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Today is Thursday October 07, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Matthew, chapters 18-20. If you would like to read today's chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this link onto your browser: www.imfollowingjesus.com/bible-october-8 In today's Bible reading we will read about, conversion, entering in the kingdom of heaven, humility, forgiveness, lost sheep, and the parable of the householder (employer).

Today's Message: Do Not Be Offended
The word offend means to hurt, annoy, anger, or cause resentful displeasure in a person, since we all have this human flesh among us we all have been or have offended someone over the years. You know, it does not matter how much you try to please people, you can not please everyone, therefore, it is important that you remain positive and keep doing what you are doing. The Bible says, “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments.” - Psalm 119:165,166.

When we follow our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ the things that use to offend us shall come to pass and we learn that we are not as easily offended. The truth is this, people get offended when they are living in sin, another meaning for the word offend is to cause to fall into sinful ways. Jesus stresses the importance of humbling ourselves and removing the offensives in our lives, “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” -Matthew 18:3-6.

Little children represent innocence and dependance, when we are little children we are unaware of sin, we still have a sin nature, but we are ignorant to the corruptible things that cause us to sin or offend immorally, therefore, we are dependent upon our parents. God is our Father, therefore, we are to humble ourselves as little children, become dependent upon Him to remove the offenses, and receive Christ as our Savior. “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.” - Colossians 3:12,13.

Even if we are saved that does not mean that we are never going to sin again, there are many ways that we sin and are unaware that it is sin, things such as being slothful, overeating, gossiping, and even doubting God are sin as well. Sin is sin in the eyes of God and causes serious consequences, for instance, gossip can seriously wreck a persons life, therefore, Jesus warns against offending people. “Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!...Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.”- Matthew 18:7,11.

Christ came into the world to save lost souls, and He will stop anyone who interferes with those who are trying to find Him. Considering the cunning and malice of Satan and the weakness and depravity of the heart, we are going to offend from time to time. God allows Satan to send temptations our way in order to teach us and show us that we need to be dependent upon Him in every area of our lives. There will be temptations, persecutors, and even bad examples constantly trying to hinder our relationship with God, but we must on constant guard as well. “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” - Ephesians 6:11,12.

Christ will save anyone who comes to Him, of course, not everyone will come to Him, but all are encouraged. Jesus explained why some people will not enter God's kingdom, even if they are serving God. “And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments....The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”-Matthew 18:16-18,20-26.

God has no problem giving His children money, He knows it is a necessity, however, He also knows that the more we have the less we rely on Him. A person that is born into money or has gotten it outside of God's will rarely seeks help from God, oh, they may go to church, give tithes, and even volunteer once in a while, but they rely on the material things they have gotten instead of God. I have this friend at church who grew up in church all her life, she said that sometimes it is hard for her to understand the blessings that God gives her because she never had to experience life without God in it. Well, the same thing rings true for those who have everything without God in their lives. The only way we are going to see God's blessings is first, by knowing and accepting Christ into our lives and second, learning to acknowledge and depend on Him in every area of our lives, even when things seem to be going well. “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;” - I Timothy 6:17.

Many people rely on works to get them to heaven and sadly they are being taught that they can lose their salvation unless they pay a certain amount of money or live a certain way. This is false, there is only one way to heaven and salvation and that is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only way to heaven and it is available to all whether they have been born as a Christian of just became one a second before they died. To explain this Jesus gives a parable about an employer of his vineyard, “And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?...But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee....So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. ” -Matthew 20:2-6,13-14,16.

Every time the man came out to see how his employees were doing he saw more people looking for work, the same agreement applied to them, therefore, all would receive a penny a day regardless of how long or how much they worked. The moral of the story is this, some people will receive Christ and serve Him early in their lives, some will later, and some will just receive Him and that is all they will do, but every person who calls on Jesus to save them, regardless of whether or not they serve Him receives the same gift and opportunity of eternal life as the rest of us. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation....For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” - Romans 10:9,10,13. Praise God!

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and have a great weekend.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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