My son, pay attention to my words; listen closely to my sayings. Don’t lose sight of them; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and health to one’s whole body. (Proverbs 4:20-22 — Holman Christian Standard Bible)
These wise words of advice come from Solomon, the king that God made wiser than any living person of the time. He was teaching young men how to have an abundant and happy life — but it serves just as well for the rest of us. His prescription was this: pay attention to what God says, listen closely to Him, don't let His words out of your sight, guard them in the core of your being. The results? …life and health.
One title of the Lord Jesus is “Word of God” (John 1:1-3). This means that Jesus is the revelation of God. If you want to know God, look at Jesus. If you want to know how to live, look at Jesus' life. If you want to know the truth, Jesus is the embodiment of all truth. The advice in the book of Proverbs was given many years before Jesus came into the world, but now that we know Jesus, we could change this passage to say, “Pay attention to Jesus, listen closely to His sayings, follow Him if you want life and health.” This is why He came to earth. If we pay attention to His words, they will give us success. In times of danger and trouble we will stand if our lives are built on the rock of hearing and obeying Jesus’ words.
Never have these words been more needed than today. We’re surrounded by all sorts of words: cable TV, internet, Facebook, Twitter, the radio, cell phones, magazines, movies. If we’re not careful, we are never left alone with our thoughts… in silence. In fact, silence terrifies some people. We have more information at our fingertips than any people that have ever lived, and yet, our lives are not better. There is more crime, more abuse, more emptiness, more depression… We may live longer, but our lives are not happier. What we need is to take King Solomon’s advice seriously and place church, the Bible, prayer, and times of silent meditation before parties, TV, internet and Facebook. If we do there is no way that our lives will not improve.
He entered Jericho and was passing through. There was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was not able because of the crowd, since he was a short man. So running ahead, he climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus, since He was about to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today I must stay at your house.” So he quickly came down and welcomed Him joyfully. All who saw it began to complain, “He’s gone to lodge with a sinful man!” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord! And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much!” “Today salvation has come to this house,” Jesus told him, “because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:1-10 — Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Tax collectors were Jews that chose to work for the Roman occupiers of Israel and were well known for getting rich by cruelly overcharging people on their taxes. Those who chose this line of work knew beforehand that they would be banned from entering the Temple in Jerusalem and disowned by their families, and chose to do it anyway. They were the type of people that valued money over God, salvation, and family. They would even hire people to go to the market and do their shopping for them because it was dangerous for them to be seen in public. Not only was Zacchaeus this type of man, he was a chief tax collector and had become rich from it. Today we might refer to his type as a mafia boss.
Do you want to know what repentance looks like? Look at Zacchaeus; it’s one of the most power forces in life. Though he was traitorous, sinful, hated, and godless, and the crowd marveled at how Jesus could even enter the house of such a man, repentance turned his life around in less than a day. When he stood up and announced publicly that he would give away half of his possessions to the poor, and repay anyone he had cheated four times the amount, that was true repentance. Not just words, not promises, but action. At that instant he proved to the Lord Jesus that money was no longer his treasured possession, now it was God. He was prepared to lose all his money, but was not prepared to lose Jesus that day. Imagine the peace and joy that Zacchaeus felt, and imagine what a refreshing night of sleep he must have had.
The meaning of repentance is the same for everyone, but what we have to repent of is different. Some people are like Zacchaeus; they have to give back money they have stolen. Others have to forgive people that have wronged them. Many have to break bad habits with God's help. Those who are doing what makes God unhappy need to turn their backs on those things. Like a cancerous tumor that has to be cut out of a patient’s body before it kills him, sin has to be cut out of our souls before it causes us to be lost forever. Repentance does not call you simply to feel sorry for what you’ve done, it drives you to remove the offending attitude or behavior and start doing the opposite. Repentance understands that what God has for us is worth more than all the world.
Don't let any sin or weakness block you one more day from Jesus and salvation. It isn't worth it! What Jesus has for us is of infinite value. Zacchaeus was wise enough to recognize this.
