1 Corinthians 9:22b-23   I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.  I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

What was Paul saying?  Would he become a thief to save a thief?  Would he become an atheist to save an atheist?  Of course not!  Paul wasn't talking absurdities.  He would not violate God's law in Jesus.  But he would go against cultural norms and man-made traditions if it meant reaching people with the Good News of Jesus.

Why?  For the sake of the gospel.  For the opportunity to share with those people in their new lives.  So I may share with them forever.

What are you and I willing to do to see someone come to Jesus?  Without going against God's Word, would we go against the traditions that we know, and the Christian cultural norms if it meant leading someone into the kingdom of God?  I wonder...

​Jeremiah 6:16-17   Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.  But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!’  But they said, ‘We will not pay attention.’

Jeremiah faced rejection for speaking God's message to the people.  So did Isaiah, Ezekiel, Hosea and every other prophet.  It had to be a hard life to be a prophet.  It seems like discouragement would follow you wherever you went.

But Jesus also faced rejection.  He was on His way to fulfill His mission when He said these words in Matthew 23:37-39   “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!  See, your house is left to you desolate.  For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

And yet His mission was to provide forgiveness, even for those who nailed Him on the cross.

Luke 23:34   And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.

What incredible love!  When you are rejected for sharing God's Word with the people around you,  remember that Jesus was also rejected.  Then have His response.  Forgive them.  They aren't really rejecting you, they are rejecting Jesus.  And they need to know His love and forgiveness in their lives.

So keep telling them about Jesus.  And don't worry about the results.  Let God produce the harvest.

Matthew 20:10-16   Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”
 
In this parable, Jesus tells us to be content with what God gives to us.  He will provide for us, and He will give us what He promised.  But let God be God.  He will choose what you receive.  And He only gives good things from His hand.

Mark 9:49   For everyone will be salted with fire. 

In the Old Testament, sacrifices to God were placed on the altar and burnt.  Salt was also a part of that sacrifice.  Jesus is saying that we are to sacrifice ourselves to Him.  That is how we are made holy.  We come to Him in the way that pleases Him, giving ourselves in love, and He purifies us.
 
Mark 9:50   Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.

Most salt in the area came from the Dead Sea.  It had impurities, so if it wasn’t processed correctly, it would have a bad taste, and it wouldn’t preserve, or heal, or purify.  It would be worthless.

Jesus told His disciples to have salt in their lives.  To be agents of healing, to preserve life, and to purify the world and the lives of those around them.  To be thirsty and to make others thirsty for the Living Water that Jesus Christ gives.  That’s what He calls us to do, too.

​Luke 23:33-34   And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.  And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Aren’t you glad that the very first thing Jesus said as He hung on the cross was, “Forgive them”?  Jesus forgave all our debt as He took our place, and died on the cross.

Colossians 2:13-14   And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Jesus nailed our sin to the cross.  He paid the price of our forgiveness.  Our sin is gone.  The debt has been erased.  Forever.  Then how should we respond?  Because not only do we stand in the place of the first servant, who owed such an incredible debt, but we also stand in place of the second servant who would not forgive.  Being forgiven, how are we to forgive?  Paul gives us the answer.

Colossians 3:12-13   Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 
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Did you catch that?  We are to forgive each other as the Lord has forgiven us.  Completely.  Immediately.  The first words out of our mouths need to be, “I forgive you.”  Just as they were the first words Jesus spoke on the cross.

Jeremiah 2:11-13   Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods?  But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit.  Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils:  they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

John 7:37-38   On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”

In Jeremiah, God called Himself the fountain of living waters.  In John, Jesus said that He is the source of living water.  The people understood that Jesus was telling them that He is God, and He is their Messiah.  He often demonstrated the fact that He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures.

If you believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit will fill you, and everyone around you will see and experience Him.  How?  You will overflow with the Spirit, like rivers pouring out of you.  They will be "soaked" with the love and grace of the living water flowing from your life.

Revelation 3:20   Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 

This verse, which has been used by preachers all over the world as an evangelistic verse, was actually a statement by Jesus to a church.  It is not for the lost, but for the found.

Coming in and eating together was a picture of intimacy in that culture.  It was a meaningful step to invite someone into your home in that way.

Jesus said that He wants you to spend time getting to know Him better.  He is knocking at the door of your life.  Will you open yourself to Him, and make Him the king of your life?  He is waiting here for you!

Ephesians 5:1-2,8   Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.   And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God…   for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Walk as children of light.

We are the children of God.  We need to walk in the light.  Where are you walking?

John 3:36   Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

The choice is yours.  Believe and have life in Jesus here and now, and for eternity.  Or reject Him and know only eternal death.

It seems obvious what our choice should be.  Why do we hesitate?  Let's choose to live our lives for Jesus.

Mark 10:13-16   And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them.  But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.  Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”  And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

The kingdom of God belongs to those who come to it as little children.  Those who are helpless, poor, weak, in need of a loving Father to pick them up and care for them.  Little children like you and me, who come knowing who we are, and that we deserve nothing.  God loves to be the Father to the fatherless, and the Helper to the helpless.

So come to the Father today, crawl up onto His lap, and look into His eyes.  See His love for you.  Then tell Him that you love Him, too.  That is the way to true peace.