APRIL 03 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#12 *Who decides what is legal, God or man?* “What man is there among you who has one sheep and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?” (Matthew 12:11-12a)

 APRIL 03  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#12 *Who decides what is legal, God or man?*  “What man is there among you who has one sheep and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?” (Matthew 12:11-12a)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily  Prayer   

JESUS, Lord I thank You for this ongoing “physical trial” for it is making me more aware of just how much we depend on things we take for granted when we are “healthy”.  Jesus, I thank you mostly today for the immediate answer to my prayer for “spiritual healing” as my wife and I awoke to our usual “honeymoon” attitude and Lord You know I have never taken that “special blessing” You have bestowed on our “God-honoring  marriage” and I know it was Your Spirit that quickly resolved the issue. Lord I do not pray for You to take my pain away but I do pray that You will grant me healing and keep me aware of these wonderful blessings that I see already as a result of my situation, like being able to “share Jesus” with the medical help you have surrounded me with during my physical ailments whom I lift up to You in prayer today and ask Your blessings as they are Your healing hands for those You place in their paths.     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus, being All-Knowing and the Master Teacher asked this most important Question because one can easily see that it is the most important Question that any society can ask of the government which the society elects to rule them. History reveals that government always rises from or eventually becomes the “elite ruling” class in any society. It is either kings and queens or presidents or governors but there are very, very few large societies that are not ruled by a set of officials normally called the “government”. We all know that the single purpose of “government” is to “govern” and we all know “who” they govern. In the United States of America our “government” was established as a symbolic “Trinity” with three main branches, each having a specific responsibility but all all three deal with laws and legality as the three branches are known as the Judicial, Legislative, and the Executive. The fact that Jesus confronts the Pharisees on issues of “legality” should get our attention and we should pay close attention because Jesus addressed “government” and “legalism” several times in His Teachings. Jesus, as always, is consistent in His Teaching of Lessons that are universal and timeless so that all societies, all races, all nations, and all peoples of the world can benefit from studying the Lessons Jesus puts forth, especially when He Teaches on such an important issue such as is addressed in Matthew Chapter 12 where Jesus calls out the “ruling judicial class” of the Jewish community that called themselves Pharisees. We can easily demonstrate that Jesus was asking the specific root Question of “Who decides what is legal, God or man?” because  the Pharisees were declaring that the actions of Jesus and His disciples were “unlawful” according to the Jewish religious law called the Halakha and referring specifically to the Jewish Sabbath called the Shabbat laws. First of all the Jewish nation is a nation founded by God through a man named Abraham, who had a son named Isaac, who had a son named Jacob and Jacob had 12 sons who became known as Israel. We know of this man named Abraham because God of the Bible called out Abraham to “go to a land that I [God Himself] will show you” and later God promised Abraham that He would give the land to Abraham’s descendants as a “possession”. Further evidence that proves the point of the “legality” Question asked of the Jewish law by Jesus is that (1) God called Abraham (2) God gave Abraham sons whom God said would inherit the land God gave them (3) God changed the name of Abraham’s grandson Jacob to “Israel” and Jacob’s twelve sons became known as “the twelve tribes of Israel” thus firmly establishing the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as the God of the land and nation of Israel and the Jewish people. Add to the fact that the Halakha is called Jewish law (but of “legal note” here: all the laws in the Halakha are “man’s” interpretation of “God’s Law”) and then it becomes obvious that Jesus is asking the Pharisees, “What takes precedent — what ‘God’ declares as ‘Right’ or what ‘man’ says is ‘legal’?”  the Question Jesus asked the Pharisees over 2000 years ago should be asked today, or do you think the US government can “legally” take God out of our schools, our public places, and out of government itself?

