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

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

LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer   

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

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

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

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

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

LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer   

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

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

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

DECEMBER 29 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-15 The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

 DECEMBER 29  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-15   The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ 

LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer to JESUS    

JESUS, Your Grace has been sufficient for my every need, You have kept Your promise to lead us through the valley of the shadow of death and to lavish upon us the abundant life!  Lord, I started the year praying that each day You would fill us with Your Spirit and guide us through every situation and You have! Lord Jesus, today I simply lift my voice and my heart to You in Praise - giving You all the Glory - for You alone are Worthy - for You are my Passover that has delivered me from this body of death - Your  Blood is Victorious over the world and all its lusts that rob us of Your Joy and Peace - Lord, Savior, Redeemer, Praise to Your Holy Name JESUS!!!      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus was shown to be the Messiah by a series of prophecies that were fulfilled with the events surrounding His “virgin birth” and each one is unique in that each event came about as simple undisputed facts that could not have been controlled or manipulated by someone after the event itself occurred such as the lineage of His parents and His being born in Bethlehem and then as Jesus began His earthly Ministry that He was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist who was the prophetic fulfillment of the forerunner of the Messiah and it was at this occasion that John declared about Jesus: “Behold [JESUS], the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world!”. John, the Messiah’s forerunner, had been foretold thousands of years earlier and John’s declaration and message of “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” and his claiming that Jesus was the “Lamb of God” are Biblical facts that point to Jesus as being the long awaited Messiah and are facts that could not be made up by followers of Jesus after His death! These “FACTS” could not have been “manufactured as part of some conspiracy” because the Jewish leaders at that time simply would have been disputed those events because the Jewish traditions are built entirely on the preservation of their lineage and in addition the Jewish leaders were well versed in the Jewish Holy Scriptures which are filled with prophecies of the Jewish Messiah and would have corrected any false claims immediately. Add to those facts about John the Baptist fulfilling the prophecy of the forerunner of the MESSIAH and the Jewish leaders protecting their Jewish heritage, these same Jewish leaders were the ones that condemned Jesus to death in the first place because of His claim to be the Son of the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob, these same Jewish leaders would not have allowed any sect of “blasphemers” to fabricate a story using the Holy Scriptures to put the religious leaders in such a bad light!  Then to add insult to injury, the Jewish leaders had to stand by and let all these “false fables” become The New Testament and become the most printed and most widely read book in the history of the world! If Jesus had not existed and had not the “facts” surrounding Him not been true, then those “fabricating blasphemy” would have been punished because history itself proves that the Jewish leaders had the “power” to put someone to death if they were guilty of blasphemy — indeed this claim that He was the Chosen One is the very reason they used to put Jesus Himself to death! The odds are absolutely astronomical that these many facts could be fabricated for one man especially when the facts bring so much “shame” on a group of Jewish leaders that were so “all-powerful” and had dedicated centuries to preserving their heritage and control over the Jewish traditions! Matthew, who was a Jew himself and an eyewitness to the life Jesus lived and knew full well the Jewish heritage that had been handed down to him through his Jewish family plus Matthew was a well-educated Jew who was taught the Jewish Holy Scriptures and prophecies of the Coming Messiah making Matthew indeed the best qualified person to recognize that JESUS FULFILLED PROPHECY and was indeed JESUS CHRIST, THE MESSIAH!!!  Matthew had written his Gospel of Jesus account  C. A.D. 50 and that would have been contemporary with many of the powerful Jewish leaders that had  been responsible for Jesus being executed for “blasphemy” against the Jewish traditions and Holy Scriptures and had Matthew simply fabricated these “facts about the life of Jesus” then Matthew himself would have been stoned to death and his writings would have been utterly destroyed. The simple fact that Matthew’s Gospel still exists is proof that the Gospel is the TRUTH OF GOD and JESUS IS GOD’S SON!!! The body of evidence is so great that one must fabricate reasons NOT TO BELIEVE — it is not a lack of FACTS that prevents one from BELIEVING IN JESUS — no, as with all things relating to faith in anything, it is our own “BELIEF” in the “FACTS” that establishes our “FAITH” — even atheists have “faith” but God cannot be “dis-proved” and hence everyone is left with the individual responsibility of determining where we will spend our “eternity” — and that final determination will be based on what you “BELIEVE” to be “TRUE” about “JESUS” because the FACT of ETERNITY does not exist outside the FACT OF GOD and it was God that declared when the Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:11) There is no other man in all of history that can show from prophecy  past to prophecy future that He is the Son of God for we know from these God Protected and God Preserved Holy Scriptures that JESUS IS THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD — the facts prove it, but will you believe it to be true?

