July 2013 – Page 2 of 2 – Sonshine's Journal

July 10, 2013

The Kingdom Mindset

Long ago I thought I had learned what a mindset is but then again…we all need a refresher course once in a while. So today while gathering my thoughts for Matthew 7 I was struck with this phrase: “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is wise.” It was an aha moment. It is not just being busy about the doing, I must have the mindset to hear and then to apply. I then remembered the words in Revelation these words which are repeated over and over: “blessed are those who hear and obey the things written in it,” So not only will one be wise but also blessed if they hear and then obey/do.

Remember the book “Secret Garden” with its intrigue and wonderful imagery? Matthew 7 is much like a secret garden. Jesus walks us down the paths of life sharing the beauty of one whose mindset is keyed into righteous kingdom living. As Jesus teaches he uses several illustrations which would be familiar sights to the listeners to not only garner their attention but also as a visual reminder when they meet these same examples in their daily life. For example: beams of wood, doors and knocking, gates—both wide and narrow, paths that are smooth and paths that are filled with pebbles, sheep and wolves, healthy vs unhealthy trees, foundations of homes—rocks or sand, rain and wind. The point of his teaching was to show those who wish to follow Him must consider the cost and the path they want to follow. One path leads to destruction, the other to blessing…the “aha moment.” If we hear his words and do them we will be wise as opposed to those who hear but reject. The rejecters are like the fools of Proverbs.

In essence Jesus is giving us these four kingdom principles/paths:

(a) Seeing yourself first before you “open mouth-insert foot” in your criticism of another. Therefore, remove your own speck or beam before you judge another.

(b) Knowing when to share the holy gospel message and when to walk away—there will be dogs and hogs who knowingly choose to trample, bite, devour and those who enjoy wallowing in the mud rather than accept the holy message of redemption. Therefore, be discerning.

( c) Pray with a kingdom focus in mind: asking, seeking, knocking. Answers come to those who are willing step out and begin at the beginning: asking. God is the Father of Lights in whom is no variableness of turning and He gives good gifts to those who ask. Trust Him for this.

(c) Applying the Golden Rule as a basis of life—in other words have the “Law of Kingdom Choices” mentality. Dwell on whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise. [Phil 4:8] Whatever we focus on will be the guiding principle of how we respond to others and they in turn to us.

As Jesus taught this chapter the crowds were rapt with attention and so should I be. My mindset should be focused on His words and His teaching…but often my mind wanders. He is the true Messiah with the words of life and I must make the choice to listen, heed, and obey if I want to be wise and also to blessed. The beginning point for me is the asking, seeking, knocking.

July 8, 2013

Worthless vs Ideal Words [ Matt 12 &Prov 16 ]

I love this picture to the left because it reminds me that even if I am faithless He is faithful.

I don’t know if you can relate but often have I cringed at something I have just said and the verse in Matthew 12 comes back to convict me. It is then that I am reminded that I do need to more carefully choose what I say so that I am honoring God and my fellow man.

Pro 25:11 Like apples of gold in settings of silver, so is a word skillfully spoken.

Proverbs chapter 16 begins with these words: The intentions/plans of the heart belong to man but the answer of the tongue comes from the Lord; but Jesus teaches: Mat 12:36 I tell you that on the day of judgment, people will give an account for every worthless [idle] word they speak. It almost seems that these two sides of the coin teach opposing views. It seems like really we have no choice as to what we speak. But is that true? We know that God does not contradict Himself. So our question is….Why are some words worthless and how do we harmonize these two verses?

When men plan/think/reason using the gift that God has given them and trust Him to guide them then the responses we give will be His for we are His workmanship, created to accomplish good works [Eph 2:10]. If however, we refuse to plan, decline to consider, are unwilling to listen to wise counsel, are unwilling to see ourselves in need of wisdom, and allow pride to govern, then our words are idle or worthless and for these we will held accountable. A biblical truth is that God has graciously given us the ability to think and reason. Therefore, it behooves us to ponder and seek that godly wisdom that is given to men who desire His will and way. In that way we will speak and honor Him with ideal words that bring Him glory.