APRIL 02 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#12 *Who decides what is legal, God or man?* “What man is there among you who has one sheep and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?” (Matthew 12:11-12a)

 APRIL 02  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#12 *Who decides what is legal, God or man?*  “What man is there among you who has one sheep and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?” (Matthew 12:11-12a)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer   

JESUS, You said we have not because we ask not — Lord I ask for physical healing for my earthly body but more importantly Lord I pray for spiritual healing and forgiveness for my spiritual weakness I display during my physical pain, Lord I know that I should have been mentally prepared for the “spiritual attack” that comes at the point of “physical weakness” but I wasn’t — so now as I seek the forgiveness that I KNOW you will give me, I pray firstly that Your Grace will extend to my Precious Wife for the angry words spoken during my physical pain. Lord, this is just a very small “bump in the road” and I pray from the depth of my heart that You, LORD JESUS, will keep me always focused on “the PEACE of getting home” and not the “bumpy road of life” that we must travel to get there!     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus and His disciples were walking through a grain field on a Jewish Sabbath and the Pharisees charged Jesus with a crime punishable by death according to existing Jewish law: “And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, ‘Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!” (Matthew 12:2) We must consider the “source of authority” that the Pharisees were using to declare the “legality” of the actions of Jesus and His disciples who were walking through the fields eating grain because they were hungry. When the Pharisees stated “Your disciples are doing what is not lawful” they were referring to the “Halakha” which is the Jewish religious law and specifically to the part of “Halakha” referring to the Jewish Sabbath called the “Shabbat” laws which contains 39 prohibited activities. “The Hebrew word shabbat comes from the Hebrew verb shabbat, which literally means ‘to cease’’’ {{quoted from http://www.thenazareneway.com/sabbath/39_prohib_sabbath.htm The Nazarene Way internet article: “The 39 Prohibited Sabbath Activities”}} . “The Pharisees were at various times a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought in the Holy Land during the time of Second Temple Judaism.” {{quoted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharisees}} The question of “legality” of the Shabbat was immediately addressed by Jesus Himself as he Questioned the Pharisees in reply to their claim of “legality”: “But He said to them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?’”  (Matthew 12:3-4  JQ#12A) Jesus was referring to King David when King David had gone into the house of God and asked  Ahimelech the priest for bread for him and his men because they were hungry and the Bible states “… so [Ahimelech] gave [David] hallowed bread…” (1 Samuel 21:6) which according to the Jewish “Halakha” that it was also unlawful for anyone but the priests to eat the showbread. So Jesus is answering the “not lawful” charges of the Pharisees with references and comparisons to King David, Jewish History, and the Jewish Halakha. Jesus continues to Question the “tradition of men” using Hebrew law to establish “legality” over God’s Law as Jesus immediately follows His first Question with a similar second Question, “Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are blameless?” (Matthew 12:5   JQ#12B). Jesus is making His point of “determining legality” with the Pharisees by essentially asking the implied JQ#12 Question, “Who decides what is legal, God or man?” (JQ#12). Jesus is bringing to focus what may be the main problem in every society when that society begins to “govern” themselves and impose laws that are “interpretations by men” as to what is “best for the common good” and in making their determination of what is “legal” that the “lawmakers” do not refer to God’s Laws to establish the Moral Standard for the passing of national legislation! You might ask what a little Jewish Law established by the “doctrines of men” has to do with your daily life so I’ll remind you that it was a Jewish Law passed by Jewish men that was the Jewish “rulers” justification for the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Son of God! It is up to you to decide if the Crucifixion of Christ is important enough to put on your “daily concerns” list and to consider the statement  Jesus made to answer the “accusation” of the “legality of His actions” made against Him by the Pharisees based entirely on the laws established by men: “Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” (Matthew 12:6-8) So Jesus sets up a series of Questions/Lessons whereby He asks everyone to rethink what is “legal” — (1) laws passed by men to retain “usurped” power over the masses (2) or the Commandments of God — the Creator of the heavens and of earth and Who is the Source of All Power and All Good in the universe?

APRIL 01 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#12 *Who decides what is legal, God or man?* “What man is there among you who has one sheep and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?” (Matthew 12:11-12a)

