Contagious Blessings – I'm Following Jesus

King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Chapters: Deuteronomy 21-23
Message: Contagious Blessings

Hello My Friend,

Have you seen how crazy it is getting out there with this virus scare? People are buying out toilet paper, water, and food as though some nuclear bomb has hit, and as soon as you step foot out the door you will die. And here I am trying to get people to remain calm and trust Jesus. There was an illustration going around Facebook showing two tables, one in which the government gives info on how they can save them from this virus and one in which Jesus can save them. The people were lined up for the governments help, and not one went to Jesus. Is that not our world? Give me, give me, give me, and here is the thing, they are so greedy that they only care about themselves. Well, I for one am not worried, God has it all under control, He is supplying for me in this mess, and taking very good care of me. And He will do the same for you, if you trust Him. “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:8,18-19.

If you want God to supply your every need you need some virtue in your life. In fact, I have been thinking a lot about Proverbs 31, being a virtuous woman, and even asked God before writing this to keep me virtuous, and if there were anything hindering that to let me know. If we want God’s blessing to be contagious we need to do more than just walk in the grace of Christ’s salvation upon our soul, we need to walk in the grace of following His commands as well. Now, up until this point, Moses has been encouraging the Israelites along with giving some warnings of what is to come when the sin against God. Yesterday we learned about cities of refuge for someone who accidentally killed someone, today, we learn of the atonement for them.

“And it shall be, that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take an heifer, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke; And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer’s neck there in the valley: And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried: And all the elders of that city, that are next unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley: And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel’s charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them. So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.” – Deuteronomy 21:3-9.

“even the elders of that city shall take an heifer,” You see, when innocent blood is shed it does leave a stain on our nation. If that death was accidental, then the person would be forgiven, the nation forgiven, and the blood of that nation would be removed once the blood of the unblemished and untouched animal was sacrificed. No matter what the sin, innocent blood is always required for remission. “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” – Hebrews 9:22,28.

While some of these laws were specially for the Israelites once they received the land they inherited, some common sense would tell us that many do apply to all believers. We need to understand that the laws given were necessary for their time, the things that they would be doing at that time, we can still apply this to what we have today, we just have to think in terms of what we are doing today. Now, God seemed to have a few strange laws for them, things we may not understand with our technology today. As Moses continues he goes on to mention these rather strange laws.

“Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again. The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God. If a bird’s nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young: But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days. When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence. Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled. Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together. Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together. Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself.” – Deuteronomy 22:4-12.

“for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.” Do you think that the things that were an abomination to God back then do not apply to us today? Of course, they do. God never changes His stance on sin, and if He says that it is an abomination, meaning He detests it more than anything, for a man to wear women’s clothes or for a woman to wear man’s clothes then He means it. Why is it an abomination? It brings confusion. And God makes it all simple, He spells it all out for us, it is man that brings confusion and complicates things (I Corinthians 14:33). “Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts,” This means they were not to mix fabrics. Why was this necessary? Linen was used for the priests garments, nothing was to have a blemish since they would be standing before the LORD, and ministering to Him (Exodus 28). Therefore, everything needed to be pure or holy as God is holy. Today, anyone receiving Christ is made pure, it is necessary that we not mix our fabrics either. And I am not talking about clothes, I am talking about mixing Christ with worldly things. The second we receive Him as our Saviour our sin stained flesh was washed clean, we have been given a new set of clothes, and we must remove the old and put on the new. Otherwise, the new will get stained and become worse than the old. “No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse.” – Mark 2:21.

And speaking of removing the old garments that are stained with sin, it is also important to do so because it affects everyone around them. When we come to Christ we are broken, a complete mess, and that is what He wants, because He cannot fix us if we do not admit we are broken. And we must be whole to be able to come to God, and the only way we can is through Christ, if we are not, God will not accept us. And we must also be careful of who we allow in our lives, Moses explains all of this in a rather odd way.

“He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD. A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD. An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever: Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee. Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land. The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation. There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.” – Deuteronomy 23:1-8,17-18.

“even to his tenth generation shall he not enter” Do you know how long that is? Eight hundred years. This goes to show you that God, while He is merciful to the sinner who repents, sin does bring consequence to everyone around them, and for centuries. “An Ammonite or Moabite” Ruth, was a Moabite, she was accepted by God, in fact, about eight hundred years later, she was David’s grandmother, of whom Jesus would descend in the flesh (Ruth 4:13-22). You see, the life we live, it is more than about us, and if we truly stop to understand that, God’s blessings will be contagious, they will pour out on those who need Him, and run over onto us. “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” – Psalm 1:1-3.

Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You, for the greatest blessing of all, Your Son, Jesus Christ. We do not have to work forever in order to come to You, we do not have to follow every command to come to You, we just need to trust in Your Son’s finished work on the cross to come to You. Now, we who are saved, are not only washed clean, we have been giving a new set of clothes, the righteousness of Your Son. Thank You, for loving is, and not giving up on us, for Your mercies and grace to not only save us sinners, but to make us whole, and able to stand before you. We are blessed tremendously through our faith alone, but You blessing truly are many and contagious when we live in obedience to Your commands. And the amazing thing, they pour out the more we become the blessing others need. Lord, Lead us and guide us, grant us Your mercies and grace, Your wisdom, and direction, Your hedge of protection so that we can be vessels of honor, keep us from all evil, and teach us how to live a virtuous life so that Jesus may be seen in us, and others receive Him too. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: http://readytofollow.com/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Missed A Message: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Visit I’m Following Jesus Missions: http://imfollowingjesus.com/index.html
I’m Following Jesus On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byhisstrength