“You’re more than happy when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.” ~~Jesus

Jesus knows that following Him may not be a “bed of roses”. He tells us about it in advance. We may get persecuted. We may even be martyred. It happens every day. Will you “sign up” to follow Jesus if you know that tomorrow someone may kill you for believing Him?

Of course, living in America makes if feel like this isn’t an issue; that it can’t happen to us. Because of that we are lulled into thinking it doesn’t happen to anyone any longer.

Now here is the rub. Jesus also knows the benefit of being persecuted. Persecution drives (the deeply committed) deeper into His Father’s world.

“You’re blessed (more than happy) when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.” ~~Jesus (Matthew 5:10 The Message)

“Let’s go to the rest of the villages so I can proclaim the good news there also. This is why I’ve come.” ~~Jesus

Jesus knows why He is here. He is on a mission. He has good news to tell everyone. He is urgent about His focus. Knowing the “why” is huge. God gives us that confidence. We know “why”.

Jesus wants us to be the same way. He wants us to get moving. No need to linger.

“Let’s go to the rest of the villages so I can proclaim the good news there also. This is why I’ve come.” ~~Jesus (Mark 1:38-39 The Message)

“It’s urgent that you get this right.” ~~Jesus

Jesus expects us to have a sense of urgency. His passion for doing God’s will right now is overwhelming. He knows what God’s “mission for this moment” is.

He demands that we follow God’s new plan. It is an urgency to do the right thing now which is God’s thing.

But it is not do just anything. God has something in mind. He will reveal it to us. Our job is to do it and not ignore it.

“It’s urgent that you get this right.” ~~Jesus  (John 5:25-27 The Message)

“When you enter a home, greet the family, ‘Peace.'” ~~Jesus

When Jesus sent the 72 on a mission he was very direct in how they should act. One item was when they went into a home to great the family in peace.

Jesus brings us peace. He wants us to extend it to those we come in contact with, even strangers. Our mission, from Him, is to bring peace to all we meet.

“When you enter a home, greet the family, ‘Peace.'” ~~Jesus (Luke 10:5-6 The Message)

“You can be glad when people put you down for me. All heaven applauds.” ~~Jesus

Jesus knows that if we are radically committed to Him, we are going to get in trouble. We will get put down, people will lie about us, we may get kicked out of places or we may even get killed. We should count the cost of following Jesus. Yes, there is a cost but Jesus is also clear on the benefit.

We will be pleasing Him.  Everyone in Heaven will cheer and we will be in good company!! What is better than know we have pleased Jesus?

“You can be glad when people put you down for me—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like what you are doing, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company.” ~~Jesus (Matthew 5:11-12 The Message)

“You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom—you know how it works.” ~~Jesus

God has a kingdom where he rules. It doesn’t work like any government we know in this world. He is in complete control. He is the eternal King. He is light. He is love.

He cares about us so much that He has given us insight into how His government works. Our mission is to bring to bring to earth His kingdom.

May I have insight into how God’s kingdom works.

“You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom—you know how it works.” ~~Jesus (Luke 8:10)

“The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant.” ~~Jesus

Jesus challenges us to change our minds about how to pray. We are steeped in the religious way to do it. That is not the God way.

Here’s what He wants you to do:

• Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God.
• Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage.
• The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

May I accept the Jesus prayer challenge.

“The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant.” ~~Jesus (Matthew 6 The Message) 

“What you’re called does not matter and where you go to worship does not matter.” ~~Jesus

It is not about what religious group you are born into. It doesn’t matter what church you go to.

Jesus is challenging us. He is clear.

It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God..Our worship must engage our spirit in the pursuit of truth.That’s the kind of people that Jesus is out looking for. Those who are simply and honestly themselves before God in their worship.

Jesus challenges us to know that God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration. It is not what religious group you were born into. It is not what church you go to.

“But the time is coming—it has, in fact, come—when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter.” ~~Jesus (John 4:23 The Message)

“Does it make sense to send a devil to catch a devil, to use Satan to get rid of Satan?” ~~Jesus

It is hard to imaging this actually happened but then again sometimes we have a “fantasy image” of Jesus that is not anchored in reality. When religious people don’t understand what is happening, it is easy to blame things on evil. And so,the religion scholars from Jerusalem came down spreading rumors that Jesus was working black magic, using devil tricks to impress them with spiritual power.

