Jesus’ Last Text

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Jesus’ Last Text

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Because I know most of you are human and as such tend to like things simple, I decided to help you to follow up on my last blog.

I went through the book of Matthew and listed all the instances of Jesus’ healing or talking about healing.

Before starting to read these, I want you to read what Jesus said to His disciples on His last evening that He was alive before His crucifixion in John 14:6-14.  This is His last “sermon”.  Think of it as His response to the scenario I laid out a few blogs ago.

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. ⁷If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. ⁸Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. ⁹Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? ¹⁰Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. ¹¹Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

¹²Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. ¹³And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.  

Keeping these instructions in mind, read the following:

Matthew 8:2-3

 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. ³And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Matthew 8: 5-13

 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, ⁶And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. ⁷And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. ⁸The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. ⁹For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. ¹⁰When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. ¹¹And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. ¹²But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ¹³And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

Matthew 8: 14-17

 And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever. ¹⁵And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. ¹⁶When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: ¹⁷That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.

Matthew 8:28-33 

 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. ²⁹And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? ³⁰And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. ³¹So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. ³²And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. ³³And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.

Matthew 9: 2-8

 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. ³And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. ⁴And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? ⁵For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? ⁶But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. ⁷And he arose, and departed to his house. ⁸But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.

Matthew 9:18-25 

While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. ¹⁹And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples. ²⁰And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: ²¹For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. ²²But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. ²³And when Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, ²⁴He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. ²⁵But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.

Matthew 9:27-35 

And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us. ²⁸And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. ²⁹Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. ³⁰And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it. ³¹But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country. ³²As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil. ³³And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel. ³⁴But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.

³⁵And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

Mathew 10:7-8

 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. ⁸Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Mathew 11:5-6

 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. ⁶And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

Matthew 12:10-13 

And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. ¹¹And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? ¹²How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. ¹³Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.

Matthew 12:14-15 

 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. ¹⁵But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;

Matthew 12:22   

Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

Matthew 14:14  And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

Matthew 15:21-28  

 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. ²²And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. ²³But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. ²⁴But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ²⁵Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. ²⁶But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. ²⁷And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. ²⁸Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Matthew 15:30       And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them.

Mathew 19:2   

 And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there.

Matthew 20:29-34 

And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him. ³⁰And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. ³¹And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. ³²And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? ³³They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. ³⁴So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.

Matthew 21:14      

And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.

ARE YOU GETTING TO KNOW WHAT YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER LOOKS LIKE?

HINT:  He looks like Jesus; and Jesus looks like His Father.

AND, 

We are to be CHRIST-LIKE.  We are supposed to act-like, speak-like, walk-like, and pray-like Jesus.  IT IS NOT THAT HARD TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOUR FATHER'S WILL IS, IF YOU KNOW HIM

HOGWASH!!

HOGWASH!!

How fast can you type?  The reason I ask is because you will have only five minutes in the scenario we have been talking about in the last two blogs.  I am a hunt and peck typer.  In high school I took typing class on the advice of my sister, Sharon.  She said I would have to be able to type for college.  Well I took it and got a “C”.  It was the only “C’ that I received in high school. In fact I think it is the only “C” on any of my transcripts.  Turns out, I did not need it anyway for college.  I started dating my wife, Linda, the first semester in college.  She was and is a super typer, plus the fringe benefits made me forget those “C’s”. 

However, in my scenario, she won’t be able to help so I have to choose my words carefully since I only have five minutes.  So I am first going to tell you what I don’t plan on saying in my “last digital message".  I do not want to waste precious time.  I want everyone on my list to join me in heaven.  I want them to get to know my heavenly Father.  I want everything that I say to help achieve these results.  Here goes my e-mail.

I will be dead in five minutes so this is my last message.  I want to leave each of you a copy of my personal Bible, but I can’t but I can ask each of you to get a Bible and start reading it by reading the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John plus Acts.  Keep reading these over and over again with a complete open mind, forgetting what you have been told in church or Sunday school.  Find who Jesus was and what He spent His time on earth doing.  Every time you read about a miracle, note in the margin what type miracle it was.  What was His response to everyone who came to Him with a need?  What was the disciple’s response to similar situations?  What did they do?  Who was Jesus taking directions from and who were the disciples taking directions from?

TIMES UP, Stop typing.  Wait! I can’t type.  I’m dead!

Now back to reality.  Since I was still alive, I figured I’d do a spell check so this blog would look better but my spelling errors could have stayed and I hope all my friends and family would forgive me if I did not do one since I had only five minutes.

You will note that there were many things I did not say.  I did not say go to church.  Going to church does not make you a Christian, anymore than parking in a garage makes you a car.  I have a hunch that there will many church goers in hell.  Jesus even said so much:

Matthew 7: 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? ²³And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Now, I would hope that all would find a church where they would be fed the pure unadulterated Word of God.  They are hard to find.  Even most Bible believing churches, self-proclaimed I must say, do not teach the unadulterated Word.  Most are filtered through a denominational or non-denomination filter.  Much of what is taught is tradition and most don’t even realize it.  Why do I say this?

If today’s churches were preaching the gospel of the 12 in Matthew 10:7-8:

And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. ⁸Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

and the 70 in Luke 10:8-9:

⁸And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: ⁹And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

We would see the results that they saw in Luke 10:17-20:

¹⁷And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. ¹⁸And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. ¹⁹Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. ²⁰Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

Now some of you are coming up with a multitude of reasons to refute what I just said but my reply is: “HOGWASH!!”

What’cha going to do?

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What’cha going to do?

In my last blog, I presented the following situation:

       What if you were told, with 100 percent certainty, that you had 5 minutes to live?  AND, in that 5 minutes you could send one email, text, facebook entry, or other digital message.  Further you could not use the word “love”.  Additionally, you are allowed to pass on only one earthly possession to your loved ones, regardless of any existing will or other legal document. 

