johjoy

We should not seek to become wealthy; Wealth should not be our goal. Rather, we should seek God and want to have enough that we need and that would allow us to be a blessing to others. The parable of the rich fool, in Luke 12: 13- 21 clearly teaches us this lesson. The guy wanted to store up all kinds of possessions for himself. In that parable, God told him, "you will die tomorrow" and asked, "who will get what you have prepared for yourself after you die?" Seeking wealth can distract us from what God wants us to do, where God wants us to go, and how God wants us to use our time. Again, this does not mean we should not work, want income or be good stewards over our money. (The Bible clearly teaches us that those with the ability should labor and that we should be good stewards over our resources.) However, it does mean that wealth should not be our goal. Our goal is God's reign in our life, and this may mean that we serve God with few material possessions. Jesus was not a wealthy man, and neither were the disciples (most of them), but they still lived a rich life. God's definition of true riches is different than ours. This is also revealed in Revelation 3: 17 - 18, which reads "You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see." It is often difficult for a wealthy person to serve God because of greed i.e. when we do not want to share what we have with others. This is revealed in the story of the rich young man (Matthew 19: 16 - 28; Mark 10:17-30, and Luke 18: 18-30) who had no problem keeping many of the commandments, but was unwilling to give up his possessions to the poor. However, as shared in that same story, "Nothing is impossible with God." (Matthew 19:26). The wealthy person -- and all of us -- must realize that everything we have belongs to God and commit to using everything we have to build up His Kingdom!

1) The message of the Kingdom will not be understood by everyone. In Jesus' time, many people thought that the kingdom that John the Baptist and later Jesus himself preached about was a physical kingdom. The Messiah they expected was a king with a physical throne who would liberate them from the rule and oppression of the Roman empire. They did not understand that the kingdom was the rule of God in our hearts and lives. 2) The message of the Kingdom will not take root in everyone. Some people will be drawn to it initially and be excited about it or lay hold to it for a short time, but they will not continue on. They will not be lifelong members of the kingdom. 3) The message of the Kingdom will not bear fruit in everyone. Some people want God to rule in their lives and accept salvation and God's reign. But then they begin to worry, or focus on wealth, or want to do things their own way and to please their own flesh. Therefore, they produce no fruit. They don't become transformed and they don't play a transforming role in the lives of others. 4) The message of the Kingdom will transform the lives of those who are receptive, understanding and persevere. They are not only members of the Kingdom, but they invite others in and as they continue to live in the Kingdom, they become more and more like the King - Jesus Christ! These truths are important for keeping disciples disillusioned because 1) we know that it is not our own actions that determine whether or not the Truth of who Jesus is and his desire to reign in our lives takes root in someone's heart. Our role is to spread the seed, but we are not personally responsible if we do that and it does not grow. Secondly, these truths help us not to have a false illusion of our own membership in the Kingdom. It provides us with some important factors that we can use to assess God's reign in our own lives and ways that we can be more rooted in Him and more fruitful. May God help us all to serve Him with joyful dedication!