For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy, because I have promised you in marriage to one husband — to present a pure virgin to Christ. But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds may be seduced from a complete and pure devotion to Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:2,3 — Holman Christian Standard Bible)
If you are a Christian, you are like a young woman engaged to be married. Your future husband is the Lord Jesus, and when He comes again the great marriage banquet will take place. Several Bible passages speak of this. We are to think of ourselves as pure and holy virgins that belong only to Jesus. Just as a young woman who is engaged to a fine young man keeps herself for him alone, we should keep ourselves for Jesus alone.
Paul expresses a fear that the Corinthian church will allow themselves to be deceived, and has a godly jealousy for this church that he worked so hard for. Though we are saved and seem to have a strong faith, this passages teaches us that it is possible to be deceived and fall away. Like Eve was deceived by the serpent, by the attractiveness of the fruit, the lure of being like God, and the lie that God was being unfair, we are also being attacked in very much the same way. If we do not “watch and pray” like Jesus said to His disciples in the garden, we are taking huge risks.
How can a person guarantee that he will remain strong in faith? Just like our physical bodies show signs of hunger — our stomach growls, we feel weak, we start to notice the smell of certain foods, we get a headache — our spirit also shows signs of hunger. The problem is that most people are completely in the dark concerning any signs of spiritual weakness and malnourishment. In general, humans are pros at noticing physical hunger and amateurs and noticing spiritual hunger. Things like fear, depression, anxiety, giving in to temptation, a lack of desire for God and church, addictions, anger, pride, selfishness, and similar things are signs that we are spiritually malnourished and are in need of serious help. Whenever we see these attitudes raising their heads, we need to completely destroy them.
Make sure you are a pure virgin saving yourself for the Lord Jesus Christ. Be diligent in eradicating anything that would interfere with your purity and devotion, or that would cause you to be attracted by anything or anyone else.
A woman suffering from bleeding for 12 years had endured much under many doctors. She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse. Having heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His robe. For she said, “If I can just touch His robes, I’ll be made well!” Instantly her flow of blood ceased, and she sensed in her body that she was cured of her affliction. At once Jesus realized in Himself that power had gone out from Him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My robes?” His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing against You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” So He was looking around to see who had done this. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came with fear and trembling, fell down before Him, and told Him the whole truth. “Daughter,” He said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be free from your affliction.” (Mark 5:24-34 — Holman Christian Standard Bible)
According to the Law of Moses this woman had been unclean for 12 years because of her bleeding. Anyone she touched would be unclean for 1 day, and so she must have lived her life trying to stay out of everybody’s way. She must have felt that her life had been put on pause — even doctors offered no help. But when Jesus came to town it’s as if she said, “Enough! I’ve heard stories of people being healed when they touched Jesus’ robes, so that’s what I’m going to do, even though I have to break the Law of Moses to do it.” And so she pushed through a large crowd of people to get to Jesus, making hundreds of people “unclean” along the way, and touched what Luke and Matthew explain were the tassels on His robes.
Did Jesus give her a tongue lashing for breaking the Law? No, He called her “daughter” — the only time that was done in the Bible. Her revolt for her chronic disease, her determination to be healed, and her trust in Him, that He would accept a woman like her, pleased Jesus. He saw sincerity in her and considered her a part of His family.
When she came from behind Jesus and touched His robes she was instantly healed. “At once” Jesus realized that power had left His body, turned around and started asking who had touched Him. It was a ridiculous question for His disciples — lots of people were touching Him, He was the center of attention in the middle of a large crowd. The difference was, she touched Him believing that when she did she would be healed, and even before Jesus could say “be healed” or turn around and see who it was, she was healed. Her healing was automatic. She had fulfilled all the requirements for healing and so the power of God simply flowed out of Jesus’ body and into hers. The Law of Moses considered her unclean, but her faith trumped the Law and made her acceptable in God’s sight. This is like no other healing in the Bible that we know of. This woman who had been looked down on for 12 long years, who must have been judged to be a sinner suffering the punishment of God, was one of only 2 people in that large crowd whose story is told and who was changed by the power of God.
