What Would Jesus Think: Who's on Second--Part I

Years ago, I saw a rusty greenish colored corroded penny lying on the ground. Since the federal government does not devalue money because it is nasty, I stopped and picked it up. Shortly thereafter, I stopped by a restaurant to buy a coca cola drink. As I handed money to the cashier at the drive-up window, the corroded penny fell into the coca cola drink by accident. By the time I fished it out of the drink, it looked as though it had been freshly minted. All the corrosion and rust were gone. [Back in the 50s and 60s, the coca cola drinks were the real thing. In fact, some car mechanics used coca cola to burn the built-up corrosion off of car batteries and cables.]

That’s what we look like to God before our spiritual cleanup. But, like the corroded penny, God shows us through His word that sin never made us worthless or valueless to Him. He simply threw us out of the house [Garden of Eden]. And, we could not come back until we were cleaned up—i.e. salvation.

When asked what is the greatest commandment of all, Jesus answered that 1] we are to love God with all of our heart, body, and soul. Secondly, we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, Matthew 22:36-40. In addition, Jesus said He is the way, the truth, and the life. And that His word is our spiritual food, Matthew 4:4, which is a repetition of God’s word in Deuteronomy 8:3. Lastly, the disciples in Jesus’ time, and any and all who would be disciples throughout time since then, are to be witnesses to the world of tHis truth, Matthew 28:19-20. Specifically, in verse 20, Jesus said we are to teach all nations to observe whatsoever He has commanded.

So, what happened? Why are God’s people now being taught that the neighbor is more worthy of love than the individual that Jesus came to save?

In Matthew 6, 10, and 12, Jesus teaches the disciples that people are worth more than sheep, birds, and flowers in the field. Thus, Jesus taught that we are of great value to Him. More so, Jesus states that He says nothing that the father has not said, John 8:28. Thus, His words about loving ourselves in Matthew 22:37-38 are repeating God’s words that He spoke in Leviticus 16:18.

Has God changed His mind? Is He now not faithful to His word? No. He left us a message in His recorded word that He is unchanged.

The problem with teaching Christian believers to love the neighbor second—I believe—lies in the fact that many sincere people find it difficult to believe that God wants them to love themselves. Here is why, in my opinion.

We know what we did in the darkness of Satan’s kingdom before God called us into the light of His Son. Oftentimes, it is difficult for many to forgive themselves even though God has forgiven those who have truly repented [been there—did that].

Life events continue to reveal the consequences of those who do not love themselves—movie theater shootings, random drive-by shootings, random murders on military bases, and worse. On top of that, people are mutilating themselves through pills and surgery in vain attempts to be something other than how God created their magnificent bodies.

When we truly repent, i.e. acknowledge our former offenses [sin] against God to God, and ask for His forgiveness, He tells us that “He” no longer even remembers our offenses against Him, Ezekiel 18: 21-22; 33: 14-16, Isaiah 43:25. The reason--or spirit--of why people continue to remember their old sins has a name—Satan. As long as he can make us call to memory our old man deeds, those memories make many feel worthless and unworthy of God’s mercy and love. But, that is not how God sees us.

This commandment to love ourselves is repeated in Ephesians 5: 28 which reveals that husbands must love their wives as their own bodies. Thus, loving ourselves is important to God. Why? And, what does this mean? Who are we that we should love ourselves?

We are magnificently created by our God and Father, who is love. Thus, we are created in love by love. We are made in God’s image and likeness. We are so loved that God set in motion the only way for us to be saved, i.e. through the shed blood of His son. And, Jesus loved us so much that He walked a known and recorded path of horror that only He could walk so that we could be freed from the stranglehold of Satan’s deception.

The two commandments that Jesus gave the disciples are mind boggling in their simplicity.

Jesus broke the ten commandments down into two. But, they only work when we understand that we, the individual, are on second. Then, once we learn to love ourselves through the working of the Holy spirit, we no longer steal from our neighbors. We no longer kill our neighbors nor do we commit adultery with our neighbor’s husbands and/or wives. We honor our natural fathers and mothers, and so on.

Jesus rules. Learn to love yourselves with a divine love.

Where do Christians live?

Where do Christians live? God’s mansion or Satan’s shack.  Even on a spiritual basis, location as to where we live is the name of the game.

One of my favorite television shows involve the remodeling of older and often dilapidated homes. Sometimes, the house looks so bad that a dump heap seems to be the only solution. Prior to beginning the repair, the experienced contractor shows the owner the building specifications along with a slide show presentation as a preview of what the house will look like when repaired. The before and after pictures are spectacular. Regardless, homeowners often make suggestions for changes that are not legal because they are unaware of the building codes for their city. The contractor has to assure them that the finished product will meet their needs while adhering to the city and state license requirements.

Their reluctance is understandable. It seems impossible that any building that is so used up by time, with sunken floors, broken pipes, sagging and leaking roofs, along with outdated electrical, plumbing, and heating, can be made beautiful again. During the reveal of the finished project, the stunned homeowners are often speechless at the renewed beauty of what was once considered a disaster.

On a spiritual basis, that is exactly what God does for us. And, like the natural contractor, God has to deal with mankind trying to fix or change His perfect building specifications for His spiritual church in order that they may keep their old man habits and lusts of the flesh.

Regardless, God is the master builder of His spiritual building, i.e. the church. Jesus, the cornerstone of the spiritual building, is the mediator, i.e. the superintendent who is in charge over the building because He shed His blood for it.  Jesus identifies the Holy Spirit as our guide and comforter, John 14, 15, and 16. Thus, by the work of the Holy Spirit, what started out as ugly and used up by life—us—we become a spiritual building without spot or wrinkle, Ephesians 5:27. I call the Holy Spirit the divine renovator.

