The Words of Christ

Luke 4:19(15-30) , Isaiah 61:2 In the the book of Luke, the Savior proclaims His divine sonship and he is rejected by those of his hometown. The verse of scripture that he chooses to quote from Isaiah compels me to consider just how merciful our God really is with us. I cross-referenced the Spanish translation of "acceptable year of the Lord." In Spanish, it is literally translated as the "year of the good will of Jehovah." I had wondered what this might have meant. Then there is a footnote from the reference in Luke that confirms what Christ is saying: "And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world." ( John 12:47 ) There it is. Christ is come to redeem us. Judgment is not the purpose of our existence. Why do we feel the need to condemn, to criticize, and to destroy?

Matthew 11 There is and has been since the time in which I first saw this video and seriously considered the scriptures found herein, a remarkably strong spirit about this particular set of teachings. The Savior's testimony of John the Baptist is illustrative of this one point: that "wisdom is justified of her children," ( vs. 19 ) whether they be rich or poor in the eyes of man's limited judgement. In other words, superficial appearances do not dictate man's true capacity to serve God. When John's disciples inquire of the Savior as to proofs of his ministry, he lists the miracles (perhaps from least to greatest): 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.  ( vs. 5 ) There are some very important perspectives in this passage of scripture on Christ's teachings concerning judgment. At one point in this passage, the S...

John 5 Christ is found at Jerusalem during an important time of the year according to Jewish tradition. He conducts himself to a place where a great number of the sick are found, and address a man who had been in that place for many years now (38 years). The question that he asks is soul stirring for it has multiple layers of meaning: "Wilt thou be made whole?" ( vs. 6 ) Jesus heals the man and then commands him to pick up his bed and carry it away from that place. It so happened to be the Jewish sabbath, and the act of carrying a bed was considered to be a violation of the sabbath. When questioned why he was carrying his bed, the healed man responded, "He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk" Later, Jesus finds the man in the temple and admonishes him, "Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee." ( vs. 14 ) The man that was healed, perhaps not fully understanding the malicious intent ...

Matthew 6:19-21 ; 7:1-27 Reviewing this block of fundamental teachings of the Savior's, I realize that I am perhaps not as familiar with these teachings as I ought to be. The first group of verses addresses "treasures in heaven" wherein those who make such their prerogative are found to be possessed of that which is eternal, that which cannot be corrupted with time and which will not be allowed to be stolen or taken from us. One of those treasures is family. Another is who we are becoming. I appreciate the simple fail-safe test found in 6:21,"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Moving on to chapter 7, the Savior states "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged." I have recently asked myself  is it better to be optimistically hopeful, and to hope for the best in everyone. This is to some considered to be naivety. However, in truer light, I find myself coming to terms with ...