Jesus addressing the religious leaders of His day:

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Matthew 23:23-28

…rend your heart, and not your garments,…Joel 2:13a

My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments… Proverbs 3:1

When I left home in Iowa at the age of nineteen to move to Miami Florida, Mom sent a pocket sized Gideon New Testament with me. Inside the front cover a note was written on the flyleaf which said; This book will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this book.

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Psalm 119:11

…let the word of Christ dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
And run not before Him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.

Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

William D. Longstaff, ca.1882 – copyright status is Public Domain. Courtesy of Timeless Truths Publications – Copyright © 2002-2020 Free Online Library

What does anxiety steal from you?

It steals God’s peace.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6&7 NKJV

See blog article All Your Anxiety

John the Baptist asked this question: Art thou he (the Messiah) or do we look for another?

And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?

Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 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. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. Matthew 11:1-6

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing:  Isaiah 35:5&6a

And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there. And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them: Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel. Matthew 15:29-31

Jesus came teaching, preaching, and healing in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.

And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. Matthew 9:35

Jesus answered them,…..If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. John 10:34,37, &38

…let the word of Christ dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

You may claim the Old Testament Scriptures, but until you actually believe them, you will not recognize your Messiah.

Do not think that I (Jesus) shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you – Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? John 5:45-47

Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. Genesis 15:6

Another parable put he (Jesus) forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. Matthew 13:24-30

Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.

He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Matthew 13:36-43

...let the word of Christ dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

The church’s one foundation
is Jesus Christ her Lord;
she is His new creation,
by water and the Word;
from heav’n He came and sought her
to be His holy bride;
with His own blood He bought her,
and for her life He died.

Elect from ev’ry nation,
yet one o’er all the earth,
her charter of salvation,
one Lord, one faith, one birth;
one holy Name she blesses,
partakes one holy food,
and to one hope she presses,
with ev’ry grace endued.

‘Mid toil and tribulation,
and tumult of her war,
she waits the consummation
of peace for evermore;
till with the vision glorious
her longing eyes are blest,
and the great church victorious
shall be the church at rest.

Yet she on earth hath union
with God the Three in One,
and mystic sweet communion
with those whose rest is won.
O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we,
like them, the meek and lowly,
on high may dwell with Thee.

Author: S. J. Stone – 1839-1900. Copyright status is Public Domain.  Courtesy of Timeless Truths Publications – Copyright © 2002-2020 Free Online Library

Occasionally, when attempting to witness to someone and explain a truth from Scripture, the person will respond with; I don’t believe you have to do this or that, I have my own beliefs.

Really? Then you don’t believe God? Is that what you are saying?

Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:1-8)

Jesus (God) speaking……”I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.  Believest thou this?”  John 11:25&26

…let the word of Christ dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

When Jesus began His ministry, He instructed His listeners to repent. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 4:17

Why did He command us* to repent? Because the kingdom of heaven was and is at hand. The kingdom of heaven is His. Jesus is its King. Where the king is, the subjects of His kingdom submit to His authority.**

So, how are we to enter the kingdom? Jesus speaking unto Nicodemus, one of the Jewish religious leaders; Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. John 3:3

How are we to be born again? Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. I Peter 1:23

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17

He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:11-13

To repent means to change one’s mind.

Will you?

…let the word of Christ dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

*When Jesus instructed His listeners to repent in the Gospels, He was preaching to Israel. After Messiah’s death, burial, and resurrection, the apostle Peter preaching at Pentecost also commanded ”the house of Israel” to repent (Acts 2:36-39). Peter repeats the Lord’s desire for individual souls in his second epistle: The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. II Peter 3:9

**Messiah Jesus to Israel: Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you – Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? John 5:45-47