“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Romans 3:23

What are some things that you like to do? Some people like to ski down snowy hills or mountains. Some people like to go for long walks on a trail. And other people may like to go fishing on a lake. 

For those who ski: have you ever fallen down while skiing, at least once? Skiing takes practice, and everyone will fall down at least once. 

Do all babies learn to walk perfectly each time? No. Walking is a brand new thing for them, and it takes practice, and a part of that practice is falling down.

When a person goes fishing, do they “land” every fish that comes onto their hook? Anyone who fishes knows that you will lose some fish.

The purpose of these examples is to show that everyone fails at something. No matter who you are, you are not perfect.

Definition: all

All means “every individual or anything of the given class, with no exceptions.”

If someone wants an entire cake for themself, they want the whole thing, all of it. Not 1 piece, or half of it, but the entire thing. 

A Biblical example-It says in 2 Timothy:

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” 2 Timothy 3:16

What this verse means is that the entirety of the scriptures is God-inspired. The whole thing, with no exceptions.

Definition: come short

When something comes short, it means that it misses a set mark. It does not meet the set requirement. It fails.

We are all sinners, and no one is better than another. We have all sinned at some point in our life, and broken God’s commandments. 

Jews and Gentiles alike, all have sinned. From the time of Adam until this present day, save for Jesus Himself, each and every person to have ever lived on Earth has sinned. No matter how much someone might try, they will all commit a sin at least once in their life. And it is that one sin that makes us all sinners.

“What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:” Romans 3:9,10

That is why Jesus came to Earth and died on the cross. He came to take our sins away and offer us forgiveness. If we were perfect and sinless, Jesus wouldn’t have had to come and die for our sins, but we’re not.

“I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:32

The admittance to one’s self that you are a sinner is the first step that a person needs to take on the road to forgiveness. Without forgiveness, we cannot be rid of our sins. They are like a dark stain on a white shirt. Well, each one of us has one of those shirts on. All of us. Some people mind be blind to their stain (sin) but it is there all the same.  And the only way to get rid of that stain is…

Jesus.

We all have sinned. We just need admit them and let Jesus take them away. 

In Christ,

Andrew

Good morning and welcome in today. Today we’re going to take a look at a passage of scripture but before we do, I wanted to tell you a little story.

Many years ago when I was still in high school one of my older brothers was entered into a sweepstakes of some sort and won a brand new 14 foot dolphin sailboat.

At the time he was living in town which was about 20 miles from our lake, so he simply left the boat at our house. We had permission to use it and that’s exactly what we did all summer long. I knew absolutely nothing about sailing, but basically taught myself through trial and error and flying by the seat of my pants.

3 years ago I finally had the opportunity to teach Andrew how to sail. We like to sail an older catamaran that we fixed up that moves across the lake at an incredible pace.

One of our neighbors has watched as we come up close to his shoreline at very high speed but then make a sudden unexpected change in direction, heading the complete opposite way with incredible momentum. When a sailboat “tacks” it means to change course and direction.

Did you know that there will also be people who enthusiastically profess to be a Christian but then all of a sudden make an unexpected tack heading off in completely the wrong direction. Instead of remaining and abiding in what they have been taught, they will turn away from biblical truth and deviate from the true Christian faith.

1 Tim 4:1 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;”

When people depart it means that they turn away from an accepted, prescribed, or traditional course of action. In Christianity this course is found in our Lord Jesus Christ and in the teachings of Holy Scripture.

One of the main reasons in this passage that people will turn from the Christian faith is because they are led astray by others.

I’ve said this many many times before, but as we progress towards the end times, Christianity is not going to be on the increase but rather on the decline. The Lord Jesus taught that before his return it was going to be like the days of Noah. I ask you today, how many people believed in the true and living God in the days of Noah?