She touched Jesus in a way that no one else did. My question is, did God decide who would be healed that day or did she?
I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from Him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to change the good news about the Messiah. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than what we have preached to you, a curse be on him! As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him. (Galatians 1:6-9 — Holman Christian Standard Bible)
The book of Galatians is one of the earliest New Testament books to be written — close to fifteen years after Jesus’ death and resurrection — and was written because the church was already under attack from false teachings, as Paul describes it, “a different gospel”. You would have thought that so soon after Jesus’ life on earth that people would have been wiser and more spiritual; there were still many people walking around who had seen and known Jesus firsthand. But human nature, when it has not been transformed by God’s Spirit, has a nasty habit of drifting away from the truth.
In response Paul wrote the book of Galatians, the most passionate and straightforward description of the gospel that we can find in the Bible. We are saved through faith in the Lord Jesus, period, was Paul’s repeated message. We cannot earn salvation with good works or rituals. False teachers had tried to convince the Galatians that they were still bound to the Old Testament Jewish law, most specifically circumcision, and that no one could be saved without those outward acts and rituals. Paul states in no uncertain terms that this “new” gospel is no gospel at all, and that anyone teaching a different gospel — man or angel — would be cursed.
Attitudes that please God are always balanced. Good works and rituals cannot save us, but that does not mean that we should swing to the opposite extreme of doing whatever we want because faith alone will save. The extreme of works alone is wrong, but so is faith based on words alone. When we have faith in the Lord Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to guide and teach us, works are a natural result — but those works could never save us. No one could ever do enough works to wipe away the sins and shortcomings of their life.
We are saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ — a faith that is lived out every single day.
For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed. (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 — New American Standard Bible)
Jesus the Son of God was persecuted while He was on the earth. Even though He was perfect and without sin, many people hated Him. If we truly serve Jesus, we will also experience trouble and persecution. But this passage says that God is just, and that the day is coming when the enemies of God's people will be punished. Jesus Christ is coming again, but His second coming will be with a great display of power. He will come to punish those who have not honored and obeyed God. At the same time He will rescue His people and reward them.
Those who care nothing for God and who do not want to be close to Him or to Jesus, will receive what they want. They will be banished forever from God's presence and from His blessings of life and happiness. This is not because God does not want them to be saved, nor is it because their salvation has not been prepared — Jesus died for all men and God wants everybody to be saved. Every person who goes to hell will go there because of wrong choices he has made. The most terrible sin people can commit is to reject the Savior who gave His life for them!
But at the time of Jesus' glorious coming, His people will enter into His presence to live forever. There will be no more persecution of God's people. They will no longer be the rejected and despised people of the earth. Instead they will rule and reign with Jesus Christ. Be sure that you are one of His holy people who will rejoice at His coming.
I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. Now this is the confidence we have before Him: Whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked Him for. (1 John 5:13-15 — Holman Christian Standard Bible)
These passage is about “knowing” — knowing you have eternal life, knowing God hears your prayers, knowing that you have what you have asked for. If you ask anything according to His will, God will grant that request. Some people get confused about what “the will of God” is, but it’s not that difficult. In most cases knowing the will of God is easy — especially when we know a little about the Bible and what it promises us.
For example, we know it is God's will for the unemployed to get a job, for the sick to get well, for the depressed to have joy and happiness, for the weak to be strong, for those in debt to pay off their bills, and for the lonely to get married. God is our Father and we are His children, and like any good father, He likes to give good things to His children. If you’re able to receive something that is really good for you, God is pleased. It’s not that difficult to know the will of God. That’s why we have the Bible, and why He describes Himself as Father, Shepherd, Healer, Savior, and Deliverer. Each of these titles communicate something about His will for our lives.
Now it’s up to you to approach Him in a confident, bold manner. Ask for what you need, for what your family needs, for what the church needs, and have unlimited confidence in a God who hears, cares and answers! If you continue to ask with faith and persistence — not once, but as many times as it takes — you will receive God's answer. Thousands, maybe even millions, of God's people have received answers to prayer, and you will also. God is doing great miracles all over the world right now because Christians are praying!
