OCTOBER 07 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#30 “Do you not see all these things?” (Matthew 24:02)

 OCTOBER 07  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#30 “Do you not see all these things?”  (Matthew 24:02)

LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer   

JESUS, Lord of lords, Savior, Redeemer, the Good Shepherd, King of kings, praise be to the One that came in the Name of the LORD and became the Sacrificial Lamb of God. The Only Begotten SON of the Father that became flesh and dwelt among us not as a conquering king but as an innocent Babe who grew up as we grow up, who was tempted by the world as we are tempted yet Jesus did not yield to temptation but was obedient to the Father even unto death on the cross to complete the Plan of Salvation. Lord Jesus we know You LIVE today for You are still changing lives and resurrecting those dead in their sin to a New Life in Christ — we praise Your Holy Names and bow before You with a Repentant Heart seeking both Your Mercy and Your Grace. Lord, I anxiously await the appointed day when I stand face-to-face with the One that gave His Life for mine. Even so, Come LORD Jesus!!!     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus starts His Olivet Discourse on the Mount of Olives after He and His disciples had left Jerusalem just after Jesus had pronounced the “Seven Woes” against the scribes and Pharisees because their “hypocrisy” had become a deadly cancer which had infected the whole nation of Israel! Jesus entered the City on Palm Sunday and demonstrated His Messiahship after His Triumphal Entry when He went straight to the temple and restored it to a house of prayer as it was intended by God where Jesus began immediately healing the lame and the blind that came to Him in the temple. But now several days later, “Jesus went out and departed from the temple” (Matthew 24:1) and when the disciples stopped and looked back at the temple buildings that were among the greatest structures in the world, Jesus asked them, “Do you not see all these things?” (Matthew 24:2) then Jesus told them that the grand temple and all its buildings would be utterly destroyed and “not one stone shall be left here upon another…” which was a complete shock to His disciples for the nation’s identity was this grand temple in Jerusalem! As they left the city I am sure the disciples were silent and were contemplating their lives without a temple in the City of David! Once they arrived at the Mount of Olives they approached Jesus and began to question Him about His comment for they knew that Jesus “spoke” and then things happened just like He said they would — and there were NO EXCEPTIONS! (Matthew 24:1-2) His disciples asked Jesus, “Tell us, when will these things be?…” which started Jesus on His Olivet Discourse in which He started with a warning, “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying. ‘I am the Christ’, and will deceive many.” (Matthew 24:3a-5) Jesus then started answering the other questions asked privately by His disciples, “…And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3b) Just by looking at the disciples questions we can assume that Jesus has been talking to them about two very specific events that will happen in the “future”: (1) Jesus is going to “Come again” for the disciples are sitting talking to Jesus and asking “What will be the sign of Your coming…” and (2) Jesus has talked about the “end of the age” for the disciples used that very phase when asking for “signs” to know also when the “end of the age” was coming? Just the fact that the disciples are asking these two questions about the “future” is a Lesson we often miss, the Truth of God is that He has a Plan and that God always tells us what is required of us — then God “provides” whatever tools and information that are necessary for us to complete the task or instructions He has given us! The disciples could not have come to the knowledge that Jesus is “coming again” or that the “age is coming to an end” without getting that information from God! This is information that God revealed through the Holy Spirit to the disciples like when Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say I am?” and the Holy Spirit revealed to Peter that Jesus was the Son of God: “Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’” and Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:15-17) So now that Jesus has told them the temple would be destroyed, the disciples were certain that Israel’s golden age was drawing to an end. Jesus had already mentioned several times that in Jerusalem that He (the Messiah) would be “betrayed into the hands of men and killed” (Matthew 17:22) so if His death as the Messiah was imminent then His “coming again” as the Christ would certainly be a miracle performed by God the Father Himself for His Son Jesus Christ!!! This is something that each of us should keep foremost in our daily lives and our daily thoughts: (1) Jesus IS Christ, the SON of the LIVING GOD and (2) Jesus came once and died for our sins and Jesus IS “Coming Again” and (3) we should all “Take heed that no one deceives [us]” Remember, “The LORD of hosts has sworn, saying, ‘Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed, so it shall stand.’” (Isaiah 14:24) and “So shall My WORD be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11) Remember the words of Jesus at the beginning of His Lessons, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

