Really, Who Is My Neighbour?

When we look at the world with all its chaos, people who stab others on their backs figuratively, and many other things, we then start to select those we can be nice to by creating justifiable criteria in doing so. But are we to have reasons for helping others?

A lawyer once asked Jesus who his neighbour was. In other words, how was he going to identify his neighbour? Even though the lawyer was testing Jesus, this question was and still is a very good question.

The lawyer asked Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life. And Jesus asked him what the law said about this matter. The lawyer then replied, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbour as yourself.’” (ref.: Luke 10:25-29).

In trying to justify himself, he then asked Jesus how he was to know his neighbours. This was because the law said he was to love his neighbour as himself.

Now, the funny thing is that to those who are under grace, we are not just to love our neighbours as ourselves, but we are to love our neighbours as Christ Jesus loved us (ref.: John 13:34). But the question still stands, ‘who are our neighbours?’

Jesus answered this question using the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Jews were what I would call, “racist” to the Samaritans. They considered them as half Jews, and to them they were unclean. They could not share the same bathroom with them, neither could they eat or do business with them. In short, they had no dealings with the Samaritans. So, if the Samaritans hated Jews, it would be understandable, based on how they were treated right?

According to Jesus, thieves attacked a man who was travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho. They beat him up, took his stuff and left him half dead.

Now, take note. Three people at different times took that road: a priest, a Levite and a Samaritan. I am placing an emphasis on the three people.

A priest took that road, saw the man and went his. Another time, a Levite took that road, saw the man and went his way. But when a Samaritan took that road and saw the man, he had compassion on the man and went to treat his wound, placed him on his donkey took him to a clinic and paid for his medical bill. Jesus then asked the lawyer which among the three was the beaten man’s neighbour. And the answer given was the man who had compassion for him.

The Samaritan had every reason to walk away just as the priest and Levite did. In fact, he was the most justified of the three to do so, but he didn’t. He wasn’t selective, neither was he biased. The Samaritan acted out what Jesus said we should do to our enemies, which is “Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you” (ref.: Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31). He put himself in the beaten-up man’s shoes, to think that he would want someone to come to his aid in time of need. His is a moral code that Jesus expects from everyone.

You may not be able to afford much to come to someone’s aid, but the little you can do to help, do it. Do not look at judge the person before you help. They should be someone you know before you can render help.

The priest and Levite are lessons to the church and the leaders of the church to lead by example because the priest and Levite didn’t lead by example. And whatever the leader does, the followers tend to follow suit.

The parable of the Good Samaritan talks about compassion and mercy irrespective of the person. We should not forget that while we were still sinners Jesus died for us (ref.: Romans 5:8). This is a demonstration of love as we saw the Good Samaritan do. Love and mercy above personality. And remember, do unto others as you would want others to do unto you. Ask God for His strength to live and put love above all things because we know the world we live in.

Why not accept Jesus today if you haven’t? Pray out loud, “Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Saviour. I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. By faith in Your Word, I receive salvation now. Thank You for saving me!” Congratulations—you’re born again, and you are now brand new!

                                          

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Unless otherwise stated, the following scriptures are obtained from the New King James Version (NKJV)

The Two Debtors

I have been writing on the parables of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today, I’ll be writing on the Parable of the Two Debtors which can be found in the Gospel of Luke 7:40-43.

So, a creditor had two debtors. One owed him five hundred denarii, which is about one hundred thousand dollars, and the other owed fifty denarii, which is about ten thousand dollars. Neither of them was able to repay, but the creditor forgave them both on what they owed, which was fantastic. Jesus, telling the parable, then asked who among the two forgiven would love the creditor more? And, of course, the answer given was the one who was forgiven more.

Now, connect the dots when reading the parables Jesus gave; it is necessary to know what made Him give the parable. And this is by reading the events that brought about the parable.

The parable came about the time Jesus was invited to eat at a Pharisee’s place by the name Simon. There was a woman who came to Jesus weeping behind Him and washed Jesus’ feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil she brought.