DECEMBER 28 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-14 The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

 DECEMBER 28  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-14   The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ 

LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer    

Jesus, You Lord are the reason that there is HOPE each and every day, for we need Your Forgiveness, Mercy, and Grace on a daily basis! Just as You prayed to the Father for us (1) “Give us this day our daily bread” and (2) “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”  let us daily take up our cross and follow You and depend as You did on the Father’s will for our daily lives. Thank You Lord for Sacrificing Your Perfectly-Lived Sinless Life for our guilty lives so soiled with our daily iniquities — so we pray “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever!”      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus has been introduced by St. Matthew in his Gospel of Jesus Christ in such a manner that Jesus is revealed as the Messiah by (1) <<Matthew 1:1-17>> His genealogy, “the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ” (Matthew 1:1) that proves Jesus to be “the Son of David” and “the Son of Abraham” thereby fulfilling the minimum requirement for the long awaited and highly anticipated Jewish Messiah who in Jewish eschatology is a future Jewish king from the Davidic line. (2) <<Matthew 1:18-25>> His “virgin birth” as prophetically written over 700 years before by the prophet Isaiah “Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 11:1,Isaiah 7:14, & Numbers 24:7,8a,16-17a) (3) <<Matthew 2:1 - 2:23>> Prophecies fulfilled by Herod about the Messiah’s birth being in Bethlehem - the city of David  (Isaiah 40:3, Jeremiah 31:15, Hosea 11:1, & Micah 5:2) and finally (4) <<Mathew 3:1-17>> The testimony of John the Baptist the “forerunner of the Messiah” who was preaching “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand…” (Matthew 3:2) John was baptizing in the Jordan all those that went out to him in the wilderness to hear his message of “Repentance” and “were baptized by [John] in the Jordan [after] confessing their sins…” (Matthew 3:6) and when John saw Jesus, John proclaimed Jesus the One that John had been sent by the Holy Spirit to “prepare the way of the Lord” (Matthew 3:3) and John also said when he saw Jesus coming to him in the Jordan, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) and finally (5) <<Matthew 4:1 - Matthew 28:20>> Matthew documents that Jesus by virtue of His Lifestyle, the Lessons and Parables that Jesus taught, and that Jesus with His Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection “proves” that JESUS IS THE MESSIAH, GOD’S ANOINTED, GOD’S ONLY BEGOTTEN SON”!  Therefore, we end the Gospel of Matthew with enough evidence to prove, in any modern court, that Jesus IS the rightful Heir to His Father’s Kingdom — but just as it was true when Jesus walked the earth, each of us in our modern world must view the “evidence” through the filter of “FAITH” and provide the final verdict for ourselves and honestly answer the single most important question you will ever be asked: for one day YOU WILL STAND  in His Presence and Jesus  Himself will ask YOU — “But who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29)

DECEMBER 27 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-13 The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

 DECEMBER 27  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-13   The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ 

