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IF WE HAVE OUR THOUGHTS ON HIM, IT IS HARD TO HAVE NEGATIVE THOUGHTS. IT IS CALLED RENEWING OF OUR MINDS. ROMANS 12:1-2 SAYS "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
Jesus had just spoken about relationships before He gave this parable of delivering ourselves from the judge. The warning is clear that we should do everything within our power to avoid strife (Rom. 12:18). However, the consequences of failing to settle the differences are more than just physical prison or punishment.
Strife can produce spiritual and emotional prisons. James 3:16 says, "where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work." Depressions, fears, loneliness, bitterness, sicknesses, financial problems, and many other things can become prisons from which we will not be delivered...
I HAVE BEEN ASKED THE QUESTION "CAN YOU LOSE YOUR SALVATION?" MANY TIMES BUT THE BETTER QUESTION IS "ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE BORN AGAIN?" IF YOU ARE NOT SURE, WELL, I WILL JUST SAY, YOU HAD BETTER BE. IF YOU ARE REALLY SURE YOU ARE BORN AGAIN, THEN THE QUESTION "CAN YOU LOSE YOUR SALVATION?" IS A GOOD QUESTION THAT EVERYONE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW FOR SURE. IT MIGHT BE COMFORTING TO YOU TO KNOW THAT JESUS IS SURE. I HAVE HEARD THE OLD PHRASE "ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED" AND FOR THE MOST PART THAT IS TRUE. I BELIEVE THE ONLY WAY YOU COULD LOSE YOUR SALVATION IS TO OPENLY AND SINCERELY REJECT JESUS AS YOUR SAVIOR. I DON'T KNOW WHY ANYONE WOULD DO THIS BUT I HAVE HEARD SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT, AT TIMES, THEY GET MAD AT GOD. THIS IS INSANE. HOW COULD YOU EVER GET MAD AT GOD AND WHY WOULD YOU EVER REJECT JESUS AS YOUR SAVIOR? AFTER ALL HE WENT THROUGH FOR US, I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND IT.
This verse is one of the clearest references in scripture about varying degrees of God's judgment according to the knowledge of the person who committed the sin. The whole chapter of Leviticus 4 is written to deal with sins committed in ignorance. Jesus said in John 9:41, "If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth."
Also, Romans 5:13 says, "sin is not imputed when there is no law."
Paul said, in 1 Timothy 1:13, that he obtained mercy because he had sinned "ignorantly in unbelief." The sin he was speaking of was blasphemy, which Jesus taught was unforgivable if done...
DO YOU HAVE PEACE IN YOUR LIFE OR ARE YOU STRESSED OUT AND AFRAID? STRESS CAN COME IN MANY FORMS, SOME WORSE THAN OTHERS. YOU MIGHT THINK IT IS STRESSFUL WHEN YOU ARE LATE GETTING TO A PARTY OR THE TRAFFIC IS BAD AND YOU ARE RUNNING LATE FOR WORK. WHAT IF YOU HAVE LOST YOUR JOB AND YOU HAVE NO MONEY FOR RENT OR TO BUY FOOD FOR THE FAMILY? THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE IN THE STRESS LEVELS, RIGHT? JESUS GAVE YOU PEACE AND YOU SHOULD ACCEPT IT IN YOUR LIFE. IN JOHN 14:27, JESUS SAYS "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
A steward is a person who has been entrusted with administering someone else's wealth or affairs. The possessions a steward controls are not his own and he does not have the freedom to do with them as he wishes. He is supposed to carry out the desires of the one who made him steward.
A banker is a steward. He has been entrusted with other people's money. He is free to invest that money wisely in a way that will benefit his depositors and stockholders, but would be sent to jail if he took all that money and simply consumed it upon himself. A steward is accountable (Lk. 16:2) to someone else for the use of that person's money. The money does not belong to him even though it is in his possession.
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ARE YOU CONCERNED THAT YOU WON'T REMEMBER WHAT TO SAY WHEN SOMEONE ASKS YOU WHAT MUST THEY DO TO BE SAVED? THAT QUESTION GIVES A LOT OF CHRISTIANS TROUBLE AS THEY HAVEN'T, TO DATE, LEAD ANYONE TO JESUS. WE MUST BE PREPARED BECAUSE WE WOULD NOT WANT SOMEONE TO BE LOST BECAUSE OF US. PRACTICE IF YOU HAVE TO, BUT BE READY. ASK HOLY SPIRIT TO HELP YOU. HE WILL TEACH YOU AND HELP YOU TO REMEMBER WHAT TO DO. SEE WHAT JESUS SAYS IN JOHN 14:26 "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all
Second Timothy 1:7 says, "God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." First John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." These scriptures may look like they are contradictions to Jesus' statement here; however, they are not.
There are two kinds of fear. The American Heritage Dictionary defines fear as "a feeling of alarm or disquiet caused by the expectation of danger, pain, disaster, or the like; terror; dread; apprehension." It also defines fear as "extreme reverence or awe, as toward a supreme power."
It is this reverence or awe that God's Word teaches...
IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD THE STORY OF THE FIG TREE JESUS SPOKE TO, I WILL TELL YOU ABOUT IT. AFTER HE HAD DRIVEN THE MONEY CHANGERS OUT OF THE TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM, HE WENT TO BETHANY TO SPEND THE NIGHT. ON HIS WAY BACK TO JERUSALEM HE SAW A FIG TREE AND IT WAS FULL OF LEAVES AND WHEN A FIG TREE HAS LEAVES, IT IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE FIGS. HE WAS HUNGRY BUT THE TREE HAD NO FIGS ON IT. SINCE IT WAS MISREPRESENTING NATURE, HE CURSED IT AND IT WITHERED AWAY.
This is the biblical definition of a hypocrite, "someone whose words and heart (actions) don't agree." A hypocrite may act the part of a Christian or talk like Christ, but he or she won't do both. Hypocrisy is defined by the dictionary as, "The feigning of beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; insincerity" (American Heritage Dictionary). In the Greek, the word is "hupokrisis" and means "the playing of a part on the stage."
Hypocrisy is often said to be doing something even though you don't want to or feel like doing it. It is true that God demands that our motive and reason for doing things...