AUGUST 24 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#26 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those called to labor for him?” (Matthew 21:40)

AUGUST 24  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#26  “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those called to labor for him?”  (Matthew 21:40)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer   

JESUS, Giver of Life, You alone are Worthy — Lord, it would be more than enough for You to provide Salvation for us but when we consider “How” and “Why” You provided that most precious ETERNAL Gift, it is truly more than we can begin to understand. Lord Jesus, for You to come down from Your Glory in Heaven to this sin-filled earth is one thing, but to descend from Your Deity to take on flesh is beyond comprehension — add to that mix that You chose to be born of a woman and then to live a perfect example, not as a king or ruler but as a “servant” and then to take that Perfection and use it as the DIVINE Perfect Sacrifice for the sins of the world — O Lord, we shall never in this mortal body and limited intellect know, but when You give us our glorified bodies and we take on the TRUE MIND OF CHRIST, then we will finally understand and then THROUGHOUT ALL ETERNITY we will give to You all praise and Glory due to the ONE THAT DIED TO REDEEM OUR LOST SOULS!!!!!   AMEN

AUGUST 24  THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus is living and Teaching His last week on earth in Jerusalem where He has made His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem as the Son of David and His first order of business was to clean out the temple of God which had become a “den of thieves” and Jesus re-established the temple as a “house of prayer”. Jesus immediately was confronted by the religious rulers who did not question His “works” ——— however, they were indignant that Jesus had not come to get permission from them so they questioned His “authority” — obviously these “rulers” were blinded by their self-assumed authority and missed the Truth of God that only God had the power to do miracles and healing and that these miraculous works of God was being accomplished through Jesus, the Chosen One under the leadership of the Holy Spirit in the temple at Jerusalem right before their eyes, with their permission or not!!! Jesus went right to the point of correcting their mistakes and He started with returning their question of “authority” by pointing out that ALL AUTHORITY AND POWER COMES FROM GOD — If there were no God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob there would be no Israel, no City of David and no Temple of God and all the “rulers” would have NO authority whatsoever outside the existence of God! When the “rulers” continued their confrontation, Jesus then began to Teach with parables as only the Master Teacher could do. Just as Jesus had taught by the “the-baptism-of-John”  Question the Truth of God that ALL SIN is against the True Authority of God and that God will “Judge” all that do not “Repent”!!! (Matthew 21:28-32) Jesus is now using the parable of the two sons to continue the Lesson — as a continuation of His Lessons to the “rulers” Jesus goes immediately into the next parable as He said to them, “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.” (Matthew 21:33) Keep in mind to whom Jesus is “Teaching” and what “Lesson” He will convey with these 3 parables Taught in succession — for these three parables all address the issue of how we should respond to the True Authority of God!  Oswald Chambers in his commentary on SEPTEMBER 22 (from the journal “My Utmost for His Highest”) really nails what the whole problem really is with not only “rulers” but with everyone who denies the reality of God and His Perfect Plan of Salvation as Oswald writes: “To have a master and teacher is not the same thing as being mastered and taught. Having a master and teacher means that there is someone who knows me better that I know myself, who is closer than a friend, and who understands the remotest depths of my heart and is able to satisfy them fully. It means having someone who has made me secure in the knowledge that he has met and solved all the doubts, uncertainties, and problems in my mind. To have a master and teacher is this and nothing less—for One is your Teacher, the Christ…” (Matthew 23:8) Jesus is “Teaching” in Matthew 21-22 through parables about “True Authority and Lordship” and then in Matthew 23 He sums up the “why and how” for all who will listen and allow themselves to be “Taught” by the “Master”. The question each of us must ask ourselves is “Are we willing to be taught by the Master who is the One True Lord of Life?” ——— Jesus immediately started the second parable but where the first parable established the penalty for not obeying the father, the second parable is prophetic as He summed up the history of Israel and the hope of the Messiah as Jesus said that the landowner planted a vineyard and equipped it with everything they needed to have a good crop and a good living and then he “leased” the vineyard and  “went in a far country”. Jesus has been telling His disciples that He was going to be betrayed into the hands of men and He would be crucified and buried but on the third day He would be “resurrected” and Jesus repeats that prophecy of His death as He teaches in this prophetic parable that when the “vintage time drew near” that the landowner sent servants (prophets) and vinedressers (religious rulers) “beat one, killed one, and stoned the other…” (Matthew 21:35) then the landowner finally sent his son saying “they will respect my son…” (Matthew 21:37) Jesus then predicts His death as He continued, “the vinedressers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’” (Matthew 21:38) Jesus then asked JQ#25 “Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” (Matthew 21:40). Once again the religious rulers gave the obvious answer that the landowner would “destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” (Matthew 21:41) Jesus then let the scriptures pronounce the religious rulers fate as He quoted from the Psalms: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes…” (Psalm 118:22-23) (Matthew 21:42). Then Jesus let the ax fall on the Sanhedrin and all the “religious rulers” of Israel that had rejected Him as the Son of God as Jesus gives His final judgement: “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.” (Matthew 21:43) This parable about the landowner really hit home because “Now when the chief priest and Pharisees heard His parable, they perceived that He was speaking of them.” (Matthew 21:45) But even though they could answer the obvious Question they could not see the prophetic picture of God coming back to His Creation and will require an accounting of all that He has called into His labors — The question we must ask ourselves is: “Have we been doing everything we should have been doing to render to God the ‘fruits in their season’?”

