Lesson for 5/29

Hey all, the Sunday school lesson for tomorrow comes from Luke 19:1-10. Its titled, "Joyous Faith" As we continue in our lesson series on Faith; may we meditate on this title, at times we may experience trouble and although we have faith that God will deliver us through, it may not be easy to express a spirit of Joy in the midst of the storm. Glory be to God for the amount of joy we have when we are delivered!; We may also express joy when we are giving generously or lending a helping hand to someone that may be in need! In this lesson we find Jesus entering into a town called Jericho; there was a man there named Zacchaeus, the Bible says he was the chief tax collector there and had become very rich. As Jesus was traveling through, Zacchaeus was trying to get a good look at Him, but he was too short to see over the crowds. Verses 4-5 says "So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. When Jesus came by, He looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. "Zacchaeus! He said. "Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today." Pause..It always amazes me When I read accounts of Jesus saying the name of someone whom has never met Him face to face. The scripture that comes to mind is Ephesians 1:3-4 "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes." - Even before we were born, before the foundation of the world, we were known and loved! Back to verse 6, it says "Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy." Moving on to verse 7, we see people around them, those that were present in the crowds witnessing Jesus heading to this man's house. They began to murmur and become displeased because this man was considered a "notorious sinner." I can see them now, wondering and saying to each other, "why in the world would Jesus want to be a guest at this mans house? What business does He have with him?"  - Verse 8 says "meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said. "I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!" Jesus responds in verse 9, "Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who
are lost." Without deviating from the lesson too much, When verse 9 says "this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham" we can parallel this scripture to  Galatians 3:6-7 - In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”  The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God." That's another powerful lesson in itself! - We are a blessed people of faith! May we express and maintain the level of joy and excitement Zacchaeus had when first seeing Jesus; but then also being willing to give his all to those less fortunate. Despite the people who were standing in the crowds with their negative opinions; we find Jesus, the Son of Man bringing salvation to this man's house and in turn, taking care of the poor, through this same man, who was initially considered a "notorious sinner."

God can use anyone! - Let us continue to not merely have faith, but express JOYOUS Faith!! To God be the glory, thanks for reading.

Lesson for 5/22

Hey all, the Sunday School lesson for tomorrow comes from Luke 18:15-17 and Mark 10:16. Most of our previous lessons took place in this very same chapter 18 of Luke. Jesus is sitting with His disciples. "Verse 15-17 says "One day some parents brought their little children to Jesus so He could touch and bless them. But when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering Him. Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it" As this concluded in Luke; we find recorded in the the book of Mark 10:16, that Jesus took these same children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them. As we begin to dissect this lesson, may we pray now for clarity and understanding. May God use this lesson and many other scriptures and lessons in our lives to draw us closer to Him through Jesus. One point I like to elaborate on is when the disciples saw that the parents were bringing their Children forward, and the disciples scolded, or angrily rebuked them for disturbing Jesus. I find it at times, even in Leadership where people are afraid to ask for help or voice their concerns to a higher authority because they feel as if they are a nuisance or a disturbance; or maybe the person they are trying to communicate with doesn't care or take time out to listen. Well, here we see next that Jesus humbles the disciples by telling them not to stop the children from coming to Him. What we can gleam from this is, as Christians we can't be turning people away; We must show love always! When someone is in need and reaching out, the Spirit of God that dwells within us IS willing and able to help, we just have to let it! The next point is brought out as Jesus continues on, He says "For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it." Firstly, we are all God's Children, but when the Bible says the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are LIKE children, not childish lol, but when we look at a child, we see that a little child is completely dependent on its parents or guardians; likewise we are to be totally dependent in the same manner on the Lord! This is how we as Christian adults should humble ourselves. Instead of depending on our own thoughts, strengths and ideas, we should solely rely and depend on God! One of the greatest hindrances to entering the Kingdom is the refusal of many to humble themselves before God; it is the pride factor, which is the opposite of little children. To God be the Glory! We then see how we as the little children who were taken in Jesus' hands, were then blessed! Its an amazing parallel and lesson of how we should exemplify our faith!

Thanks for reading - God loves you and I do too! Leave a comment or question!

"Childlike Faith"

Hey all, the Sunday school lesson for tomorrow comes from Luke 18:9-14. It's titled, "Humble Faith". It's a very short but powerful set of scriptures, verse 9 starts off with: "To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
13 "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
14 "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

Today this is a struggle some of us often deal with. Jesus is telling us to not be over confident in our own ability and righteousness; but to be humble. Again verse 14 says "for all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." at times we fall into the temptation of having an attitude of self righteousness, thinking we are higher or better than others; relying on self. The truth is, we need God, and if we don't adapt the attitude of humility, the Bible says He will do it for us. There's been several accounts where I knew God humbled me; as I look back I see now that it would have been wise for me to have trusted God and not my own ability.

To God be the glory, thanks for reading!

Lesson for 5/8

Hey all, the Sunday school lesson for tomorrow comes from Luke 17:11-19, Its titled "Grateful Faith." Last week in verses 1-10 of Luke 17 we spoke about what it took to have an increased faith. Here in verse 11 we find where Jesus is continuing on his journey towards Jerusalem. When He reached the border between Galilee and Samaria, the Bible says he entered a village and there were ten individuals that had the disease leprosy who stood at a distance, They began to cry out "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" Verse 14 says "Jesus looked at them and said. 'Go show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy"  -  Before proceeding I'd like to highlight a few points. First, let us witness the faith of these 10 diseased individuals. Clearly they have heard of Jesus and knew He was capable of healing them. They expressed their increased faith by crying out to Him. The second point I'd like to bring out is the instant cleanse and healing that transpired AS they were going to the priests as directed. Again, Jesus says in verse 14 "Go show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy". So here we are in verse 15: "One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, "Praise God!" 16: "He fell to the ground at Jesus' feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan." Jesus asked the man in verse 17. "Didn't I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?" The lesson concludes in verse 19 "And Jesus said to the man, "Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you and made you whole." As we meditate on this let us look back at verse 15, the ONE healed person, could you imagine the excitement and spirit of joy he had when he realized he was healed. Actually, I'm pretty sure the other nine expressed the same excitement, as their supreme and degrading illness had been cured! But, this one healed leper went back to Jesus and expressed his gratitude! This was an illness that had defined this man's life, he realized that God, through Jesus deserved all the glory, honor, and praise for his healing. May we express this same gratitude and appreciation today, when we are healed from a sickness, saved from an accident, promoted on a job, passed that test; and to recognize the more simpler things, daily appreciation should be expressed for the breath in our body, the ability to talk, walk, hear, smell and think! Let us strive to express gratitude as this one healed leper did. As Christians we must try not to forget to give the Glory where its due - not just receive the blessing or healing and go on about our lives. To God be all the glory!

Our Faith heals us, and makes us whole!

Pray, trust and God bless!
Thanks for reading.