JANUARY 23 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#01 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?” (Matthew 5:13)

 JANUARY  23  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#01 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?” (Matthew 5:13)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer   

JESUS, Lord, Savior, Redeemer, Master, Teacher — what joy it is to know that the One holding our Eternity in His Hands deserves such Divine and eloquent titles. Lord I wake to the thought that You have given me yet another day and through the strength that Your Grace has imparted to me the possibilities of my future are limitless. Jesus, You Teach and Guide us in Your Ways and we know that through the knowledge that You give we can know the Father and we are assured that if we walk in Your Way that the path leads us to Eternal, Unbroken Fellowship with God Himself! What glorious thought that time and death will not hold sway over us as we enter into Your Kingdom and have all of Eternity ahead of us, a Blessed Eternity  free from the bondage of sin … Forgive me, a sinner in the flesh — I am longing for the day I can stand before You in Spirit and in Truth at the Final Judgement and be judged not on my righteousness but on the Righteousness of the Son of the Living God, even my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Himself!      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS 

JESUS began His Ministry by going on a “field trip” which firmly established His “Purpose and Credentials” of being God’s Messiah by experiencing first hand the main problem Jesus was sent to earth to resolve — mainly the big issue in everyone’s life is having to learn how to be “in the world” but resist the temptation to be “of the world”! Matthew writes about this “field trip” Jesus took at the start of His Earthly Ministry thusly: “Then [immediately after being baptized by John in the Jordan] Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” (Matthew 4:1-3) This is a Divinely inspired passage by Matthew because it completely exposes the Main Truth of God needed by every individual and gives us an “example” of what to look for and how to handle it once we find ourselves in this circumstance — it is guaranteed that each one of us will encounter such a circumstance somewhere along the way on our Spiritual Journey! I say this because the first statement is, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit” so it is obvious that if Jesus came to be an “example” for us and to teach us how to react to certain circumstances in our daily life, then it is logical to assume that if the Spirit led Jesus “into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” that it would be prudent for us to prepare for that “experience” on our own “Spiritual” journey by expecting to find ourselves in “the wilderness” and to encounter “temptation”! The best way to prepare for any circumstance, and especially if we know with certainty that we will be “tempted by the devil” is to listen to the ONE that has gone before us and has successfully resolved every circumstance that we will find ourselves in at some point on our personal “Spiritual Journey”! We would not be so foolish as to go on a great journey into a wild and unknown land without making necessary preparations and to use an “experienced guide” to show us how to avoid the pitfalls and dangers that we are sure to encounter on our way — so why do we foolishly think we can make it through life without “The Guide” that has experienced VICTORY over Life, Temptation, and Death? It is written of Jesus: “For we do not have a [Guide] who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet He did not sin.” (Hebrews 4:15) If I am going to have to face “the devil” and I have “to be tempted” by the one that seeks to “devour my soul”, then I want to have as my guide the One that is “The Guide” and has VICTORY over the world, sin, temptation, the devil, and death itself to lead me on my Spiritual Journey!   