AUGUST 23 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#25 “Which of the two did the will of the father?” (Matthew 21:31)

AUGUST 23  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#25  “Which of the two did the will of the father?”  (Matthew 21:31)

AUGUST 23  LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer   

JESUS, my Redeemer, my Savior, the Only Begotten of the Most High God. There is no name like the Holy Matchless Name of Jesus. Lord, Savior, Friend, all praise is Yours. Your Kingdom will know no end, You will forever be the King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus, I surrender my life to Praise and Honor Your Holy Name. I know that if I could completely abandon my selfish desires and sinful ways that the Holy Spirit would fill this unworthy earthen vessel and Your Abundant Love and Eternal Grace would spill over to the world through an outpouring of Your Mercy — so grant it Lord that I can be strong enough to let go, wise enough to let You fill me with Your knowledge, and Lord, weak enough to yield completely to the indwelling of Your Holy Spirit.   AMEN

AUGUST 23  THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus began Teaching further about “authority” with three consecutive parables, the first of which is the parable of the two sons. Jesus had the chief priests and elders thinking about the “baptism of John” so Jesus confronts them with: “But what do you think?” (Matthew 21:28) and then Jesus told this parable: a man asked his two sons to go work in his vineyard, one son said he would go but never went and the second son said he would not go but “afterward he regretted [not obeying his father] and went [to work in the vineyard]…” (Matthew 21:29) — Jesus ended the parable with the Jesus Question JQ#25: “Which of the two did the will of his father?” (Matthew 21:31) The chief priests and elders that were confronting Jesus with His “authority” gave the obvious answer that the one that went and worked in the vineyard was the one that did the father’s will. Jesus immediately tied this parable to John the Baptist who came in the Name of the Father preaching “Repentance” ——— Jesus confirmed that all who believed John and repented will inherit the kingdom of God, but those that did not do the will of the Father simply would not enter the kingdom of God. Jesus has been saying in His ministry that He is doing the “works that His Father” had sent Him to do. When Jesus told this parable it should have been obvious that Jesus was talking about God’s chosen people Israel and that God had “brought them out of Egypt” and had led them to a “land of milk and honey” but as the children of Israel they had a responsibility to “work in [God’s] vineyard”. (Matthew 21:28) The point that Jesus is making to the religious rulers was that God had invited them to work in His vineyard and it really doesn’t matter what they “said”  they would do, the important thing was that they actually “did the works” of the father. Jesus could not have made it any clearer to the religious leaders that God had given them a job  in His Vineyard and those that did the will of the father would be rewarded. By tying this parable to the baptism of John, Jesus is stating that God sent John to prepare the way for Jesus who IS the Messiah  and if they refused to listen to the Father and do His Will that they will not “enter the kingdom of God”. Jesus then makes a direct connection to John the Baptist with the rulers as He said, “for John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him, and when you saw it you did not afterward relent and believe him.” (Matthew 21:32) So with this parable Jesus is describing to the chief priests and elders the will of the Father: “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He hath sent.” (John 6:29) God has called all to [repent and] enter into His labors and it is our responsibility to get busy doing “the will of the father.”

