Utterly destroyed…not mildly rebuked.

I hate to sound like a broken record but once again we have Scripture contradicting those who believe in Kumbaya Jesus.

Acts 3:22-23(NKJV)

For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 

And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’  

Once again God clearly states in Scripture what His intentions are regarding those who reject His son Jesus.

I've lost count of how many times I have written about Scriptures that tell us how God feels about those who reject Jesus and yet the idea of Kumbaya Jesus persists. 

Oh well, as the saying goes, when we get to judgment day, one of us is going to be surprised. 

And then he was never heard from again.

I love God's sense of humor.  Check this out.

Acts 1:21-26(NKJV)

“Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 

beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 

And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen 

to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.” 

And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

So Matthias was the official replacement disciple….and he was never mentioned in Scripture again. 

Why was it so important to describe how the replacement was chosen and who it was if that person was never mentioned again?  I sometimes think God puts stuff like this in there to tease us and see if we are paying attention!  :)

Benefits of the Holy Spirit

When I think of the Holy Spirit I think of things like guidance and revelation.  Not sure how I missed this.  In Acts Jesus tells us that we receive power when we receive the Holy Spirit. 

But power for what?  My guess is it is power to accomplish the life's work that God gives us.  Scripture tells us that when God gives us work He also gives us the tools to complete that work. 

Acts 1:4-8(NKJV)

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 

for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 

Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 

And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Is John the one?

Is John "the disciple who Jesus loved"?  This passage seems to indicate so.

John 21:20-25(NKJV)

Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” 

Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”

Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”

Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?”

This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.

And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.

Does this mean Joseph was dead at this point in Jesus ministry??

John 19:25-27(NKJV)

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 

When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” 

Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.

Does this mean that Joseph is already dead at this point in Jesus ministry?  Otherwise why would she need someone to take care of her? 

Words of Jesus: “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours."

Here are the words of Jesus from John 17:9.

John 17:9(NKJV)

“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 

I remember the first time I read this.  I was a bit taken back.  It didn't fit what I had been taught by the Kumbaya Jesus Christians.  Jesus in His own words telling us that He doesn't pray for everyone (the world) but only those who are heirs with Him. 

Or to put it another way, the prayers of Jesus are another one of the benefits of being a Christian.  Jesus doesn't pray for everyone, only those who have accepted Him.

Do you want Jesus praying for you?  Have you asked Jesus to guide your life?  That's all it takes.  Just have a conversation with Jesus.  "Dear Jesus…."

Is Jesus saying that God doesn't love those who don't love Jesus?

If so then that certainly goes against what many people believe.  Let's take a look.

John 16:25-28(NKJV)

“These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father. 

In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; 

for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God. 

I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.”

BECAUSE

Jesus plainly says that God loves us BECAUSE we loved Jesus and believe that Jesus came from God. 

But does that mean the God doesn't love us if we don't love Jesus and believe that Jesus came from God? 

As I've written before, I don't think you can take any one verse and use it as a definitive statement on anything.  The Bible is a book of balance and needs to be taken in its entirety. 

Here is my take on it.  Scripture makes it very clear that when we reject Jesus we offend God.  In fact Jesus went so far as to say it is a sin to reject Jesus.  Another part of Scripture tells us that when we reject Jesus we declare ourselves enemies of God. 

But even then does God totally cut off His love from those people or does it simply switch to a different love.

Let me give you an example.  I have had more than one client disinherit one of their children.  Does that mean they don't love that child anymore?  Not at all.  But it does mean their love has taken a different form.  They still love the child and hope the child abandons the behavior that got them disinherited in the first place.  But it is a "distant" love if that makes sense. 

This is certainly an issue that bears more study.