These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Matt 10:5-7
Jesus sent out his disciples, and so He sends us out too.
2014 is looking bring, but will we be ready?
And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
-Matt 9:35-38
Jesus didn’t stand still, He moved… he spread the word… He saw the people who needed Him, and he realized the harvest was more than ready!
Jesus asks different things of different disciples…
Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
Matt 8:18-22
But he always asks for the same thing, everything.
Probably the favorite of verse of those who don’t like the church
Judge not lest ye be judged
But Jesus’ point was not to simply not judge, but to do so realizing He always takes a closer, deeper, more intimate view of YOU than the one you are
Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging.
-Matt
As believers, we are supposed to be discerning, and we are supposed to hold other believers to account, but not with a critical spirit. We are called to make judgments (based on God’s word) to help fellow believers (in love) become more Christlike. Our judgment is not for the outside world, but for those in the church (cf. 1Cor 5)
Just don’t be a jerk 🙂
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players
Thus starts the famous monologue by Jaques in Acts II Scene VII of Shakespeare’s “As You Like It”
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