We are very fortunate to have “The Guide” for our Spiritual Journey and we also have the “Ultimate Guide Book” (the Holy Bible) to read for ourselves the “experiences” of “failures” and “pitfalls” of all those that refused to follow “The Guide” and the “successes” of those that listened to Him!!! On my embarking on my Spiritual Journey I obtained a copy of the “Ultimate Guide to Life” and in reading it through and through I have been very aware of certain passages that are written in “Red Letters” in my (Guide Book) copy of the Scofield Study Bible and those “Red Letter” passages are the ones that contains Statements and Advice that Jesus the Master Life-Guide spoke to help us on our Spiritual Journey. Jesus uses “Questions” to point us to special “points of interest” along our journey. The Spirit led me to a thought one day while reading in my Bible — I was to go through the New Testament Gospel of Jesus Christ written by Matthew and read through all the times Jesus is quoted (designated by the “Red Letters”) and to study each Question that Jesus asked as I came to it. There are not that many “Red Letter” passages so when the Master Teacher who has Infinite Knowledge and Understanding asks a “Question” then we should pay attention! The plan for the rest of this blog then is to identify those “Questions” that Jesus asked, study the context surrounding the circumstance, and let the Holy Spirit enlighten our consciousness to that “Lesson” that JESUS the Master Teacher is trying to Teach us by making us stop and think about what He has asked, then meditate on each “JESUS Question” until we can give Him an “honest” answer. This exercise will not be a quick read and it will take months (the rest of the year in fact) to answer each of the 33 JESUS Questions the Holy Spirit challenged me to answer in this blog and share them with others seeking TRUTH on their personal SPIRITUAL JOURNEY— but I encourage you to take the time and accept the challenge because Jesus had a reason for asking these Questions and I know He has a very good reason for letting the Holy Spirit challenge each reader to give their own answer for each of “The JESUS Questions” — and your own “honest” answer must be given directly to Jesus Himself!! This blog is designed by the Holy Spirit to be a One-on-one between the reader and JESUS CHRIST! The Plan then is to start by reading again from the beginning of Matthew and his introduction of Jesus Christ as Messiah and firmly establish in our minds that Jesus IS the Master Guide having the Authority and the Power of God to successfully lead us on our Spiritual Journey and to take us safely through all the pitfalls of life. Once we know that Jesus IS the Master Teacher and with what Authority He Teaches we can then with supreme confidence continue our Spiritual Journey. Let us begin our “RED LETTER SPIRITUAL JOURNEY with JESUS” by introducing the first JESUS Question — JQ#01 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?” (Matthew 5:13a) The first thought that struck me when I read this first JESUS Question is that Jesus is talking to all those that call themselves “Christians”, and the second thought that followed was an emotion of guilt and shame as I read the next statement Jesus made about salt: “… [tasteless salt] is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” (Matthew 5:13b) The JESUS Question JQ#01 about Christians being “the salt of the earth” and the immediate statement Jesus made about “salt” provoked an emotion that made me ask, “Is this what is happening in my spiritual life and I am being trampled emotionally underfoot by the world” and then I immediately prayed “Jesus, how do I fix it?”?!?! — my prayer was answered as soon as I continued reading the next few verses in my Guide Book where I found “encouragement and guidance” — for with the “Question” still lingering in my mind, the Master Teacher’s WORDS opened my understanding to the Answer that followed immediately after His Question! It is my prayer that this blog will do the same for you and that you will find these Eternal Life Answers from the Master’s Questions, asked by JESUS HIMSELF for each of our sakes! 

