January 1st 2017
How Can I Receive The Kingdom Of God Like A Little Child?
Matthew 19:16 (NIV)
Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"
Like this young man, many of us ask a similar question of God when we pray, “what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" Of course, the answer is there is nothing “good” we can do that will grant us eternal life. When this rich young man asked Jesus this question, Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. (Matthew 19:21-22). It seems Jesus may have been indicating, if we were perfect, then maybe we could obtain eternal life on our own volition! “If you want to be perfect!” Could YOU give up every “thing” to become perfect? This rich young man could not, so he turned away from Jesus! To be saved you must turn toward Jesus, and repent of your sins!
“If you want to be perfect!” Could YOU give up every “thing” to become perfect? John wrote for us about making a choice between God or the world. Most of us want to have both, and we strive to favor Jesus by acting like He is the center of our lives, when in fact that top spot is taken up by our worldly possessions! Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does— comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives for ever. (1 John 2:15-17). Jesus is the Answer! but What is the question? Jesus talked about how difficult it is for a rich man to obtain the eternal life offered in heaven.
By world standards most of the people reading this would find it very difficult to give up all their worldly possessions, and then, follow Jesus. Please believe it, you can follow Jesus without taking a vow of poverty, it is just more difficult to feel a need for Jesus, when you are comfortable participating in the worldly realm and having “it all, so to speak!” Just like this Biblical rich young man, we cannot give up our stuff to become ambassadors for Jesus.
Paul wrote about being ambassadors for Jesus in this world. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). As ambassadors, we are: First, to encourage other Christians! Second, to study the Bible to saturate ourselves totally with the knowledge of His will and His Word! If you are too busy to have time to study your Bible, then maybe too much of your time is already allocated to worldly pursuits.
Jesus taught His disciples about maintaining a childlike perspective about this world. People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." (Mark 10:13-15). Little children are more receptive to changes than adults are, and they are much more open to believing what someone is trying to teach them. Most adults have hardened their hearts to the point of being non-receptive to learning anything new. The adage “you cannot teach an old dog new tricks” comes to mind! Jesus knew that most people would not claim Him as their Lord and Savior. Even His own people did not believe He was their long-awaited Messiah!
The Israelites wanted to have a king, as many of the people groups around them had a king. So, God granted their wish for a king. Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled for forty years. After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ "From this man’s descendants God, has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. (Acts 13:21-23). This is great proof of how God is willing to forgive and forget all the sins we commit during our lives, for if we have read it, the Bible portrays David to be womanizer and murderer, however, after David repented of his sins God viewed David as nearly perfect! As a “man after my own heart!”
Therefore, some great New Year’s resolutions would be for all of us to:
Read my Bible more, more than just read it, but to study it!
To work on becoming an ambassador for Jesus in our part of this world!
To truly repent of my sins, and turn more toward Jesus!
Wishing you and your loved ones,
Happy New Year!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Matthew 19:16 (NIV)
Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"
Like this young man, many of us ask a similar question of God when we pray, “what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" Of course, the answer is there is nothing “good” we can do that will grant us eternal life. When this rich young man asked Jesus this question, Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. (Matthew 19:21-22). It seems Jesus may have been indicating, if we were perfect, then maybe we could obtain eternal life on our own volition! “If you want to be perfect!” Could YOU give up every “thing” to become perfect? This rich young man could not, so he turned away from Jesus! To be saved you must turn toward Jesus, and repent of your sins!
“If you want to be perfect!” Could YOU give up every “thing” to become perfect? John wrote for us about making a choice between God or the world. Most of us want to have both, and we strive to favor Jesus by acting like He is the center of our lives, when in fact that top spot is taken up by our worldly possessions! Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does— comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives for ever. (1 John 2:15-17). Jesus is the Answer! but What is the question? Jesus talked about how difficult it is for a rich man to obtain the eternal life offered in heaven.
By world standards most of the people reading this would find it very difficult to give up all their worldly possessions, and then, follow Jesus. Please believe it, you can follow Jesus without taking a vow of poverty, it is just more difficult to feel a need for Jesus, when you are comfortable participating in the worldly realm and having “it all, so to speak!” Just like this Biblical rich young man, we cannot give up our stuff to become ambassadors for Jesus.
Paul wrote about being ambassadors for Jesus in this world. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). As ambassadors, we are: First, to encourage other Christians! Second, to study the Bible to saturate ourselves totally with the knowledge of His will and His Word! If you are too busy to have time to study your Bible, then maybe too much of your time is already allocated to worldly pursuits.
Jesus taught His disciples about maintaining a childlike perspective about this world. People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." (Mark 10:13-15). Little children are more receptive to changes than adults are, and they are much more open to believing what someone is trying to teach them. Most adults have hardened their hearts to the point of being non-receptive to learning anything new. The adage “you cannot teach an old dog new tricks” comes to mind! Jesus knew that most people would not claim Him as their Lord and Savior. Even His own people did not believe He was their long-awaited Messiah!
The Israelites wanted to have a king, as many of the people groups around them had a king. So, God granted their wish for a king. Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled for forty years. After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ "From this man’s descendants God, has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. (Acts 13:21-23). This is great proof of how God is willing to forgive and forget all the sins we commit during our lives, for if we have read it, the Bible portrays David to be womanizer and murderer, however, after David repented of his sins God viewed David as nearly perfect! As a “man after my own heart!”
Therefore, some great New Year’s resolutions would be for all of us to:
Read my Bible more, more than just read it, but to study it!
To work on becoming an ambassador for Jesus in our part of this world!
To truly repent of my sins, and turn more toward Jesus!
Wishing you and your loved ones,
Happy New Year!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
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