i am amazed when it comes to christians how some christians seem to think that Jesus was soft the more i go over the new testament i am starting to see that Jesus was not soft as christians think he is but a soft Jesus is being preached today just like the wishy washy gospel i am hearing being preached by proffesing christians who say they are his followers
why do proffesing christians avoid this verse in the gospel of matthew
Matthew 10 English standard version
34 Do not think that i have come to bring peace to the earth i have not come to bring peace but a sword
35 For i have come to set a man against his father and a daughter against her mother and a daughter in law against her mother in law
36 And a persons enemies will be those of his own household
37 Whoever loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me
38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me
39 Whoever finds his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it
when a christian is asked to name three characteristics this is what christians say about Jesus
GENTLE
FORGIVING
LOVING
there is a book written by Philip yancey The Jesus I Never Knew i would recomend this book its a good read and very insightful and helpfull
Christians are anxious to hear how Jesus loves his enemies forgives prostitutes touches lepers and feeds the hungry but that is a far as it goes the Jesus i see in matthew 10 v 34 - 39 This Jesus is not the Jesus i have heard being preached today the Jesus i am looking at in matthew 10 v 34 - 39 know body wants to know
Christians today want you to preach the soft Jesus which i call a pussy thats what proffesing christians want when you are told to look at matthew 10 v 34 - 39 its as if they flip the page and avoid this verse
when i read this i quickly turned the page it sort of made my blood boil how can i hate my own child how can i hate my own wife and how can i obey what matthew 10 v 34 -39 is asking of me the Jesus in matthew 10 v 34 - 39 is very demanding and i have heard sermons preached on matthew 10 34 - 39 i even know of christians in india that have left their familys sevral young men have left their new brides at the alter when asked they gave this verse i found hard to accept
i cant do this to my new fiancee who soon wil be my wife and leave her standing at the alter
how we see what is being said hear is simple when its not taken out of its contex and its read and looked at the way its pressented in the gospel of matthew the holy spirit is here to help us if we allow him to and put or own revelations to the side man seems to stuff it when he does it his way with out turning to god and asking for wisdom man tends to say i am more wise i am the one walking this earth not you lord i wil tel my hearers how i see it for my self
god is going to punish those who lead people astray when he decides its time to judge us
God first
my wife second
my Job third
my fiancee is the same with me
God first
me second
her committment to the members 3
DO NOT THINK THAT I CAME TO BRING PEACE ON THE EARTH I DID NOT COME TO BRING PEACE BUT A SWORD V 34
I Believe what Jesus is doing here is correcting false assumptions about what the Jewish Messiahs mission was According to isiaiah 9 v 5 - 7 people thought jesus was hear to save them this is what i have been hearing by proffesing christians the people in the villages jesus found him self in thought he was going to save them bring peace on this earth and rule
Isaiah 9 English standard version
5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle turmult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for fire
6 For to us a child is born to us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called wonderful counselor Mighty God
7 of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with Justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forever more The seal of the Lord of hosts will do this
it does not mean he will be the prince of peace as said in this passage of Isiaiah this was not Jesus mission
the ultimate goal of the gospel was and is not harmony on earth but peace with God
Romans 5 English standard version
1 Therefore since we have been justified by faith we have peace with God Through our lord Jesus Christ
peace does not come easly as some christians think if you have lived in a war torn country you wil know what i mean even though the cold war in yugoslavia is seen as over and people from around the world think that peace has settled over the country to were serbians and croations are getting on think hard i am croation i am still hated by the serbs and us croations hate the serbs there wil never be peace between us we speak the same language we love our country yet one side thinks they are the true yugoslavians while guys like my self are looked down on just like what hitler wanted to do to the jews the serbs want the same to were they are seen as the true yugoslavians of yugoslavia
even though i am a christian i am prottective over my family i am trying to keep the peace and i am doing my best to obey the laws of the country i am living in know when us croations got a call to go home and help our brothers i wanted to go to yugoslavia but my grandfather refused to lend me the money i needed he told me he wanted me here were i am safe the cops in Australia were keeping a close eye on us croations and serbians i was in William booth in 1990 trying to kick herroin and speed and hash and marijuana the staff at william booth were keeping me and and another recovering addict in there prayers he was croation i was croation we both said thank god as if it was a serb my human side would have taken over and i was a young christian not that strong
is their peace between us ? we belong to difrent denominations not one of us are alike when it comes to this board you have traditional christians comming against charasmatic penticostal and apostolic christians
you have your Jews coming against us Gentiles its evident in this forum go over some posts to see were i am comming from
When two sides strongly disagree on something conflict is inevitable
look at the confronting sittuations gods own son found him self in were the cheif priests were the pharisees were the sadducees were the Judaizers and the scribes were they ever kind to gods son ? were they ever trying to keep the peace ? what happend in the hearing what did they want what did they say crucify him crucify him and called out for a thug to be set free who stired the crowed up its all in the new testament who stired the crowed up the righteous lot who saw them selves as the only true followers of god they obeyed moses law which was the mosiac law and it was the mosiac law that jesus died under if they were true followers they would have not ended his life or ever tried jesus to were false claims were made and when you go over what was said when gods son was being tried he stayed calm he did not stirke back when he was hit he did not call out to his father and said i need an army of angels
The same goes for the gospel the goal of the gospel is not conflict with God or with each other The goal of the gospel is peace with God ( Rom 5 v 1 ) The difficulty is that the gospel is such a penetrating message that it acts like a sword It pierces the conscience of humanity and calls us to love God more than we love our selves
do you see Jesus as a wimp with what is left in this post of mine ? or do you see Jesus the way i see him ?
JESUS WARNS US THAT PROFOUND CONFLICT SHOULD BE EXPECTED BETWEEN THOSE WHO ACCEPT THE GOSPEL AND THOSE WHO REJECT THE GOSPEL
After warning his disciples about the potential the Gospel has for conflict Jesus reminds them of their need for loyalty Jesus tells them that those who love father or mother more than me is not worthy of me and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me matthew 10 v 37
the same care you give to your mother father to your grandparents to your wife to your children to your friends Jesus wants us to prioritize him he wants us to make Him our first loyalty and to emphasize this he names two things most precious to us our family and our own life
the young guys i mentioned from india how they left their young brides at the alter were told a fib and did not pay attention to what i had put hear
and their are christians and false teachers that wil try to poison you to were they try to trip you up
if we work hard to love and care for our parents and children dont think jesus is asking anyone to abandon their love and care for their familys
what jesus is calling for here is that you put the same energy and care in your relationship with him as you do with the people you love most in fact he calls for more
THIS IS THE MARK OF THE CHRISTIAN DISCIPLE ONE WHO PUTS JESUS FIRST
these last few months i have been drawing closser to jesus i have been digging in deep and i have even repented and asked jesus help me to get to the place were i am putting you first were my relationship with you is strong and he has been responding the hunger i had when i was young is comming back
Damo