Now, because Simon the Pharisee spoke to himself that if Jesus were truly a prophet, He shouldn’t have allowed the woman to touch Him because she was a sinner. It was there and then Jesus knowing what Simon said in his heart then replied to him with the parable of the two debtors.

Jesus acknowledged her gratitude towards what Jesus did for her, as some scholars believe the woman to be Mary Magdalene, the one whom Jesus drove out seven demons.

The reason why she was very grateful which we need to pay attention to is that she understood what Jesus had done for her. It was not just that Jesus relieved her of the demons, but that she also understood how her life had changed, that she had to be eternally grateful to Jesus for what He had done for her.

This and even more is the mindset every Son and Daughter of God (Christian) should have because of what Jesus did for the whole world on the cross. We should be eternally grateful to Jesus, because unlike this woman who had demons in her, ours we were not only under the evil one were sentenced to death, and Jesus died in our place and gave us a brand new life.

When we remember and understand this, the way we live our life will be different. This is where the Lord’s supper comes in, as Jesus said we should take the elements (which represents His body and His blood) in remembrance of Him.

His body was broken for us through His death, thus satisfying the wrath of God and bringing it to an end. And then the blood which washed away our sins to establish a new covenant which we receive when we confess the Lord Jesus and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead (ref.: Romans 10:9).

We should not take Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection for granted. We should worship and praise Him, and give Him thanks.

The parable of the two debtors speaks of God's mercy and Grace. As we can see at the end Jesus told the woman to go that her sins are forgiven. This is God’s mercy and Grace playing out here. This was the mercy and Grace we all received at the death of our Lord Jesus. So, worship, praise and give Him thanks always.

Why not accept Jesus today if you haven’t? Pray out loud, “Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Saviour. I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. By faith in Your Word, I receive salvation now. Thank You for saving me!” Congratulations—you’re born again, and you are now brand new!

                                          

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Unless otherwise stated, the following scriptures are obtained from the New King James Version (NKJV)

New Wine in an Old Wineskin, and the True Reason to Fast

You know, when you’re talking about not mending new cloth over old cloth, which would get torn more, thus worsening the original state because the old cloth is weak. Also, do not put new wine in an old wineskin. The wineskin, to me, seems to appear as a better illustration of what I am writing today.

So, first of all, before Jesus spoke of the wineskin, the disciples of John the Baptist asked Jesus why His disciples don’t fast as they and the Pharisees do. Jesus said the friends of the bridegroom don’t mourn when the bridegroom is around. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away, and then there will be the need to fast.

Jesus gave a very simple analogy to why we fast. Before the coming of the Lord Jesus, the Jews fasted. One of the reasons for their fast was to prepare themselves for the coming of the Messiah. This was under an old covenant. Now, the new covenant came in the person of Jesus Christ, and the disciples see Him every day, so why would they fast when the Messiah was walking with them every day? So, if the disciples were to fast, Jesus would be like, “I don’t get you guys.” Sort of “Who are you fasting to, and who am I”

The essence of fasting before the coming of Jesus Christ is different from the reason for fasting after Christ’s ascension. The reason why we fast now is for communion with the Father, thus spending time to know Him. We don’t have any other business in the fasting order than to know and fix our eyes on Jesus (ref. John 17:3; Hebrews 12:1). This allows us to be soaked into who He is because all of who He is, is who we are.

We have no other business. Since we have been raised with Christ Jesus, continue in Him. As we continue to know Him, we live Him. So, when we fast with the sole purpose of knowing Christ Jesus, we know why we are Sons and Daughters of God. We know our collective and individual purposes as Sons and Daughters of God on the earth.

So, in a summarised form, the reason why Jesus Christ said there was no purpose for His disciples to fast was because He was with them, also elaborating on the fact that the purpose of fasting is to know Him. And He was establishing a new covenant, which was why He said no one puts new wine in an old wineskin. We cannot mix the Law and Grace, you cannot mix the old covenant with the new covenant.

Before Jesus came, no one had the Spirit of Jesus in them, but after His ascension, the Spirit of our Lord Jesus is offered to the whole world as a brand new life.