 APRIL 01  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#12 *Who decides what is legal, God or man?*  “What man is there among you who has one sheep and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?” (Matthew 12:11-12a)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, Precious is the Name above all names — Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.  Lord just the simple fact that we have the Name Jesus to call upon should make everyone stop and ponder why we even have the Name Jesus and what it has meant to generation after generation. We call on You “in season and out of season”,  we call on You with both Praise and Prayer, we moan the Name in utter desperation, and we shout from our hearts the Name Jesus in adoration for Your Unconditional Love that You have showered so Graciously on a lost and dying world —  with the Name Jesus there is Eternal Hope!  Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow.     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus is accused of a very, very serious issue — especially when you consider that Jesus has been performing miracle after miracle that could only be accomplished by the anointing of God and that Jesus referred to God as “MY Father in heaven”, and to then be told by the Pharisees that He was guilty of doing that which was not “legal” on the Sabbath!?!?  This JESUS Question is very serious because it pits the “authority of man” against the “Authority of God” and as such, this JESUS Question should be treated soberly and given the “Divine weight” it is due! In JQ#12-03 the “circumstantial evidence” and “direct testimonial evidence” were compared and according to the U. S. Supreme Court they are “intrinsically no different” and for the record it was also established that “much Scientific Evidence is circumstantial”.  Since the accusation occurred over 2000 years ago we must make our “judgement” from circumstantial evidence for obvious reasons. The issue of “legality” always has been and always will be the greatest issue that every society must face! It is through the legal system of any society that the society either prospers or is stifled altogether! Indeed, when the question “Who decides what is legal?” is asked it must be answered proportionally to the gravity of the question, as a society can destroy itself with a corrupt legal system that is like a vicious cancer and corruption always will bring death upon the body, “man’s legalism is always corrupt” and always will bring death to the organism it is allowed to grow in! Let us start with establishing the “scene of the crime”, and “examine the evidence”, and then each individual must be their own “judge and jury” and in full honesty every individual must come to the “verdict” that their conscience, after considering the “evidence”, allows them to come to within their own intellect. Before any trial starts in the United States or any witness is called to testify, the “court” is brought to “order” and witnesses are required to take an “oath” on The Holy Bible. Because the “Oath” itself is going to be part of the “evidence” for answering the question “Who decides what is legal?”, the traditional “Oath” used by U. S. presidents and U. S. military personnel will be quoted at this time: “I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God!” Please note that the “Law” is very clear that the “Oath” is taken with one’s left hand on “The Holy Bible” and the right hand raised to God asking that God Himself be a “witness" that the following “testimony” is “true”!  The obvious intended symbolism is that the “left hand” is closest to the heart and is placed firmly on the Word of God and the right hand which is his strength he raises toward God openly exhibiting that there is nothing of man’s desire or of man’s strength that will be used in this decision and only the Truth of God, Witnessed by God who is TRUTH and only God knows the intent of every man’s heart! Yes, the “OATH to GOD” is part of every testimony yet we have defiled the “Oath” and it has allowed “CORRUPTION” to overtake our court (legal) system!!! We will begin our trial of “legality” by establishing the accusation brought against the “Accused” and the circumstances that caused the accusation to be made. I submit the previous eyewitness account from the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 12 beginning with verse 1 and concluding with the accusation itself in verse 2: “At that time Jesus [the Accused] went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat [the alleged crime]. And when the Pharisees [the accusers] saw it, they said to Him, ‘Look, Your disciples are doing what is not LAWFUL to do on the Sabbath!’[the accusation]”(Matthew 12:1-2)  Therefore we can establish the “scene of the alleged crime” to be in “the grain fields” and at the scene of the crime we can establish from the eyewitness account written C. A.D. 50 (which could have been less than 20 years after the original charges were brought against the accused) that in “the grain fields” were at least two disciples of Jesus and Jesus Himself plus at least two observers from the Pharisees for a minimum of at least 5 persons being “eye witnesses” at the scene of the “crime”. The charge itself was from the Pharisees that had seen the disciples consuming “heads of grain” in the “grain fields”. To establish the “TRUE Law of the Sabbath” do we accept man’s “interpretation” of the existing laws ruling the Sabbath, or should we refer back to the “original” Law as given to Moses from God Himself? Do you now see how this “minor” incident and “accusation against Jesus” in a grain field becomes the “major” implied question: JQ#12 — “Who decides what is legal, God or man?”