OCTOBER 06 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#30 “Do you not see all these things?” (Matthew 24:02)

 OCTOBER 06  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#30 “Do you not see all these things?”  (Matthew 24:02)

LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer    

JESUS, Lord and Savior, my Redeemer, I bow before You today again seeking Your Mercy and Grace for my soul is calling out Praise to Your Holy Name! You Lord, You alone are the Way, You alone died on Calvary’s cruel cross for my iniquities, You alone have been given the Authority by the Father to Forgive sin! You are the Creator of all things and I pray that the Father God restore unto You Your Glory as it was before the creation existed. Lord, I place my soul and my physical being in subjection to Your Will and Your Way. Grant it Lord that the remainder of my eternity be of good and faithful service to You alone!   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus and His disciples are leaving Jerusalem much like they had done after Jesus had first entered the city on Palm Sunday and Jesus had gone to the temple and “drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.” (Matthew 21:12) Jesus returned the temple to a “house of prayer” and “the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and [Jesus] healed them.” (Matthew 21:14) . Here the confrontations with the “chief priests and scribes” surfaced again and Jesus had to address the fact that the religious rulers over Israel were the “source” of the cancer of “hypocrisy” that had crippled and blinded the entire nation Israel which Jesus had come on a mission to heal! After the confrontation with the chief priests and scribes on Palm Sunday, Jesus and His disciples left the city through the Eastern Gate going to the Mount of Olives and Bethany. Jesus has completed addressing the problem and pronounced judgement on those that had chosen to follow the “defiled doctrines and traditions of men” instead of following God and His Commands and He and His disciples are again going to leave the city. It is of significance that His disciples stopped and admired the temple and commented on the “buildings of the temple” (Matthew 24:1) before leaving the city this time and Jesus asked JQ#30 “Do you not see all these things?” Matthew 24:2) Then Jesus immediately started a series of prophetic statements beginning with the total destruction of the temple that His disciples were admiring on their way out of Jerusalem. Their departure signifies the completion of the “Work” Jesus had come to Jerusalem to accomplish — Jesus had started this Jerusalem mission days earlier “when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives…” and Jesus had sent two of His disciples “into the village” to retrieve “a donkey tied, and a colt with her…” which Jesus then used to make His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  (Matthew 21:1-12) Now the circle is completed as Jesus has cleansed the temple both “physically” and “spiritually”  and now they are departing Jerusalem after Jesus the Son has completed the task given Him by God the Father. Jesus again departs out the Eastern Gate and goes a second time to the Mount of Olives where Jesus gives His disciples a series of prophetic statements including the prophet Daniel’s seventieth week of years of the end times, including the Abomination of Desolation and the Great Tribulation and ends with the Return of Jesus the KING to earth at the end of the Great Tribulation. This series of Prophecies by Jesus given on the Mount of Olives is commonly referred to as the Olivet Discourse and started with a couple of questions from the disciples who were probably still contemplating what Jesus had just told them about the total destruction of the “temple” and its grand “buildings” as they were leaving the city! “Now as [Jesus] sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’” (Matthew 24:3) So Jesus had peaked His disciples interest when He asked, “Do you not see all these things?” (Matthew 24:2) and had announced the total destruction of the temple in Jerusalem which for the Jews would be symbolic to the end of their national identity because the nation of Israel was built around God’s Temple in Jerusalem in the City of David. This section of Jesus’ Teaching is very, very important so let us start by “understanding” that Jesus has asked the question “Do you not see…” to focus our attention on what He is about to Teach us regarding “…all these things <<the past, the present, and the future>>”!!! So this is a good time to get in a quite place with the Holy Spirit and  carefully read Matthew 24:1-31 and LISTEN TO HIM!!!