The essence of fasting is to know Jesus Christ, to dive deeper into the knowledge of Him, and to become and manifest Him because we have Him as our life.

Why not accept Jesus today if you haven’t? Pray out loud, “Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Saviour. I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. By faith in Your Word, I receive salvation now. Thank You for saving me!” Congratulations—you’re born again, and you are now brand new!

                                          

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GOD BLESS YOU.

 

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Unless otherwise stated, the following scriptures are obtained from the New King James Version (NKJV)

Why are You the Light of the World?

Light is something that brings joy to my soul. See it makes me happy. Thinking of this makes me ponder on what Jesus meant when He said we are the light of the world in Matthew 5:14-16.

The first question concerning The light is to know who needs the light? Who made you a source of light? A bulb wouldn’t be a source of light if someone did not make it a source of light. The bulb, which is the source to project light, must connect itself to the light generator itself.

When Jesus said we are the light of the world, it means that we can light up ourselves by being connected to the light generator. If we were living as light, we would know, and there wouldn’t be a need for Jesus to say we are the light of the world. What it means is that we are not using what we were created to be, which Is being the light of the world.

You can’t hide the light when it is on. Light can’t hide, everyone knows. It is like noise that isn’t heard but known. So in your going out, coming in, the way you act should be different. One reason you are called the light and is so important implies that everywhere was in darkness.

The Bible says in Psalms 119:105 that, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Connecting the dots means that your life, by being the light, is an expression of the word of God. The Bible points this out in 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 “You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.” So, when you are a light, you are literally expressing the word of God.

People see the word of God active through you, so it makes more sense to them, just as a movie Is made from a novel; likewise, your life plays out the word of God. Doing this enables people to understand the Lord God better.

You can’t hide, that is why you can’t put a lamp under a bushel.

Jesus said He is the light of the world. Why did He say that? He said it because He was manifesting God right here on earth. So, we know God better by looking at Jesus because He manifested God. Likewise, we are manifesting Christ Jesus here on earth. It is expected that if people want to know who Christ Jesus is, they look at you.

This is why the scriptures say we should let our light shine before men that they may see your good works, and praise God our Father in heaven (ref. Matthew 5:16). The reason they know it is God the Father to praise is that they are seeing Him being expressed through you, and the scriptures are understood better.

We have Jesus living inside of us, this is why we can express Him through us. Remember, Jesus is the light, and there is only one light, and this one light lives inside of you. This is why we can express Him.

Also, when the scriptures say that we should let our light so shine (ref.: Matthew 5:16), it implies we can control how much we can shine. The control of the light is based on our faith in Him and how much rest and trust we have in Him.

The more you get transformed by the renewing of your mind, the more you release His light in you.

Why not accept Jesus today if you haven’t? Pray out loud, “Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Saviour. I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. By faith in Your Word, I receive salvation now. Thank You for saving me!” Congratulations—you’re born again, and you are now brand new!

                                          

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GOD BLESS YOU.

 

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Unless otherwise stated, the following scriptures are obtained from the New King James Version (NKJV)

Being the Salt of the Earth

There is something about salt you need to understand. Your food has no meaning or attraction in taste until salt comes in. Salt, figuratively speaking, has the power to bring colour into what appears to be black and white.

Everyone outside Christ has no direction or what they are meant to do. When Jesus said we are the salt of the earth, it implies that we are giving people a sense of direction in their lives.

Wherever you are, you are giving people a purpose-filled life, drawing them to Christ Jesus, their first love. Doing this allows them to know why they exist.

Being the salt of the earth allows people to draw closer to Christ.

But when the salt has lost its savour, it implies that you have lost focus. When you who are to draw people closer to Christ by giving their life the true meaning are distracted, you live without value, having no meaning like those you are to save. What then is the essence of your existence? You would be thrown out because there is nothing to gain from you.

But when you live and act as the salt of the earth, you give the people around you and wherever you go a reason to live, and by living, they live the Christ Jesus’ life.

Why not accept Jesus today if you haven’t? Pray out loud, “Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Saviour. I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. By faith in Your Word, I receive salvation now. Thank You for saving me!” Congratulations—you’re born again, and you are now brand new!

                                          

Log on next time.

 

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GOD BLESS YOU.

 

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Unless otherwise stated, the following scriptures are obtained from the New King James Version (NKJV)

The Houses on the Rock and the Sand to the Church

I have written on The House on the Rock and The House on the Sand. I have made reference to them in other write-ups, but I have never looked at them from the angle I’m about to address today. So, stay with me because it is a very serious issue in the body of Christ.

Now, prophecies, casting out demons, and other miraculous signs can be done by any Son or Daughter of God, as long as they call the name of Jesus.

To emphasise a point I have made several times. When Adam fell, he did not lose his ability to create. In other words, humanity never lost the ability to create, they only lost direction and connectivity to The Lord God Almighty because He didn’t reside in them. The nature of man wasn’t the nature of God, and thus they acted in an image trying to find itself.

God came down in the person of Jesus Christ to redeem man and give man the opportunity to connect back to God by having a brand new nature, the nature of God Himself.

Now, Colossians 2:6 points out that since we have received Christ Jesus as Lord, we are to continue in Him. In other words, we are to regulate our lives in union with our Lord Jesus. Emphasising oneness with Christ Jesus. This aspect is where issues in the body of Christ have risen.

You might have heard that Christians are few. I am here to correct that. Christians are not few, it is obedient Christians that are few because many do not continue in Him after receiving Him as their Lord. If you think I’m kidding, allow me to explain further.

Many go out to carry out events like crusades and similar things by themselves. The question here is, who told you to carry out these events? Many do things by their head and not from His leading.

Jesus said He will not leave us as orphans but will send the Spirit of Truth to live with us forever. The essence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to be our helper, our strength, our direction, the one who points us to Jesus always.

When you read the parable of the men who built houses, many times we focus on the Rock and The sand. But have you taken the time to observe that both of them did the same thing? They both built houses! They were not lazy men.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:24, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:” He also said in verse 26 of the same chapter “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:”

Can you see that verse 24 started with the word “Therefore”? To use the word Therefore implies a conclusion of some premises made earlier.

So, what did Jesus say before verse 24?

The answer is in verses 21-23 of Matthew 7, where Jesus says not many who say to Him Lord, Lord, on the last day will enter the kingdom, but only those who do the will of His Father in heaven.

Now, here is my point. The people will cry out that they performed miraculous signs IN HIS NAME. Not in another name, but in the name of Jesus. But Jesus denied them, why?

I love the way the Message Bible gave Jesus a reason for rejecting them. Matthew 7:23 says, “And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.’” MSG

The issue here is that when you become joined with the Lord Jesus, allow Him to lead you. Pride does not only mean being pompous, but choosing to do things by ourselves and not by Him. To feel our way is right. Humility on the other is choosing to follow and go about things in His leading and not our own way.

Jesus demonstrated this in the temptation when the devil asked Him to turn stone into bread. He said man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Meaning He will do nothing unless it is God who asks Him to do it (ref.: Matthew 4:4). He also told the Jews that all they see Him do are that which He sees His Father in heaven do (ref.: John 5:19).

The reason why this is important is because when you choose to do things by yourself, you will be doing things to your own glory. And it will get into your heads.

Walking with the Lord requires a lot of humility, allowing God to take all the credit. This was what those who cried Lord, Lord on the last day didn’t do. The fame got to their heads, and they chose to do things with their effort and wealth.

Results here on earth can be very deceptive because both men built houses, they were hard working. They both faced all the trials and persecution as portrayed as rain, flood, and wind. What made the difference was who sent them—their foundation.

We are stewards, and God has entrusted His kingdom into our hands to manage. This is why we are to sit at His feet to get leading and direction on how He wants His kingdom to be, and not by taking laws into our own hands.

There is this thing the devil does, he is not bothered about the physical growth of the church, but what it does is to make sure you don’t fix your eyes on Jesus. That is what is its concern.

