ListenDaily - 05 May 2009; WWJT?
Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (NIV)
Jesus said... “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (NKJV)
John 8:31-32 (find any passage at www.Biblegateway.org)
"If you hold to my teaching..."
I cannot possibly begin to cover everything Jesus taught in one short lesson, and will not try to. But what would happen if we took even a few of His teachings and began to 'hold on' to them -- to 'abide in' them -- today? Consider the following statements, teachings of Jesus, from Matthew (chapters 5, 6, 22, and 28):
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
You are the salt of the earth.
You are the light of the world.
If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.
Do not worry about tomorrow...
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.
Of course, He taught much more than this -- but meditate over this list, or any other of His teachings, see if there are one or two things that resonate with you. Then take those items, those teachings and write them down in your calendar, in a note on your refrigerator or bathroom mirror, make them the 'signature' in your email, something, anything, to keep them in the forefront of your mind. See what it takes to 'hold onto' and 'abide in' these one or two things -- today.
Let's see what happens.
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Questions:
1. Which of these Jesus' teachings resonate with you? 2. What will you do with them? 3. How do you hold onto them both?
INTERESTING THOUGHTS:
""We may note in passing that He was never regarded as a mere moral teacher.
He did not produce that effect on any of the people who actually met Him.
He produced mainly three results---Hatred---Terror---Adoration.
There was no trace of people expressing mild admiration."
C.S. Lewis
I believe I never was more acceptable to my Master
than when I was standing to teach those hearers in the open fields
I now preach to ten times more people than I would if I had been confined to the churches.
George Whitefield
"God has given us two ears, but one tongue,
to show that we should be swift to hear, but slow to speak.
God has set a double fence before the tongue, the teeth and the lips,
to teach us to be wary that we offend not with our tongue."
Thomas Watson
"To teach in order to lead others to faith
is the task of every preacher and of each believer."
Thomas Aquinas
"Nature teaches us to love our friends,
but religion our enemies."
Thomas Fuller Fuller
"Everything science has taught me---
and continues to teach me---
strengthens my belief in the continuity of our spiritual existence after death.
Nothing disappears without a trace."
Wernher Von Braun
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