MARCH 31 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#12 *Who decides what is legal, God or man?* “What man is there among you who has one sheep and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?” (Matthew 12:11-12a)

 MARCH 31  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#12 *Who decides what is legal, God or man?*  “What man is there among you who has one sheep and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?” (Matthew 12:11-12a)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, today I start my prayer to You with a desire to do honor to Your Name by doing all that my limited abilities will allow me to do to share “God’s Truth” with those that desire to know and love God on a higher plane than ever before!  Lord, as I started my day today by reading one of my prayer’s written to You in 2004, I am impressed by how wonderful You have been to me all these years as I have been seeking You and Your Truth! Lord I pray back to You these many years later a portion of that 2004 prayer — “Your Truth” is timeless: “Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit, there is none but Thee. We in our unworthiness only magnify Thy Grace. Our filthy sin only makes Your Love shine brighter than can be described — and so our worthless lives become priceless treasures with but a drop of Your Grace. Let Your Light, Your Truth, and Your Love be our Way and our Life!     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees as He and His disciples were eating heads of grain while walking through a field and the “legalistic” Pharisees admonished Jesus:  “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!” (Matthew 12:2) It was at this point that Jesus answered the “legalists” by asking a series of Questions in reply to their accusation of “legality” against what Jesus Himself was “allowing” His disciples to do — the following series of Questions (Matthew 12:4,5,10,11,12) can be summarized as JQ#12 — “Who decides what is legal, God or man?”  The Pharisees are in essence declaring that Jesus is guilty of doing “what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath” because He is allowing His disciples to engage in an “unlawful” act on the Sabbath, and being the “Leader”, He must be held personally responsible for their “lawbreaking”! This “accusation” of “allowing His disciples to do “illegal” activities on the Sabbath made Jesus also “guilty by association” at best but at worse Jesus is “guilty of being ignorant of God’s Law” By making this accusation that Jesus is breaking “Jewish Law” the legalists have set up a “trial” between “man’s law” and “God’s Law” — and instead of Jesus being on “trial”, the Pharisees and thousands of years of “legal tradition” will be exposed as “hypocrites” by the Truth of God as Jesus basically presents His case against the “religious legal system” established by the “doctrines of men” verses the “Commandments of God” and His Divine Argument against all “legalists” can be summarized by this JESUS Question JQ#12 — “Who decides what is legal, God or man?”  (Matthew 12:4,5,10,11,12)  In order to establish the “facts” in this “trial” of “God vs. man” we must establish as best we can all the circumstances of the accused, establish “motivation” of the actions of the accused, and then “examine” all the “evidence” of the event in question. To establish these facts we must refer to writings and historical documents of this historical event for there are no living eyewitness; however we must seek to show by the eyewitness accounts that the event in question can be established as fact by circumstantial evidence. The event in question actually took place over 2000 years ago and “logically” therefore, the “accused” must be proven to be present at that event or “legally” there can be no trial! If we cannot establish as “fact” that a “crime” occurred, then how can someone be “accused”?  Legally it is imperative that the “accused” must be proven to be present at the scene of the crime and then the accused must be “proven” to be “guilty” of performing the actions that resulted in the accusation! Let us begin with the original charges and produce what circumstantial evidence that is available to us using trustworthy historical documents and recorded facts. Let us start with a modern definition from a current legal dictionary.  In an article titled: “Circumstantial Evidence: Legal Definition of Circumstantial Evidence” we read: “Information and testimony presented by a party in a civil or criminal action that permit conclusions that indirectly establish the existence of a fact or event that the party seeks to prove.” The article also cites the U. S. Supreme Court from Holland v. United States, 348 U. S. 121, 75 S. Ct. 127, 99 L. Ed. 150 [1954] as the court stated: “circumstantial evidence is intrinsically no different from testimonial [direct] evidence.” and the article concludes: “Thus, the distinction between direct and circumstantial evidence has little practical effect in the presentation or admissibility of evidence in trials.” Contained in the article is a reference to “Scientific Evidence” and states: “In addition, much Scientific Evidence is circumstantial, because it requires a jury to make a connection between the circumstance and the fact in issue.” The first Circumstantial Evidence that should be established by the definition of circumstantial evidence is that circumstantial evidence is also known as indirect evidence and in its own definition states: “[Circumstantial evidence] is distinguished from direct evidence, which, if believed, proves the existence of a particular fact without any inference or presumption required.” Two things to note as we present circumstantial evidence is (1) “Proof” is established by “belief” for both circumstantial evidence (“…because it requires a jury to make a connection…”) and indirect evidence (“…which, if believed, proves…”). (2) “Circumstantial evidence" is also known as “indirect” evidence and as such has the legal standing equivalent to “direct evidence” and is also equivalent to “Scientific Evidence”. Therefore the first circumstantial evidence presented in order to establish “proof” is  Exhibit 1 CE — To establish “proof”, “belief” must be involved, regardless of the type of evidence used. The Holy Bible is a collection of 44 identified eye witnesses that have been used thousands of years and has been considered trustworthy for that same period of time.  Exhibit 2 CE — The Bible: John 20:31 states “…these [eye witness accounts] are written that you may “believe” that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God…” . Therefore if “proof” is established by “belief” in “circumstantial evidence” that the U. S. Supreme Court declares as “legal”, then we need to ask ourselves why we don’t “believe” the Bible “since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…” (Hebrews 12:1)??? Or the more important question for our world today is “Why do we refuse to accept as Truth that which was proven over 2000 years ago and since the initial proof has been witnessed by thousands and verified by millions of eye witness accounts?” If Jesus is not the Resurrected Christ why are there so many witnesses that saw Him dead and actually talked to Him after His Resurrection and why do millions of “believers” declare that Jesus  is still Living today and He is still talking “TRUTH” to those that will listen!?!?!?