I want to discuss my response and consider the second part of this scenario first, the “one earthly possession”.  I would want it to be something that would be useful and something to remind them of me, to say who I was.  I have written many things on my computer, that speak to what makes me tick, but it is far from exhaustive or comprehensive.  I have never kept a daily journal or diary, and, it is a little late to start now.  I want it to be something to say the things that I wished I had said, but for some reason did not, something that would express my love without using the word love, something that would speak to family and loved ones, even though  not all could inherit this one thing.

It is said that the only thing that you can take with you after you die is your family and loved ones.  You can take them to heaven.  You can’t load them up and take them with you; but, they can catch up with you when they die.  If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior; and they have also, you will meet again in heaven.  If neither you, or your loved ones have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, you will be together in hell; but I assure you, there will be no party.

Luke 16:20-26

And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores and it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said , Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted , and thou art tormented and beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

With this in mind, I do have something that I have had for the last 40+ years.  It is my old beat up Bible.  It is falling apart.  The cover has been off for the last 20+ years.  The binding is coming apart.  The map section is held on by a few strings.  The leather holder that it has been in is starting to come apart at the seams.  It's marked up with all kinds of notes, making it a personal reference Bible.  Some notes, I have trouble reading because my penmanship is not great.  Some years I made more notes than other years.  They were written over a period on 40+ years, written in 8+ states, in probably 12+ local churches, representing, 6+ denominations or non-denominations.  It is a King James Schofield Study Bible that I bought in Cape May , New Jersey, based on the recommendation of the pastor of an American Baptist Church in Cape May Court House (an actual town, not a building).  I think his last name was Jones.  He was the first pastor to challenge my belief system.  Before that I had based my beliefs on what my church and pastors had told me.  I was raised in a Christian family, went to church twice every Sunday. Went to Sunday school or Catechism class every week.  Went to a Christian school from kindergarten thru college.  Joined the church when everybody else in my catechism class did, sometime in high school, probably early summer between 1962-65. 

I value that time and thank the Lord for that time, it kept me out of trouble; but I don’t really know if I was saved.  I don’t blame my parents, my Sunday school teachers, my church, my pastors, or my school teachers.  It was my fault.  I never owned my beliefs.  I would defend them, I knew them but they were not part of my DNA.  They were spelled out by what I had been taught by my church; but not owned. 

I could have qualified as an amateur theologian, probably more qualified than many of today’s so called liberal theologians.  It has been said that Satan is probably the greatest theologian, but he still burns in hell eternally. 

I want my family and loved ones to join me in heaven and my old beat up Bible is the best thing I can leave behind to insure this.

What If?

What If?

What if you were told, with 100 percent certainty, that you had 5 minutes to live?  AND, in that 5 minutes your could send one email, text, facebook entry, or other digital message.  Further you could not use the word “love”.  Additionally, you are allowed to pass on only one earthly possession to your loved ones, regardless of any existing will or other legal document.  What would you say and what would you leave?

America’s Got Talent?

American Idol?

Susan Boyle?

Scott McCreery?

Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts?

Most everyone reading this, has seen the first two TV shows and most know the two talent show contestants; but, how many remember the last radio and TV show from the 40 - 50’s, the original talent show.  Contestants included: Pat Boone, The Chordettes, The McGuire Sisters, Tony Bennett, The Blackwood Brothers, Lenny Bruce, Roy Clark, Rosemary Clooney, Ken Berry, Florian ZaBach, Wally Cox, Vic Damone, The Diamonds, Eddie Fisher, Connie Francis, Don Knotts, Steve Lawrence, and Patsy Cline.  Two who auditioned; but, were not chosen were, Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley.  Well, no one’s perfect.

When I say “talent”, most readers do not think of the original talent scout in Matthew 5:

“A man going off on an extended trip, called his servants together and delegated responsibilities.

¹⁵To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. ¹⁶Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master’s investment. ¹⁷The second did the same. ¹⁸But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master’s money.

¹⁹“After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them.

²⁰The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. ²¹His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’

²²“The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master’s investment.

²³His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’

²⁴“The servant given one thousand said, ‘Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error.

²⁵I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.’

²⁶“The master was furious. ‘That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least?

²⁷The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.

^28- “‘Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this “play-it-safe” who won’t go out on a limb.

³⁰Throw him out into utter darkness.’ ”  The Message

Is this a story about “capitalism”? 

Is this a story about material things?

Is this a story about “abilities”?

It may be any or all of these; but I don’t think that it is just that.  I think it is much, much more.  I think it is about what God has given to His body, the church.  I think it is about what our work is.

“I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”  Matt. 16: 18 -19

“And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.”  Matt. 10:1

“And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, ¹⁵And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils”  Mark 3:14

“And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits.” Mark 6:7

^“15Then he said, “Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God’s good news to one and all. ¹⁶Whoever believes and is baptized is saved; whoever refuses to believe is damned.

¹⁷“These are some of the signs that will accompany believers: They will throw out demons in my name, they will speak in new tongues,

¹⁸they will take snakes in their hands, they will drink poison and not be hurt, they will lay hands on the sick and make them well.” The Message, Mark 16:14

When is the last time you “took a chance”, laid it all on the line; or, are we like the servant who buried his talent: And get rid of this “play-it-safe” who won’t go out on a limb.  Throw him out into utter darkness.’ ”  The Message, Matt. 5:29

Has God taken away His power from the church in America because it has buried it, denied it’s existence through “dis-use”?  Even our physical bodies atrophy when we become “couch potatoes”, how much more is this true of what God has given us to use for His glory?