AUGUST 22 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#24 “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?”” (Matthew 21:25)

AUGUST 22  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#24  “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?””  (Matthew 21:25)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer   

JESUS, O the joy of starting each day knowing that You are always there, my Lord and my Redeemer, my Shepherd that leads me beside still waters! Thank You Jesus for  the Mercy that is renewed daily and Your Grace that You bestow so faithfully on all that call upon the Name of the Only Begotten of the Father and believe that God came in the flesh, was tempted in all ways that we are tempted, yet You were without sin — what a glorious thought that You suffered the trials of this world yet You remained perfect so that You could introduce Redemption through Your Perfect sinless Life — Godly Redemption bought by the Precious Blood of the Lamb of God exchanged for the lives of sinners unable to save ourselves — I cannot fathom “why an ALL POWERFUL GOD” would die for a sinner such as I, but I believe and therefore I rest in the Assurance that Your Grace is Sufficient for ALL my daily needs and for my Eternal Security and Future. Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow, Praise to the Son who gave Himself for the atonement of sin, and Praise to the Holy Spirit that lives within believers and guides us in paths of Righteousness and teaches us the “Way”.           AMEN

AUGUST 22  THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus proved Himself to be the Messiah sent from God each time He confronted the problem of mankind moving away from the “command of God”, for Jesus always exposed the lie spawned by the “doctrines of men” in their selfish desires “to be like God” for the “lie” is always exposed by the True Light that always illuminates the Truth of God. Jesus was in the temple doing the work of the Messiah in the sight of all Israel and yet the rulers, the chief priests and the elders dared to question His “authority” —they did not deny the “works” that Jesus was doing, their blindness to the Truth of God however made them revert to the only thing they knew, for until Jesus took over control of the temple the chief priests and elders had been in “control” of the multitudes because the people had been led to believe that the chief priests and elders were the only “authority” in Israel. Spiritual blindness prevented the chief priests and elders from seeing the Truth of God that the kingdom of heaven was at hand and they failed to repent but continued in their sin against God by questioning the authority by which Jesus was doing God’s Holy Work! Jesus asked the “Baptism-of-John” Question  because the ONLY ANSWER that could be given was “all authority comes from God”. Matthew records the chief priests and elders response to the Question Jesus posed to them: “And they [the chief priests and elders] reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘If we say, from heaven, He will say to us, Why then did you not believe [John]? But if we say, From men, we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.’” (Matthew 21:25-26) It was at this point that the chief priests and elders made the universal mistake of all generations that face the Universal Question of “God” when they reasoned the “TRUTH of GOD” but mistakenly thought that they would get out of the problem by not giving an answer (sound familiar?) — “So [the chief priests and elders] answered Jesus and said, ‘We do not know.’” (Matthew 21:27) It was at that point that all authority was clearly and undeniably with Jesus as He then used the “power and authority of God” to Teach this Truth of God as Jesus Taught the parable of the two sons ——— He started the Lesson in the classic way, ——— Jesus now has the undivided attention of the chief priests and the elders and so Jesus begins the Lesson by making us put on our thinking caps: “But what do you think? A man had two sons…” (Matthew 21:28) describing that the man went to his two sons and asked them to go work in his vineyard, one son said “yes” but then did not go work in the vineyard and the other son replied “no” but then later “repented” and decided to go work in the vineyard as the father had requested. Jesus ended the Lesson with another Question, “Which of the two sons did the will of his father?” (Matthew 21:28-31) Of course, when put in such simple terms, the chief priests and elders gave Jesus the right answer: “They said to [Jesus], [the son that did as the father had asked]” and Jesus then pronounced judgement on them for not answering His previous “Baptism-of-John” Question which had just as obvious an answer — “Jesus said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it you did not afterward relent and believe him.” (Matthew 21:32)  The Lesson everyone should take away from this “refusal to answer God” mistake is most important: (1) Baptism is real because sin against God is real. (2) Denying the reality of “baptism” or “God” has no bearing on the Truth of God that God EXISTS! (3) God will present us the opportunity to “believe” but we must use our God-given Freewill to choose to “Trust God” instead of “trusting the doctrines of men”. (4) ALL POWER AND AUTHORITY IS FROM GOD (5) Ignorance or refusal to answer in not an acceptable response before God, the Supreme Authority, because refusal to answer God is the same as “denying God”!  God will Judge each individual according to Truth of God that God has already firmly established and will be fairly administered to all — we will get our “Just Rewards” as already determined by God Himself for whatever actions we choose to take in our lives. Jesus asks this Question of all generations and we must give Him an honest answer, remember that God knows your thoughts and nothing is hidden from God — so how will you answer this Question God has placed before you — “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?” (JQ#24 — Matthew 21:25)

