The Mind of Christ

From that time on Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.   Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, “Far be it from You , Lord! he said.   “This shall never happen to You!”  But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me. For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”…

When we read this incident recorded in the gospels, we may be inclined to assume Jesus was calling Peter , “satan”,  when what actually occurred was that Jesus first rebuked Satan, who was the invisible instigator of Peter’s suggestions to Jesus.   THEN He corrected Peter, telling him he is looking at things with the eyes of man and not through spiritual eyes.   His remark to Jesus, while intended in good faith,  was actually instigated by satan as a stumbling block for Jesus.. to attempt to discourage Jesus from continuing the mission that the Father had sent Him for..  the ultimate mission of the Cross of sacrifice for all mankind.

Often , we as Christians, with good intentions , can be used by satan without us realizing it when we tell another fellow Christian to “pity themselves ” or “don’t put up with that from that person!”  etc…     To follow Jesus all the way up that mountain, we also are given a portion of the larger cup Jesus drank, and thus, we are united with Him in His sufferings (to a lesser degree than He, of course)    Jesus never considered Himself, His self-rights, and how unfair He was treated.    He considered only the will of the Father regardless of how unfair it appeared.

Jesus was so misunderstood because of this.    Even the Samaritan villagers were offended at Him because they noticed “His face was set toward Jerusalem”.    They were offended because Jerusalem was an influential city that despised the Samaritans.    The Samaritans didn’t realize that the only reason Jesus was determined to head toward Jerusalem, was not to have some religious celebration, but because that is where He would die… outside of the city gates for all mankind.    The Samaritans had no idea ;  instead they forbade Him from entering their city because they became offended in Him.    James and John asked Jesus if they could call down fire from Heaven to consume these Samaritans for their rudeness, but Jesus., Who never considered Himself or His rights,  told His disciples that they knew not what spirit they were speaking from..  that He did not come to destroy but to save.

How far removed is our way of thinking compared with Christ’s!

 

Mother and Sons

 

Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came and stood outside. They sent someone in to summon Him,  and a crowd was sitting around Him. “Look,” He was told, “Your mother and brothers are outside, asking for You.”  But Jesus replied, “Who are My mother and My brothers?”  Looking at those seated in a circle around Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother.”…(Mark 3:34)

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 Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother and her sister, as well as Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene.  When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, here is your son.”  Then He said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” So from that hour, this disciple took her into his home.…(John 19:26)

Where it would appear that Jesus was snubbing His mother when she and her other sons came asking for Him, He actually wasn’t..   Mary may have been a bit offended if she had heard what He said to the crowds listening to Him ,  but the scriptures don’t show us that He , no doubt, went to her as the Holy Spirit led Him afterwards.

Later, Jesus again is met by His mother while He is dying excruciating torture on His cross.  She is in tears, and she is standing near John, .. one of His closest disciples.   This time, He tells Mary,  “Woman, behold your son, and looking to John, says to him, ”  , behold your mother”.      If Mary was offended earlier when He told the people, “Who are My mother and brothers?”   she now realized exactly what He meant.     Spiritual relationships transcend physical relationships.     For a true Christian, a  relationship that is brought together by Jesus  because both are united with Him first and foremost is the most blessed relation one could ever have.

When John first met Jesus, he asked Him, “Teacher , where do you dwell?”  and Jesus replied, “Come and see”.      John went , saw and never left.     This time John took His Teacher’s mother “into his home” from that hour onwards because both Mary and John dwelled in Christ’s heart already.    Both are united with Him in spirit  as His true mother and brother.. and thus He joined them together as true mother and son..

His Arms Held Up

 

Exodus 17:12

So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.  But Moses’ hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set.  So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.…

John 19:18

Carrying His own cross, He went out to The Place of the Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.  There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on each side, with Jesus in the middle.

In reading these two passages in the scriptures,  the Lord made me realize the similarities.. how Mose’s arms being held upright in intercession for the Isrealites was prophetic of Jesus Sacrifice for us on the cross, with HIS arms outstretched as Mose’s arms were.  Aaron and Hur held Moses’ arms up,  but nails and Love held Jesus’s arms up.

The Isrealites’ battle was against the Amalekites, but the ongoing battle we all face is the battle against our unredeemed soul, sins  and the self-life..   Jesus offered Himself to the Father on our  behalf as our Redeemer to provide a way for us to come to Him for Salvation from the Enemy of Self and sin.     Only through Moses’s intercession and outstretched arms for Isreal was Isreal able to defeat their enemy.  Only through Jesus and His Sacrifice for us, are we able to defeat sin and our self-nature.