2 Tim 3:13 “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”

The Apostle also teaches us that there are false brethren in the church. False means insincere or disloyal. These men truly are not brothers in Christ, although they readily claim that. There were certain people who came out to hear Jesus and feigned themselves to be just men but they really didn’t believe in Jesus or what He preached and were only there to catch him in his words.

Insincere means not expressing genuine feelings. This is why the Apostle Paul taught that one of our battles is against…… spiritual wickedness in high places. (Eph 6:12)

In the last 200 years there has been a huge decline in those who truly believe in the true Christian faith. Some have also attempted to twist and change certain passages of scripture to try to fit today’s modern day philosophies and teachings. They have had women preaching and teaching in churches for years, and a true spiritual man of God will understand and confess that this is both heretical and wrong.

I want you to think about this for a moment. Where would be the easiest place for the devil to find and attempt to turn the sheep away from their faith in Christ and His teachings? Wouldn’t it be the church?

I’ve read numerous commentaries about complete unbelievers who are infiltrating certain churches. They’re going so far as to get doctor of divinity degrees and be educated in religion at a college, but the truth of the matter is some are only trying to change the true Christian faith from the inside.

2 Cor 11:13-14

¹³ For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

¹⁴ And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

The devil wants to get people to go against the commands and teachings of Christ. He’s been doing it since the Garden of Eden when he wanted Eve to disobey God and seduced her to do that very thing. Jesus taught not to judge by appearance. You’re not supposed to judge a three piece suit, a robe, or name tag on the shirt.

Eve is one of the earliest examples of someone who listened to and was a led away by a seducing spirit and the doctrine of the devil. The devil doesn’t want you to love and obey God or His commands from scripture but instead leads you in the complete opposite direction. He’s a liar and the father of lies.

Seduce means to persuade to disobedience or disloyalty or to lead astray, usually by persuasion. The devil’s function is to get you to completely go against biblical truth because he hates God. Ultimately he is the one that wants to be worshipped and will attempt through deception to get people to do so shortly before the return of Christ Jesus, who will destroy him and all that followed him and his ways.

The devil has always been a usurper and does not want to submit himself to the commands and teachings of Christ.

2 Peter 3:3 – Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts

The Christian faith is to have complete trust and confidence in the things that Jesus taught and the teachings of his apostles in the New Testament. Instead of believing the lies and philosophies of this world, we take heed and listen and follow the doctrines of Christ.

Doctrine is a belief or set of beliefs, especially religious ones, that are taught and accepted by a particular group:

Don’t listen and be deceived by the false teachings and philosophies of the world, but rather place your full faith and trust in Jesus Christ and teachings of scripture. Eve believed the lies of the devil. Don’t allow it to happen to you.

Let’s think about those things for today and Lord willing we’ll talk to you some more tomorrow till then bye-bye everybody.❤

tlkjbc.wordpress.com

“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 

Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:13-14

The word “inherit” means to takes possession of as a right; to receive something, property, money, possessions by legal successsion or bequest after the previous owners death.

An inheritance is something that you receive, usually after someone’s death. When someone passes away, most times the possessions of the deceased are given to their children or relatives. 

In our verses above, it talks about the “earnest” of our inheritance. Earnest, as used in this verse, means “something of value given by a buyer to a seller to bind a bargain; a token of what is to come.”

Someone might want to buy a car from someone, but at the moment they might not have the total amount of money available. But what they can do is pay a small part of the purchase price to ensure that they will get it someday. That is called putting earnest money down.

In many larger retail stores, they have a service called “layaway.” Layaway allows people to have the store hold onto an item until they have enough money to fully purchase it. This is especially common around Christmas time. Someone might find something in October that they would like to give as a gift at Christmas, so they can pay for part of that item and the store will hold onto it until the person can pay for it in full. The person will receive a receipt or piece of paper that shows that the item is theirs, and they will be able to pick it up soon. That receipt is kind of like “earnest” of their purchase. They have a little piece of it.