I believe that the preceding verses in Matthew 13 (also Mark 4 and Luke 8) give us insight on the things that can cause unfruitfulness in our very own lives -- hardness of heart (path), lack of commitment to God (shallow soil), and distractions from serving God with all of our hearts, mind, soul, and strength (thorns). At any time, we can experience these things unless we are ever working to keep the soul in our hearts soft, fertile, and clean so that God's fruit can grow and produce a harvest. The overall factor (as mentioned in Luke 8) is perseverance! "But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop." Good soil is soft soil (vs. hard soil): Continuing Receptiveness to God's Word I need God to till the soil of my heart to make it soft and pliable (receptive) so the Word will constantly take root, and to break up the still hard places in my heart. I must want this, I must pray for it! for God to continue to "break" me -- i.e. the packed-tight, closed-shut places in me ever, ever so I am more and more pliable, soft and bending toward His Will. Prayer for personal transformation can help us to have fertile soil. I can make myself do things or appear a certain way but appearances only last for a short time. Real change must come from within! Good soil is deep soil (vs. shallow soil): Lasting Commitment to God's Rule Secondly, I need God's Word to go down deeper and deeper in my heart and soul. I also need to examine my heart for any rocks that may have become lodged there, and are keeping God's Word from going down deep, and keeping fruit from growing and thriving. Rocks of selfishness and selfish-ambition, pride, unforgiveness, judgmental attitudes, and lack of repentance -- anything that hardens my heart toward God and other people is a rock that inhibits my fruitfulness; anything that prevents me from standing for God and being like Christ in times of pressure, persecution or stress. Do I have rocky places that are keeping me from maturing, being fruitful or being clearly evident as a child of God? I must be careful to ever examine my soil so that it remains good, seeking to remove any new rocks, and praying for God to help me to both see and dislodge these rocks in my heart, and to become increasingly committed to Him! (O Lord, I pray that you will help me!) Good soil is clear soil (vs. thorny soil): Consistent Yielding to God's Disciplining I need to ask God to help me constantly prune the thorns that may have grown in my heart -- particularly in regard to **** and self-pleasure. This requires work and discipline! The Bible says that apart from Jesus, we can not bear good fruit (John 15). This scripture also says that we need God to prune us: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." (O Lord, that I would come close to You for constant pruning, that You would be my gardener and remove every thorn and thistle in my life that is choking the growth of Your Word and inhibiting the maturation of the fruit that Your Spirit is growing in me!!) What accounts for the 30-fold, 60-fold and 100-fold growth? the Holy Spirit, who has increasing dominion in our hearts and lives when we close to God in worship and prayer, and keep ourselves holy and pure. I also agree with other respondents who noted caring and nurturing, fellowship with other believers, and the grace of God.

I think whatever you struggle with the most is the most dangerous to you. For me, the most dangerous is "pleasures."-- hether it be staying in the warmth of my bed versus getting up early in the morning to pray or indulging in any form of sexual activity rather than the chastity and purity that God has called me to as a single woman. God's Word speaks to us very strongly in many places about all of these dangers -- e.g. God's Word to the Israelites about their exploitation of the poor in Amos, God's exhortation to us to be faithful in Hebrews, and God's many words to us about self-sacrifice and death of the flesh in the many letters of Paul. I would say that Paul might say the pleasures of this world from his own struggle (I do not do what I want and I do the things I don't want to do). However, at the same time riches could be listed under the category of pleasure -- anything that causes us to indulge in ourselves and our own human/fleshly desires, rather than seek the rule and reign of God in our lives, which requires a great deal of sacrifice and yes, uncomfort. I have to remember this!

The Kingdom of God is in part God's reign in our lives. If we are not truly turning away from our own sinful desires, then God cannot reign in our lives. We remain in control and our own Kings and Queens. Without repentance, we do not recognize God as King, but actually continue to serve satan. In other words, Christ can not reign in an unrepentant heart...as reign requires submission. If we are not repentant (changing our minds from our own ways to God's ways) then we are not submitting to the will of God in our lives and wanting to do what pleases Him rather than our own flesh. It is hard!! Christianity is not an easy thing. But thanks to God that we can pray for help and he will give us grace. Still, yes we have to change our minds. As Ephesians 6 spells out, our minds are battlegrounds. We must change our minds!! Baptism is a symbol of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, how we are to live our lives immersed in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is a public acknowledgement of our repentance and the grace and power we have received and will continue to receive from God.

John's baptism likely offended Jews' national pride because they were taught that as Jews they did not need purification and repentance. Rather, it was the non-Jews (Gentiles) who were unclean and needed to go through a ritual washing in order to convert to Judaism. The Pharisees and Sadducees rejected baptism for these reasons. They would say "We have Abraham as our father" and believed because of their ancestry, they were justified before God. However, Matthew 3: 5-6 tells us that" [many] people from Jerusalem and all of Judea and the whole region of Jordan," came to John confessing their sins and for baptism in the Jordan area. These are majority Jewish areas I believe, and these were primarily if not all Jewish people. I believe they welcomed John's baptism because they believed John's teaching - that they do need to be cleansed from sin. I do wonder how their response relates to the Jews' misunderstanding of "the Kingdom of God," since they believed that the coming Messiah would them from Roman rule. Regardless of that misunderstanding, it seems that the Spirit of God active in the words of John moved them to knowledge, understanding and truth -- which was required to understand their need for repentance, confess their sins and participate in the ritual of baptism as a symbol of being cleansed of their sins by God.