Why should we study The JESUS Questions???:

II Timothy 2:15 admonishes, “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

JANUARY 22 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#01 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?” (Matthew 5:13)

 JANUARY  22  THE JESUS QUESTIONS    JQ#01  “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?” (Matthew 5:13) 

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer

JESUS, Lord and Savior, Redeemer, Lover of my soul, all praise and honor to You and Your Holy Name, the Only Name by which ALL SOULS are ETERNALLY SAVED - JESUS! Lord let us always be mindful that You are unchanging and as we rise to face each new day let us start with Your Name on our lips and Your Grace in our hearts. Lord Jesus, my prayer is that every day will be lived in a way that honors You and advances the Father’s Kingdom. Lord Jesus, open our hearts and our minds that we can see the Father God as You reveal Him through Your Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables as You “TEACH” us the TRUTH OF GOD through Your Questions — You have asked The JESUS Questions for our benefit that we might dwell on the TRUTH OF GOD and my prayer is that we will listen with our hearts and apply Your TRUTH OF GOD to our day-to-day lives so that we may accept Your Gifts of Mercy and Grace with which You WILL Bless us daily — so give us the Self-Discipline to HONESTLY answer Your “Questions” for YOU KNOW OUR HEARTS!      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JESUS has been introduced by St. Matthew as “Messiah” who was prophesied from the Jewish Holy Scriptures. St. Matthew started with the “genealogy of Jesus Christ” and established that Jesus is “the Son of David” and “the Son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:17) Matthew then moved to the “Virgin Birth” and demonstrated that Mary the mother of Jesus bore Him in a “Virgin Womb” for she had known NO man and the “Seed” she carried was the “Holy Seed of God Himself” which made Jesus both the “Son of Man”, born to a “virgin”, and the “Son of God” , born from the “Holy Seed”!!! (Matthew 1:18-25) Matthew then documents the significance of where and when Jesus was born and establishes that John the Baptist had fulfilled the prophecy of the “forerunner” of Messiah by preaching in the wilderness, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” and was baptizing by water in the Jordan River and those that were being baptized by John were “confessing their sins”. When John saw Jesus coming to be baptized in the Jordan, John, the prophesied forerunner of “Messiah”, acknowledged that Jesus was Messiah and at this point and felt unworthy to baptize “The Lamb of God”  but Jesus said to John, “Permit it to be so now, for it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:1-15) Matthew then documents God’s Recognition that Jesus was the Messiah for as “Jesus came up immediately from the [baptismal] water; … behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’” (Matthew 3:16-17) Matthew has now shown that Jesus fulfilled the Messianic prophecy through circumstances that Jesus had no control over such as (1) His parents (lineage), (2) His Birth from a “Virgin Womb”, and (3) the place of His Birth in the City of David — Bethlehem — and (4) His Baptism by God’s “forerunner” of the Messiah, John the Baptist was done to “fulfill all righteousness”. (5) Upon Jesus being “Obedient” to the Father’s Will by being baptized by God’s “forerunner”, God Himself spoke from heaven and called Jesus “My Son” which was heard by a crowd of many witnesses! (Matthew 1:1 thru Matthew 3:17) Starting with Matthew 4:1 Jesus Himself is going to show He is the Messiah by His Lessons, His Lifestyle, and His “Teaching” the TRUTH OF GOD !!! Jesus used circumstances to get His followers to meditate on the TRUTH OF GOD. Jesus demonstrated His Messiahship as He addressed each circumstance and instead of His Messiahship being “compromised” by the circumstance, Jesus demonstrated that His Messiahship was from God as He turned each circumstance into a “Lesson” and “Taught” the “Truth of the Lesson” which “Confirmed” Jesus Messiah, the Christ! Jesus included in His “Lessons” a Method to get our attention and to focus us on the “issue” at hand, and that “Method” was to ASK a QUESTION for us to “think about” and then He would wait for the TRUTH OF GOD to soak in as we thought about His Question.  Sometimes Jesus would immediately tell us the TRUTH OF GOD so that there would be no mistake or misunderstanding of the TRUTH OF GOD that Jesus Taught with every Lesson.  It is this Method of Jesus “asking” us “Questions” to make us focus on the TRUTH OF GOD that is the basis for this blog “The JESUS Questions”.  JANUARY 1 introduced “how and why” The JESUS Questions  came about by the Holy Spirit who issued a Question/Answer challenge  to read the Gospel of Jesus Christ as written by St. Matthew ——— here is that “JESUS Question/Answer Challenge”: “Read through the complete Gospel of Jesus Christ written by St. Matthew (the first book in the New Testament) starting with Matthew 1:1 read through the entire Gospel of Matthew 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 of Jesus Christ according to Matthew and “each time you come to a JESUS Question, give Jesus a TRUTHFUL answer” and I personally will give you a double-your-money back lifetime guarantee that it will change you from the inside out and that you will see that person in the mirror in a different “Light” — remember 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 GOD gives it FREELY to all who search for TRUTH, so if someone tries to charge you for TRUTH, don’t buy The Lie   -   no matter how pretty the package!!!

