Tuesday, November 6, 2012

The "Spiritual" Hunger Games Part 2


This is serious business, so as I dove deeper into this passage, this is what I discovered.  That for each physical representation there is a spiritual representation as well.

(v.35) For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat

Each one of us as people are spiritually hungry, we are looking for our souls to be at peace and in Matthew 4:4 Jesus has the answer for that very problem.  “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

As Sheep (Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:

We need to feed others by speaking the word of God to those who are spiritually hungry.


We all are looking for something that will fulfill that part of us that seems to never be satisfied; thirst. Once again Jesus has the answer in John 4:14 “But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.  Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  Then in John 7:37-39 “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.  By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.”

As Sheep (Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:

We need to supply drink; offer the everlasting water, relationship with Jesus to others.

(v.35) I was a stranger and you invited me in

Beyond physical hospitality is the spiritual meaning; evangelism.  When Jesus, as a representation of others, in this verse says that he was a stranger and we invited him in suggests that he wasn’t apart of the group that we are a part of; that is the body of Christ.  Evangelism is inviting others into the family of ChristMatthew 12:50 speaks of family, “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Mark 16:15 the will of God is clear, “Go into all the world and preach the good new to all creation.”

As Sheep (Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:

We need to invite everyone around us, letting them know that they are welcome to come into the family of Christ.

(v. 36) I needed clothes and you clothed me

Just as equally important to have physical clothing for our bodies is to be spiritually clothed in mercy and to clothe others around us in mercy as well.  In Luke 6: 27-36, generosity is the vehicle to clothe others in mercy. 27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

As Sheep (Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:

We need to extend mercy through generosity to others around us.

(v. 36) I was sick and you looked after me

All of our souls are sick and need Jesus as our healer according to Mark 2:17 which states, ‘“On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”’

As Sheep (Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:

Plain and simple, we need to care about the condition of one another’s hearts and our sin-struggles.  Much like a physician we need to lovingly tend to the aid of one another’s struggles offering Jesus as the cure.

 (v. 36) I was in prison and you came to visit me

We are all prisoners to sin until we allow Jesus to start working freedom.  In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus quotes the book of Isaiah, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

As Sheep (Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:

We cannot reject others that have not come into relationship and freedom with Christ and live in a Christian bubble.  We need to reach out and love everyone around us.


So in the end, which group will you find yourself in?  Which group are you in now?  It’s not too late to make a change speaking the Word of God, offering relationship with Jesus, inviting everyone, extending mercy, reaching out in love.

Monday, November 5, 2012

The "Spiritual" Hunger Games Part 1


In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus tells a parable subtitled in most Bible’s as The Sheep and the Goats.  I’ve read and heard different dissertations on this passage and most have pointed to the truth that Jesus was implying that if we are righteous then we will feed, supply drink, be hospitable, taking care of the sick and visiting people in prison; meeting the most basic of needs of others around us. 

…But something else struck me as I’ve read this passage before.  Maybe Jesus was saying something else that isn’t quite as obvious.  I believe that he was speaking not just about the physical needs of others, but the spiritual needs.  After all, isn’t God primarily concerned with the condition of our hearts?  So let’s break this down a bit…

Matthew 25
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

There is going to be a separation of peoples into two groups and here are the deciding factors…


The Sheep

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

The Goats

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

This is serious business, so as I dove deeper into this passage, this is what I discovered.  That for each physical representation there is a spiritual representation as well.

*Part 2 tomorrow...

Friday, November 2, 2012

The Best "Blog" Ever


I love writing and reading blogs.  If you notice, there is a blog out there that can tackle just about every topic.  What is a blog really? –I get asked that question a lot from people when I tell them I write a blog.   And you know, when I think about it, I technically don’t know.  But what I do know is that a blog (for me) is a personal platform, a soapbox of sorts, to share whatever is on my mind.  Before all of this blogging on the web was introduced there was the newspaper and even older than that were letters written on papyrus from scribes taking notes from oral “bloggers.” 

When you think about it, the greatest “blog” out there is the Bible.  It covers every topic down to its very roots.  The author speaks from His heart what’s on His mind with the intention of challenging us to better ourselves by joining into relationship with Him.  He even gives us the opportunity to click on that “follow” button that you find on most blogs, giving us the choice to follow Him, God’s “blog.” 

Thank you God for being the author of the most challenging “blog” there is and ever will be.


If the Bible had a “blog” title to sum up everything within, what do you think it would be?

Website:

www.pathoftheblessing.com