Father, Today may I be certain and give you praise for You because You care about each word, each direction, each decision that I make. I can know that because you say so: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love. That is why I have continued to be faithful to you. May I seek your will and your way that we bring glory to you alone. May I boast that I know and understand that You, the Lord, act out of faithfulness, fairness, and justice in the earth. [Jer 9]

July 6, 2013

Authentication and Proving Required

So far in the book of Matthew, we have walked through the first three chapters and seen that as a superior researcher and writer, Matthew has given us three areas to prove that Jesus was the Messiah. First was the genealogical record, second his birth, thirdly, the world’s reception, and now in chapter 4 we will see his power over temptation.

Job may have been God’s “s”ervant who proved to be blameless but Jesus is the “S”ervant who not only proved blameless but left us with the truth of how to face the arch enemy of our souls.

The Holy Spirit anointed Jesus and led him into the wilderness. The Israelites were proven to be faithless but Jesus will prove His faithfulness. Sometimes we too are led into the wilderness to be proven. It is in these times of barrenness that we either rely upon God and His trustworthiness or succumb to the enemy’s bait.

We say Satan doesn’t get it, but in reality he does get it. He is persistent and his one aim is to destroy and change the plans of God. Allen Ross wrote: The temptation episode was God’s way of showing that Jesus was the perfect man, that He could resist sin, that he could defeat Satan. He has conquered and therefore can intercede for us. [Heb 4:14-16].

And so the temptations begin with Satan dangling his bait just as he did in the garden, in the wilderness, did with Peter and does with us today. Jesus was discerning and so we should be as well. Hebrews reminds us to be feeding upon the meat of the Word, memorizing it so when he comes calling, disguised as an angel of light or otherwise, we can discern him for what he is: a liar and a thief. We are told by Paul to put on our armor for we will be wrestling not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of darkness.

A truth we can count on: Satan sees only one side of God’s coin, he is not omniscient! Satan saw a garden destroyed but Jesus saw a wilderness–that is you and I, ready to be redeemed. Satan saw an earthly pinnacle but Jesus saw heaven’s portal – I am the Way, the Truth, the Life [ John 14:6]. Satan sought temporary worship of warring conflicting kingdoms but Jesus sought to bring men into God’s eternal kingdom exhibiting peace. Through it all, Jesus proved He was Conqueror and Victor, because He knew the right choice of scripture better than his tempter and He would not be deterred to be removed from God’s eternal plan for mankind. He was steadfast and immoveable [1Cor 15:58].

Upon the completion of the temptation angels came and ministered to Jesus. So when we have found our way of escape from the tempter’s grasp [ICor 10:13], we will be fed the manna of heaven or angel’s food as Irving Jensen called it.

While I or you face these temptations how will we be sustained? By the Word or by the flesh? Do we face the path of least resistance or are we ready with our sword and shield of faith etc. When the storm is passed how do we revel, in God’s glory or our own? Thoughts to consider.

But while we face these proving trials we must ask: What is it that sustains us in these times? When tempted and tried are we joyful and seek wisdom? [James 1]. Can we resist with scripture so the enemy must flee? [James 4:7]. Do we give God the glory when the storm has passed and we see His rainbow calling us to His work?

July 3, 2013

Hail King Jesus…Worship or Ignore…how say you?

The Apostle Matthew introduced us to the genealogical record of our Messiah in chapter 1. At the end of that chapter we know that two times the angel of the Lord came to righteous Joseph to lead and protect the divine conceived Messiah in Mary’s womb. In chapter 2 we see once again his immediate obedience. Joseph is a role model for all of us who seek to be obedient to Messiah.

Matthew wants us to focus in on one thing: the OT prophecies were inspired, true, and fulfilled “right on schedule.” First note the timing—King Herod is the ruler of Palestine from 37BC to when he died 4BC. Also, it was at this time that the census was ordered according to Dr. Luke in chapter 2. Secondly, note the geographical location, Bethlehem of Judea or Judah. Thus Christ, as we noted in chapter 1, had not only the legal right of inheritance to the throne of David but he was born in that province to therefore claim it. Thirdly Matthew as a master researcher listed three sets of people and their reactions.

The Magi. Coming to Jerusalem from the east, which would thus give us the clue as to their ethnicity: Gentiles. Gentiles were “dogs” to the Jews, if we remember from our study of Jewish history. Thus the populace were alarmed.

“King” Herod, thus noted here but after this never noted as “king.” He ruled by fear and brutality. He was a half-Jew, Idumean or Edomite by birth. His ancestry line was from Esau who hated Jacob. Just as Pharaoh sought to eradicate the Jews through infanticide, so did Herod. Our newspapers and blogs are filled with the numbers of abortions. Infanticide has been the enemy’s tool and is even today.

The religious leaders were apathetic even with the scriptures before them. They knew the scriptures to the last detail about the birth of the Christ but beyond this did nothing. Matthew is showing us that to just know the scriptures is not enough, we must act upon them.

What are the lessons Matthew wants us to glean?

God’s ways are not man’s ways. [Is 55:8] He orders and brings about His plan for His glory. Both in 2Kings and Isaiah we read: In ancient times I planned it; and now I am bringing it to pass.
Jesus is the King of the Jews no matter the response made by men. He was so noted by the Magi who worshiped him. He was ironically noted the same by the ones who crucified him and the title over His cross was God’s testimony.
Jesus’ kingdom includes all men regardless of their lineage. Jesus told the disciples to go and make disciples of all nations thus fulfilling the blessing given to Abraham.
Men are held accountable for the knowledge they are given. The Magi had the stars and perhaps the writings of Daniel and pursued it. The religious leaders had the OT with the revelation of prophecy and rejected it. [Job 21:14 21:14 “So they say to God, ‘Turn away from us! We do not want to know your ways.’”
The OT prophets sought to understand and put the puzzle together. In the end they noted: 1Pet They were shown that they were serving not themselves but you… Even though we sometimes find ourselves in the same frame of reference we can be certain of this: 1 Cor 13:12 “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we will see face to face.”

Today the question is before us: how have you responded to the evidence before you? Is Jesus the Messiah and if yes, are you following Him?

July 2, 2013

The Man Matthew

It has been intriguing to study the man called Matthew and to dig beneath the surface. He probably never thought anyone might be so interested but here I am on the quest. Just who was he and why did the Holy Spirit inspire him to write such a lengthy book filled with so many details?

This is what I found out so far: Matthew was not just a tax collector for Rome but he was a tax collector extraordinaire and gained great wealth from this less than desirable occupation it seems. In fact he was so wealthy that Luke tells us he threw a great banquet after deciding to follow Jesus.

But digging further. He knew the who’s who because he was not only innately endowed with observation skills to know who is real and who is a fraud but his skill is shown in his writing. As we wander through this marvelous book we will be given insights that only a man who had been educated, was fluent in two languages (Aramaic and Greek), had mastery of the monetary system of the Roman government, was an observer of men, and lastly one who moved amongst those in power as well as the poor who came by his tax booth in Capernaum could know. Yes, he had compromised his Jewishness by working for the Romans and thus was castigated by the populace that he extorted. But one day the Master happened by his way and called him to leave all and follow Him. From that point on we see the most radical change of all of the apostles, leaving all and willing to face the scorn of the Romans as well as the religious leaders of his time. He was fully committed to the very end. This is the man who will introduce us to the ways of Jewish society and ultimately the Messiah Himself.

He was also a researcher as we see by the first chapter in which he introduces us to the lineage of Jesus. He traces the OT line to the monarchy and exile and back to present time. He is bold in including five women! Women were never included in the lines of descent in any rabbinical genealogical records but Matthew would have none of this exclusion. He noted prostitutes, would be prostitutes, Moabites who were idolators, women who were used for sexual favor that we may see God’s love and tenderness for the most vulnerable. Matthew wanted his audience to know that no matter your history God has a plan for you and He will use you in that plan.

Matthew is a master story teller as we see in just the first chapter. “and this is how it all began” he might say today. Sit with me and I will share with you my journey with the man I call the Messiah, the man who called me from the tax booth to follow Him. What an adventure!

Now I have to ask myself, what gifts has the Lord given to me that He wants me to use to challenge others to follow Him? Am I using them as Matthew used his ? How about you?