OCTOBER 03 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#29 “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” (Matthew 22:42)

 OCTOBER 03  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#29  “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”  (Matthew 22:42)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, thank You Lord for the Love that You so freely gave to the world, the greater part of Your Love is that You gave it to a world that rejected You and that Your Love is always extended to everyone regardless of the magnitude or multitude of our sins! Lord to have Forgiveness is one thing but having Forgiveness always on the table  because of Your Great Love is having a Garden where HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL! Lord, I know that You have given us the HOPE that “If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:19 KJV) but to extend that promise to include ALL sin and “all unrighteousness” is truly going the “extra mile”!   I know how many times You have kept that promise and yet I slip back into sin again??? — but if I “confess” my sin that You are “faithful and just to forgive” — You are FOREVER TRUE AND FAITHFUL!!! Lord Jesus, thank You for Loving us that much!!!   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus has completed His “Seven Woes” which had been addressed to the “scribes and Pharisees” but Jesus also made it clear that it was not the fact that they were “scribes and Pharisees”, the problem was that they were “hypocrites!”!!! A quick overview of the “Seven Woes” shows us the great concern God has over the attitude of our hearts toward following His Commands - it is significant that there were “Seven Woes” because in the study of the Holy Scriptures the number “7” is representative of “divine perfection” and the fact that Jesus spent so much time of His Last Week on earth addressing a problem that had its source from those in “authority” over the nation Israel, makes this obviously a very important concern God has for His chosen people!!! Add to those facts that Jesus summed up the problem with “Seven Woes” against “hypocrisy!" we can logically assume that God is going to address the issue which He felt was important enough to Sacrifice His Only Begotten Son to rectify the problem of “hypocrisy!” among His chosen people! Jesus concluded “Woe #7” stating that our sins “are witnesses against [ourselves]” (Matthew 23:31) and that the “Final Judgement” is inevitable and that we cannot “escape the condemnation of hell”!!! (Matthew 23:33) However after Jesus had pronounced the “Seven Woes” He then demonstrated His Compassion when He lamented: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed in He who comes in the name of the LORD!’” (Matthew 23:37-39) This “lament” over Jerusalem summarizes the heart of God and reveals a special Character and Truth of God to me: God is “compassionate” and is grieved when those He has “chosen” decide to “follow the doctrines of men” instead of following God and His Commandments which God has always intended that His Commands be a guide to living an abundant life among God’s Bountiful Provisions! However, God demonstrates True Justice by being a Fair Judge and administering JUSTICE EQUALLY, to everyone, including His Chosen People! The bottom line of the “Seven Woes” then could be stated as follows: If we refuse God and remain in our “spiritual blindness” that we will “see [God] no more…” until we finally recognize that God the Father has sent Jesus His Son with a Message of “Repentance” to the world!!! Jesus has made it clear that God is the Judge and the Son is the Messenger so why do we have such a problem with taking God at His Word??? If we “Choose” to continue rejecting God and His Messenger then the “Consequence” is that “[our] house [will] be left desolate” and that our rejection of God is a “witness against [ourself]” and we will not “escape” a verdict of “Guilty before God” and will receive the fruits of rejecting God which is “the condemnation of hell” — Jesus also makes it clear that “hell” is a eternity spent without God — it would be hard to imagine anything more “Woeful” than “eternal separation from God”, but of course that is my opinion and my “Choice” — you have to decide for yourself how to answer this Question that has “eternal implications”: “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”!?!?!?!? (Matthew 23:42)