AUGUST 21 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#24 “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?”” (Matthew 21:25)

AUGUST 21  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#24  “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?””  (Matthew 21:25)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, You Lord are the Only Begotten of the Great I AM, yet You came to earth in the form of a baby to live a life as we must live, in the flesh and dependent on God’s Spirit! Lord, we cannot comprehend God, the Truly Divine, the Creator and Sustainer of all life and all that exists in the universe and it is truly impossible for us to imagine a God that does not need anything or anyone to sustain Himself, why would so Powerful and Supreme a Divine Being conceive and execute a Plan of Salvation for a world of sinners and send His Only Begotten Son into a sinful world with the single purpose to “SAVE” the world from ourselves!?!?!? O Lord, I beg Your Forgiveness for all the times that I fail to see Your Plan for the world and Your Plan for me — You do not need us for anything but yet You present us the opportunity to “enter into Your labors” with You and by our belief in Your efforts that our sins will be forgiven and we become heirs to eternal life!!!! Lord Jesus, forgive me, for I am a sinner with no HOPE but Grace!!      AMEN

AUGUST 21  THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus really makes it easy for us when He asks this “power and authority” Question in terms of “baptism” being from “heaven” or “men” — there is no way to answer His Question without addressing our core Christian beliefs on their most basic level. We must first logically admit that somewhere the doctrine of “baptism” began and we can read historians writing about this era in Jewish history as a man named John who lived in the wilderness outside of Jerusalem off locusts and wild honey with a single purpose in life — not to gain possessions of any kind, nor to rise to any position of “power and authority”, but this single purpose by this man with a different lifestyle was recorded in the Holy Scriptures as: “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.” (John 1:6-7) The mission of John is recorded in the Scriptures as “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!’” (Matthew 3:1-2) The Scriptures which were well known by the Jews of John’s generation and these Jews were well aware that the prophet Isaiah had written 800 years earlier about the Messiah as well as a “forerunner of the Messiah”, saying of this forerunner, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord…” (Isaiah 11:1)  John was recognized as being from God and doing the work of God for the “Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask [John], ‘Who are you?’” (John 1:19) John, knowing that they were referring to the Messiah because of the success John had achieved with the multitudes preaching “Repentance” and that the “kingdom of heaven was at hand”, John told them “I am not the Christ” so the priests and Levites asked “why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ?” John then told the authorities that he baptized with water but that “After me comes a Man who is preferred before me … I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” (John 1:15-34) So when Jesus asks the Question built around “the baptism of John”, all Israel was aware that John was a prophet of God fulfilling a prophecy of Isaiah about the Coming Messiah — all Israel also knew that John the Baptist was sent by God to preach “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”, and all Israel, especially the religious rulers knew that the multitudes had gone to John the Baptist in the wilderness “around the Jordan…and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.” (Matthew 3:4-6) This Question Jesus is now asking them about the “baptism of John” could only be answered for the Truth of God that it was, John was not the Christ but he was “baptizing” in the wilderness of Jordan all who confessed their sins against God and preaching “Repent”. John the Baptist clearly stated this was all about God and the “kingdom of heaven” so now when the religious leaders attack Jesus and demand to know “by what authority” is Jesus doing His miraculous works, Jesus makes them face the Truth of God that “baptism” and the “confession of sins” has only One True Authority — the One True God!  So when Jesus ties the “Baptism of John” together with “power and authority” and gives the rulers the choice “from heaven or from men”, the only answer that can be given is to admit that MEN HAVE NO AUTHORITY OR POWER EXCEPT THAT WHICH GOD PERMITS — TRUE POWER AND AUTHORITY COMES ONLY FROM GOD IN HEAVEN!!!!! The rulers knew that they had to give Jesus an answer or lose all authority but they also realized, that if they admitted the Truth of God that they were going to lose all authority! Jesus, being the Master Teacher has presented the “Question” and now He is going to use a parable to give us the “Answer” and sum up the “Baptism of John” and the TRUTH of GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION! Do you need additional Lessons or are you ready to give Jesus an honest answer to His Question: “The baptism of John — is it from heaven or from men?”  Jesus is saying to us:“God the Father and His Heaven is real, I am His Only Begotten Son sent from Heaven with the PLAN OF SALVATION FOR ALL MANKIND and the Truth of God  is : REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND!!!”  