When people claim Christianity (and even accept Jesus as their personal savior) without repenting of known sins, the world gets a distorted view of what Christianity is. Secondly, a lack of repentance means that people are not seeking the transforming power of Christ in their lives (i.e they are not crying out for God's help to overcome their sins), thus they are not experiencing Christ's transformation in their lives (or a very limited part of it). How can we be in Christ without ongoing transformation? Romans 12:2 states, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." According to this verse, without repentance, we are unable to discern God's will for our lives. (wow!) Finally, a commitment to Christian faith without repentance means that we want Jesus to be our Savior, but not the Lord of our lives. We like how Christianity benefits us, but we are not willing to give up our own self-gratification for the sake of Christ. We avoid repentance because we like pleasing or own flesh (self-gratification) by doing what feels good to our flesh and following after our own desires, rather than following Christ. Satan is a tempter and he continues to tempt us to gratify our flesh (Matthew 4: 1-3). We also continue to avoid repentance because of a lack of discipline and spiritual strength, which is the result of reading the Word of God, persisting in prayer, etc. (described as putting on the full armor of God, as outlined in Ephesians 6:13 and on). To repent is both death and life. Romans 8:13 states: "For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live," Therefore, repentance is death because we must die to our flesh and it is also life because through putting our flesh "to death", we wholeheartedly follow Christ and can live an abundant life in Him. John's prophetic words to the seven churches in the book of Revelation cautions us against being hypocritical and divided, half in Christ and half in the world. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm

what do I learn from Psalms 8 about God, humanity, Christ, my responsibilities? All last night, I struggled with a mosquito biting me so now I have small mosquito bumps on my hands and legs. At first, I prayed, Lord, this is one of your creations, make this thing stop bothering me. Then, I realized how frivolous this prayer is. Reading Psalms 8, I reflect on how much like that mosquito I am to God. Meaning I am that small. Though I have no care about this small mosquito and would rather the thing be dead than alive, God is not like that at all. God deeply cares for me. (Psalms 8:4). God is soo awesome and amazing. He is afterall the Creator of all. Humanity - we have sooo much favor from the Lord. God has made us just a little lower than the angels. God has given us great power. Yet, not because of anything that we have done. It is God's graciousness alone. (Psalms 8:4 again.) Our responsibilities are: 1) to praise the Lord -- Psalms 8:2 2) to humble ourselves, remembering God's graciousness and our status (both small -- as in Psalms 8:4 and large -- as in Psalms 8:5, 6) 3) to take care of the earth and all of the things on the earth. This includes being careful not to pollute the environment, to recycle, to grow food responsibly, etc. Psalms 8: 6-8 Of Christ, I learn what a great sacrifice it was for God to lower himself in human form, to the status of that which He created. On earth, Christ was God in the flesh. What an amazing example of discipline and humility.

Greetings. I am from Maryland. 27 years old. I am a Christian woman of African descent (African-American specifically). I work as a doctoral student, community organizer and youth worker. I am passionate about social justice issues and God's call for us to walk in love, mercy, justice and humility. I am reading through the Bible and just completed Job. I am excited to study Psalms with a Joyful Heart Ministry guide and many others around the world. I started the Revelations study, really appreciated it, but never completed it. I am looking forward to going the whole way through Psalms -- even if I don't put all my posts online -- and doing other studies as I proceed through the Bible.

Significance of Jesus walking among lampstands? He is with us, even as the exalted One. We still have access to Him. He is our center and our focus. What does this teach us about the church? The church serves to lift up Jesus, hold Him up for all to see (Matthew 5:14-16. Jesus said, if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people unto me. Therefore, our role is to lift Jesus up, (as a lamp is lifted by it stand.) Also, the lampstand does not shine except if the lamp is connected. Therefore, we cannot shine except if we are connected to Christ. Jesus among the lampstands reminds us of this important connection. For my own personal life, I see that I cannot shine my light as God has commanded me to do if I do not pray and read my Bible (the ways in which I connect to Jesus) and seek to hear from Him throughout the day. Also, the church simply means a body of believers. Here, the gathering of lampstands, those who exalt Christ and shine his Light. What does this teach us about Jesus? Jesus is the light. He walks with Us. Because of Him, we are not in darkness. Jesus keeps us (the church) together. He is our Center. He is Our Source. He is the Glory through whom we have access to glory and power. Thank You Jesus that even as the awesome, powerful God You are in whose presence I must bow and worship, I still have access to You and your light. Lord, help me to shine today in You and for You. In Jesus name. Amen.