They don’t have it fully yet, but someday they will.

When a person receives the Holy Spirit, that is kind of like having something put on layaway. We are all waiting for the day that we can enter into the Kingdom of God. We are not there yet, but we can receive the Holy Spirit right now, a “receipt” until we receive the entire thing.

“Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” 2 Corinthians 1:22

Eternal life and the kingdom of Heaven is the inheritance for Christians. It is what is waiting for them once they die and go to be with the Lord. Until then we have what Paul described as the “earnest” of their inheritance, which is the Holy Spirit.

We can be assured that we have eternal life.

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” 1 John 5:13

The Holy Spirit is like a plane ticket to Heaven. We haven’t left for Heaven yet, but we have that ticket that gives us a seat in that plane. Until that day, we patiently wait.

In Christ,

Andrew

Good morning and welcome in today. Today we’re going to take a look at a passage of scripture but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.

Many years ago I had a job where I had to work late Into the night. I used to start at about 5 p.m. in the afternoon and worked until 1 a.m.

After work one warm summer evening I left work and headed for home, stopping briefly at the gas station to get a pop for the trip. I was so tired that I forgot to get gas while I was there. I grew way out in the sticks, and got about 13 miles before my car slowly stopped on a completely deserted highway because I had ran out of gas. I was very thankful there was a full moon that night so I could see as I locked up my car and started the long walk home.

It took me a little over an hour to get back to our homestead in the woods that night, and I hadn’t seen a single vehicle.

Exhausted I jumped into bed planning to bring a full gas can with me to get my car in the morning.

After breakfast, I caught a ride with someone from home out to my car on the highway only to find that the lock on the door had been broken and someone had taken everything inside.

Not only did they take my stereo and speakers but they took personal belongings like my Elementary School scrapbook that contained all my pictures from when I was a child. Someone had broken the lock and I was furious.

Furious means full of anger violent or intense. Did you know that at times our Lord Jesus Christ gets furious? Just as I was angry at someone breaking the lock on my car the Lord Jesus Christ gets angry with a woman who breaks the lock of marriage.

Ezekiel 16:38

³⁸ And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.

Wedlock is when a man and a woman are joined together as husband and wife in the Holy bond of marriage. Marriage is Gods heavenly lock that He does not want broken. What God has brought together he does not want put asunder or separated. To put asunder means to break it apart.

Matthew 19:6 – Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Just like a padlock, God doesn’t want wedlock to be broken. This is why I counsel women today to think about what they’re doing before they enter into the bond of marriage because if they break wedlock they anger the Lord Jesus Christ. Marriage is till death do us part not till when I decide to part. That is a philosophy of the world, not a professing Christian woman.

Jeremiah 3:20 – Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD. 

The definition of treacherous is someone who is guilty of dishonesty or betrayal, and done something that is dangerous or hazardous to a close confidant. An example of treacherous is someone you thought was your friend who shares your secrets with everyone else and then turns on you.

A secret is something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others or kept from their knowledge or view. Its kept from public knowledge and private.

Remember that God is love so if you choose not to love your spouse through thick and thin you’ve turned away from what is divine, and His eternal commandment to love one another. Why do you think it angers God so much? Breaking wedlock means to divorce your spouse and no longer cling to them or love the one that you committed to when you got married.

Since the very beginning, God has always meant a man and a woman to remain by each other’s sides, and love one another as he commands. Breaking wedlock happens because somebody does not have love for their spouse anymore. It happens because of the hardness of the heart.

Matthew 19:8 – He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

Marriage in the Christian realm is supposed to display to the entire world that true charity in Christ Jesus never fails.

1 Corinthians 7:10-11 – And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:  

Remember that this is a command of Jesus Christ. The wife is not to depart from her husband under any circumstances.

1 John 2:3 – And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

Although this is a direct command from Christ it doesn’t mean that all women are going to obey him. People in their human nature are prone to disobey God.