MARCH 30 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#12 *Who decides what is legal, God or man?* ——— “What man is there among you who has one sheep and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?” (Matthew 12:11-12a)

 MARCH 30  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#12 *Who decides what is legal, God or man?*  ———  “What man is there among you who has one sheep and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?” (Matthew 12:11-12a)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, I am overwhelmed again by Your Grace and Endless Mercy! Lord, the more I try to get rid of self and decrease, You seem to pour out blessings so rich that I pray for humbleness to know that it has nothing to do with me and everything to do with You! Lord keep me knowing that all that I do for the kingdom is nothing more than my “reasonable service” and that all the good that has come my way is just “crumbs” from the King’s Table. Lord, as I walk for this season on Your Holy Ground, my prayer is that I will keep my focus on Glorifying God and know that after the mountain top there is a valley where my “reasonable service to others” will be used for the uplifting of Your Kingdom!    AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus is a historical fact. The Holy Bible is the most published book, ever, and that is just another fact. The Holy Bible contains a consistent dialog throughout its 66 books even though the books were penned by various writers of which 44 have been identified over a period of over 1500 years. That single fact that there is a unity throughout the writings contained in the Holy Bible sets the Holy Bible apart from every other writing of any language or any nation or any people in the recorded history of mankind! Add to the unity exhibited in the Holy Bible the additional fact that the writers were from different cultures, different eras in history, and different social and economic strata yet each writer maintained this remarkable unity of thought! That single unique fact can not be matched by any set of writings previous nor will any set of writings in the future be able to supplant the Holy Bible as “The Book”! The Holy Bible has been printed in 2,454 languages and is “The All Time Best Seller” with over 5 billion copies having been printed! These “facts” can be found from more accepted scholarly sources than any other document ever printed and that also is a “fact” that makes the Holy Bible a completely unique entity. Not to get off track here, let me point out that the topic of JQ#12 deals with “legality” and if “legality” itself does not rest solidly on “facts” then legality itself does not have a “leg to stand on”! Jesus not only Teaches us God’s Truth with each Lesson but Jesus does so in a logical sequence that is the secret to the “Unity” discovered and documented in the Holy Bible and that secret is that God is in control of every thing in His Creation and only because He IS the Creator can He accomplish the Divine Unity that is a “fact” easily established by the Holy Bible. This “fact” is unique to the Holy Bible and the Creator God of the Holy Bible. It is important to establish as historical fact that Jesus walked the earth and just like court records of any legal proceedings, the Holy Bible has recorded the statements of eyewitness accounts of the events recorded in the Holy Bible. The “fact” that recorded statements of so many different people over such an extended period of time documenting that they have observed the same exact “Truth” should establish “precedent” that cannot be questioned in any court anywhere in the world — in any and every legal system ever established.  It is with this “legal” establishment of the “facts” of these eyewitness accounts that we begin our “trial” of JQ#12 Jesus Question “Who decides what is legal, God or man?” by taking a statement from Jesus Himself that as after He had asked the Question on legality to the “lawmakers” of His time on earth (the Pharisees) that Jesus said to the lawmakers: “But if you had known [God’s Law] … you would not have condemned the guiltless.” (Matthew 12:7)  The beginning of American Jurisprudence was established by our forefathers using God’s Law as the moral basis for making decisions and I question how it is that man has gained enough “wisdom” in 2000 years that we have now “legally” abandoned the Eternal Living God and excommunicated Him from our legal system — especially when we have so great a cloud of witnesses that know for a fact that God is not dead for we still receive blessings from Him on a daily basis? To legislate God out of the legal system is equivalent to making the oxygen in air and water illegal to consume!!! Without God, there is no TRUTH!!!