AUGUST 20 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#24 “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?”” (Matthew 21:25)

AUGUST 20  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#24  “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?””  (Matthew 21:25)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

Jesus, Your grace is sufficient for all our needs, Your Love covers all our sins and iniquities — Your Resurrection has forever sealed the promise of God to His Creation therefore our Eternity is secure through our belief in the shed Blood of the Lamb of God!  God has gone through such great efforts to supply our needs, both physical and spiritual as we read about God’s efforts and promises in the Holy Scriptures, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1) and from Genesis to Revelation the Scriptures document all the faithful promises of God and His great work in His Creation so that the Scriptures close with “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” (Revelation 22:21) Indeed You Lord are the Alpha and the Omega and Your Mercy and Grace is all we need from the beginning to the end. So this believer also looks forward to the last promise “Surely, I am coming quickly.” and I pray “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20)   AMEN

AUGUST 20  THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus is addressing the greatest problem of every generation that ever lived, from Adam and the forbidden fruit to our modern day worldly desires to “do our own thing” — we are self-serving and are constantly declaring that it is our “right” to control our own destiny but in our self indulging demands we all make the universal mistake of failing to honestly ask ourselves, “Who and where does the Supreme Authority to declare ‘right and wrong’ really come from?” Then when we are confronted with the Truth of God that He and He alone has already established and maintains “righteousness” and has already given mankind a set of commands by which we can know “right from wrong”, mankind rebels and reverts to making up our own self-serving rules and doctrines. We are all guilty, every generation looks with lust at God’s Power and Authority and each of us fall to the temptation of listening to the Original Great Lie of the serpent as we hear, “For God knows that in the day you eat [of the forbidden fruit and decide for yourself what is “TRUTH” that] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God…” (Genesis 3:5).  Each of us in our desire to have “authority and power” look to be like the True Power and Authority which is God and fail to see that with great power and authority comes great responsibility and that is where we fail miserably, for we all desire to be “God-like” and desire in our fallen heart to wield the “power” and look grand and glorious in our self assumed “authority”. We assume it is our “right” and then immediately we abuse both “power and authority” and end up short of meeting our responsibility to the world and others as we blindly serve our selfish desires and lusts.  Jesus asks the “from-heaven-or-from-men-true Authority” Question to each of us in order to make us stop and consider what we see in the world for there is sin and death all around us — we recognize that there is “evil” that consumes everyone and everything yet we do not recognize the Truth of God that God Alone is Sovereign in His Creation and that ALL POWER AND AUTHORITY is from GOD! Simple Spiritual Blessings of God that we encounter in our daily lives like “Forgiveness”, “Love”, “Repentance”, and “Grace” are not bestowed upon us by the “doctrines of men” but we know they exist therefore we must acknowledge the True Spiritual Source! Therefore Jesus is pointing out the “simple” Truth that mankind ALWAYS falls to the temptation to assume personal “power and authority” for our selfish needs and each fallen generation tries to justify our weakness by proclaiming the Great Lie — “If there is no God, then there is no ‘right’ but that which our “selfishness” declares as ‘right’!!!”   We however, by choosing to partake of the forbidden fruit, fail to recognize the Truth that it is God Himself that declares that the fruit is “forbidden” and that God Himself has declared the “consequence” of our actions — we have the “right to choose” our actions only because God Himself has granted us “Free Will”— but the Truth of God is that as the Supreme Power and Authority, God has given us the “right to choose” but He has reserved His Divine Right and Authority to determine the Consequence of our actions and choices — we are free to choose but God determines the consequence of our choice — the only way we can ever truly “be like God” is to choose to live our lives and make our choices based upon the “choices and standards” of God through His Holy Word in which God Himself has declared already the acceptable way to live, and has provided for us the Perfect Example in His Only Begotten Son, Jesus, who is reminding us with this Question on “power and authority” that we must decide for ourselves if we are going to usurp God’s position or are we going to let God be God and provide for our daily physical needs and our eternal spiritual needs — if we stop and think we will have to admit, we cannot create “the heavens and the earth” nor do we have any control over “eternity” so what makes us think we should have “power and authority” over them?!?!?!?  

