JUNE 28 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#21 “What do you think about fish, taxes, lost sheep, forgiveness, and your fellow servants?” (Matthew 17:25, 18:12,33)

JUNE 28  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#21  “What do you think about fish, taxes, lost sheep, forgiveness, and your fellow servants?” (Matthew 17:25, 18:12,33)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer   

JESUS, Forgive me for not doing more with the provisions and the “understandings” that You have given me. Lord, Your Teachings give all who read Your Word “Spiritual Insight” to the world that we live in as well as the issues that “our generation” is facing  ——— and yet I have done so little with those precious resources to make the world a better place — forgive me. Lord may I truly take this “second chance” to do that which will honor and glorify our Father in heaven as Your Spirit has shown me that “His Purpose” is the process itself. Give me Grace then to be a good steward of the Understanding imparted by the Holy Spirit and the Wisdom to use whatever circumstance is presented to us in our day-to-day lives to bring Glory to God. {{Once again, the Holy Spirit has brought to my attention a prayer written in 2004 that shows the timelessness of God’s Understanding!!! Once there is an issue, it will remain an issue until we use every resource available to bring the issue before God and enter into His Work with Him for He has chosen to do HIS WORK through those that choose to ENTER INTO HIS LABORS WITH HIM!!!}} Please read the following prayer written years ago but still current and see if there is something you personally could do today to honor God, pray about it, and then let the Lord lead you in doing His will for your life so that others will be helped by your obedience. Prayer from 2004: “Jesus, Lord how I seek to live my life in a way that is pleasing to You, and not for my sake and all my old selfish reasons but for Your sake and for reaching this world with Your Message of Repentance. Lord Jesus, as a nation and as a people, and as individuals we have turned from God, and we have “leaned on our own understanding” and that also is a sin against God. We have sat silently by and let abominations against Your Holiness gain popular acceptance. Lord, we have not fought the battle of freedom for our rights as Christians and our nation is losing the God-given right to worship You freely, we have not fought for the sanctity of marriage and we are losing our families, and worst of all, we are killing our own babies and are losing our future and our hope -- and we let the courts legislate the sins of our generation into the “law” of our nation!?!?!?!? O Forgive us Lord and drive us to true repentance and the path that will bring us back to serving the One True Light and the Living God”!!!     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus, in this next ‘section’ of scripture, Jesus addresses several issues that seem lighthearted at first but we must keep in mind while reading this passage that this is God in the flesh asking us to “think” about issues and while “thinking” on these issue s we should keep in our mind that Jesus has just previously warned us that there are those that seek to “destroy” our souls — therefore let us try and understand the Truth of God that is always uncovered whenever we seek it. The first such Lesson is found in Matthew 17:24-27 and that Lesson starts with a question from “those who received the temple tax” (the “tax” collectors) when they asked Peter, “Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?” (Matthew 17:24) My first thought when I read this verse is “Wow, Jesus had to deal with tax collectors (the ROMAN IRS) too” so I was very interested in how Jesus would handle the situation. Peter handled the situation like we should handle circumstances where we find ourselves having to “defend” following Jesus — Peter responded “Yes” to the “tax collectors” and then he went to ask Jesus Himself about what had just transpired. As Peter entered the house we read that “Jesus anticipated him, saying, ‘What do you think, Simon?’” (Matthew 17:25) This is the beginning of a very valuable Lesson and the revelation of another Truth of God because before Simon Peter had a chance to ask Jesus the next question about paying the temple tax, “Jesus anticipated him…” and then to make it a one-on-one personal relationship Jesus called Simon by name and then God Himself looked a mortal in the eye and asked “What do you think?” !?!?!? Wow again!!! God KNOWS EVERYTHING and can “anticipate” our questions yet He stops and asks us what we “think” about the “question” which He knows even if we have not even asked Him the question yet?!?!? Before you continue, it is a good time and stop to ask yourself this very same simple question but answer it only after you fully realize that it is God Almighty Himself asking the question directly and personally to you!!! — “What do you think, _{add your name here}?” (Matthew 17:25)