LIVING FOR JESUS -Daily Prayer   

JESUS we thank You for Your daily Presence in our lives as we see You revealed by Your Holy Word and Your Holy Spirit. Lord I pray that in my life I will know that You are always there and if I fail to recognize You then give me understanding that it is my own flesh that is blinding me to your Presence — and that upon the realization that darkness prevents my eyes from beholding Your Glory in my life that I will take up my cross and be crucified with You and know that Your Spirit is Resurrected in us and You will illuminate our darkness with YOUR LIGHT! Lord, our daily walk is our “now” and is the only “time” we can experience GRACE! Only if we decrease and You are allowed to increase can we behold our Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah! Forgive me of my daily shortcomings and my failure to see You working in my life — even so, come now Lord Jesus!     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus was first revealed by the Gospel of Matthew as the Messiah by circumstances beyond His control but were obviously circumstances ORCHESTRATED BY GOD as part of God’s Master Plan. Up to the point where Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan river, Jesus was validated as the Messiah by many external witnesses and circumstances such as Jesus being born in Bethlehem of Judea, the son of Mary (a virgin) who was betrothed to Joseph whose lineage could be traced back to King David. Jesus began His public Ministry after being baptized by John the Baptist who was the forerunner of the Messiah as written by the prophets. Jesus demonstrated by the way He lived, especially His Earthly Ministry from His baptism in the Jordan to His baptism on the cross that His Perfect Life and His Sacrificial Death is the greatest “witness” to the TRUTH OF GOD that JESUS IS THE MESSIAH!!!   Everything that Jesus does, He does at the direction of His Heavenly Father and His Message is “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. The JESUS QUESTIONS themselves reveal and witness to Jesus being the Messiah, therefore let us look at one more detail of Matthew’s introduction of Jesus that is also a separate witness to Jesus being the Messiah and what His “Mission” and “Purpose” was in being born in the flesh, at this particular time, in this particular place, to these particular parents. Matthew starts his Gospel of Jesus Christ with “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ” (Matthew 1:1) and within this “genealogy of Jesus Christ” is further “witness” to God’s Master Plan of Salvation and Jesus being the Messiah sent to earth, taking on earthly flesh to Administer God’s Plan!!! Jewish tradition, from the very beginning, has always placed great importance on the “lineage” or “family line” and the main reason “lineage” was so important to Israel was because one’s “lineage” determined their “tribal inheritance”! Inheritance among God’s people is based upon the fact that at God’s directions, each Jewish tribe or “family” had received a particular portion of the “Promised Land” and for a person to inherit land in a particular area assigned to that tribe, the person had to produce “evidence of birth” that he was from that particular tribe. That “evidence” of birth into a “tribe” came through records of the family genealogy. The genealogy of Jesus therefore would determine His Inheritance and a close look at the genealogy of Jesus Christ reveals some very important “signs” or “evidence” of miraculous claims by Jesus as they relate to the “Purpose and Life of the Messiah”!!! This genealogy of Jesus revealed that Jesus through His Lineage was born “the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” (Matthew 1:1)  Now is a good time to revisit the “book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ” as listed in Matthew 1:1-17 and ask yourself about your personal lineage and understand the “Importance” of your “Spiritual Lineage” in “inheriting” your “portion of the Promised Land” that has been set aside for you in “the kingdom of heaven”!!! This investigation of your personal “Spiritual Inheritance” can be understood by reading what Jesus told Nicodemus in John Chapter 3:1-21 which includes these two Promises by Jesus that address our “Spiritual Inheritance”:  (1) “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3) and (2) “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes on Him shall not perish but [inherit] everlasting life.” (John 3:16) so by reading the “Promise of God” regarding your “inheritance”, you must ask yourself: “Have I received Him and claimed my Godly inheritance and my right to become [a child] of God by believing on the [Name and Person] of Jesus Christ.?” (See John 1:12-13)    

DECEMBER 26 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-12 The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

 DECEMBER 26  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-12  The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ 

LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer   

JESUS, praise the Name of the Only Begotten Son of the Living God. Lord Jesus, I write the Name “JESUS” and I marvel at both the “Name” and its “Meaning” but it is hard for our minds to actually understand the “fact” that Jesus IS the Son of the Living God! The other fact that is difficult to “wrap our mind around” is that the “Living God” who Loved the world with a Love that cannot be comprehended by mortal man would remain TRUE to HIS DIVINE CHARACTER and provide for our Salvation by “providing  Himself the Lamb”!  Man who is flesh cannot conceive that the Living God who is SPIRIT would allow His Only Begotten Son to be born of a “virgin”, life a perfect life in the FLESH and then as part of God’s Master Plan for mankind that the Omnipotent  would offer His ONLY BEGOTTEN Son as the Atonement for the sins of the world? Why would a God that has unlimited Power and has absolutely ZERO need of mankind Sacrifice so much of Himself in order that we who have rejected and denied Him have a pathway to FORGIVENESS of our iniquities against God Most High — surely this is the “MYSTERY OF GOD” to be revealed when He RETURNS to “Bring Home” those that have “received” Him! Praise God for His Master Plan!!!     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus was known as the Messiah by all those that had been blessed by the angel’s declaration that “For there is born to you this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) and they “came with haste” to Bethlehem and saw with their own eyes the Christ Child laying in a manger. Jesus was next revealed as the Messiah to a man named Simeon in Jerusalem for after “eight days [after birth] were completed” it was customary for Jewish families to take the newborn males to the temple for circumcision. Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, Mary and Joseph brought their Child named Jesus who was born in a manger in Bethlehem to Jerusalem to present Him to the LORD… “and behold there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” (Luke 2:21-26) Simeon being an official in the temple at Jerusalem and very familiar with the “Consolation of Israel” (which was a common name for the Messiah used by the Jews) that when Mary and Joseph presented Jesus to Simeon that Simeon was aware that he was holding in his arms the “LORD’s Christ” ! Simeon said when “he took [Jesus] up in his arms and blessed God… ‘LORD, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” (Luke 2:27-32) John the Baptist was among the few that had been informed by the angel of God or by the Holy Spirit Himself that the Messiah had arrived but had not seen Him — and unlike those that had beheld the Child in Bethlehem or Simeon who had seen the Messiah [Baby JESUS] in Jerusalem, John himself had not yet seen the Messiah even though John had been proclaiming about the Messiah, “but He who is coming after me is mightier than I…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11). John had been proclaiming the “kingdom of heaven is at hand” but John had not actually seen the Messiah in the FLESH — so when Jesus came to John to be baptized by John in the Jordan, is was at this “moment” that John saw the Messiah with his own eyes for the Holy Spirit revealed to John that this Jesus approaching him in the Jordan was the Messiah!!! John felt unworthy and tried to prevent Jesus from being baptized by him (see Matthew 3:14) but that is when Jesus publicly revealed Himself and John as prophecy being fulfilled! Prior to Jesus being baptized in the Jordan by John, Jesus had been revealed as the Messiah by a host of witnesses and by circumstances beyond His control and without any doubt all His prior circumstances had witnessed to the fact that God had a Master Plan and that Jesus was the “Anointed One”! Now here at the Jordan, prophecy was simultaneously being fulfilled in the sight of many more “eyewitnesses”, by John who was the “forerunner” of the Messiah, and Jesus who IS the Messiah — not by Jesus Himself, but by circumstances and other witnesses that proclaim that they saw the Messiah with their own eyes! But here at the Jordan Jesus begins His Ministry as the Messiah by declaring to John in the presence of those witnesses: “Jesus answered [John] and said to him, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’” (Matthew 3:15) This is a good time for us to consider the great cloud of witnesses before us, that there are eyewitness accounts of thousands of individuals having seen the Messiah with their own eyes, and we ourselves should listen to Jesus and take His advice to “us” for “now” is the time for “us” to be led by the “Spirit” into His Presence and listen when Jesus by the Holy Spirit encourages us to: “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Remember — Today is the day of salvation and only through salvation can we “fulfill all righteousness”!!!  Are you like Simeon looking expectantly to see the Messiah??? Remember Jesus promised “Seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened”!!! (Matthew 7:7)

DECEMBER 25 CHRISTMAS DAY THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-11 The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

 DECEMBER 25  CHRISTMAS DAY THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-11   The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ 

LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer   

JESUS,  thanks be to the Son, and the Father, and the Holy Spirit for today marks the most Pivotal Event in human history!!! Though we do not know the exact day the Event occurred, it does not detract in the least from its Magnificence! Because of the Significant Importance of The Event to all mankind, there has been a “day” set aside to commemorate that Event known as CHRISTMAS, named after the Birth of the CHRIST CHILD who was named JESUS by His virgin mother as instructed by the Angel Gabriel. Gabriel announced that though she was a virgin, the Holy Spirit would come upon her and she would conceive the Son of the Most High God. The Event celebrated by millions and millions is known as CHRISTMAS but over time the world has lost the TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS in the tumultuous sea of the quest for profit. Lord Jesus, may we reflect this CHRISTMAS DAY on the  “REASON WHY THERE IS A CHRISTMAS SEASON”, why it brings JOY to millions, and KNOW THAT JESUS IS THE  GREATEST GIFT EVER GIVEN TO MANKIND!      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus was proclaimed as the “Son of the Highest” when Luke in his Gospel of Jesus Christ records “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth… to a virgin betrothed to…Joseph…the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS…The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:26-35) In the Gospel of Matthew we read, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit…an angel of the LORD appeared to [Joseph] in a dream saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son; and you shall call His name JESUS; for He will save His people from their sins.’  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 1:18:23)  Let us look at the simple facts recorded by these eyewitness accounts that began over 2000 years ago what is known worldwide as CHRISTMAS!!! 

FACT#1) “… the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth…” : The world was spinning round and round and everyone was going about their daily lives as they had been doing for centuries and then God sends His angel Gabriel down from heaven to the earth. Do you suppose that God got bored and decided to stir things up or do you suppose that God said, “Now is the time to fix this mess caused by sin”!!! 

FACT#2)  “God sent Gabriel…to a virgin [named Mary]…betrothed to Joseph” : This is now shaping up as an well planned event as God specifically sent a specific angel named Gabriel to a specific woman named Mary who had a specific condition called virginity and Gabriel was sent at a specific month to a specific city of Galilee named Nazareth and a specific time in Mary’s life for she was betrothed to a specific man named Joseph.  Note that there are a lot of names used which generally rules out this event being a “random act of a bored deity”!!!   Also in favor of this being a well-though-out-plan is the absolute conditions surrounding these numerous well established specific facts!!!   

FACT#3)  “Mary…you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus…”  So it is now evident that it is God Most High that has planned this specific mission for only God can proclaim a future event {known as prophecy} and bring that event to fruition. Notice Gabriel stated that even though Mary now has a virgin womb that she “will conceive” in the future and that she “will give birth to a Son”. Not only does Mary know she will conceive and bear a “Son” but when she comes to the fullness of her time and a “Son” is born to her, that she is to name her “SON, JESUS”!!! The facts are pointing to a Very Specific Purpose that has been Perfectly Planned by God Himself for the place, the people, the circumstance, are very complimentary and very detailed to accomplish this Very Specific Purpose that will unite Heaven and earth, and God and man in a way that has never been accomplished before since the dawn of creation when God dispelled the darkness by proclaiming His Purpose, “LET THERE BE LIGHT” (Genesis 1:2-3) 

FACT#4  “[Gabriel]…an angel of the LORD appeared to [Joseph] in a dream saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife” — God takes care of every situation and God again and again tells us “Do not be afraid” so obviously He wants us to be “Joyful” and God had a very good reason for Joseph being betrothed to the virgin THAT GOD HIMSELF HAD CHOSEN to favor. It is not coincidental that “Joseph” was indeed from the family and lineage of “David” for it is becoming evident that prophecy is going to be fulfilled in such a manner that there can be NO DEBATE ———  THE ODDS OF THIS EVENT AND THESE CIRCUMSTANCES COMING TOGETHER BY RANDOM CHANCE ARE ASTRONOMICALLY HIGH AGAINST THIS EVENT JUST HAPPENING ——— ONLY THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD MOST HIGH CAN ACCOUNT FOR CHRISTMAS!!! 