AUGUST 19 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#24 “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?”” (Matthew 21:25)

AUGUST 19  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#24  “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?””  (Matthew 21:25)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer   

JESUS, You are Worthy of ALL our adoration and praise! You Lord are the One True Shepherd that feeds His lambs and leads us to green pastures. Lord, we may read or hear a disturbing report from the “authorities” of our generation that declare that You are “outdated” and worse, You are “dangerous”  and the “multitudes” keeps believing the “Lie” and misses Your “Truth” — O Lord, You are the Prince of Peace and only through belief in You and Your Death, Burial, and Resurrection is there any Hope for mankind! These ARE the END TIMES and all Christians will have to be given another boost in Faith in God or many will be lost because of this modern day persecution on Your Church and on You, the Messiah, the Chosen One, our Savior and Redeemer — Forgive us Lord for listening to the deceiver, strengthen our Faith, and let us proclaim Your Truth and be bold in our witness that You Lord are our Hope for You Lord are the Way, the Truth and the Life!!!!   AMEN

AUGUST 19  THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus is now Teaching the Ultimate Truth of God, and He is directing His Teaching at all who would demand of the Messiah, “By what authority” does the Son of God do the works of God? Jesus knows that God the Father has sent Him down from heaven to bring the same message that John the Baptist was preaching in the wilderness, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand” — Jesus has brought the message of  “REPENTANCE” to Israel and has been Teaching by miracles and parables what the kingdom of heaven is like, but in His last week on earth Jesus is giving His “final answer” by asking the Ultimate Question that covers all the TRUTH OF GOD contained in the scriptures about God the Father, His only begotten Son, and the Holy Spirit — “For God so loved the world that He {{will give}} His only begotten Son {{Jesus, the Messiah}} that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)  Looking at the Question that Jesus asked the “chief priests and the elders of the people” will reveal the fulfilling of all that God has desired for His chosen people — simply that those that follow God will Trust in His provisions for our daily needs and for our eternity. God desires that “no man should perish but all would come to a saving knowledge” of His Only Begotten Son Jesus who was sent to die a substitutionary death on the cross as the Lamb of God, becoming the propitiation of our sins against God. God has declared the penalty for sin is death and in providing for our salvation God has provided an acceptable Sacrifice to pay that penalty. The Question Jesus is asking must be considered as a type of formal exam of the Truth of God for contained within the Question is the summation of what we truly believe and can accept about God. First, let us look at the “Question” in the context that the “rulers and authorities” of the temple were asking Jesus who had demonstrated that by His actions Jesus IS the Messiah because through Jesus and His Miracles performed in the Power of the Holy Spirit of God the prophecy of the Holy Scriptures was fulfilled before their very eyes, and yet these “rulers and authorities” were questioning Jesus about His authority???? Jesus answered their question by asking this truly “Spirit-loaded” Question “The baptism of John —where was it from? (and to make sure there was no confusion, Jesus makes the answer multiple choice) From (a) heaven or (b) from men?” (Matthew 21:25) There are several elements that we normally don’t think of that Jesus makes surface with this all important Question and here is a short list for your personal consideration before you give your “best and final answer” to Jesus, who is about to go to the cross and be crucified, suffering a cruel death to pay the penalty for your sins; therefore, giving Him an honest answer is the least you can do, don’t you think? Here is the list: (1) baptism: just what is “baptism” and what does it accomplish? (2) who is John and why was he “baptizing”? (3) why was Jesus using “John” and “baptism” to illustrate “authority”? (4) is there any “earthly” reason to be “baptized”?  (5) is there any validity in “the authority” of “heaven”? (6) how can one prove “heaven” and the “Ruler of heaven” exists? (7) is having “Faith” in “things unseen” a reasonable explanation for “John”, “Baptism”, “Jesus”, and “heaven”? These are elements of the Question you must consider or you can’t answer this Question — but keep in mind, this could well be your “final answer” before the “Teacher” grades your test!!!!!  