Jesus doesn’t ignore it. Jesus confronted their slander. He still does that today. We must face who Jesus is and not slander Him. This is very important. Jesus demands it.

If someone is doing good, in the name of God, can that be the devil?

“Does it make sense to send a devil to catch a devil, to use Satan to get rid of Satan?” ~~Jesus (Mark 3 23 The Message)

“What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit.” ~~Jesus

Jesus was about to ascend into heaven. The disciples were very concerned and wanted to know if Jesus was going to reign as King on earth. Jesus not so politely let them know that they didn’t get to know that timing. That was God’s business and not theirs.

But … and this is a big one, what they do get is the Holy Spirit. And that changed everything. For them and for us. All the power of God was about to be released on them and in them. God is in a great mood and He has given us the Holy Spirit. Not that is good news.

“What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit.” ~~Jesus (Acts 1:7 The Message)

“Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how.” ~~Jesus

We are mistaken to think that suffering is something to be avoided. Jesus challenges us to embrace it. That is what He did. That is how He lived. He can show us how. He is our model for how to do it.

This is stunning as it requires that we change our minds about what is good for us and what isn’t. It challenges us to depend on God completely for everything.

“Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how.” ~~Jesus (The Message John 9:25)

“Don’t think you’ve preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed with someone who is not your wife.” ~~Jesus

Jesus knows something and he wants religious people to understand it. Who we are is a result of what we think. If we think about committing adultery, we have done it. What makes us “UN-virtuous” is what we think, not what we do.

This is a huge thing to grasp. Jesus knows, for religious people, it is way to easy to “get around” moral rules and still violate the principle God has in mind every day. We need to change how we think (repent) about God’s word.

“Don’t think you’ve preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed with someone who is not your wife.” ~~Jesus (Matthew 5 The Message)

“You worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day.”~~Jesus

Jesus challenges us to worship in a clear way. Sometimes we are just guessing. That is not the way of God’s chosen people.

God is light. He is so clear there is nothing but truth in Him. No guessing; just clarity.

Our worship needs to be the same way.

“You worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day.”~~Jesus (John 4:22 The Message)

“Hold out your hand.” ~~Jesus

One day Jesus went church where he found a man with a crippled hand. The religious leaders had their eyes on Jesus to see if he would heal him, hoping to catch him go against the tradition of the church. As with most churches, they didn’t pray for people to be healed. Not in public and not in the church.

Jesus said to the man with the crippled hand, “Stand here where we can see you.” You can see it coming now. Jesus is going to openly challenge them all. He is going to do it publicly and clearly.

Jesus wants to know something. So He asked everyone in the church: “What kind of action suits Sunday the best? Doing good or doing evil? Helping people or leaving them helpless?”

What kind of answer did He get? No one said a word. Complete and utter silence. They didn’t have the capacity to advocate for doing good. They are uncomfortable to their core. We don’t have healing services in church. Not in this church and not during the Sunday service. Can’t we get the band to start playing again? Where is the praise leader? Isn’t the minister going to do something?

I don’t think I want to see this look. When Jesus looked them in the eye, one after another, angry, furious at their hard-nosed religion. He said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” I’m not sure he said this in the most loving way. A point was about to be made.

Here it is. Jesus was angry. He was furious. What happened to our kind and loving “Mr. Rogers like” savior?

So the man held out his hand—it was as good as new! The minister and deacons understood what was going on. They got out as fast as they could, sputtering about how they would join forces with the President’s followers and ruin him. That was their plan on how to deal with Jesus. They could have accepted him but being the religious hypocrites that they were, they opposed and plotted against him. But the congregation didn’t do anything either.

And how does our religious leadership deal with Jesus today? Build a bigger building? Add more instruments to the band? Expand the children’s program?

“Hold out your hand.” ~~Jesus (Mark 3:5)

“You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business.”~~Jesus

We always want to know when. Jesus followers wanted to know if Jesus was going to restore the Kingdom now. Would it be now? Will we get to reign now? Will we?

Jesus is always direct. There are things we don’t get to know. God is God. Timing is His business not ours.

That is all there is to it. We need to focus on what God wants us to do right not. That is all.