MARCH 29 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#12 “What man is there among you who has one sheep and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?” (Matthew 12:11-12a). <<< *???Who decides what is legal, God or man???* >>>

 MARCH 29  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#12  “What man is there among you who has one sheep and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?” (Matthew 12:11-12a).     <<< *???Who decides what is legal, God or man???* >>>

LIVING FOR JESUS Daily Prayer   

JESUS, all Praise, Glory, and Honor to the King of kings, my Lord, my Shepherd. Lord my God, Your ways are so wonderful that my lips cannot speak nor my words express how in the midst of a storm that just the thought of “JESUS” can calm my fears. You work things out for our good in ways we cannot imagine and therefore we sing “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!” Lord, keep my heart, mind, and soul all on You and You alone, for “Thou art worthy, worthy is the Lamb!”    AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus is always Teaching us a Truth of God with every word and action that has been recorded in the Holy Scriptures and in this section in Matthew Chapter 12 that starts “At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain to eat…” (Matthew 12:1) Jesus is going to introduce and address a problem among Israel which could very well be at the top of all the problems that Jesus was sent TO EARTH to address as Matthew records, “And when the Pharisees saw (…Jesus and His disciples plucking heads of grain on the Sabbath…), they said to [Jesus], ‘Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!’” (Matthew 12:2)  Do you see the problem that has surfaced and where the source of the problem is with this section of scripture? Jesus has Taught with His previous Questions (1) “What is your Spiritual Value?” (2) “What are your Spiritual Expectations?” and now Jesus is going to be direct and ask bluntly (3) “Who decides what is legal, God or man?”  When I embarked on this project “Living For Jesus —Daily Devotional” I did not know what road the Lord would lead me down, what doors He would open, and what doors He would close, but I did know one thing for sure, I desired desperately in my heart of hearts to be His faithful servant and disciple! I have the benefit of having a lot of water go under my bridge and I have been in some terrible storms, I have stumbled and despaired but every time I get down to my last hope I find once again that the only “True Hope” is the One Eternal Hope that is always there, JESUS! When the Holy Spirit directed me to start “journaling” back in 2001 with a verse from Matthew 6:33 “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…” I could not fully comprehend the significance of “seeking God” but the verse has been a Guiding Light to my life and all these years later as I sit and start this JESUS Question  JQ#12  I can still hear the Holy Spirit encouraging me to “stay the course” for ALL  ANWERS are found in God. The JESUS Questions have made this writer appreciate the “Divine Teaching” attribute of Jesus and I can appreciate why He was called the Master Teacher! JQ#11 was a 6 part lesson on “What are our spiritual expectations of Jesus” which had followed JQ#10 “What is your spiritual value?” and now that Jesus has us thinking in terms of the “spiritual” vs. the “physical”, Jesus now introduces His next concept and that is “God vs. man”!  (I would add here that God is Spirit and man is flesh so the this Jesus Lesson is also about the one great battle in life that we ALL must fight: “The Spiritual against the Physical”!!!).  When this was revealed to me from the Holy Spirit while reading to find the “next question” I was immediately struck with the obvious answer that “God vs. man” is a “NOLO CONTENDERE” — NO CONTEST! Just the thought that man could even begin to contend with God now seems totally ludicrous to me but then the Holy Spirit called my attention to the fall of man, the fall of Satan, the Israelites forgetting God right after walking through the Red Sea, and example after example of those that knew God yet rejected Him?  Let’s begin JQ#12 “Who decides what is legal, God or man?” by reading the Questions that Jesus asked (JQ#12a-e) in Matthew 12:4-12. The context for JQ#12 starts at Matthew 12:1 and runs through Matthew 12:23 — Jesus brings our attention to the “Question” in order to “Teach” us the answer, Jesus NEVER asks us a question without giving us the obvious answer!   To get a “feel” for the “gravity” of the situation take a “leap of Faith” into God’s Word  and read this passage and ponder JQ#12 “Who decides what is legal, God or man?”  with the “expectation" of learning yet another “Truth of God” — and if that doesn’t motivate you enough then imagine yourself putting on some “boxing gloves” and getting “into the ring” with God Himself. When the bell rings, are you going to throw a punch or duck?!?!

