February 26th 2023
Jesus Died For His Neighbors Because He Loves All Of Us!
1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 (NIV)
For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.
Only a small number of people actually lived with Jesus, when He walked this earth as a man. Jesus only walked this earth for about 33 years, and His ministry only lasted for about 3 years! No other human being affected this earth as much as Jesus did, no matter how long they lived or how many years their ministry lasted. Yet, more people who walk this earth today do not believe that Jesus was the promised Christ. Some of the worldly religions boast of having almost as many followers as there are people who profess to be Christians. If you are a professing Christian do you really believe that, “He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.”
Personally restated, He died for me so that, whether I am awake or asleep, I may live together with him. We have now entered the Lenten Season a time of remembrance and recall about what Jesus Christ did for you when He walked this earth, and willingly suffered and died for your sins! Some of us started this celebration on Wednesday evening by attending a worship service and received a cross shaped smear of burned palm leaves and olive oil on our forehead. This may have helped us start the season of Lent, and to try and think about what God/Jesus Christ did for those of us who profess to be followers of Jesus the Christ!
Do you have Jesus/the Holy Spirit residing in your heart every day in a noticeable Way during this special season? Do you? Really think about working on becoming more Christ-like in a special Way during this season of Lent. Try to make it special this year! Our world needs a revival as we have become complacent and many of our neighbors have become violent and murderous. Every night on the news we hear of people killing people on a large scale. Sometimes there is a news bright spot reporting how someone came to the aid of a neighbor who was in harm’s way.
Thus, the old question may arise, who is my neighbor? On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" He answered: "‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’" "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:25-29)
Here Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan. And at this time the Jews did not associate with the Samaritans, and they did their best to avoid any contact with them. They even went out of their way when travelling, as they took a longer route, so they did not have to go through Samaria. In our world today we still have similar situations when some people do not include people of different evolutionary races as being their neighbor. However, in Jesus reply he told this Jewish man that the real neighbor in this parable was a Samaritan who stopped and helped the injured man who was Jewish. Thus, he was the hero of this story, and his actions exemplified him as the real neighbor, as he was the one who showed mercy on the injured man.
As followers of Jesus, we need to show mercy to all other people as Jesus came to this earth to die as the perfect sacrifice to offer salvation to all of mankind. Since every human being has a sinful nature inherited from the Fall of Man, there is only one Way for us to gain salvation and go to heaven when we die. As Jesus told us when He walked this earth, He offered up his life to allow us to be redeemed when we die. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life— only to take it up again. No-one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." (John 10:17-18). This is the Lenten story about Jesus’ offer of salvation through His laying down His life for all those who are willing to admit this is the only Way planned for mankind’s souls to be saved and live with Jesus in heaven.
In this world we need to remember to work on accumulation of riches in heaven by believing that Jesus offers the Way the Truth and the Life. We then must worship God/Jesus in our allotted lifetime through studying His Word, and praying to Him for guidance in our life, and most importantly by trying to show love to all human beings. This is what we learned by how Jesus conducted Himself as a man on this earth. Jesus attended the church of His time and participated with other believers at such services. We need the support offered by other human beings who attend a church of their choice on a regular basis.
Paul wrote to Timothy who was becoming a Pastor to guard against becoming obsessed with accumulating earthly possessions, and to pass this information on to his future congregations. It offers good advice for us today in this wealthy country in which we live. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:9-10).
Working to obtain the necessities of life is a good thing to do, and even accumulating wealth in this world is not a bad thing to do. Having more than we need allows us to help our earthly neighbors to survive and to remain happy. Remember, God pointed out Job who was a rich man as a man whom God held in high esteem. Therefore, being rich in this life is not a problem, and will not get in your Way of going to heaven when you die. But, as Paul wrote “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
So, for this Lenten Season we do not need to give up being rich, we just need to give up any form of greed that may affect our love for all our neighbors. Jesus showed His love for all of mankind and gave up His life so we can take up His salvation as His gift to us through grace.
Jesus died for His neighbors, because He loves all of us! Remember, He created our immortal souls to live forever! Jesus desires your immortal soul to follow His Way to the place He prepared for you in heaven!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 (NIV)
For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.
