Thought for March 14

 History:

• 1794: Eli Whitney patents cotton gin
• 1885: Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Mikado" premiers
• 1899: Zeppelin receives US patent for "Navigable Balloon"
• 1900: US goes on the gold standard
• 1913: South African Supreme Court declares marriages not celebrated under Christian rites or not registered are invalid--impacts all Muslim and Hindu marriages
• 1943: Nazi's liquidate Jewish Krakow ghetto
• 1950: FBI's 10 Most Wanted list begins
• 1964: Jack Ruby sentenced to death for killing Lee Harvey Oswald
• 1966: "Born Free" released
• 1973: John McCain released after 5+ years as POW
• 2006: Mike Wallace retires from "60 Minutes"
• 2017: Muirfield in Scotland votes to admit women after 273 years
• Born: Lucy Hobbs Taylor [1st US woman dentist], Casey Jones, Albert Einstein, Lee Petty [racer], Truett Cathy [Chick-fil-A], Frank Borman, Don Haskins [Texas El Paso], Michael Caine, Quincy Jones, Gene Cernan, Clyde Lee, Wes Unseld, Billy Crystal, J Fred Muggs, Danny Meyer [founded Shake Shack], Kirby Puckett, Stephen Curry, Simone Biles, 
• Died: Karl Marx, George Eastman, Walter Camp [Father of American football], Balto [Siberian Husky who led the sled team delivering diptheria antitoxin to Nome Alaska--Iditarod], Susan Hayward, Stephen Hawking, 

Thought:

Reading chapter 10 of Matthew this morning where I have placed numbers  [2 sets] in verses 23-42. The first set of 4 numbers I have placed in the margin are related to verses 16-22 where Jesus explains that following Him will not be easy. Most commentators think that these words were really directed at the disciples and what would happen after the crucifixion and before the fall of Jerusalem, but I think they apply to me as well--we are sheep among wolves; we will be delivered to courts and scourged; families will be divided; people will hate us because of our love for Jesus. What does Jesus say to those who endure and keep the faith:

• We will be saved [10:22]
• Jesus will confess us before the Father [10: 32]
• Even if we lose our lives for His sake, we gain life [10:39]
• We will never lose the reward Christ has planned for us [10:42]

Don't you love that Jesus tells us the truth--following Him is not easy, but the rewards are great and cannot be lost or taken away from us. 

My second set of three numbers is related to the first set. Jesus tells us that a servant is not above the Master. [10:24] So when I question why following Jesus is not easy, Jesus responds because the world will treat you the same way it treated Him. Now look at 10:25--it is enough that the disciple become as His teacher. So when I say I want to grow into the likeness of Christ, I want to be like Him, I want to die to self and let Him live in me---expect to be treated like Him. But praise God Jesus does not stop there, but provides reasons for hope and perseverance--

• Do not fear them because everything will one day be exposed. The truth will be known in this world or in the next. [10:26] The light is coming and when He does, everything will be revealed. 
• Do not fear those who kill the body [10:28]. Just fear, awe, honor the one to whom you have entrusted your soul. The One who holds your eternal destiny is trustworthy and faithful.
• Do not fear because you are valued by God. [10:31]. You are so loved and valued that Jesus came and died for you. If He loved you enough to die for you, will He not keep all His promises? 

So we keep the faith and endure because that is the only path to salvation, eternal life, and the reward of heaven--and we do not fear because He is the judge, He has our souls in His hand, and He loved us enough to die for us. We are blessed above all people. 

Blessings

Larry