OCTOBER 05 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#30 “Do you not see all these things?” (Matthew 24:02)

 OCTOBER 05  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#30 “Do you not see all these things?”  (Matthew 24:02)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, Lord there is no circumstance in my life that is beyond what You can handle and I pray for forgiveness today for letting “worldly doubt” creep into my thoughts. I realize that I am effectively saying with my “doubt” that there is a circumstance that I am having to deal with myself because I do not have “faith” in God’s Ability to Provide and I fall back on the “WORLDLY lie” that “I’ll have to do it myself!” — Depending on "self" is the formula for "failure" and the “Truth” in my life is that God has ALWAYS Provided Abundantly for ALL my needs just like He Promised! For me to “doubt” God in any way, form, or fashion is bordering on “sin” at the least and is a full-blown “sin” at the worst! Lord, I repent of my “doubt” and turn to praying for others and looking for opportunities to “serve” You doing “kingdom work” — Lord keep me busy “serving You” instead of wallowing in self-pity and doubt so that my JOY may be made complete in You and my “doubt” will be destroyed!   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus is spending His last couple of days on earth clearing up and cleaning up problems that are preventing many of God’s chosen people from “entering” the kingdom or as Jesus pronounced in Woe #1: “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” (Matthew 23:13) Once Jesus addressed the source of the “big” problem He now turns to His disciples and begins Teaching them what is about to happen to Israel because of their “hypocrisy” and the nation for following the “doctrines and traditions of men” instead of following the “Commands of God”. Jesus started the Lesson of what happens to a nation that “rejects” God with a Question that would focus our attention on the main point of the Lesson — Jesus began this Lesson with the Question: “Do you not see…” (Matthew 24:2) which introduced the scenario of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem that His disciples had just admired for its physical grandeur. When Jesus stated, “Assuredly, I say to you…” His disciples knew Jesus was going to say something very important and then Jesus continued, “not one stone [of this grand temple you are admiring] shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2) which indicated the total destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. This Question is similar to the Question Jesus asked His disciples while He was Teaching them about the “leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees” when Jesus had asked His disciples point blank, “Do you not yet understand…” and again, “How is it that you do not understand…?”. Jesus was always checking with His disciples to make sure that they truly “understood” what He was trying to Teach in each Lesson and Jesus always kept with it until He was sure that they “knew what HE was Teaching them” — Jesus kept asking until we read that after checking with them several times that — “Then [His disciples] understood…” (Matthew 16:6-12) Jesus also had asked the same Question of Peter when Jesus was Teaching that the Pharisees were “blind leaders of the blind…” and Peter had asked Jesus to “Explain this parable to us…” and Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand [My lesson on what defiles a man]?” Jesus is concerned about His disciples “understanding” because Jesus had started the parable on what defiles a man with this statement: “Hear and understand.” (Matthew 15:10-20) Therefore when Jesus starts this Lesson with the Question: “Do you not see all these things?” (Matthew 24:2) that He is clearly saying “Do you not yet understand [all these things I have been doing to clean the temple and turn Israel back to God]?” Maybe all of us should reflect on what we have seen Jesus do in our lives and know that He wants us to “understand” — I guess this would be a good time to take God’s advice when God said of Jesus, “This is My Son in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him” (Matthew 17:5)

OCTOBER 04 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#30 “Do you not see all these things?” (Matthew 24:02)