Once you accept the challenge to let Jesus show you the TRUTH OF GOD then continue in the Gospel of Jesus Christ written by Matthew starting with Chapter 4:1 and read for yourself and observe how Jesus lived His day-to-day life to witness to the TRUTH OF GOD!!! Just like Matthew used Chapters 1-3 to introduce Jesus as the Messiah by circumstances controlled by God then Matthew uses Chapter 4 through the end of Matthew’s Gospel of Jesus Christ to let Jesus introduce Himself by how Jesus reacted to the “circumstances” that confronted Him in His day-to-day life on this earth. Matthew begins his account of the Ministry of Jesus Christ as follows: “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” (Matthew 4:1) It “is fitting for us” then to know that Jesus started His ministry with a most difficult circumstance and the “Divine Example” that Jesus gives us with His response to being confronted by the devil should be a “Lesson” that we apply to our daily lives to make it through our living in the flesh day-to-day life on earth and having to face difficult circumstances, after all, Jesus has changed the course of History for ALL ETERNITY so He certainly can do the same for our lives — FOREVER FOR ALL!!! 

JANUARY 21 THE JESUS QUESTIONS SUMMATION of Introductions (21): Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33 (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17)

 JANUARY  21  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   SUMMATION of Introductions (21): Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17) 

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer 

JESUS, You ARE the Messiah, praise Your Holy Name, God became flesh to Redeem all from the bondage of sin, You have freed us from the Law of Sacrifice for You have substituted Your Holy Self as the PERFECT ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE for our Atonement, ONCE FOR ALL!!!  Lord, teach me to share the Good News to both Jew and Gentile that the Messiah has come, that the Son of Man has sacrificed His Perfect Life, and that Jesus IS the Passover Lamb who IN OBEDIENCE to the FATHER’S WILL allowed His Spotless Blood to be Shed for our sakes — as Jesus commended His Soul to the Father He proclaimed “It is finished” which was the Divine Announcement that God’s Plan of Salvation has been established by Christ and the “angel of death” will “pass over” all who believe and apply His Precious Blood to the doorposts and lintel of our hearts. God’s Salvation is through His Messiah, God’s Anointed One, for God sent His Son to be Born of a “virgin”, Crucified on a Cross, Buried in a borrowed tomb, and then on the 3rd Day God Raised His Only Begotten Son to Glory — JESUS the Messiah HAS COME!!!      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus has now been connected to prophecies that point to Him alone as being the Messiah and yet it is our “faith” that will actually seat Him on the “throne” of our heart — all the evidence in the world will not be sufficient for those that continue to trust in the “doctrines and traditions of man” and not the “commands of God”.  Jesus demonstrated His Intent by addressing the issue of the “whom-we-choose-to-trust” problem throughout His earthly ministry and Jesus made it clear beyond any doubt that this problem displeases God the Father for Jesus immediately addressed the “God’s Commands vs. the doctrines-of-men” issue after making His “Triumphal Entry” into Jerusalem at the beginning of the Passover Week. Jesus was very specific about “doctrines of men” and is quoted as saying: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much as a son of hell as yourselves.” (Matthew 23:15) With statements like that from Jesus attacking the religious leaders of Israel and calling them out with such great condemnation, especially in Jerusalem during the Passover Week, it is understandable that they would certainly not want Jesus to be confirmed as the Messiah for that would be confirmation of them being “sons of hell” — that particular problem still exists today among all who are still refuting the claim that Jesus IS the Messiah. The descendants of those religious leaders that were confronted with their hypocrisy by Jesus still to this day deny that Jesus is the “Anointed One”  and say that the word “Messiah” has been defiled by translation and claim “mashiach” (which means “the anointed one”) has not yet come. Their argument is that “mashiach” is not a god but that “mashiach” is a human that will be a warrior king like David? Those dedicated to the idea that “the doctrines of men” define the True Messiah and do not trust the Revelation of God and the fulfillment of prophecy by Jesus Christ have been blinded to the Truth of God - these then are the “blind leading the blind” and therefore Jesus rightfully called them “hypocrites” for claiming they know the Scriptures better than God Himself!!! This is the exact problem Jesus addressed when He was questioned by the scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem that called Jesus out because of His “Miraculous Works” and He answered their questions with a question of His own: “Why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:3) and coincidentally Jesus called them “hypocrites” and quoted the prophet Isaiah: “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying, ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me, and in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’” (Matthew 15:7-9) So everyone that claims Jesus is not the Messiah by quoting the “commandments and doctrines of men” instead of quoting the Holy Scriptures that declare the “Commandments of God” are in essence promoting “man” over the “Word of God”!  Each person must take personal responsibility for the “choice” made through “faith in man” over “trusting God’s Word” — your self-condemnation arises because you have reviewed the same “evidence” in the Holy Scriptures that point to JESUS as the Messiah but you still reject Jesus and therefore you have come to the same point of “decision” put forth by Joshua — “Choose this day whom you will serve!” (Joshua 24:15) Therefore I conclude this “Introduction” and begin The JESUS Questions with this same Truth this article today began with ——— “Jesus has now been connected to prophecies that point to Him ALONE as being the Messiah and yet it is our “faith” that will actually seat Him on the “throne” of our heart — for all the evidence in the world will not be sufficient for those that continue to trust in the “doctrines and traditions of man” and not the “commands of God”. God gave us “Freewill” and the personal responsibility to choose whom we will serve — the main problem is that in spite of GOD’S TRUTH laid plainly before us that we choose to be our own “Master” and serve no one but ourselves!?!?!

JANUARY 20 THE JESUS QUESTIONS Introduction-20: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33 (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17)

 JANUARY  20  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-20: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17) 