“You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business.”~~Jesus (Acts 1:7 The Message)

“Are you listening to this? Really listening?” ~~Jesus

Jesus knows how to ask the right question. He also knows the answer.

So …. am I listening to Jesus?

May I be able to say, with all my heart, that I am listening to Jesus. May it be so.

“Are you listening to this? Really listening?” ~~Jesus (Luke 8:8)

“If I were simply speaking on my own account, it would be an empty, self-serving witness.” ~~Jesus

Jesus knows who He is. He relies on His Father in everything He does. God Himself gave witness. It is God’s work, that He accomplishes that is Jesus’ additional witness. God, the work God gave Him and the Holy Spirit all bear witness to who Jesus is.

We can trust what Jesus says to us. It comes directly from our heavenly Father.

“If I were simply speaking on my own account, it would be an empty, self-serving witness.” ~~Jesus (John 5:30-33 The Message)

“Don’t loiter and make small talk with everyone you meet along the way.” ~~Jesus

Jesus sends us on a mission. He has things He wants us to do for Him. We need to understand His urgency. In His new plan for us, He has places He wants us to go for Him. Taking time to stop along the way gets us out of synch with His mission for us.

Jesus demands we get moving and get to where He wants us to go. Nothing else is acceptable to Him.

 “Don’t loiter and make small talk with everyone you meet along the way.” ~~Jesus (Luke 10:4 The Message)

“You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right.” ~~Jesus

Jesus demands that we get our life in order before we can see God in a real way. He knows it is not about what we look like or what we own. It is all about changing our mind about who is in charge and loving God in every way we can. We must love each other. That is what matters.

May my mind and heart be right.

“You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.” ~~Jesus (Matthew 5:8 The Message)

“Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.” ~~Jesus

Jesus turns our world upside down. That is the way He is. When we follow Him, He makes us a new person. The way we have always done things gets left behind. If we find that isn’t true, we aren’t following Him.

The critical aspect of this is that Jesus teaches us. Being a new person isn’t natural.

 “Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.” ~~Jesus (Mark 1:17)

“Quiet! Get out of him!” ~~Jesus to the demons in a man

Jesus has authority over everything. To the demons He says “Get out” and they do. They know who Jesus is. They obey Him.

“Quiet! Get out of him!” ~~Jesus to the demons in a man (Mark 1:25-26 The Message)

“When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does.” ~~Jesus

Jesus challenges us to do things differently than the way people of this world do things. He is not subtle at all. He knows our friends and acquaintances, even our families, will give us a hard time. Following Jesus guarantees that for sure. What should we do? We devote our whole energy to praying for them. That is the way of Jesus. When God is in us, that is second nature to us.

Jesus challenges us to be like God, to love like God. He gives us the power.

“When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does.” ~~Jesus (Matthew 5 The Message)

“Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem.” ~~Jesus

Jesus challenges us to know that worship is going to church or any specific location. It isn’t where you worship; Baptist Church, Catholic Cathedral, Jewish Synagogue, Muslim Mosque. What is important is do you worship the one true God? Do you reach him through Jesus?

Jesus challenges us to one of those who are simply and honestly themselves before God in their worship. That is all.

May I worship God simply and honestly today.

“Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem.” ~~Jesus (John 4:21 The Message)

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“You’re more than happy (blessed) when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.” ~~Jesus

Jesus demands that we care. He insists on it if we want to live in His world. Being full of care is His way. When we care, God our Father cares. That is the way of His world.

We all want to be cared for. The path is to care for others. That makes us more than happy.

May I care deeply the way my heavenly Father cares. May I show His love today.

“You’re more than happy (blessed) when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.” ~~Jesus (Matthew 5:7 The Message)

“What kind of action suits the Sabbath best? Doing good or doing evil? Helping people or leaving them helpless?”~~Jesus

It was the Sabbath. The religious leaders of the day are watching Jesus. Will he heal the man with the crippled hand? They just knew he would and then they could condemn him for breaking the Law. They were excited for the wrong reason.

Jesus knows how to handle this. He won’t be trapped. He stops, looks them in the eye and asks “What kind of action suits the Sabbath best? Doing good or doing evil? Helping people or leaving them helpless?” It is silent. Perhaps for a long time because Jesus is waiting on an answer. He didn’t ask it rhetorically.He looked them in the eye, one after another, angry now, furious at their hard-nosed religion. Jesus got angry. Very angry. Furious.