FACT#5   “…for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit…Mary your wife…will bring forth a Son; and you shall call His name JESUS; for He will save His people from their sins.”  God knows the difficultly that Joseph being a righteous man is having because his betrothed wife Mary is pregnant and Joseph knows without a doubt in his heart of hearts that he has not been with Mary. Also, never in the entire history of mankind since the first mother and father, Adam and Eve, has any woman become pregnant by any other method OTHER THAN the seed of man being implanted into the womb of a woman, therefore Joseph has legitimate concerns about the pregnancy and Mary’s claim she has not been with a man so God dispels Joseph’s concerns by addressing them completely and directly with the revelation that Mary’s Son was conceived by the Holy Spirit. To add further credence to the fact that it was from the Most High God, the same angel that visited Mary also visited Joseph and they were both told that “God IS the Father”, that the virgin (Mary) would bear a “Son” and they were both told to name the Son of God, JESUS!!!  

FACT#6 “call His name JESUS, for He will save His People from their sins.” God establishes that He is the Father, His Son will be named JESUS, and this “virgin birth” and the very Name of Jesus given to the Christ Child was done with the Specific Purpose to SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF SIN. !!!  

FACT#7 “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 1:18:23)    God had spoken 800 years before the Birth of His Only Begotten Virgin Born Son Jesus through His prophet Isaiah about GOD’S PLAN of the VIRGIN BIRTH of the SON OF GOD and GOD’S PURPOSE was to bridge the great gap between GOD’S HOLINESS and man’s sin. God further demonstrated His Commitment to “never forsake us” for in our greatest hour of need we can have confidence that  JESUS IS GOD AND GOD IS WITH US!!! When we take these Seven Facts of Christmas we now can sing JOY TO THE WORLD THE LORD HAS COME!!!! We can also be sure that without CHRIST, there is no CHRISTMAS!!!   

From LAYMAN’S PULPIT

    MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

DECEMBER 24 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-10 The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

 DECEMBER 24  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-10   The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ 

LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer    

JESUS, today my first thoughts towards You are thoughts of “Thankfulness” that You were OBEDIENT TO THE FATHER and have done those things the Father asked You to do so that sinners such as I would have a way to fellowship with God through the Miracle of Grace — a Miracle that was bought with a Heavenly Price and yet given UNCONDITIONALLY with a LOVE that can never be reproduced by man but is freely poured out by God 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, nor why a Sacrificial Lamb could be slain before the foundation of the world and how the Blood of the Lamb of God that is applied to our hearts today brings about the Miracle of Salvation — or why God Almighty would even consider the possibility of Forgiveness of the guilty at such GREAT SACRIFICE AND SUCH GREAT COST to THE FATHER AND HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON!?!?!?!? Lord Jesus, Heavenly Father, Holy Spirit our hearts overflow with one word “THANKS” for being the Great God You ARE — AND GIVING SO TOTALLY OF YOUR HOLY SELF FOR OUR SAKES!!!    AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus comes on the scene in the 3rd Chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew after He is announced by the Star Witness of God, John the Baptist, but it is interesting to note that 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 3:1)  Matthew was Jewish and was a well educated Jewish scholar and very familiar with the Jewish Holy Scriptures and there had been 400 years of silence since Malachi the last prophet wrote God’s declaration in the Old Testament that spoke 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 again speaking to Israel through His latest prophet, John the Baptist, who like the Messiah was also foretold by the prophet Isaiah as the forerunner of the Messiah. Matthew 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” is also described when Matthew finishes his report on John the Baptist that those going out to 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 statements makes it clear that John the Baptist is not trying to build a church or establish a congregation because no one would build a church in the desert wilderness where John the Baptist was preaching — therefore one must concentrate not on their surroundings but on the message and that message was clearly “Repent” and the results of the Spirit-Filled-Message was that people were “Confessing their sins”! The success of John’s message 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 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 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, all temple worship in Jerusalem, and additionally this “Brood of Vipers” was responsible for the religious doctrines of the entire nation of Israel and Israel’s worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that had brought 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! Did you ever stop in your Spiritual Journey and consider that even though you believe and know who Jesus is, that there will come that moment when you will stand in His Presence for the first time!?!?!?!?      Now is a good time to stop and think about that “moment” for it is a “moment” in your “future” and your reaction will uncover the TRUTH of what you believe about Jesus in the secret parts of your heart and soul, and “now” is the only time available to get that “moment” settled between you and your “future!”!! The TRUTH of GOD is that one day “your moment in His Presence” will arrive and what you truly believe will be revealed — and after the “moment” arrives it is already to late —— you must be prepared “BEFORE the Moment arrives”—— and the time to think about “who Jesus really IS — IS NOW”!!! 