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer

JESUS, as each new day unfolds Lord we ask for Your Light to shine in our day-to-day world and we thank You that like the consistent sunrise that brings light to our physical world that Your Light will rise each day in our “Spiritual world” and bring with it the blessing of Your renewed Mercies and Grace in our “Spiritual” lives! Thank You Jesus for Your coming to the earth and for taking on flesh and being tempted in all ways such as we but yet You were without sin, and Your Victory over the world is the foundation of our Hope and the Great Expectation of our inheritance in Your kingdom, for surely this world is not our home, but our “dwelling” will be in the kingdom of God where You have prepared an eternal permanent place for those that would call upon Your Holy Name and Repent and turn from our worldly sins — Lord forgive me of all my worldly shortcomings and my daily iniquities and grant to me the self discipline to forgive others as freely as You forgive us!      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JESUS spoke His first words in Matthew’s Gospel and stated that the event unfolding between Him and John the Baptist, the forerunner of God’s Chosen One, the Messiah,  as “Fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15) which established Jesus as the “Chosen One” and that John was the “one crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight’” (Matthew 3:3) thereby Matthew documents that the “Coming One” had arrived! Only the Jewish community that had been reading the Talmud would understand the significance of Matthew being able to trace the genealogy of Jesus back to Abraham through King David so the Gospel of Jesus according to Matthew points to the fulfilling of God’s prophecies for the nation Israel and establishes through God’s Covenant Promises with Israel’s forefathers that Jesus was the rightful Heir to the throne of David. I believe that the nation was blinded to the Kingship of Jesus because of His Humble beginnings and the fact that Jesus was more like John the Baptist who possessed only the Spirit of God and had no earthly wealth or possessions. Sadly for many, Jesus in His Humbleness, did not fit their vision of the “soon coming King” who they mistakenly believed was to be like Israel’s previous great king, King David, who had possessed the entire kingdom of Israel. King David had ruled with great warrior strength and had accumulated all the material possessions that King Solomon used to build the Great Temple in Jerusalem! The nation Israel and many people today simply cannot see how a cruel death on a Roman cross (at the hands of Israel’s religious rulers who declared that Jesus was a “criminal”) actually prove Jesus to be the Messiah? And how could a “prophet” that did not possess any earthly treasures, by His Birth, Death, Burial, and Resurrection “fulfill all righteousness”!?!?!? Matthew started his documentation of Jesus fulfilling the Holy Scriptures by establishing in Chapter 1 that Jesus was the “rightful heir” to the throne of David! Any one of the events that Matthew records in his 28 Chapters about the life of Jesus could be considered significant but by recording all the events into a single Gospel Matthew established a record of the fulfilling of prophecies by a single man [Jesus] that defies all logic and odds — if the odds of one man fulfilling all prophecies of the Messiah from the Jewish Holy Scriptures could actually be calculated then it would certainly fit into the category of “counting [all] the stars if [we were] able” (Genesis 15:5) or imaging the number of descendants that God had promised a fatherless 90 year old man and his 80 year old barren wife, “I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of  the sky and as the sand which is on the seashore” {{have you ever tried counting all the stars or grains of sand??}} (Genesis 22:17) and these great numbers that are far beyond our counting or imaging the total sum of them point to God the Father for King David wrote: “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand!” (Psalm 139:18). Therefore by collecting all the events of Jesus that point to His being the “Son of God, God’s Anointed One, the Messiah” Matthew establishes beyond a shadow of a doubt that it would be IMPOSSIBLE for any one person to fulfill EVERY Prophecy that Jesus did!!! Matthew established in the first part of Chapter 1 that Jesus is the rightful heir by His Birthright and in the last part of Chapter 1 Matthew records the fulfilling of even more early prophecies of the Messiah as Matthew writes: “the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows…Mary was betrothed to Joseph [and] before they came together, she was found with the child of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:18) Matthew explains: “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet {{Isaiah 7:14}}, saying, ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name ‘Immanuel’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’” (Matthew 1:22-23) Matthew started at “the beginning” which leaves no room for anyone other than Jesus to claim the title of “God’s Only Begotten Son”! The Apostle John (whom Jesus loved) wrote about Jesus: “The WORD became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) The Jewish community had been reading the prophecies of the Coming Messiah for centuries therefore they would be the first ones to recognize that Jesus was the earthly embodiment of “Immanuel” and truly God Himself had sent His Only Begotten Son to dwell among us and by observing the Life of Jesus, we observe GOD HIMSELF!!!  — and the really GOOD NEWS is that now that Jesus has come down from heaven to earth that the Promise of God to Joshua becomes God’s Promise to us for God assures all believers — “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6) and (Hebrews 13:5) I will be perfectly honest with you, when I started my “Journey to find TRUTH” I did not expect to find the Messiah; but now that God has revealed His Plans to Provide Salvation as a Gift, why should I turn a “blind eye” to such a “Divine TRUTH”!?!?!?

JANUARY 19 THE JESUS QUESTIONS Introduction-19: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33 (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17)

 JANUARY  19  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-19: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17)

