you will give Jesus an “honest answer” — you will KNOW as did Nicodemus that Jesus is Teaching us about the Kingdom of God”!!! Once you “learn” what Jesus is Teaching, you will possess all the knowledge necessary “to become children of God…born not of…the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:11-13) The study of Matthew introduces Jesus Christ as the Son of God and if we learn the Lessons Jesus Taught with His Questions we will be equipped to enter into God’s Labor with Him for the Kingdom’s Sake and as we stand before God at the Final Judgement we will hear God declare to us “Well done thy good and faithful servant…enter into My Rest!!!”