He wanted someone to speak up. No one did.

Getting no answer, He did the right thing. He healed the man. The religious leaders got out of there fast. No after service meet and greet today.

“What kind of action suits the Sabbath best? Doing good or doing evil? Helping people or leaving them helpless?”~~Jesus (Mark 3:4 The Message)

“It’s urgent that you listen carefully to this.”~~Jesus (3 Radical things to do)

We all want to live. Before Jesus, we were in the world of the dead. We knew it then and we fully understand that now.

Jesus shows us how to live in the world of the living. He puts it to us simply. These are all radical and demand our full devotion.

1. Believe what Jesus says.
2. Align ourselves with the Father.
3. Put Jesus in charge.

“It’s urgent that you listen carefully to this: Anyone here who believes what I am saying right now and aligns himself with the Father, who has in fact put me in charge, has at this very moment the real, lasting life and is no longer condemned to be an outsider. This person has taken a giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living.”” ~~Jesus (John 5:24 The Message)

“What a huge harvest! And how few the harvest hands. So on your knees; ask the God of the Harvest to send harvest hands.” ~~Jesus

Jesus demands that we not worry about anything but having enough people to bring everyone we meet to Him. He came for the world. That is a big mission. He will settle for nothing less in terms of His plan to bring us into His world and His goal for our life.

He wants us to focus on the right things. Do we see the opportunity for Him?

May I focus on building up others to help with the harvest.

 “What a huge harvest! And how few the harvest hands. So on your knees; ask the God of the Harvest to send harvest hands.” ~~Jesus (Luke 10:1-2 The Message)

“Time’s up! God’s kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message.” ~~Jesus

Do we have enough time? Jesus demands that we understand that time is up. Now is the time. We can’t delay understanding who is in charge. We need to change our mind. We must believe.

God’s world (Kingdom) is one where He is in total control. This requires that we change how we think and how we live.

“Time’s up! God’s kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message.” ~~Jesus (Mark 1:15)

“Take it seriously, show the way for others, and you will find honor in the kingdom.” ~~Jesus

Jesus demands that I take His way seriously. My job, my mission, is to show others His way. Later on He would say, as He rose to Heaven, to make disciples of all nations. That is how we find honor in His world (Kingdom).

May I take it seriously. May I do so today, right now.

“Take it seriously, show the way for others, and you will find honor in the kingdom.” ~~Jesus (Matthew 5:19-20 The Message)

“Other seed fell in rich earth and produced a bumper crop.” ~~Jesus

Jesus loved to tell stories. This one was about the farmer who planted seeds for his crop. But not all seeds produced the same crop. Some did however.

The seed that was planted in the good earth—these are the good-hearts who seize the Word and hold on no matter what, sticking with it until there’s a harvest. Now they produced a bumper crop.

May we seize the word. May we hold onto it now matter what. May we stick with it until there is a harvest.

“Other seed fell in rich earth and produced a bumper crop.” ~~Jesus (Luke 8:8 The Message)

“The Father handed all authority to judge over to the Son so that the Son will be honored equally with the Father.” ~~Jesus

Jesus demands that we understand who He is in relation to God. Jesus says this. He really wants us to get who He is. Jesus said, “Don’t judge.” Yet, Jesus tells us He will judge. He has that authority and He has been given it by God.

His Father is pleased to do this for His son Jesus.

So … we should pay attention to what Jesus says. He will be the judge.

“The Father handed all authority to judge over to the Son so that the Son will be honored equally with the Father.” ~~Jesus (John 5:20-23 The Message)

“You’re more than happy (blessed) when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.” ~~Jesus

Am I starving for God? Do I have a good appetite for Him?

Is all I think of my next meal or what I am going to wear today? Will any of these concerns really make me happy?

Jesus knows a lot about happiness. It isn’t about this world. It isn’t about our next meal.

It is all about God and His world. He is in absolute control. We need to be hungry for God. It will open up a world of happiness beyond anything we know now.

“You’re more than happy (blessed) when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.” ~~Jesus (Matthew 5:6 The Message)

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