Sometimes it doesn’t matter what He says, they will simply disregard his commands because they don’t love Him or the teachings of scripture. God is Not mocked because whatever you sow, that is what you will reap. It’s like the old saying, what goes around comes around.

Your body in marriage belongs to your spouse. That’s just one reason why separating is a sin in the eyes of Christ.

1 Corinthians 7:4 – The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.

when you marry someone else you are in the bond of wedlock until death do you park. God truly hates divorce and is angered when wedlock is broken. He hates the putting away of the spouse. The reason why is because God is love and breaking wedlock violates everything that he is.

Malachi 2:16 – For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.

My counsel to any married couples today, get filled up with the Holy Spirit and love and remain with your spouse.

Let’s think about those things for today, and Lord willing we’ll talk to you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.❤

tlkjbc.wordpress.com

In any major sports league, what is the goal that each team desires to achieve? To be the best out of all of the other teams, and to win their title or championship.

No matter how each team did the previous season, that is their goal. They don’t dwell on their past mistakes, or stop training. They practice and try to play the best that they can.

I don’t want to boast about myself, but for an example, I always tried to do the absolute best that I could in school. In nearly every subject I was at the top of my class. I studied hard and payed attention during class, and the result was a straight “A” grade average. 

One year, however, I had a little more trouble understanding a certain math class, and when the time for my third quarter report card came, I was shocked because for the first time I received a grade other than an A. I got a “B-.” 

Determined to change that grade, I studied even harder that next quarter, trying to improve and learn everything that I didn’t before. I even participated in an additional math class, trying to become better. 

The end of the school year came, along with the fourth and final report card for the year. As the teacher handed out the report cards to each student, I hoped that I had improved my grades. Some of my other classmates were happy to just get a “C” or “B” grade, but that was not what I wanted. I wanted to attain the highest score that I could. I wasn’t too concerned about my other subjects, like science, or English, as they were always easy subjects for me. I just wanted to bring my math grade back to an A. 

Hoping for the best, I opened my report card and searched for my math grade. 

I got an A. 

Immediate relief filled me. I had done it. Instead of focusing on what I had done wrong, I studied even harder, determined to do the best I could and acheive the highest grade I could get.

That is kind of like the life of a Christian. Before someone becomes a follower of Jesus, their whole life before that point is like getting an “F” in every category. Meaning they failed. They were not walking in love and faith, according to the Bible. But the moment that they believe on the name of Christ, they have two choices: either they can continue to live in their sin, or they can do something about it and strive to become better, the best that they can be.

Paul is a great example to look to. Once a Pharisee, Paul believed he was doing what was right and correct. At that time, he believed that persecuting Christians and destroying churches was the right thing to do. Paul’s report card, so to speak, came when Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus. Right then he had his two choices to either continue the way he was living, or change and strive to become better. Paul sounds like the kind of person who strove to be the best he could be. Everything that Paul thought was gain to him before his conversion, he now counted dung.

Everything that he had done before becoming a Christian, he threw away, determined to be the best he could for Christ.

Here is Paul writing to the Philippian church.

“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 

Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 

And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 

If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:7-14

Paul didn’t consider himself to be perfect, or act like he had already attained salvation. He didn’t dwell in his past sins and mistakes. He forgot those things, left them behind, and strove to become the best that he could be, but never once feeling himself to be perfect. Once something is perfect, there is no room for improvement. Paul understood this and he constantly reached forward to become the best he could. He didn’t want a “C” or “B”; he wanted that “A” on his report card.

Becoming a Christian does not mean that you are perfect, but that does not mean that you do not strive for perfection. We always have room for improvement and things to refine. 

The beginning of a life of a Christian is like that third quarter report card, and at that time we all have an F. We have one quarter left to change that F into an A. From now until the day you go to be with the Lord is your time to study and constantly perfect yourselves into the best that you can be for Jesus.