 OCTOBER 04  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#30  “Do you not see all these things?”  (Matthew 24:02)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, Lord thank You for the answered prayer for the family and for the opportunity to “witness” to two of our granddaughters yesterday by “living Christ” — Lord I thank You for the moving of the Holy Spirit in our family and thank You for the vision of how You are going to bless the “parents” through the “faith” of their “children”! Lord Jesus, I pray that Your Holy Spirit will always keep me aware of how important it is that we live our daily lives for You — for yesterday I saw first hand the fruits of following You day-in-and-day-out with our daily lives because the grandkids are noticing Jesus in our home and are now wanting to come to You, all because of the blessing that You have given us with our weekly family night! Jesus, praise, glory, and honor to Your Holy Name and Your Holy Spirit!!!   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus uses every circumstance to take us to a new level of “understanding” the Truth of God. Jesus has just a couple of days left to Teach before He will be crucified as “The Lamb of God” and has just spent the last few days addressing the problem of “hypocrisy” in the nation of Israel. Jesus exposed the “source” and clearly identified the “fruit” of “hypocrisy” and then Jesus did not “pull any punches” as He announced that by “appearing” to worship God on the “outside” yet on the “inside” we are actually “rejecting” God and that we ourselves are guilty of “hypocrisy” which is the main problem with every generation!  Jesus made it clear that “rejecting God” was “self condemnation” and the penalty for “rejecting God” was “eternal separation from God” and “eternal separation from God” is the True Definition of “HELL!”  (Be careful what you ask for - for you just may get exactly that!) Jesus never leaves one circumstance without tying it to the next circumstance and demonstrates that God has a PLAN and that nothing is happening or will happen “randomly” but everything is part of the PLAN of GOD!  Jesus has been spending His Last Week on earth in Jerusalem and so far Jesus has made His Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday and His first order of business as the Messiah upon entering Jerusalem was to “clean” the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus then spends the next couple of days addressing the problem of the nation Israel following the “doctrines and traditions of men” instead of following the “Commands of God”. Jesus summarized the main problem as “hypocrisy” among those in authority over the nation but the bigger problem was that the nation itself had embraced the “[defiled] doctrines of men” and as individuals they were themselves guilty of “hypocrisy” and were “condemning themselves”. Jesus made it clear that there was “no escape” from “self-condemnation” and the verdict (God’s predetermined and published “Consequence”) of being “Guilty” of the sin of “hypocrisy” will result in eternal separation from God and “condemnation of hell.” (Matthew 23:13-36) Now Jesus is using that context to Teach His disciples about what is going to happen to the nation and to the temple because of the collective  national sin of “hypocrisy” as we read, “Then Jesus went out and departed the temple…” (Matthew 24:1a) which was a “prophetic” gesture of the future of the nation of Israel. Jesus showed when He “went out and departed the temple”  that the verdict of “Guilty” had been passed by God and the previous Words of Jesus now made more sense to His disciples for Jesus had just Taught them in His Parable Lessons: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone…” and then because of the “rejection” of Jesus by those in “authority” Jesus pronounced, “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you…” (Matthew 21:42-43) Jesus “departing” from the temple foreshadows Israel’s future and is the beginning of Jesus giving details and prophecy about the temple which history tells us was completely destroyed 70 years later and the nation Israel was taken into captivity by the Babylonians. Jesus always uses His “Questions” to focus our attention on His next Lesson and so we must look at the present context of Jesus “departing” from the temple and His disciples call His attention to the beautiful buildings that “men” have built and in my mind’s eye I can see Jesus shaking His head in disappointment because His disciples had not noticed that Jesus had “departed” the temple! Instead of seeing how God felt about the temple being defiled on the “inside”, His disciples only saw the “outside beauty” of the buildings. Jesus had just Taught about “whitewashed tombs” being full of “dead men’s bones” and the disciples could not see that this was a “whitewashed” temple and was full of “dead men’s bones”! Jesus then turned to His disciples as they were admiring the “works of men’s hands” and at that point Jesus asked: “Do you not see all these things?” (Matthew 24:2a) and to make sure they focused on His Lesson, Jesus immediately said, “Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” (Matthew 24:2b) If the disciples could not see the prophetic truth of Jesus as He “went out and departed from the temple” they surely could not miss the message Jesus gave them when He clearly drew a prophetic “Word” picture of the temple being completely destroyed and “not one stone shall be left here upon another…”?!?!? We should stop here at the start of a new Question Jesus is asking and ask ourselves, "What has Jesus been Teaching and showing us about the sin in our lives that we are missing because of the blindness caused by us rejecting the LIGHT and walking in the darkness of the world?” His disciples had been with Jesus all week listening to Him pronouncing a guilty verdict on the hypocritical rulers of Israel and the temple in Jerusalem and then when His disciples looked at the temple from the “outside”, they could not see that God was no longer there and had left the “inside” empty which is a “Word” picture of our lives and our nation without God! Pray that the Holy Spirit will open our spiritual eyes so we “[can] see all these things”  that Jesus is painting in our lives and what Jesus is trying to show us about the kingdom of God!?!?!?!  