DECEMBER 23 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-09 The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

 DECEMBER 23  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-09  The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ 

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 Living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ.  Lord, I pray for the strength and courage to help preserve for the next generation the privilege of having our churches and Bibles in which we have the freedom to come to know the God of Creation. Forgive me Lord when I take this “Great Blessing” for granted and as just “another freedom” that abounds in plenty in our “Great Nation”— forgive us that in our abundance we have become lazy and in our laziness we are taking our abundance for granted thereby losing our freedoms bit-by-bit, so let me Lord daily recognize the Peace and Joy of starting my day with the Name of Jesus.               AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus, by those circumstances surrounding Him through the first 4 chapters of Matthew — and not of His own volition — has already fulfilled enough prophecy BY CIRCUMSTANCE OF RECORDED HISTORY ALONE that were He to do nothing else, Jesus could be shown to be the Messiah. Jesus could be “proven” to be the Messiah with just 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  “the Virgin gave Birth”, the "virgin birth" gave proof that her “Seed was Pure”, (for the Pure Seed comes only from God Himself) thereby making Jesus the Son of God!!!   Without argument or debate, common logic demonstrates that if a bird gives birth, the offspring of that bird will be a bird ——— and as that bird grows to maturity it will grow feathers like its parents and will eventually exhibit all characteristics of a bird and will someday take off and fly like a bird ——— and anyone observing that bird in flight will not have to ask, I wonder if that bird’s parents are birds? This simple common logic that everyone can understand 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 after its kind” and “whose seed is in itself” so it is simple common logic to assume that God would put “His Seed” into a “virgin womb” in order that “His Seed” would reproduce “after its Kind”!   With the “Virgin Birth” event it can be “logically understood” that the “virgin’s womb” was “undefiled” and her “Seed was Holy”, therefore the “Offspring” of the “Virgin Birth” would grow in “Grace and Truth” and exhibit every characteristic of “HIS HOLY FATHER”, thereby confirming that the The Child JESUS born to a “Virgin” indeed IS THE MESSIAH, the SON of the LIVING GOD (dead men and dead gods do not have offspring), and being the offspring of an undefiled woman, Jesus is the SON of MAN!!!   Also, coming from the Holy Seed of the Father, Jesus is the Only Begotten Son of God and just like the offspring of a bird will grow feathers and fly, so likewise the Offspring of the Holy God would grow in “Grace” and 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 or studies His Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection will say as did the Roman centurion who saw how Jesus died at His Crucifixion, “Truly this Man [JESUS IS] the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39) So the object of the Gospels are to demonstrate that Jesus proves Himself to be the Messiah both by His Life and His Death, and the Resurrection of JESUS ON THE THIRD DAY fulfills God’s Promise to His Only Begotten Son! Jesus is shown to be the Son of God because of fulfilled prophecy, His Virgin Birth, His Holy Life, and His Perfect Sacrificial Death as the Passover Lamb of God, and His Glorious Resurrection by the Father on the 3rd Day!   We cannot but exhibit the nature of our parents and that was true of Baby JESUS, born to a virgin in Bethlehem from the HOLY SEED OF GOD HIMSELF — and we still today call out the NAME OF JESUS!!!!!!!!