On the other hand, lying, cheating, adultery, and moral perversion, are promoted by God’s enemy that these ungodly traits are okay within Christian religious communities. Some even broadcast their inability to obey Jesus on national television. This in the face of God who said He will put His Spirit in the heart and minds of His people that they/we will obey His statutes and commands, Ezekiel 36:26-27. God repeats this promise in Jeremiah 31:31, 33; Jeremiah 32: 39-40; Hebrews 8:8-12, and many others.

God knows what is required in order to be a citizen of His spiritual kingdom regardless of what Satan is presenting to the world. And, change, i.e. repentance, is an essential component of salvation. The sinister claims that God’s people do not have to change are a lie from hell.

Contrary to Satan’s false representations, we have the divine inspired specs. We call it the Bible. Thus, since God tells us that He is the master builder and that we must change from what we used to be in order to enter the Kingdom of God, change must be necessary.

At the onset, my 1995 deliverance seemed late to me. However, time has proven that my passage into life out of darkness was according to God’s timing rather than mine. It is a continuing daily journey as the Holy Spirit changes me from what I used to be, i.e. the old man, into a vessel that honors God through honoring His Son Jesus. This voyage is recorded in my book Mine: An everlasting promise of love, deliverance, and wholeness. It is currently available on Amazon’s website as well as that of WestBow Publishing, Barnes and Noble, and others.  My website: www.murielgladney.com. My email is: murielg.writer@yahoo.com.

Christian believers must carefully choose their place of residence. There are only two choices. God’s house of peace or Satan’s shack of lies?

Once Upon A Time

“Once upon a time” is usually remembered in relation to fairy tale stories that parents read to their children. Today, it presents a horrible truth that is predicted in God’s word.  

 

Once upon a time Americans could send their children to movie theaters, shopping malls, grocery stores, etc. with the belief that they would return home safely. The current event of yet another movie theater shooting shows that this is no longer true. America is now experiencing what other countries around the world have realized for centuries. Evil does not have a specific location, religion, or color.

Jesus said that children are the future of the [spiritual] Kingdom, Matthew 19:14. In verse 13, parents brought their children to Jesus that He could pray for them. Thus, prayer must be important in the lives of children. Nevertheless, Christian organizations stood by while one person was allowed to remove prayer from schools.  

On the other hand, Yahovah, the only true and living God and Father of Jesus Christ, said parents are to raise up their children in the knowledge of Him, Deuteronomy 6:7, 11:19; Psalms 78:5-6, and Ephesians 6:4. Deuteronomy 6:7 in the Bible In Basic English version, reads: Teaching them [commandments of God] to your children with all care, talking of them when you are at rest in your house or walking by the way, when you go to sleep and when you get up. (BBE)     Parents—are you doing this? 

Why is this specific commandment of God so important? Apostle Paul points out the truth in 2 Timothy 3. Timothy walked a Godly path because he was taught about God from childhood. On the other hand, Apostle Paul shows the consequences in verses 1-8 of the refusal to obey God’s commandment about how to raise children.  

Point: Teaching children about God from childhood plants an unshakable foundation in that child that all of creation is valuable in God’s eyes—especially themselves.  When a child grows up loving God first, and secondly themselves, then they are able to love their neighbors rather than shoot them, Matthew 22: 37 – 40. 

Nevertheless, as a former product of not knowing God as a child, as shown in my book Mine: an everlasting promise of love, deliverance, and wholeness, by His mercy and everlasting love, I was redeemed.

Prayer works.

Who to trust for peace and life: God or Self

Recently, I was an eyewitness to an accident where a young man lost his life. However, over the next several days after the accident, the reports of said incident were so varied that it almost appeared as though there had been a second accident to which I was not an eyewitness. The seemingly disregard for human life was overwhelming. Nothing made sense until God revealed the source of the confusion.

The spirit of SELF-preservation! 

This is not a new trait. Apostle Peter immediately comes to mind. Not only did Peter know Jesus, he walked, talked, and ate, with Him for three years.  Yet, despite what Peter thought he would do, Peter rejected knowing Jesus three times when it came to saving his own life. Stranger yet is the fact that Jesus told him beforehand what he would do.  Peter of course denied that he would ever do such a thing. Nevertheless, he did. Matthew wrote in Matthew 26:75, [Luke in Luke 22:62] that when Peter realized that the trait of self-preservation was stronger IN HIM than his love for Jesus, he went out and wept bitterly. 

It is a bitter pill to swallow when the word of God confronts us with our weaknesses. But, the great thing about God is that He also uses His word to comfort us to let us know how much He loves us. And, that He is ever ready to help us turn our lives around and change, i.e. repent, which means to think different. And, when we think different, we act different.

When the Holy Spirit of God revealed the answer, the peace that Jesus promised in John 14:27 settled my frustrated spirit. He also reminded me that this person/s need our prayers of faith because the trait of self-preservation comes from only one source. And, the intent of that source is to kill, steal, and destroy.

Nothing can be done for the young man who died. But, just as with Apostle Peter, if this person is a true Christian believer, they can repent and God will forgive them.  If they are not a Christian believer, this is the opportunity to give their life to Jesus and experience an inward peace that surpasses all understanding.

Jesus said come to all who are heavy burdened [with this life], Matthew 11: 28. This is a promise that is unchanged.