Following Jesus

People who follow Jesus follow a man who was God in human form. It’s not a religious connection but a spiritual connection. Unless one finds this spiritual connection even a religious connection won’t fill a person with the peace, hope and love that comes. It only happens by spirit not religion. 

Those who followed Jesus when he walked on earth in human form heard him say things like,

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” ~  ‭‭John‬ ‭14:6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” ~ ‭‭John‬ ‭14:7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ~ ‭‭John‬ ‭9:5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.” ~ ‭‭John‬ ‭10:14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” ~ ‭‭John‬ ‭5:46-47‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Over and over Jesus spoke to the religious leaders of his time and tried to get them to see and understand he was God. He was the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior that all of the old prophets spoke of hundreds and thousands of years earlier, but they were stuck in their religion without a spiritual connection. The were blind and did not want to see. They were stubborn and prideful. They were selfish and greedy with power. They killed him instead of kneeling before God. 

But the disciples and the people who walked with him, talked with him, listened to him and made a spiritual connection with him did see who he was. They saw the miracles he performed and were not jealous of his power. They saw the kindness and love he had for others and did not call him their enemy but their friend. They saw his gentle way of dealing with others and felt love for him not resentment. Many of them died for him and many still are over 2,000 years later. 

Living for Jesus has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with the Spirit of God living and working inside the hearts and minds of those who hear and see past this world and into a spiritual world. When one believes in who Jesus was and what he said, they also believe in this promise;

“There are many rooms in my Father's house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would not tell you this if it were not so. And after I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to myself, so that you will be where I am.” ~ ‭‭John‬ ‭14:2-3‬ ‭GNTD‬‬

And this promise;

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” ~ ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11:28-29‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

None of this is rocket science. It is faith. Simple, pure, spiritual faith to believe. 

A Proverb and A Byword

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

In my bible study of King Solomon I ran across this scripture from II Chronicles 7:20 that stopped me to search the meaning and history. These same words are repeated three times in scripture in Deuteronomy 28:37, I Kings 9:6-7, and II Chronicles 7:20 by three different writers of the Books.  Moses was the author of Deuteronomy.  Jeremiah is believed to be the author of I Kings.  Ezra is believed to be the author of II Chronicles.  Both Jeremiah and Ezra wrote God's words to King Solomon during his reign of Israel.  The repetition of these words is what struck my spirit today.  He warns the Kings and Jewish nation that if they do not follow His statutes and commandments they will become a ridiculed people.  They will be laughed at, mocked, held in low esteem, an object of horror thrown out of their Promised Land by the very God who brought them to the land of milk and honey.  Stories of their fall from favor and great demise will be told throughout the world forever.  

II Chronicles 7:20

(NKJV) then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

(NIV) then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples.

(NLT)  then I will uproot the people from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make it an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations.

In the context of this scripture God is speaking to King Solomon and warning him not to fall away from the statutes and commandments of God and to live a life according to the laws God gave to the Tribes of Israel through Moses.  This exact same warning had been spoken by Moses to the Israelite's almost five centuries earlier.

Deuteronomy 28:7

(NKJV) And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the Lord will drive you. 

(NIV) You will become a thing of horror, a byword and an object of ridicule among all the peoples where the Lord will drive you.

(NLT) You will become an object of horror, ridicule, and mockery among all the nations to which the Lord sends you.

I Kings 9:7

(NKJV) then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

(NIV) then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples.

(NLT) then I will uproot Israel from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make Israel an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations.

As I read and studied the words "proverb and byword" I began to understand why the Jewish people, the nation of Israel, the Tribes of Judah, the Hebrews, the Chosen People of God, are ridiculed and harassed today.  God warned them not to fall away from His statues and commandments. He had set them aside as a people of His very own.  He had called them out of slavery and bondage and shown them life with Him was miraculous and worthy.  He loved them dearly but they did not love Him in return.  They loved themselves more. They wandered off into the world and the evils of the world.  After all He had done to save them and care for them, they turned their backs on Him.  Then they crucified His son, the Messiah that God sent to save the Jews and Gentiles.  The Jews did not want a passive, peaceful Messiah.  They wanted someone to come in and kill their enemies.  They wanted a ruler who would bring peace to the land after he had killed their enemies.  But as it turned out they were the Messiah's enemies.  The religious snakes and vipers, the Pharisees and Sadducee's that lead the Jewish people were far from the statutes and commandments of the law of God. They made the common people hold to all the laws yet they did not.  Greed and power for these leaders were at the top of their own selfish purposes.  When they crucified Jesus, one of their own Jewish people, they become more of a "proverb and byword" to the world.  They sealed themselves into a lifetime of ridicule and mockery before the whole world.

Today the nation of Israel is strong and powerful even while living in a land constantly torn by war and killing.  What is left of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem has been taken over by Islam and serves as a worship center for their false religion.  They mock and ridicule the Jewish people right in front of all the world by being in control of what is left of this sacred Jewish temple.  All of their neighboring nations ridicule and hate them. They mock them and torment them just as the scriptures say would happen.  The Jewish people are still looking for a killing, fighting, warrior Messiah who will never come.  When they rejected Jesus as Messiah they rejected Father God.  They are still fighting against the Father who warned them to worship and serve only Him or suffer the consequences of their unbelief. 

From my studies of Revelation I believe that only during the Tribulation years will the spirits of the Jewish people finally wake up and see Jesus as Christ.  The truth will be revealed to the Israelite's when Jesus Messiah comes back for the final battle for the souls of mankind. They will kneel before Him as will all unbelievers of the world. The final Judgement will be upon them. 

Lord have mercy.