KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Monday, October 09, 2017
Chapters: Luke 6, Matthew 5
Message: I Stand Redeemed
Hello My Friend,
There is a Gospel hymn that I love to sing, “I Stand Redeemed”, we use to sing it all the time in choir at my old church so when we were handed the song to practice I got so excited. “I stand redeemed, by the blood of Jesus, the debt is paid, my sins are gone. The chains that bound me, no longer hold me, because of Calvary I Stand redeemed. I tear up every time I sing this song, it reminds me that I am free because of what Jesus did for me. I choose Jesus, I choose to live my life with Him, I mess up every single day, I push Him aside, I do not always tell people about Him, but I stand redeemed because of Calvary. We do not have to be perfect, Jesus perfected us with His blood, but we can stand redeemed by proclaiming that Calvary. “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.” – I Timothy 1:15-16.
The scribes and Pharisees prided themselves on their religion and power, they were like the mega church of today, lots of followers, very wealthy, and famous, claiming they know the Word of God and obey it. They grabbed a few lines of Scripture, stuck it in a book they created, making it look as though it all came from God, and was even inspired, yet it was full of lies. One Sabbath, Jesus stood in front of a crowd of people in the synagogue, seeing the scribes and Pharisees, He calls on a man with a broken hand and does the unthinkable.
“And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him. But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth. Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it? And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.” – Luke 6:6-11.
“But he knew their thoughts,” Jesus wanted to prove to the crowd and “religious people” that they distorted even something as simple as the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day of rest, an entire day to put aside working labor to focus on God, spend a little more time with Him, and get right with Him. Yes, there were times when God judged someone for doing something on the Sabbath because they were just trying to test Him, but it has always been a day just for God. There is always someone trying to discredit Jesus, still today people will go out of their way to try and find some flaw, even resorting to changing Scripture to justify their actions. How can a group of people so in love with God hate the very man that is the face of God? Simply put, pride. You see, Jesus brings conviction out of people, whether He is right there in front of your face or hearing what He says, and people do not want to admit that they have sin in their lives. Religion likes to taunt that “I am doing a good work for God”, but Jesus reminds them that there is none that do good. “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” – Romans 3:10-12,23.
“and come short of the glory of God;” There is absolutely nothing we can do in our flesh that can save us, and that is why Jesus went to Calvary, God knew that no matter how much good we try to do, one sin destroys that, Remember, Adam and Eve only disobeyed on tiny command? Until we come to that realization we will never see the need for Jesus. As Jesus continues preaching to the people, He addresses those whom choose Him.
“Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” – Luke 6:21-26.
“Shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil,” We are in a time where evil is considered good and good is evil. If we follow Christ and represent Him in any way we can expect persecution, and this is happening all over the world. We must realize that once we receive Christ we belong to God and that means not a hair on our heads gets touched without Him knowing about it, and He will make sure they are punished for what they did to us. Jesus tells us how to get even with those who hurt us. “But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.” – Luke 6:27,28,35.
“Love your enemies,” You would think that retaliation would be more effective than loving them, but think about it, what exactly does retaliation do? It brings more violence. What better way to get back at our enemy than to be nice to them? To love means to have good will toward another, I for one know exactly what retaliation does, it destroys me, not the person who hurt me, but by being nice I had it over to God and He takes care of them for me. We have to understand that this is not about us, it is about Jesus, we are going to be hated because we choose Him, there is a time to fight, but we fight His way, not ours. Jesus reminds us that we are the salt of the earth, the only ones who can show Himself alive through our actions, and that is where our works count.
“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 5:13-20.
“That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees,” These were the richest, most religious, and influential men in all of Israel, yet they we no more closer to God than the poorest person that did not know Him. Serving God and following a bunch of religious rules has nothing to do with our salvation, we must receive Christ as our Saviour for that. Our good works have nothing to do with our salvation, but have everything to do with our thankfulness and gratitude for the sacrifice Jesus made in giving His life to save us, and they bring others to Him. “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” – I Peter 2:11-12.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” – Matthew 5:17.
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, You know my heart, my thoughts, and even my actions before I do them. I know that I am who I am today because of what You did on Calvary. I am not the same creature I was when You picked me up out of the hole I was in, but You are not done with me yet. You have much work more for me to do, not that I might keep my salvation, but that You might be seen through me. I am sorry for neglecting you when life gets so busy sometimes, that is when I need to draw near to You more. Lord, lead me and guide me, give me the strength that only You can give me to be more like You and less like me. Let me be the disciple You need me to be, to be a witness and testimony for those who need You, and even those who lost their way, show me how to love my enemy and do good to those who hate me, for I know that my suffering will turn into something good. In Your name, Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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