Only a small number of people actually lived with Jesus, when He walked this earth as a man. Jesus only walked this earth for about 33 years, and His ministry only lasted for about 3 years! No other human being affected this earth as much as Jesus did, no matter how long they lived or how many years their ministry lasted. Yet, more people who walk this earth today do not believe that Jesus was the promised Christ. Some of the worldly religions boast of having almost as many followers as there are people who profess to be Christians. If you are a professing Christian do you really believe that, “He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.”
Personally restated, He died for me so that, whether I am awake or asleep, I may live together with him. We have now entered the Lenten Season a time of remembrance and recall about what Jesus Christ did for you when He walked this earth, and willingly suffered and died for your sins! Some of us started this celebration on Wednesday evening by attending a worship service and received a cross shaped smear of burned palm leaves and olive oil on our forehead. This may have helped us start the season of Lent, and to try and think about what God/Jesus Christ did for those of us who profess to be followers of Jesus the Christ!
Do you have Jesus/the Holy Spirit residing in your heart every day in a noticeable Way during this special season? Do you? Really think about working on becoming more Christ-like in a special Way during this season of Lent. Try to make it special this year! Our world needs a revival as we have become complacent and many of our neighbors have become violent and murderous. Every night on the news we hear of people killing people on a large scale. Sometimes there is a news bright spot reporting how someone came to the aid of a neighbor who was in harm’s way.
Thus, the old question may arise, who is my neighbor? On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" He answered: "‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’" "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:25-29)
Here Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan. And at this time the Jews did not associate with the Samaritans, and they did their best to avoid any contact with them. They even went out of their way when travelling, as they took a longer route, so they did not have to go through Samaria. In our world today we still have similar situations when some people do not include people of different evolutionary races as being their neighbor. However, in Jesus reply he told this Jewish man that the real neighbor in this parable was a Samaritan who stopped and helped the injured man who was Jewish. Thus, he was the hero of this story, and his actions exemplified him as the real neighbor, as he was the one who showed mercy on the injured man.
As followers of Jesus, we need to show mercy to all other people as Jesus came to this earth to die as the perfect sacrifice to offer salvation to all of mankind. Since every human being has a sinful nature inherited from the Fall of Man, there is only one Way for us to gain salvation and go to heaven when we die. As Jesus told us when He walked this earth, He offered up his life to allow us to be redeemed when we die. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life— only to take it up again. No-one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." (John 10:17-18). This is the Lenten story about Jesus’ offer of salvation through His laying down His life for all those who are willing to admit this is the only Way planned for mankind’s souls to be saved and live with Jesus in heaven.
In this world we need to remember to work on accumulation of riches in heaven by believing that Jesus offers the Way the Truth and the Life. We then must worship God/Jesus in our allotted lifetime through studying His Word, and praying to Him for guidance in our life, and most importantly by trying to show love to all human beings. This is what we learned by how Jesus conducted Himself as a man on this earth. Jesus attended the church of His time and participated with other believers at such services. We need the support offered by other human beings who attend a church of their choice on a regular basis.
Paul wrote to Timothy who was becoming a Pastor to guard against becoming obsessed with accumulating earthly possessions, and to pass this information on to his future congregations. It offers good advice for us today in this wealthy country in which we live. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:9-10).
Working to obtain the necessities of life is a good thing to do, and even accumulating wealth in this world is not a bad thing to do. Having more than we need allows us to help our earthly neighbors to survive and to remain happy. Remember, God pointed out Job who was a rich man as a man whom God held in high esteem. Therefore, being rich in this life is not a problem, and will not get in your Way of going to heaven when you die. But, as Paul wrote “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
So, for this Lenten Season we do not need to give up being rich, we just need to give up any form of greed that may affect our love for all our neighbors. Jesus showed His love for all of mankind and gave up His life so we can take up His salvation as His gift to us through grace.
Jesus died for His neighbors, because He loves all of us! Remember, He created our immortal souls to live forever! Jesus desires your immortal soul to follow His Way to the place He prepared for you in heaven!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
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