One Master, Jesus Christ

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KJB Daily DevotionFollowing Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Saturday, November 04, 2017
Chapters: Mark 12, Matthew 23
Message: One Master, Jesus Christ

Hello My Friend,

As Christians we become so accustomed to doing things that, if we are not careful, it becomes ritual. If there is one thing I have learned over the years of giving my life to Christ, it is that there is no ritual when it comes to Christ, ritual means religion, and since following Christ is not a religion, we can expect that He will change things up on us. We must grow, and if we are to grow we cannot keep doing the same things all the time, He is going to shake things up, take us out of our norm, give us new things to do, sometimes completely opposite of what we are use to (not going against Scripture). Jesus gives us two commands that are key to enduring all the tasks and challenges He brings in our lives, Love God, Love others, it we do those two things, everything else will fall into place. “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:30-31.

I love my church, it is the closest place I call home since the first church I attended that turned my life over to Christ back in 2004. I love it because it is built upon the authority of Christ, do I agree with all of the bylaws? No. Since we are all sinners saved by grace, and have our own understanding of the Bible, we can expect some of them to be of personal preference, but what they never do is change the Gospel, water down the Bible, or go completely off its message, and that is the key to a strong, Christ centered church. As Jesus was in the temple teaching and observing things that were going on He started getting kind of angry, the Pharisees, scribes, and Sadducees were constantly tempting Him, trying to catch Him do or say something wrong, and yet they had the holier that thou attitude. Fed up with all this, He began speaking, first of all, telling them who the true Master is.

All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.– Matthew 23:3-11.

but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.Religion loves to tell us, do this, do not do that, but they are the worse offenders of their own law. It does not matter what church you attend, every one of them has their own set of rules to follow in order to be a member, and let me tell you, there can be some pretty strict rules. However, if what they are expecting from you distorts or teaches another doctrine other than the simplicity of the Gospel then it is time to find a new church. There really is only one church that we are to follow, and that is the one in lead through Christ Himself. “We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.– Colossians 1:3,15-18.

Continuing to observe the people, Jesus looks over at the people giving their tithes, one woman caught His attention above all of them. And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.– Mark 12:41-44.

but she of her want did cast in all that she had,I will admit that there are weeks that I do not give a tithe, simply because I do not have it, and it is not that I am not putting God first or overspending, it is because I do what I can with what I have been given. And when I do tithe, I do not give an exact percentage all the time, I give whatever God lays upon my heart. There are people who would frown upon that, but let me tell you, it is not what people think that matters, it is what God thinks that matters, He knows what I do, and that the most important thing about giving is not the amount, but that my heart is right. It is not always giving money that robs God, it is the heart, whatever we give, whether it is time, possessions, money, we must do it with all of our heart, and that is what pleases God. Jesus continues speaking about what He was seeing, and upbraids them.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.– Matthew 23:15-23.

for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte,” Proselyte; To convert one into some religion, or to some opinion or system. The Pharisees were really good and converting people to Judaism, but there were two things wrong, one, they were so strict that even God would not approve, and two, they forgot the importance of the law of Moses. What religion is miserable at is teaching that people are dying and going to hell because of their sins, and only Christ can save them. In fact, many who do know this distort or even deny the simplicity of the Gospel, are unsaved themselves, and will be right in hell with the rest of their followers. Jesus calls them all out for who they truly are, hypocrites and vipers.

Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.– Matthew 23:33-39.

how often would I have gathered thy children together,Apart from saying that He existed before Abraham, this is the first time Jesus reveals that He has been here from the beginning, and is, in fact, God Himself. There will be a day when both Jew and Gentile will see Christ, and it will be too late for them. Until we are willing to open our heart as see Christ for who He truly is our soul will be empty. We are a body of Christ, led by our Master, Christ, we are not a religion, we are a people that are blessed to have seen Christ, believed in, and received Him as our Saviour, not only to save us from hell, but be a light in the dark world. Christ is not a ritual, He is a life, one that the closer we get to Him the more He is going to work in and through us. “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.– John 15:16.

Jesus Christ Magnified: “For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” – Matthew 23:39.

Today’s Prayer: Jesus, You have given us the greatest example of how we are to live our lives. Others in this world may earn titles and win prizes for following rituals, but the greatest prize that I ever obtained is getting to be with You. And amazingly, I am not saved because I earned it, but because I put my faith and trust in You as my Saviour. Lord, Thank You for all the work You do in my life, thank You for making things interesting and challenging sometimes, Lead me and guide me, give me Your power to live in and through You, let me not get caught up in ritual, but to simply love You with all my heart, and love others as You command. In You name, Jesus I pray. Amen

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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