LIVING FOR JESUS   Daily Prayer

JESUS, as I continue on my Spiritual Journey to TRUTH down this path that is taking me “deeper still” into Your Holy Word, my prayer today is for the Holy Spirit to illuminate the path and to reveal that You are “Teaching these Lessons” and “Giving these Examples” of Your “Lifestyle” in order to reveal God the Father and His Ultimate TRUTH to us and to bring the “Light” of understanding through our study of these Holy Scriptures to the “Will of God” — I pray for the Holy Spirit to guide the Words written in this “Introduction” to “The JESUS Questions” that they will be a Glory and Honor to the Blessed Trinity and in the reading of the Word that Your TRUTH will Reveal the Father, Glorify the Son, and Honor the Holy Spirit in such a Way that our lives will be transformed and that we will “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33) Lord Jesus, thank You for showing us to Trust God and His Mighty Provisions, which God Freely Bestows on us even though we are such undeserving sinners, and He does not give His Grace because of anything we have done, but simply because of God’s Holy Character and His Infinite Love for His Creation!      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus started His earthly public Ministry Teaching the same TRUTH that Jesus Himself is Teaching today to lead us to a clear understanding of God the Father!  Jesus with His Words, His Lifestyle, and Lessons is directing us towards a point that is a “crossroads” or “turning point” in each individual’s Spiritual Journey. Everyone will find themselves at this “Spiritual Crossroads” which is a “point” on our individual “Spiritual Journey” that is a critical time in our “Spiritual Life” — a time when when we see the “Spiritual need” in our search for “TRUTH” to enter into God’s Purpose and to yield control of our desires for the world and to embrace God’s Desire for our life — and at that “Point of TRUTH”, we can confidently follow the example of Jesus! Jesus begins directing us to that “Point of TRUTH” as Matthew records that Jesus started His public ministry by setting the Perfect Example of being obedient to God and following the Will of God. Matthew in Chapter 3 sets the scene for us: “In those days John the Baptist [the forerunner of the Messiah] came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” (Matthew 3:1) Matthew connected John the Baptist to prophecy and the Holy Scriptures through the prophet Isaiah as Matthew declares that John the Baptist was the fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah who had written 800 years earlier that the “forerunner” of the expected Messiah would be one that was “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight’” (Isaiah 40:3 as quoted in Matthew 3:3). When the people of Judea and the areas surrounding Jerusalem heard there was “[a voice] crying in the wilderness” preaching “[Repent] for the kingdom of heaven was at hand” and declaring that they should be “baptized”, it was at that “Point of TRUTH” in their spiritual lives that the Holy Scriptures came alive for them and they could see the prophecies of old being fulfilled!  “Then in Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to [John the Baptist] and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.” (Matthew 3:5-6) Therefore all Israel was now thinking in terms of fulfillment of prophecy and if John the Baptist was the foretold “forerunner” of the Messiah then surely the Messiah would be coming on the scene very soon! This line of thinking was also confirmed by John’s words “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2) Matthew also introduces the upcoming conflict Jesus would address regarding the religious rulers in Jerusalem, the Pharisees and Sadducees, as Matthew records that the Pharisees and Sadducees came out to John the Baptist at the Jordan where John was baptizing and John declared this group of power mongers to be a “Brood of vipers!” and warned them to change their ways and “flee from the wrath to come” and told them plainly “Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance” (Matthew 3:7-8) And when John had Israel’s attention John further set the scene for Jesus to appear as John declared “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11) Therefore when “Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized” (Matthew 3:13) it was to fulfill the prophecies of Isaiah regarding the forerunner of the Messiah (Isaiah 40:3) and of the restoration of the Davidic kingdom by Christ (See Isaiah 11:1-10). Jesus “allowed” Himself to be baptized by John as Matthew records “why” Jesus “allowed” Himself to be “Baptized” by John in the Jordan River as Matthew quotes Jesus saying to John: “Permit [My Baptism] to be so now, for thus it is fitting for [the forerunner and the Christ] to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15) This first statement of Jesus as recorded by Matthew was the perfect “Example” by Jesus and “pointed” us to His Purpose.  Jesus started His earthly ministry by associating Himself with and by teaching “repentance, confession of sin, and baptism” and directed us clearly at this “Spiritual Crossroads Point of TRUTH” down the “path of the LORD” — Jesus clearly stated later that on our “Spiritual Journey” that we are to “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33) so it is fitting that Jesus is encouraging us to “to fulfill all righteousness”. Matthew also in this passage establishes another part of the mission of Christ — the Messiah will address the problem of the religious rulers who have defiled the temple of God and have led the nation Israel away from following God and His Commandments — John not only called them a “Brood of vipers!” but he warned them that Christ would “baptize [them] with the Holy Spirit and fire” and that Christ had “His winnowing fan in His hand, and He will throughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:7-12) Thereby Matthew uses John the Baptist and the prophet Isaiah to introduce the Work of the Messiah — then Jesus steps on the scene and fulfills prophecy to begin His earthy ministry and sets the “Perfect Example” for all that would follow Jesus Christ by walking down the “Holy Path” that is so clearly “illuminated” by the Holy Scriptures — repent, and seek God and His Righteousness. It is reassuring to know that there is a “Light” in the midst of the darkness, especially when we come to that “Spiritual Crossroads” on our journey and we find ourselves trying to decide which “path” to take? The “TRUTH” is that there is a wrong path leading to death and destruction but there IS a right path leading to “Eternal Life” — still, it’s your journey and you have to make your choice — just remember “JESUS IS THE LIGHT, THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE”!!! Truly this is “GOOD NEWS” when you find yourself at your“Point of TRUTH at your Spiritual Crossroads” in life and you find “CHRIST HIMSELF” has marked the path and left the “LIGHT” on for you!