When the end of your time arrives here on the earth, let’s have turned that F to an A.

In Christ,

Andrew

Neglect means to fail to care for or attend to something; to fail to do or carry out something due to oversight or carelessness.

I want you to picture this in your mind: You are driving through a nice neighborhood in a town, with neat, clean houses on each side of the street. Neatly trimmed lawns, flowers and yard decorations tastefully placed around each yard, crisp, clean houses with sparkling windows. House after house is like this, a very pleasant sight to behold. 

All of a sudden, you notice something out of place in this neighborhood. An old, abandoned and run-down house. The paint is peeling off of the siding, the lawn looks like a jungle, dead trees and brush everywhere, maybe a stack of newspapers piling up by the front door. What happened to cause this? The failure to take care of the property caused the quality of the house and yard to deteriorate, and look unpleasant and unkept. It was “neglected.”

Many things can be neglected. If a student during class fails to pay attention or doesn’t study on their own, their grades will suffer because of that neglect. 

Here is an experiment to try: take two separate pots and plant a seed into each of them. Water both of them until they germinate (sprout) and begin to grow. Then take one of the plants and set in the sun, and take the other plant and cover the whole plant and pot with a dark black storage tote, so it is completely cut off from the sun. Wait a week and you will see that the plant that you left in the sunshine looks strong and green, the plant that you covered up will be a paler green, and will not be as lush and strong as the other one. That is because it was not taken care of, and given the sunshine that it needs to grow. It was “neglected.”

Pretty much the same thing can happen to a person. Someone could hear about Christ, that seed starting to sprout in their hearts, but if that seed is not taken care of, it can become weak, and die. 

That seed of faith needs to be nurtured, and fed in order for it to become strong and mature. Daily reading of God’s word and regular attendance to services are like food and water to your body, but spiritual. Your physical body needs food and water to grow and function properly, and your spirit needs spiritual care to keep it strong.

Too many people today only attend church a couple times a year or on a holiday. They might have the basic knowledge of how Jesus died for them, but if they neglect that sprouting seed of faith, it will die. If they do not continue to feed their faith, through reading the Bible or listening to it preached, it will not mature into a strong faith.

Being a Christian is a full-time responsibility. We always need to keep the Holy Spirit working in our lives, so that we continue to be strong.

“Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.” 1 Timothy 4:14

Just as Paul wrote to Timothy to not neglect his gift, we all have been given a gift from God, and we need to take care of it. We have been given grace, forgiveness, mercy. We have the offer of eternal life. It is there, available to everyone, completely free. 

Eternal life is not something that can be bought in a store or earned some way. And while it is a gift available to all, not everyone will receive it because not everyone will take care of their seed of faith. 

Keep feeding your faith each day, and never neglect it.

In Christ,

Andrew

“If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” Isaiah 1:19,20

I used to have several remote control cars as a child, which for those who do not know what those are, they are a toy car with an antenna on it and you have a controller which emits radio signals to that car, and controls the steering and makes it drive forwards or backwards.

Most cheaper rc cars use one of two radio frequencies to control the car, 27 mhz, or 49 mhz. With these two frequencies, you can have two individual toy cars in the same area, so that if you wanted to race them against each other, the two frequencies won’t interfere with the other car.

As I said, I had several rc cars as a child. One day, I looked outside my bedroom window and I saw that my brother was outside playing with one of them, and I decided to play a prank on him. Knowing that the rc car that he was using used the 27 mhz frequency, I found another controller with that frequency and went back to the window and began my prank.

He had been driving the car back and forth along the sidewalk, but as soon as I pressed the buttons on my controller, the car began to be controlled by my controller instead of his. Instead of driving back and forth on the sidewalk, the car began driving in circles and making crazy turns all over the lawn. I had taken control and made the car was “obeying” me instead of my brother, which of course upset and angered him because the car wasn’t “obeying” him. After a little while I quit and let him drive his car by himself. 