AUGUST 18 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#24 “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?”” (Matthew 21:25)

AUGUST 18  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#24  “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?””  (Matthew 21:25)

LIVING FOR JESUS Daily Prayer    

JESUS, Thank You Lord for being the Great Physician, the Great Healer, the Master Teacher. Lord Jesus You have guided those that are our earthly physicians and earthly teachers and You Lord give us the abundant life as You take us safely through the Valley of Sickness and the Darkness of Spiritual Ignorance and bring our bodies and minds back to health. Jesus, I thank You for the infirmities that You allow in our lives and I pray that the Holy Spirit will keep our heart, eyes, and mind open during these times of doubt and trials that we will always see Your Healing Hand and Teaching Spirit at work in our lives, both the physical and the spiritual. Lord Jesus, forgive me when I get caught up in the world and fail to see that everything should be used to glorify the Father instead of getting lost in self-pity — Lord Jesus, Praise, Glory, and Honor to the Son that was Obedient unto death to the Will of the Father, forgive me when I fail to honor the Father and the Son while enjoying the Abundant Life You have laid before all who will believe.   AMEN

AUGUST 18  THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus is entering Jerusalem the day after His Triumphal Entry which was met in Jerusalem with “mixed reviews” and the immediate “cleansing of the temple” did not win Jesus any friends on the Jerusalem Chamber of Commerce! Jesus had cursed a fig tree outside the Eastern Gate which can only be viewed in light of all the other actions Jesus has performed in the name of God as a curse on those that would defile the temple of God, His Holy City,  and all those that were seeking to worship God “in Spirit and in Truth” (John 4:24). Therefore His curse was not on an isolated single fig tree but on the Sanhedrin itself, the Sanhedrin being the most influential spiritual body in all Israel and they were cursed because they we abusing their “power and authority” by defiling the command of God in order to further the “doctrines of men”! Jesus had told His disciples that the “power and authority”  He had displayed in His cursing the fig tree and the tree’s immediate destruction was a product of “Faith, Prayer, and Belief” ——— the Lesson to learn from Jesus cursing the fig tree is that God and God Alone IS the SUPREME AUTHORITY and the SUPREME POWER!!! Jesus curses the fig tree, Teaches the Lesson on “Faith and Belief” and then enters Jerusalem through the Eastern Gate — keep in mind that this is the last week on earth that Jesus will spend in His earthly form and His every action, breath, and Word will be full and overflowing with the Truth of God so it is important to consider every move made by Jesus in this most important of weeks!!! “Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?’” (Matthew 21:23)  Jesus is the Master Teacher and He always takes our questions and uses His Question to laser focus a Truth of God onto the problem at hand and at the same time Jesus will present a Question to us that will reflect that Truth of God and illuminate the solution for us. He has been demonstrating that everything Jesus does is to Teach the Truth of the One True Living God and Jesus has made it clear that He is here on earth to do the “Will of His Father in Heaven”. In this particular case, Jesus answers the chief priests and elders of the people with what I consider to be, by virtue of where and when it was asked, the summation of all the Truths of God that Jesus has spent 33 years in the flesh Teaching to all who would listen as Jesus asked (JQ#24) “The baptism of John —where was it from? From heaven or from men?” (Matthew 21:25) By asking this Question in the temple of God in the city of Jerusalem and by directing the Question at those that had been wielding power and authority over the multitudes, Jesus has set up the ultimate confrontation between the “commands of God [from heaven]” and the “doctrines [originating from] men” — a confrontation between what God has clearly stated in His Holy Scriptures as “TRUTH” and what man in a self-assumed position of authority has defiled and manipulated and then has handed down as the “doctrine [of men]”. Not only has Jesus set up the ultimate confrontation but this Question points to the Ultimate Truth of God — God is the Living God and is still and forever will be involved in His Creation. The First Truth of God from JQ#24 is that the scriptures tell of a forerunner to the Coming Messiah and that prophecy was fulfilled by John the Baptist. When John came on the scene, the question was asked by the rulers and authorities, “Are you the Messiah?” John had answered “no” and said that he was there to “witness” and point to the Messiah when He arrived and then John kept preaching “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” and John kept baptizing. John then declared as he saw Jesus coming to him to be baptized, “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.” (John 1:15-29)  When Jesus asked about the “baptism of John”, the chief priests and elders were really over a barrel for they had to recognize the fact that “baptism” is real and they knew that John had not come to them for “approval” to baptize so there was no way that the Sanhedrin could claim “authority and power” over the actions of John the Baptist. Now what were they going to do with the “True authority and power of God” that Jesus was demonstrating in the temple of God in God’s Holy City of Jerusalem? The Question Jesus asked sitting in the temple is still of utmost relevance today, what would your response be if Jesus sat down with you and asked, “The baptism of John — is it from heaven or from men?” — what answer could you give?!?!?!?!