JANUARY 18 THE JESUS QUESTIONS Introduction-18: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33 (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17)

 JANUARY  18  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-18: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer

JESUS, today my first thoughts towards You are thoughts of “Thankfulness” that You have done those things the Father asked You to do that sinners such as I would have a way to Eternally Fellowship with the TRINITY through the Miracle of Grace — a Miracle that was bought with a Heavenly Price and yet given with an Unconditional Love that can never be reproduced! It is Your Divine Love that is freely poured out on everyone that calls on the Precious Name of Jesus. Lord, there is no way for us with our limited intellect to understand the Heavenly Dynamics that provides Grace to wretched souls because of the Holy Blood You Shed on the Cross on our behalf, nor why a Sacrificial Lamb could be slain before the foundation of the world — nor how the Shed Blood of the Lamb of God once applied to our Repentant hearts brings about the Miracle of Salvation — or why God Almighty The Great I AM would even consider the possibility of Forgiveness of the guilty and Offer His Only Begotten Son — O the Mystery of God to make such a Great Sacrifice of the Divine Innocent for the sake of sinful man!?!?!?!? LORD JESUS, HEAVENLY FATHER, HOLY SPIRIT our hearts overflow with three words: “THANK YOU LORD” for being the Great God You ARE!!!      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus comes on the scene in the 3rd Chapter of His Gospel according to St. Matthew after Jesus is announced as the “Lamb of God” by the Star Witness sent by God for One specific purpose: “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…that [JESUS] was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.” (John 1:6-9) Matthew documents the fact that before Jesus came to be baptized by John that John the Baptist was already “preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!’” (Matthew 3:2) Matthew was Jewish and was a well educated Jewish scholar and very familiar with the Jewish Holy Scriptures (known today as the “Tanakh”— the Hebrew Bible consisting of three sets of books: Torah, Nevi’im <prophets and histories> and Ketuvim <writings>) and knew the significance of John’s message to the nation Israel for there had been 400 years of silence since Malachi the last prophet had written God’s declaration of the coming of the forerunner of the Messiah, “BEHOLD, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me.” (Malachi 3:1a) Matthew sensed through that same Holy Spirit that the LORD was once again speaking to Israel through His messenger, John the Baptist is the “messenger” who was foretold by the prophet Isaiah whom Matthew quoted when he wrote about John the Baptist, “For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the LORD…’” (Matthew 3:3 and Isaiah 40:3)  The impact of John on the nation Israel can be seen by the simple statement of Matthew: “Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to [John the Baptist]” (Matthew 3:5) and the reason they were going out into the wilderness was to hear John preaching “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” and Matthew finishes his report on John the Baptist by stating that those going out into the wilderness to hear John preach about the kingdom of heaven “were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.” (Matthew 3:6) Matthew with these simple statements makes it clear that John the Baptist is not trying to build a church or establish a congregation for his personal benefit because of the remote location in the desert wilderness where John the Baptist was preaching therefore one must concentrate on the message that John the Baptist was preaching and that message was clearly “Repent”. The results of the Spirit filled message was that people who listened to God’s Spirit filled Message to “Repent” were “confessing their sins”! The success of John’s message from God to Israel was also noted by Matthew for John became so well known in the wilderness that he caught the attention of even the Pharisees and Sadducees who themselves were “coming to” John to be baptized in the Jordan. (Matthew 3:7a) John’s reaction to the Pharisees and Sadducees must be viewed from the context that the Holy Spirit was leading John and speaking through John so when John calls the Pharisees and Sadducees a “brood of vipers” (Matthew 3:7b) we can anticipate that when the Messiah comes upon the scene that the Messiah, being led also by the Holy Spirit, will address the problem of having a “brood of vipers” ruling the temple and leading temple worship in Jerusalem! This “brood of vipers” were also responsible to God for teaching God’s religious doctrines to the nation of Israel, doctrines from God intended by God to promote Israel’s worship of The Great “I AM”, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that had delivered them out of their bondage in Egypt and into the Promised Land. So Matthew has now established that Jesus has fulfilled prophecy by His Birth, and now John who has fulfilled the prophecy that there would be a “forerunner” to the Messiah is about to see Jesus face-to-face for the first time! Have you ever stopped in your Spiritual Journey and considered that even though you believe and know who Jesus is, that there will come that first moment when you will stand in His Presence — face to Face — for the first time!?!?!?!?!?! “Now” is a good time to stop and think about that “moment” for it is a “moment” in your “future” that was prophesied about you by the same Holy Spirit that prophesied about the Coming of the Anointed One and your reaction will uncover what you believe about Jesus in the secret parts of your heart and soul — and “Now” is the only time available for you to get that “moment” settled between you and your future with Jesus Christ Himself!!! The TRUTH of GOD is that one day your “moment” in His Presence will arrive and what you truly believe will be revealed as you stand face-to-Face with God at that very “moment” —— BUT once the “moment” arrives it is already to late —— you must be prepared BEFORE the “Moment” arrives —— and the time to think about that “Moment” and who Jesus really IS, is “Now”!!!