That is what I want to talk about today, obedience. 

Obey means “to do as ordered by (a person, institution etc), to act according to the bidding of. To do as one is told. To be obedient, compliant (to a given law, restriction etc.).” Likewise, the opposite of obey is “disobey, defy, rebel, resist, violate (especially rules).”

Obedience is a quality that every believer in Christ needs to possess if we want to please Him. Whatever He commands, we need to do. When Jesus says to love one another, an obedient believer will love. When He says to forgive, we need to forgive. Because that is what it means to obey. 

Whether a person chooses to obey God’s commands, or whether they are rebellious and disobedient, He will reward a person according to their works. 

“Who will render to every man according to his deeds: 

To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: 

But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,

Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 

But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: 

For there is no respect of persons with God.” Romans 2:6-11

It says “and do not obey the truth.” In the Bible, what is the truth?

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6

“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” John 17:17

Jesus is the truth, and God’s word is the truth. So to “obey the truth” means to obey Jesus and everything in God’s word. When we do this, God will reward us.

“I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Jeremiah 17:10

The reward that awaits an obedient child of God is the most incredible reward that could ever be attained: immortality and everlasting life.

But just as there is a reward for being obedient, a reward also awaits those who do not obey the truth. Disobedience does not please God, and if someone chooses to take this path, they will receive the “fruit of his doings” which is eternal damnation.

Let’s show our love to God. Don’t obey sin, but show Him your love by being obedient children of God.

In Christ,

Andrew

Good morning and welcome in today. Today we’re going to take a look at a passage of scripture but before we do that I wanted to tell you a story.

Many years ago I used to go with a friend over to the local college to play racquetball in the evenings. He was attending school there at the time so we got to use the courts for free with me signed in as his guest. I really enjoyed this game although when I first started I was terrible at it. It’s incredible how fast this game is.

I have read that the exit velocity for a baseball when hit by a batter is approximately 100 miles per hour. I think one of the fastest pitches in baseball was about 105 mph. In racquetball, a serve can hit between 150 and 200 miles per hour! It looks like a complete blur when it’s coming at you at that speed. He was so good he used to pound me with Aces for an hour. I couldn’t even manage to get a racket on the ball that first week.

One thing I learned back then that I’ve never forgotten, is that when you hit the ball hard on the serve, it would return to you at roughly the same velocity. For each action on that racquetball court there was an equal reaction off the wall.

As I look back now it reminds me of the Christian Life. The amount that we love others is proportional according to how much grace and forgiveness you have received from the Lord Jesus Christ. If you’ve been forgiven for a lot of things, it results in a lot of love.

Luke 7:36-50

³⁶ And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat.

³⁷ And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,

³⁸ And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

³⁹ Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

⁴⁰ And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.

⁴¹ There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.

⁴² And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?

⁴³ Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

⁴⁴ And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

⁴⁵ Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.

⁴⁶ My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.

⁴⁷ Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

⁴⁸ And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

⁴⁹ And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?

⁵⁰ And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

So the question is today, who loves the Lord the most? As the Lord clearly teaches, it’s the one to whom much has been forgiven.

The harder you hit the ball on the racquetball court it’s going to bounce back at roughly the same intensity. It’s so very similar to the Christian faith because the more you are forgiven by Christ, the more acts of charity that you perform towards Him and His name. It results in loving works. Remember faith without works is dead. Loving works towards Christ are the result of grace that is effectually working in a person’s heart

For example we can look at the life of the Apostle Paul who wrote a major part of the Christian New Testament that we have today. He once was a Jewish leader and a Pharisee who was persecuting the Christian church. Later he realized the truth in Christ Jesus and God forgive him for his sins.

The Apostle Paul called himself the chief of sinners but look at His great love for the Lord when God forgave him for his past. God transformed the chief of sinners into one of the chief writers of the New Testament! Look at his works of love towards the Lord that were a direct result of Gods grace and mercy in his life. We cannot earn our salvation by works and deeds alone apart from Christ, but loving works are truly a result of a forgiven heart as this woman in this passage had.