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)

OCTOBER 02 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#29 “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” (Matthew 22:42)

 OCTOBER 02  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, Lord I praise You today as I read in Your “High Priestly Intercessory Prayer” found in the Seventeenth Chapter of the Gospel of John that You prayed to the Father on our behalf just before You were Sacrificed as the Lamb of God! In that Prayer You revealed Two Amazing Truths of God that jumped out and proved to me that God’s PLAN OF SALVATION  was  the TRUTH even BEFORE CREATION!!! First Lord You acknowledged to the Father that “the hour has come” (John 17:1) - which means that before the hour had come it must have first been planned in advance for this hour to come) and then “I have finished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4) - which means the PLAN OF SALVATION came from the FATHER and that the SON has COMPLETED it!!!) but the real eye-opener was when You said, “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” (John 17:5) LORD, to think that You and the Father had the PLAN OF SALVATION in place “before the world was” is indeed MIND BLOWING!!! Thank You Lord for (1) having a PLAN OF SALVATION in place BEFORE You CREATED the world and (2) that the PLAN OF SALVATION is now  “finished” — GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME — and now I can say with SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING — GOD WAS GOOD BEFORE TIME BEGAN!!!   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus has been Teaching about the “Seven Woes” of falling into the world’s trap of “hypocrisy”.  Jesus has pointed out that “hypocrisy” will cause “spiritual blindness” which will prevent us from coming to the “Light” and we will live our lives in “darkness” and suffer the “condemnation” of not believing “in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18) Jesus is now going to wrap up His “Seven Woes” to the scribes and Pharisees which apply to everyone that chooses to “self-indulge” in the “doctrines of men” instead of the “self-discipline” of following the “Commands of God”.  Jesus has made a separate point with each of the previous 6 “Woes” and each “Woe” has contained a specific “Truth of God” but the “Seventh Woe” contains a detailed list of the fruits of “hypocrisy" and the dire “Consequences” of having made the “Choice” to follow the “doctrines and traditions of men” instead of allowing themselves to be “led by God Himself”! “Woe #7” contains very clear language from Jesus that shows that God is justified in sending His Only Begotten Son to address the “spiritual virus” that is “blinding” the entire nation of Israel and the entire world! Jesus makes two statements that summarizes “Woe #7” (1) “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves…” (Matthew 23:31) and (2) “Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?” (Matthew 23:33) These two statements point to the Truth of God that there will be a “Final Judgement” and that God will judge us according to our deeds. In “Woe #7” Jesus shows how “serious” that the sin of “hypocrisy” is in our lives because the “Consequence” of our “Choice” of “hypocrisy” is “the condemnation of hell”!!! Jesus could not make it any clearer and could not have said it any plainer — The “Consequence” of rejecting the Commands of God will result in our “self-condemnation” and our eternal souls will spend  eternity separated from the Goodness of God!!!  “Woe #7” is a wake up call that God knows everything we do and that there will be a “Final Judgement” where the Truth of our lives is revealed by the “Light of the Truth of God” and our own actions will either be rewarded by Eternal Fellowship with God Himself in Heaven or Eternal Condemnation in “Hell” separated from God with NO HOPE!?!?!?!? Surely no one would choose to be eternally separated from God?!?!? — however, Jesus did mention that  following  the “traditions and doctrines of men” would make you “Fools and blind!”!!! There will be ONE Question that God, the Supreme Judge, will ask you at the Final Judgement: “What do you think of the Christ? Whose Son is He?” (Matthew 23:42) You now have “THE Question” so it would be wise for you to have an “answer” for God prepared before it is to late!?!?!?!? Heaven is a “Choice” that can only be made by the living, the dead will be judged on the “CHOICES” they made as they had lived the life that God had provided for them — and the “Consequence of their eternity” will be determined by whatever “CHOICES” they made with their “God-given Freewill” ——— a blessing of “Eternal” life with God or a curse of “Eternal” death separated from God, but the Truth of God is that you must make your “Choice” while alive ——— for when you are dead, you have to accept the “Consequence” that God had already assigned to our actions as part of GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION, and remember — the PLAN OF SALVATION was in place even before God created us in the first place!?!?!?!?!?!