As the carpenter-teacher, Jesus shows us that He is accessible and that we can follow Him because he became like man. If we saw Him as we see Him in Revelations 1, we might think, "how could I even imagine trying to be like Christ, trying to be like God." Therefore, God transforms himself into form of man so that He can show us the way to go in a way that we can understand and believe we can walk this path. It is also so we can see this example -- lowliness, servitude, humility, love and faith in action from a human being. The exalted Christ in Revelations 1 reminds us that although God humbled himself becoming man as Jesus Christ, He is still God. Don't get confused! And, there is only ONE God. - to be worshipped, magnified and adored. We should have awe, wonder, appreciation, and humility toward Him. (emotions) This study has helped me to see the complexity and multi-faceted nature of the God we serve more clearly. We are to follow the ways of the humble Lord (the carpenter-teacher) and yet to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth (the exalted One). This is central to a balanced faith. It just occured to me that this last vision of Christ is one that many don't see and understand and why some have problems understanding Christ is God.

Christians are experiencing persecution in the commonly understood meaning of the term, "persecution" in: Afghanistan, Cyprus, Maldives Sri Lanka, Algeria, Egypt, Mauritania, Sudan, Azerbaijan, Equatorial Guinea, Morocco, Syria, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Myanmar (Burma), Tajikistan, Bhutan India, Nepal, Tibet (China), Brunei, Indonesia, Nigeria, Tunisia, Chechnya Iran, North Korea, Turkey, Chiapas, Iraq, Oman, Turkmenistan, China Kuwait, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Colombia Laos Qatar Uzbekistan, Comoro Islands, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Cuba, Malaysia, Somalia, Yemen and some others. Voice of the Martyrs is an interdenominational organization working with Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ. They work in the above nations. For more information on the persecuted Church, the VOM ministry, or how you can support Christians in persecuted nations, visit http://www.persecution.com. A friend at my church told me about VOM and spoke about persecuted Christians during our prayer and fasting services in January. A representative from this ministry will be doing a presentation for my church, located in Hyattsville, Md. in the coming weeks. (contact me if you are nearby and want to come and learn about what's going on with persecuted Christians and how you can help.) Though many argue that all Christians are being persecuted, there is a very real difference between the fear of getting laughed at because of your faith at work and the fear of being killed because you have been caught meeting with other Christians or studying your Bible. There is a difference between even being threatened to stop distributing tracks at a mall or other location or recieve a fine or so threatened by your govt, other religious groups, or local militias that you are holding church at underground, secret locations, sometimes in small closets, dark basements, or attics because you can be imprisoned or flogged as a result of your faith. Many people named whole continents as places in which Christians are being perecuted. I think it's important to be specific and pray for people in these specific countries. For example, many named Africa, a continent with 54 nations, although Christians in most of these countries are not undergoing persecution as a result of their faith. Christians are persecuted particularly in Northern Africa and about 3 or 4 countries in the East and West -- whereas in many other nations, many people are Christian and practice their faith very openly. When I was in Ghana (in West Africa) and Kenya (in Eastern Africa), I was surprised to see that Christians here are much more open than many in the U.S. for example it is common to see businesses with names such as Christ is All Hair Salon and John 3:16 Grocery Store. I think that Revelation encourages Christians who are persecuted by 1) showing them that they are following Christ because Christ is persecuted. As Jesus says, what they did to me, they will also do to you. 2) That the persecution Christians receive can not compare to the despair and trouble brought on by not acknowledging Christ as Lord and 3) encouraging Christians in persecuted nations that they can make an important impact even in their state of persecution. I.E. John writes the book of Revelation from exile as a persecuted Christian and look at the lasting impact of the book and many that read it and as a result come to Christ, come to understand God better, or are encouraged. Even in a persecuted condition, don't give up, even after your death, many can come to Christ as a result of your work and testimony. Verses for the road: