(this is Jesus talking here...)
Luke 11
9 “And so I tell you,
keep on asking,
and you will receive what you ask for.
Keep on seeking,
and you will find.
Keep on knocking,
and the door will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks,
receives.
Everyone who seeks,
finds.
And to everyone who knocks,
the door will be opened.
Colossians 2
6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord,
you must continue to follow him.
7 Let your roots grow down into him,
and let your lives be built on him.
Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught,
and you will overflow with thankfulness.
8 Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. 9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
11 When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.
13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
16 So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. 17 For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. 18 Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, 19 and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.
20 You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, 21 “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? 22 Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. 23 These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.
Luke 6
27 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say,
love your enemies!
Do good to those who hate you.
28 Bless those who curse you.
Pray for those who hurt you.
29 If someone slaps you on one cheek,
offer the other cheek also.
If someone demands your coat,
offer your shirt also.
30 Give to anyone who asks;
and when things are taken away from you,
don’t try to get them back.
31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you.
32 “If you love only those who love you,
why should you get credit for that?
Even sinners love those who love them!
33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you,
why should you get credit?
Even sinners do that much!
34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you,
why should you get credit?
Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.
35 “Love your enemies!
Do good to them.
Lend to them without expecting to be repaid.
Then your reward from heaven will be very great,
and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High,
for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.
36 You must be compassionate,
just as your Father is compassionate.
Luke 5
27 Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. 28 So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.
29 Later, Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them. 30 But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?”
31 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. 32 I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”
In other accounts of Jesus calling Matthew, the people at the banquet are referred to as tax collectors & "other notorious sinners".
Most of the sermons I've heard on this text, preachers zero in on what Jesus said in verses 31 & 32.
But I've always thought about this - I've mentioned this countless times in this blog...
Jesus had a way about Himself that drew "notorious sinner" - they WANTED to be around Him, & He wanted to be around them. Most Jews believed that hanging with notorious sinners defiled them & made them unclean. Jesus clearly communicated something very different.
Which begs the question - is there so much of Jesus' Spirit in those of us that claim to follow Jesus that the notorious sinners of our day WANT to hang with us?
AND... are we becoming so much like Jesus as His followers that we WANT to hang with notorious sinners?
Yes, those are the 2 REAL questions we must answer, & I believe we all know the true answer to those question in regards to each of us...
Philippians 3
20 But we are citizens of heaven,
where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.
And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.
21 He will take our weak mortal bodies
and change them into glorious bodies
like his own,
using the same power with which he will bring under his control
everything,
everywhere.
Philippians 2
3 Don’t be selfish;
don’t try to impress others.
Be humble,
thinking of others as better than yourselves.
4 Don’t look out only for your own interests,
but take an interest in others, too.
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Psalm 27
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
so why should I tremble?
2 When evil people come to devour me,
when my enemies and foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
3 Though a mighty army surrounds me,
my heart will not be afraid.
Even if I am attacked,
I will remain confident.
4 The one thing I ask of the Lord—
the thing I seek most—
is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
delighting in the Lord’s perfections
and meditating in his Temple.
5 For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
he will hide me in his sanctuary.
He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
6 Then I will hold my head high
above my enemies who surround me.
At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
singing and praising the Lord with music.
7 Hear me as I pray, O Lord.
Be merciful and answer me!
8 My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”
9 Do not turn your back on me.
Do not reject your servant in anger.
You have always been my helper.
Don’t leave me now; don’t abandon me,
O God of my salvation!
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord will hold me close.
11 Teach me how to live, O Lord.
Lead me along the right path,
for my enemies are waiting for me.
12 Do not let me fall into their hands.
For they accuse me of things I’ve never done;
with every breath they threaten me with violence.
13 Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness
while I am here in the land of the living.
14 Wait patiently for the Lord.
Be brave and courageous.
Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.
Mark 12
28 One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate.
He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked,
“Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 Jesus replied,
“The most important commandment is this:
‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord.
30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart,
all your soul,
all your mind,
and all your strength.’
31 The second is equally important:
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
No other commandment is greater than these.”
32 The teacher of religious law replied,
“Well said, Teacher.
You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God
and no other.
33 And I know it is important to love him with all my heart
and all my understanding
and all my strength,
and to love my neighbor as myself.
This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”
Boil down what Jesus said?
Love God, love others.
LGLO
(I think that would make a good tat...)
Ephesians 5
1 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do,
because you are his dear children.
2 Live a life filled with love,
following the example of Christ.
He loved us
and offered himself as a sacrifice for us,
a pleasing aroma to God.
3 Let there be no sexual immorality,
impurity,
or greed among you.
Such sins have no place among God’s people.
4 Obscene stories,
foolish talk,
and coarse jokes:
these are not for you.
Instead,
let there be thankfulness to God.
5 You can be sure that no immoral,
impure,
or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God.
For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.
6 Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins,
for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him.
7 Don’t participate in the things these people do.
8 For once you were full of darkness,
but now you have light from the Lord.
So live as people of light!
9 For this light within you produces only what is good
and right
and true.
Ephesians 4
1 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord,
beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling,
for you have been called by God.
2 Always be humble and gentle.
Be patient with each other,
making allowance for each other’s faults
because of your love.
3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit,
binding yourselves together with peace.
4 For there is one body
and one Spirit,
just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.
5 There is one Lord,
one faith,
one baptism,
6 one God and Father of all,
who is over all,
in all,
and living through all.
1 The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3 He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
4 Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.
5 You prepare a feast for me
in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
forever.
Mark 8
34 Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, (Jesus) said,
“If any of you wants to be my follower,
you must give up your selfish ambition,
take up your cross,
and follow me.
35 If you try to hang on to your life,
you will lose it.
But if you give up your life for my sake
and for the sake of the Good News,
you will save it.
36 And what do you benefit
if you gain the whole world
but lose your own soul?
37 Is anything worth more than your soul?
38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message
in these adulterous and sinful days,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person
when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Ephesians 1
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms
because we are united with Christ.
4 Even before he made the world,
God loved us
and chose us in Christ
to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family
by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.
This is what he wanted to do,
and it gave him great pleasure.
6 So we praise God
for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.
7 He is so rich in kindness and grace
that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son
and forgave our sins.
8 He has showered his kindness on us,
along with all wisdom and understanding.
9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan.
10 And this is the plan:
At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ;
everything in heaven and on earth.
11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ,
we have received an inheritance from God,
for he chose us in advance,
and he makes everything work out according to his plan.
12 God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ
would bring praise and glory to God.
13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth,
the Good News that God saves you.
And when you believed in Christ,
he identified you as his own
by giving you the Holy Spirit,
whom he promised long ago.
14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised
and that he has purchased us to be his own people.
He did this so we would praise and glorify him.
Galatians 6
1 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin,
you who are godly should
gently and humbly
help that person back onto the right path.
And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.
2 Share each other’s burdens,
and in this way obey the law of Christ.
3 If you think you are too important to help someone,
you are only fooling yourself.
You are not that important.
4 Pay careful attention to your own work,
for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done,
and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.
5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.
6 Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers,
sharing all good things with them.
7 Don’t be misled:
you cannot mock the justice of God.
You will always harvest what you plant.
8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature
will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature.
But those who live to please the Spirit
will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.
9 So don't get tired of doing what is good.
Don't get discouraged & give up,
for we will reap a harvest of blessing
at the appropriate time.
10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity,
we should do good to everyone;
especially to those in the family of faith.
Galatians 5
22 the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives:
love,
joy,
peace,
patience,
kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
23 gentleness,
and self-control.
There is no law against these things!
Galatians 4
4 But when the right time came,
God sent his Son,
born of a woman,
subject to the law.
5 God sent him to buy freedom for us
who were slaves to the law,
so that he could adopt us as his very own children.
6 And because we are his children,
God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
prompting us to call out,
“Abba, Father.”
7 Now you are no longer a slave
but God’s own child.
And since you are his child,
God has made you his heir.