OCTOBER 01 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#29 “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” (Matthew 22:42)

 OCTOBER 01  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, Lord Jesus, King of kings, my Redeemer who died on a cross at Calvary that I could live an abundant life in Christ Jesus! Lord, each day that I awake and realize   that You have given me another day, my heart is filled immediately with praise for Your infinite Mercy and Grace. Lord, help us to know that Your Plan for our life has been carefully thought out by the Divine Trinity and therefore we can TRUST GOD that all things will work together for GOOD, for You have only GOOD THOUGHTS toward us and GOD’S PLAN is to give us all HOPE and a FUTURE! So Lord, I simply yield to the leading of Your Holy Spirit and TRUST You and the circumstances that You will place me in today — may I at the end of the day be found a “good and faithful servant”.   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus with the first 5 of His  “Seven Woes” has likened “hypocrisy” to “spiritual blindness” which prevents us from seeing the TRUTH  of  GOD that JESUS is CHRIST  — Jesus continues with “Woe #6”:  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matthew 23:27-28) Jesus pointed out the connection between seeking to “indulge” ourselves and our “spiritual blindness” in “Woe #5” in which Jesus admonished the “hypocrite” to “first cleanse the inside of the cup and the dish” (Matthew 23:26) and now in “Woe #6” Jesus likens “hypocrisy" to “whitewashed tombs” as again Jesus makes reference to the “outside” appearing clean but the “inside” being “full of all uncleanness” — Jesus is Teaching a very specific Lesson when He Teaches the Truth of God that God sees what is on the “inside” and is not fooled like the world is fooled with our “outward" appearances! Jesus is not Teaching a new Lesson here but is proving that He is telling us what the “FATHER” has told the “SON” and in Jesus Teaching God and His Ways, Jesus  proves that He is the “SON” sent from God the “FATHER” for this Lesson of looking at the “inside” was first Taught by God to Samuel when God had commanded Samuel to find a “king” for Israel and God advised Samuel in his search not to look at the “outward appearance” when the LORD told Samuel, “…the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) and later God had told Jeremiah, “I, the LORD, search the heart and test the mind, to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” (Jeremiah 17:10)  Jesus is Teaching that you can paint your walls white and appear clean and righteous to the world but God knows your “intent” and you cannot escape God’s judgement by painting over His Truth — Jesus makes the point that King David made to his son Solomon: “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.” (1 Chronicles 28:9)  Jesus is Teaching the same Truth of God that King David had learned from God Himself over a thousand years earlier so maybe in trying to answer the JESUS Question: “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”  (Matthew 22:42) that we should examine ourselves “inwardly” and pray like King David (described as a man after God’s own heart) when David prayed “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10) ——— It would not be the first time God has healed someone’s “spiritual blindness" !!!