Don’t be afraid; the Lord does not see His children go astray, and He does nothing. His Spirit convicts you, but it is left to you to obey. This is what those on the last day didn’t do. They got carried away by fame and physical endorsements.

The glory must ALWAYS go to the Lord. And this is seen FIRST through your obedience to His leading.

He will never give you a responsibility more than what you can bear. He is always there for you to guide you, correct you and put you on the right path to take. It is left to you to obey and continue IN HIM.

Why not accept Jesus today if you haven’t? Pray out loud, “Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Saviour. I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. By faith in Your Word, I receive salvation now. Thank You for saving me!” Congratulations—you’re born again, and you are now brand new!

                                          

Log on next time.

 

For prayers and comments, send them to the comment section below.

 

GOD BLESS YOU.

 

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Unless otherwise stated, the following scriptures are obtained from the New King James Version (NKJV)

He Left The Ninety-Nine To Get You

The parable of the lost sheep is an interesting parable where Jesus had to give an orientation on who His Father is.

When Adam fell, he did not cease being the son of God because of the way Jesus had portrayed it in the parable. Stay with me. If Adam had ceased being the Son of God, then God would have actually wiped them off completely.

The nature of man after the fall was not the nature of God because mankind had lost its direction; this was what Adam lost when he fell. The connecting thing between Adam and God was missing. But the ability to create still remained. For Adam to function in God’s image and likeness, Adam needed God to be with him and reside in him always for Adam to act as him.

Adam was discovering and stumbling into things. That’s how Adam lived, but he did not cease being the son of God, as Luke clearly spelt out in the Gospel of Luke 3:38, tracing the genealogy of Jesus Christ; Adam was called the son of God.

The way it was stated, the sheep in the parable wandered away, just as Adam wandered away.

Looking at the parable, it is in two ways. It speaks of those who are lost, like Adam or a person without Christ Jesus, and those who are Christians (Sons and Daughters of God) who are lost. However, the parable stresses more those who are lost, like Adam or those who are without Christ Jesus.

Jesus said He came to the lost sheep of Israel. People might have done wrong things; this comes into play when you choose to do things by yourself, without the leading of the Holy Spirit. It is important to note that the only way to be yourself is by being Him (God/Jesus). He is the one that you are to be. The “you” does not exist, it is only Him (being made in His image and likeness). Just as a cub’s fullness is in a Lion, likewise a person’s true fullness is in Christ Jesus.

To miss your direction implies you acted outside who you are, without the leading of the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Christ Jesus.

You should also remember that Jesus said in John 15:16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you...  .” God, in His mercy, came down to save man; this portrays Christ Jesus as the good Shepherd. There could be times in your life when you feel you’ve missed the road. This could play out in the life of a Christian when it comes to money because money can be a form of distraction (write-up for another day), tilting anyone away from the truth (when money isn’t used under His leading, it becomes the leader).

The good news here is that no matter how far the sheep may have wandered, the Shepherd doesn’t just sit down looking, counting his loss, rather, he goes out looking for the lost sheep. This is what Jesus does for us. Maybe, when you come to your senses, you may feel that Jesus may not accept you based on the wrong that you have done. But that’s not the case with Jesus. He loves you so much that His love is greater than whatever wrong you might have done.

When you hear His voice, run towards Him.

Jesus is the head of the church, the good shepherd.

The parable of the lost sheep is pointing to a merciful Father. When you read what the shepherd did when he found the lost sheep, you’ll understand that our Lord Jesus throws a party in heaven whenever a sheep is found. His mercies are new every morning, great is His faithfulness towards us. Always trust Him.

Why not accept Jesus today if you haven’t? Pray out loud, “Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Saviour. I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. By faith in Your Word, I receive salvation now. Thank You for saving me!” Congratulations—you’re born again, and you are now brand new!

                                          

Log on next time.

 

For prayers and comments, send them to the comment section below.

 

GOD BLESS YOU.

 

PLEASE LIKE AND FOLLOW MY BLOG

 

                                                                                                                 

Unless otherwise stated, the following scriptures are obtained from the New King James Version (NKJV)