Moses sat on a rock while his arms were outstretched but Jesus IS The Rock.. That stone in which the builders rejected, that has become the chief Cornerstone  (Psalm 118:22)

“Come, Talk To Me “.. Jesus

So I asked Jesus:  “Am I ok, Love?”  and this is what I heard in my spirit:

Jesus:   ” Are you trying to make peace?  To be encouraging – hopeful – to give ..that..to others?  

You looked at Me and cried before – feeling so lonely to be without Me – It hit you so suddenly even with the distractions you had today – What does that tell you, beloved?  Your heart is Mine!  We are never separated – you have not separated from Me, have you?

Just because you are trying to make the day work { in My will } it does not mean you are away from Me – Do  you think…you could get away …  ?  I see your heart, and as I said in “He and I” –  If I can put up with you, can you put up with you?

So do not become discouraged or dismayed ever – if we look at each other with so much love….. Do you ever have to doubt we are together?  I never leave you – never leave Me –   And this is for ALL –  Come! Talk to Me.

I love you – “

Your Jesus +

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~shared by Patricia Owens..  who emailed me this regarding this sudden message she received from Jesus:

“IT CAME OUT OF THE BLUE!!!!  I WAS NOT EXPECTING IT..IN A FLASH I JUST FELT HIM CLOSE AND ASKED THAT..BUT NOT THINKING ANYTHING WOULD COME OF IT.  SO HE DOES THAT…SURPRISES US… LOVE IT. ….  WHATEVER I CAN DO TO BRING ANYONE CLOSER INTO HIS ARMS, ESP. WHEN HE SAYS..IT IS FOR ALL!  LET OTHERS GLEAN WHAT THEY CAN FROM WHAT HE DOES..GIVE TO OTHERS TO UPLIFT AND ENCOURAGE AND BRING THEM INTO HIS HEART

Jesus’s Modesty

 

Jesus is not like other men or women… As the Son of Man, He does not call attention to Himself.   If the angels Isaiah saw near the Father’s Throne covered themselves with their wings, how much more was Jesus modest.. so that attention would go to the Father alone. (Isaiah 6: 1-3)

His “hidden years” in Nazareth remain hidden and basically went unnoticed by others .. in fact, His fellow Nazarenes assumed He was just another neighbor- the village carpenter’s son.   Yes, He seemed quieter, more kinder,  more at peace than most, with a joyful sense of humor, and never a curse word escaped His mouth.  He never got drunk and He obeyed the laws of Moses.    They assumed, He was just a rare soul lost amidst the crowds of Nazareth.. Someone who never gave anyone any trouble, was quiet and a wonderful help to His mother after Joseph died.

When our Lord toiled in the heat cutting wood and constructing masonry blocks to construct doorways and windows and ceiling beams for homes, He remained modest even physically..    He didn’t take off His tunic to expose His body as most men would do in the heat while working.   No doubt, He wore a thinner cloth covering for working which needed to be washed afterwards, but His modesty came from within .. His purity was expressed even by His demeanor and outward actions of what He did and didn’t choose to do.

Many who have seen Jesus in near death experiences say that He is tall, and built like a regular young man..   not “effeminate” as some paintings depict.    Nevertheless, He retained modesty before others so as not to call attention to Himself- as the angels in Heaven before the Father’s Throne.   Many of His peers may have found Him odd because of His purity.  After all, He grew up in Nazareth, where the people did not exactly have a holy reputation.  No doubt, He may have had some men assist Him in His father’s carpentry work, and as most working class men do, they may have tried to impress an attractive single woman nearby fetching water from a well, or going about her chores nearby.    Some comments would no doubt have been made, and I can imagine the other men testing young Jesus with words like, “so what do you think of that one!  she’d make a nice wife! “.   I can imagine Jesus looking up from His work at those who commented, and with gentleness in His voice and purity in His eyes, reply with  all sincerety: “she has a good heart”, then continue on with His work with His coworkers shaking their heads at Him.

I asked our Lord if He would allow me to open blindly to something of His words recorded in “He and I” regarding this meditation of His modesty., and opening the pages of that journal,  my eyes fell on His words:    “I Am the Friend who does good in the home, and who sometimes slips away before being recognized and thanked..”