1 Corinthians 15:9-10 – For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Take it from our beloved Apostle Paul, lots of forgiveness results in lots of loving works towards our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let’s think about those things for today and Lord willing I’ll talk to you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.❤

tlkjbc.wordpress.com

Good morning and welcome in today. Today we’re going to take a look at a passage of scripture but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.

My family and I have always enjoyed camping and exploring new areas. One beautiful summer weekend we decided to go up to Ely Minnesota to go canoeing. We left on a Friday afternoon and got there that evening just in time to set up our tent at a campground. We woke up the next morning around 6:30 am and found a spot to put the canoe in on the far east side of burntside Lake. We had never been on this lake before but our plan was to camp that night somewhere on Twin Lakes.

We started our canoe trip that morning trying to keep an eye out for the river that was the access point to twin lakes. We steadily paddled along until we found a spot that narrowed and started to head north. We kept paddling into the early afternoon until we were almost exhausted. We stopped to rest for a while and I looked at my map again.

I thought we were on Twin Lakes but I slowly began to realize that we had gone approximately 6 miles in the wrong direction. We had ended up on the far end of the north arm of Burntside lake. The only thing we could do was turn back around and try to find the river access that we had missed. Before dusk we eventually found it and made our way up river to the campsite.

It wasn’t until the next day that I realized that we could have saved ourselves approximately 9 hours of canoeing if we had simply parked our car and went in through Everett Lake. It would have only been a mile and a half to our campground. Instead of being a very grueling Saturday, it could have been very simple and easy.

This family experience always reminds me of the Old and New Testaments. That day reminded me that there’s a hard way to do something, but there’s also an easy way. The paths that people take in this life can be very difficult but the Lord Jesus wants to make it easy for us to get to where we want to go, by granting us divine grace.

Matthew 11:28-30

²⁸ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Jesus wants to give us rest for our souls. Rest is an instance or period of relaxing or ceasing to engage in strenuous or stressful activity. We are in the age of grace. Instead of being yoked to the demands of the Old Testament, Jesus frees us from it and makes it easier for us. In Acts chapter 15 we read this.

Acts 15:5

⁵ But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.

Listen to what the Apostle Peter told them.

Acts 15:10-11

¹⁰ Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

¹¹ But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

The Bible clearly teaches us that we are not saved by works but rather by God’s grace and the works that Jesus completed at the cross.

Eph 2:4-5,8-9

⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

⁵ Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast.

As I’ve said many times in the past you cannot combine Judaism and Christianity together. We cannot be saved through the works of the law because the truth is nobody kept it. It was added simply to show us that we’ve all sinned.

Acts 13:39

³⁹ And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Judaism is based on law while Christianity is based on grace and forgiveness. As a born again Christian, Jesus frees us from the yoke of the Old Testament, so that we can be yoked to Him in the New Testament. He abolished the Old to make way for the new.

Eph 2:15

“Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;”

Remember the Old Testament law does not produce life but rather, death. That’s why it’s referred to as the ministry of condemnation. We are free from the judaic law so that we can be yoked to the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2 – Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Bearing other’s burdens shows that you are Christian in your heart because you are obeying Christ’s law. A burden is a heavy load that is carried. Spiritually speaking, the burden each of us carry is the heavy load of sin in our hearts.

How many of you parents have watched one of your young children struggle to carry something very heavy outside? Didn’t you walk out to take that burden from them and carry it yourself? This is exactly what Jesus has done for us at the cross, he carries a burden that wasn’t his own and makes it easier for us to obtain salvation through his forgiveness and grace. Thank God for making the path to heaven so much easier for us. His mercy endureth forever!

Let’s think about those things for today and Lord willing we’ll talk to you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.❤

tlkjbc.wordpress.com