A little Faith

Nothing is impossible for God. The things that you see no way out of. The things that have left you hopeless are easy for our God. All it takes is faith the size of a mustard seed to move mountains.

With God

Did You Know...Matthew was a tax collector

Did You Know

 Matthew was a tax collector. This occupation was hated by most because tax collectors worked for Rome but were usually Jewish. They often would extort and overly tax there own people to get extra and keep the difference for themselves. However Jesus chose this man and his occupation to do his work.

Did You Know...Jesus came for the sinners

Did You Know

It is great to worship with your brothers and sisters in Christ. However we should spread the gospel to non-believers as well. If we are to be Christians ( christ-like) then we also should not just be in the company of believers but sinners. Jesus says he has not come to call the righteous but the sinners. We should take time to spread the word and help our fellow brothers/sisters instead of ridicule and look down on them.

The Calling of Matthew

⁹ As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
¹⁰ While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
¹² On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’^[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Verse of the Week...Matthew 10:22

Verse of the Week

You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Matthew 10:22

Verse of the Week... Matthew 7:8

Verse of the Week

 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Why dont we Ask?

 

 

Why don't we ask?

^{I was speaking with a good friend of mine and I begin to listen to the problems that he was facing. And he had such a burdened spirit. The issues he was facing were no laughing matter. He had told me all the measures and resources he had used to obtain a solution. However, he never said anything about coming to God or that he was going to have to pray about it. It made me think...Why don't we ask God for help? What is it that keeps us from coming to an omnipotent father? Do we forget that our heavenly father is an omniscient God. How does having an almighty and merciful God go unused.} 

^{What I noticed is a lot of us do not believe that God will hear us. We believe that because our lives are less than perfect that our heavenly father wants nothing to do with us. That is simply not the truth.  Doubt because of sin gets in the way of Having Faith. However, it is even more the reason that we try not to sin. Sin can place separation between us and God. It is sin that causes us to look at ourselves differently. When we view ourselves differently the distance between God and ourselves becomes greater. Sin brings doubt. Where there is doubt the enemy has opportunity. Do not give the enemy opportunity. If you sin repent and ask forgiveness. We serve a forgiving God. While he forgives we should not plan on sinning. However we all sin. We will never be perfect but our strive for righteousness can be. We can learn a lot from children. Children no matter what wrong they have done will still ask for things that they wish and need. Just as the earthly father considers what is being asked from an obedient child. our Heavenly father is certainly more powerful and will make a way for his children.  Never lose sight of who you are and that God loves you. Come to God in pray and ask...you shall receive.} 

^{Matthew 7: 7-8}

 7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Verse of the Week Matthew 5:14

Verse of the Week

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.

  

Matthew 5:14

Your Gethsemane

Gethsemane

³⁶ Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷ He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. ³⁸ Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
³⁹ Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
⁴⁰ Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. ⁴¹ “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
⁴² He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
⁴³ When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
⁴⁵ Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

 Reading this scripture quite a bit stood out to me. Everyone goes through a Gethsemane. Our Gethsemane could be to maintain the best performance possible at a job that we no longer to be. It could be to have faith and take a peaceful approach to a confrontation that has been bothering you for quite some time. It might even be family matters, Maybe a strained relationship with a parent or a struggling marriage where two partners have drifted apart.  Sure it does not have the impact of what our savior Jesus Christ toiled with  but there are some things to learn from it. 

First it is natural to look for ways around the matter at hand. Even when Jesus Christ was placed in an stressful situation he looked for a possible way out. He begin to Pray to God that this cup be taken from him. The "cup" was used to symbolize the burden he a carried of  his crucifixion. He prayed numerous times that if it be Gods will that it would be removed from him. Praise God that he went through with it. But often times in our life we look for ways around our own Gethsemane. However your situation is the very thing that God has placed in your life to test your submission to him. It will be a situation that you did not see coming and do not see the way to get out of  either. Through obedience and a closer walk with him comes blessings. Just as Jesus ascended he also wants to raise up from the current situation we are experiencing. We might not levitate to the heavens while in physical form he will shift and show favor after going through your garden or  trial.

Finally sometimes we use the wrong outlets for strength and support. When you are going through your Gethsemane it is a journey of trust and obedience with you and God. A friend if rooted in the word might have a few words of encouragement but it is intended to be a strengthening process between you and God. Just as the disciples were of little help to Jesus your Gethsemane will have to be walked and overcome by you only. Just as a teacher can not evaluate what you have learned if others are providing answers your God can not see you submit and walk in faith with others pushing you along.  During your Gethsemane pray, keep the faith and be ready to ascend when its all said and done. 

Verse of the Week...Matthew 24:35

Verse of the Week

 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Did you Know...Let your light shine

Did You Know

Jesus refers to believers as the Salt of the Earth and the light of the World. We do not light lamps and put it under a bowl. Instead we place that lamp on a stand and it shines light for all around. Let your light shine so that it glorifies your Father in Heaven.

Matthew 5:13-16

Verse of the Week...Ask and it will be given

Verse of the Week

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

Matthew 7:7

Did You Know...Shake the dust from your feet

Did You Know

Jesus informed the disciples to spread the word that the kingdom of heaven has come near, but if anyone will not listen to their words they should shake the dust off  their feet and leave that town. 

Matthew 10:14

Verse of the Week Matthew 5:6

Verse of the Week



Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

Matthew 5:6

Verse of the Week: Matthew 6:33

Verse of the Week:

Matthew 6:33

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

The Sheep and the Goats Matthew 25 31-46

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.
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.’
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. ”

Matthew 13: 36-43 The Parable of the Weeds Explained

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

 ³⁶ Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”  ³⁷ He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
   ⁴⁰ “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. ⁴² They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

Matthew 10:14

If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. 

Matthew 9 9-13

The Calling of Matthew

 ⁹ As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.  ¹⁰ While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
 ¹² On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’^[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Reflection of Matthew 9:9-13

After reading this passage it really made me think. We are often told to stay clear of the "bad" crowd. Be around those that are positive and "going places". I do believe that to an extent that is true. However, I also believed an outsider who does not know will assume at many things. As long as you know your purpose and have Faith in God to not be strayed you can be in circles that really need deliverance and teach the word. Don't get me wrong there is power in speak with brothers and sisters of the faith but there is also work to do with the non-believers or those that have know knowledge of the scriptures. This is the part of the journey that will take you places that you didn't plan. Thank you Lord for the wisdom in your teachings.