Jesus vs Money & Spirit vs Flesh

Jesus vs Money (Mammon)

Money by itself is not a bad thing but it becomes a bad thing if it becomes my/our master and I/we become enslaved to it.

The question is:

Am I serving Jesus with my money?
Or am I serving my money (Mammon) as an idol in my life?


Spirit vs Flesh

When there is a struggle in my heart between what I ought to do, and what my flesh wants me to do, am I identified with the Spirit who gives life, or with the flesh that tries to enslave me?


Ephesians 5:17 - 25

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,

idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,

envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.


Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

King of kings & Lord of lords

King of kings & Lord of lords

Deuteronomy 10:17

For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.


Psalm 136:3

Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever.


1 Timothy 6:15

Which God will bring about in his own time--God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords

Which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords


Revelation 17:14

They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.


Revelation 19:16

On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Suffering Servant

Suffering servant - God became a human being, as one of us, and became a servant to serve us, healing us and giving us the gift of salvation and the eternal life, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

God is the Greatest.
God is the First.
Yet, God serves us. 

Matthew 20:26
Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.

Matthew 20:27
And whoever wants to be first must be your slave.

Matthew 23:21
The greatest among you will be your servant.

Mark 9:35
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."

Mark 10:43
Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,

Luke 22:26
But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.

"You are more important than me"
"I serve you because I love you."

Philippians 2:3
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.

Romans 12:10
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Ephesians 5:21
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.


Imaging the emperor or Prime Minister of the country become a waiter to serve us, or become a doctor to treat/serve us rather than lording it over us.

Judge not lest you be judged but try to understand.

Empathy. Put yourself in their shoes, and try to understand the reason/cause for their behaviour, opinions, words and actions/deeds.

Reliance on God

2 Chronicles 13:18
The men of Israel were subdued on that occasion, and the men of Judah were victorious because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers.

2 Chronicles 14:11-13
Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said, "LORD, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O LORD, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you."

The LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled,

and Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushed before the LORD and his forces. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder.


2 Chronicles 15:2
He went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.

2 Chronicles 15:7
But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.

2 Chronicles 15:17
Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa's heart was fully committed [to the LORD] all his life. (NIV)

But the high places were not taken out of Israel. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true all his days. (ESV)

2 Chronicles 16:7-9
At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: "Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.

Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your hand.

For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war."

"For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars."
(NASB)

2 Chronicles 16:12
In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians.

Asa
           20 years of rest (Peace; No war!)
                            ↓
                  Complacency
                            ↓
                     Aspostasy
                            ↓
             Denial of faith & trust in God (Betrayal)

Needs

We may have a need of someone or something but ultimately, it is God who we're always in need of.

We may have no need of someone or something but we're always in need of God's grace, mercy and love.

God's Love

God would do anything to save me.

God would do anything/everything to take good care of me.
God does do everything to take good care of me, emotionally, spiritually, socially and physically.

God is most willing to be vulnerable with me, even when I could hurt him with my words, deeds, behaviour, thoughts and motives.

If I being evil know how to give good gifts to my family, relatives, friends, and my neighbours, how much more will God do for me/us!!


Psalm 132:3-5
I will not enter my house
Or go to my bed --
I will allow no sleep to my eyes,
No slumber to my eyelids,
Till I find a place for the LORD
A dwelling for the Might One of Jacob.

Take each day as it comes. And LIVE IT!

Vengeance is mine!

Vengeance is mine!

Do not retaliate. Jesus paid for their sins, or they'll pay for their sins themselves in eternal hell.

Forgive them because their sins are to be paid either in hell or on the cross of Jesus.

Romans 12:19

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”


Matthew 5:38 - 42

"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'

But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Jesus Lives Through Us

Jesus lives through us. He lives through us as we train ourselves to see as he sees: to see beyond the external and see the unseen reality.

It means three things:

1. First, that I see Jesus in everything.

• He is over all and through all and in all. He fills all in all. He who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things. Everything in the universe is an expression of Him.

• I can either live in the reality that Jesus fills all in all, or I can live by what my physical eyes see. I choose to live in God's reality. 

• In some way, everyone expresses Jesus. Either Jesus is being formed within them, or He has kept them in disobedience that He may show mercy to all, as Paul says.

• By faith, I choose to see all as expressions of Jesus. All situations are God coming to me in different forms. I see Jesus in everything.

2. Second, God expects His Son, Jesus, to do it through me.

• God doesn't expect me to do whatever He instructs me to do by my own efforts. I am not the one He expects to accomplish them.

• We are containers of Him. He created us to live through us.

3. Third, I trust Jesus to do it.

• I look only to Jesus in me. Only Jesus can live God's life.

• Our role is faith - looking only to Jesus to do it.

Reference:

Gregory, David. (2012). Night With A Perfect Stranger. 123-12. Worthy Publishing. USA.

Jesus & Prayer

Matthew 14:23
After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.

Mark 1:35
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Luke 3:21
When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened

Luke 5:16
But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

Luke 6:12, 13
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.

When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles.

Luke 9:28, 29
About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.

As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.

We are part of Jesus

We are part of Jesus.

"Saul, Saul. Why are you persecuting me?" (when Paul was persecuting the church?)
It's because Jesus doesn't see the church, or its members, as separate from Himeself. We're one with Him. We're part of Jesus now.

For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.

Paul isn't comparing the Body of Christ to a human body; he's comparing Christ to a human body. As the body has many members, so also does Christ. Christ has made Himself a corporate being. You are part of that being. So am I.

John Piper - Jesus Christ our Treasure

The critical question for our generation—and for every generation—is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?
 
- John Piper

source: Thoughts On The Way

Jesus - our Forgiver

Luke 7:48 Then He said to her, "Your sins have been forgiven."

Has there ever been a man who could forgive sins but Jesus? In the history of mankind, besides Jesus, has there ever been a man who claimed the absoulte authority of the heaven and the earth and all that is in them, and say, "you need forgiveness because you have sinned against me and you've been sinning ever since you were born. Unless I forgive you, you will perish."

In the verse 39 of the same chapter, the pharisee who had invited Jesus said to himself, "If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner." It is important to realise that the pharisee did not realise that he himself was also a sinner and he needed forgiveness from Jesus also. The pharisee regarded the woman as a sinner and an outcast and he regarded himself as a righteous man. This kind of thinking is prevalent. Most people do not regard themselves as sinners because they do not want to create any guilty feelings and unnecessarily make themselves with depressing thoughts. After all, they are not too bad because they haven't commited murder, theft or adultery. Many churchgoers, I believe, err too in this regard. Although they may call themselves as sinners in the church's boundary, they do not truely realise they are REALLY sinners and that they are TRUELY BAD. Most people have only a vague concept of sin and this is probably because they haven't taught on sin much at all. The doctrine of sin is not preached and the biblical records on sin only seem to them as stories that are far from reality.

Jesus says, "your sins are forgiven," Jesus speaks now and will speak until He comes again. Everyone is commanded to open their eyes and open their ears to see the reality that they are sinners and they need forgiveness desperately. Forgiveness is granted to everyone who repents. Yes, you need to repent and I need to repent. These are the first words that Jesus spoke, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matthew 3:2) Why does Jesus command us to "repent:"? Because he will forgive those who repent. He will forgive you, if you repent. Repentance is not a one time event that occurs at the conversion. True Christians repent till they die and go home to be with Jesus.