Matthew 11      Friday, January 23

Jesus tells the people that the kingdom of God is "forcefully advancing" which means that satan does not want it to happen, and is fighting against it...but it's happening anyway.  Every day Jesus was on the earth teaching and modeling genuine life in God was an affront to the kingdom of satan.   Jesus was (and continues to be) a thorn in his side, and constant reminder to all that he (satan) has no power or ability over Christ.    As christians, we can also "forcefully advance" against satan.   The Bible tells us "resist the devil and he will flee" and "the gates of hell will not prevail against it".   We can take a stand against what the devil is doing and see him fall in the battle.  Praise the Lord!    satan has no power over the christian.

There was a long held belief among the people that before the Messiah came Elijah (the greatest prophet according to the Jews) would return and announce His arrival.    Jesus tells the people that John fulfills that role.  He goes on to say in another place that "among men born of women there is no one greater than John".   That's pretty high praise, and it comes from the Lord himself, no less.

skipping down to verse 25:
God could have presented His plan through wise and learned men, who had great understanding and position in society...but He chose the foolish things of this world "the things that are not to shame the things that are".   God chose people like you and me to carry this timeless message to everyone.   We aren't wise enough to figure it out on our own, or to even understand exactly what it means...but we are privileged to share it.   The message is given in verse 28...
if we are loaded down with problems, sin and effects of it in our lives, God wants to take them from us...lighten our load.  

Hey, are you carrying something that Jesus never intended for you to shoulder?   Are you loaded down with guilt?  Worry?  Fear?  Shame?  Whatever is crushing you, God wants to remove.    He loves us and doesn't want us to burdened in this way.     As christians, we shouldn't try and assign heavy burdens to others, or convince them that if the follow Jesus the cost will be high, the road will be steep and the companions will be few.   Perhaps those things will happen, maybe not.   Our goal should be to remind people of all the things that God has promised to remove from us, not try and make the christian life sound like a different kind of hell than the one we are currently living in.


PR