MARCH 28 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#11 “What did you go out into the wilderness to see?” (Matthew 11:7)

 MARCH 28  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#11 “What did you go out into the wilderness to see?” (Matthew 11:7)

LIVING FOR JESUS Daily Prayer    

JESUS, Lord, another morning I awake and it is overwhelming to think that You ARE Lord and that You ARE right here to answer my prayers and concerns and provide for my daily bread. Lord, how did I live all those anxious years trying to make it through this valley of the shadow of death without You? Jesus, I will continue to lift up my praises to You for what You’ve already done, which is much more than I deserve, and I will give You Honor for the Grace You have given to me and the Mercy that You renew daily each morning. Lord, forgive me of all my shortcomings and strengthen me as I daily try to Glorify God.    AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus is the Master Teacher and the previous Lesson the Master Taught using the sparrows and copper coin Question was Taught by the Son of God to make us aware of our “Spiritual value” to the kingdom and “our Father in heaven” — now Jesus is asking us another simple Question to make us aware of another Kingdom Truth that our “Spiritual expectations” of the Messiah affects our “spiritual vision”.  A. W. Tozer in his book “The Knowledge of the Holy” addresses JQ#11 in a powerful way as Tozer titled the first chapter “Why We Must Think Rightly About God” and in his opening prayer to start Chapter 1 Tozer prays: “O Lord God Almighty, not the God of the philosophers and the wise but the God of the prophets and apostles…[those that do not know the True God] worship Thee as a creature of their own fancy…[but] enlighten our minds that we may know Thee as Thou art, so that we may perfectly love Thee and worthily praise Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen”.  Tozer’s first sentence in his insightful book is a most powerful thought about how important our “thinking” about who God really is and answers JQ#11 perfectly when Tozer writes: “What comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”  Tozer in my mind is most likely answering the Jesus Question about our “spiritual expectations” of God with that opening prayer and his first sentence to open that first chapter; and if we look at the context in Matthew 11 immediately following JQ#11 found in Matthew 11:7-9 Jesus encourages our personal discipleship and prays to the Father: “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.” (Matthew 11:25)  Tozer, if he intended it or not, is giving all the right answers to JQ#11 as he writes an entire book about who God really is and states in an opening prayer that we should know God as He reveals Himself to us and not the God conjured up by “[wise and prudent] philosophers”. Tozer says that we ourselves should “think rightly about God” and then Tozer makes it clear that the “most important thing about us” is what we “expect” from “God”. Just after Jesus had asked the multitudes, “What did you ‘expect’ to see?” He immediately draws our attention to great cities that would come under future judgement because they had different “Spiritual expectations” for the Messiah therefore they “saw” the Divine work of the Messiah but rejected “His mighty works…and did not repent!” (see Matthew 11:11-24) Then after Jesus announces the judgement on those that have “false expectations” of the Son of God, Father God, and the Holy Spirit, Jesus assures us that if we will accept Jesus as the Son of God sent by the Father as the True Messiah then Jesus will reveal Himself and the Father to us through the Holy Spirit of Truth! Jesus concludes that if we “Come to [Him],” then He will “give [us] rest”. Jesus concludes with this promise: “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:30) Be honest, were your “Expectations of Jesus”  to find “rest” for your troubled soul? Our “expectations” ARE directly linked to our “faith” and how often did Jesus say TO THOSE HE HEALED, “Your FAITH has made your well.”?