JANUARY 17 THE JESUS QUESTIONS Introduction-17: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33 (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17)

 JANUARY 17  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-17: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, oh how blessed are we among men that we can call on the Name of Jesus so openly and so freely. Praise You Lord for the freedom that exists in our lifetime and our generation that we have a country founded on the belief in The One True God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Lord, I pray for the strength and courage to help in any small way to maintain this extraordinary privilege that we have to worship You freely in our churches and to have unfettered access to Your Word through Your Holy Bible. Forgive me Lord when I take this great blessing of free access to Your Word as just another freedom that abounds in plenty — for in our abundance we have become lazy and in our laziness we are losing our freedoms bit-by-bit, so Lord let me daily recognize the “Peace” and “Joy” of starting my day with the Name of Jesus and walk in freedom guided safely by the “Light” of Your Holy Word.      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus, by external circumstances surrounding Him and not of His own volition has already fulfilled enough prophecy documented in the first three chapters of His Gospel written by Matthew that were He to do nothing else, Jesus could be shown to be the Messiah with the single event of His being a first born Jewish male in the town of Bethlehem from the lineage of King David but His Messiahship was completely sealed by the fact that His mother was a “virgin” when she gave Birth to Jesus, thus making her Seed Pure, for her Seed came from God Himself making Jesus the Son of God! To be sure, common logic demonstrates that if a bird gives birth, the offspring of that bird will be a bird and as that bird grows it will have feathers like its parents and will eventually exhibit all the characteristics of a bird and will someday take off and fly — and anyone observing that bird in flight will not have to ask, “I wonder if that bird’s parents are birds?” This simple logic is God’s way of teaching us His TRUTH!!!  In His Creation account found in Genesis, God made it clear that every living thing would reproduce “according to its kind” and “whose seed is in itself” (Genesis 1:11) so the fact that God would put His Seed into a “virgin womb” in order that His Seed would reproduce “after its kind” should be simple common logic— for with the “Virgin Birth” event it must “logically” be assumed that the mother’s womb was “undefiled” by man and her “Seed” was “Holy” therefore the “Offspring” of the “Virgin Birth” would grow in “Grace and Truth” and exhibit every characteristic of the “Holy Father”, thereby confirming that Jesus indeed IS THE MESSIAH, the Son of the LIVING GOD. John wrote in his Gospel of Jesus Christ “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17) Therefore (logically), Jesus being the offspring of an undefiled woman, is “logically” proven to be the Son of Man and coming forth from her “Virgin Womb” from the Holy Seed of the Father, Jesus is also “logically” proven to be the Only Begotten Son of God — so it is “natural” that just like the offspring of a bird will grow feathers and fly, so likewise will the Offspring of the Holy God grow in “Grace” and will speak “Truth”. If Jesus were not the Son of God, then He would not be able to “fly” with such natural ease that everyone who observed His Life would declare as did the Roman centurion who saw how Jesus died at His Crucifixion, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39) So the object of the Gospels are to demonstrate the cliche’ “Like Father like Son” and that Jesus being the Holy Seed proves Himself to be the Messiah, the Offspring of  His Holy Father both by the “Way” that He lived His Life and the manner in which He faced His Own Death at the hands of those His Father had sent Him to Redeem — and His Resurrection from a “borrowed” grave fulfills God’s Promise to His Only Begotten Son — this Promise of God to His Son was another prophecy written by King David that the Resurrection of Jesus fulfilled, “For You [My Father] will not leave [Your Son’s] soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption!” (Psalm 16:10) Jesus is shown to be the Son of God because of prophecy, His “Virgin Birth”, His Holy Life, and His Perfect Sacrificial Death as the Lamb of God, and His Glorious Resurrection by His Father on the 3rd Day! We, as offspring of our parents, will quite naturally exhibit the nature of our parents and that was true of the Baby, born to a virgin in Bethlehem from the HOLY SEED OF GOD HIMSELF — and we still today call out the NAME OF JESUS, Immanuel — God with us!!!!!!!! Once we see how naturally Jesus shares the Grace of God, we know He is from God, and we should strive to be “born again” that when we are observed living our life before men that we live our life in such a manner that they will know we have been born of heaven, “according to Our Kind” — Praise God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit who so graciously decided “in the beginning…” to “Let Us make man in Our Image, according to Our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26) It’s time to step into the “Light” and spread our “spiritual" wings and “mount up on [those spiritual] wings like eagles” and soar up to heaven itself — for freedom from the world is our Divine Heritage freely given to all that will receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior!