Our paragraph topic is: (A hundredfold reward promised) Part 1.
Christ made a statement to his disciples to help them understand the nature of God our Father. He told them: "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." He told them this because they were thinking with the minds of men and not with the possibilities of God. He did not explain the simple example that he gave them with reference to the camel and the eye of the needle. He did not show them how it was next to impossible for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Instead he gave them this simple example to illustrate to them the physical limitations of this act.
So the disciples were introduced to the unlimited possibilities of God. Nothing is impossible for God and that was the understanding that Christ wanted his disciples to have. He wanted them to think with a different mind. He wanted them to see the power and majesty of the Father. He wanted them to believe the dangers of riches and how they would hinder one from entering the kingdom. And then Peter grasping the thought of not having riches and the thought of giving up all asked the question. Then Peter addressed him, saying, “Behold, we have left all and followed thee; what then shall we have?"
If we do not have riches, then what do we have? This is the questions that is on the minds of millions of people today. What do we get if we do not have the riches of today? What can we look forward to if we do not have the luxury of today? Do we get a brand new car in heaven? Do we get a million dollar home? Do we have wealth untold in heaven? What do we get then that we can not have now? What does heaven have to offer that is far more glorious than what the world offers now?
We see all the riches that others have that we want. We see the joy and the happiness that others have that we do not have. We are constantly bombarded with the images, and sounds, and impressions of the luxury of what wealth and riches has to offer and those are the things that we desire to have. So we set our minds to going about having those things that are not ours now. We commit ourselves to doing what it takes now, to get those things that our hearts desire. And for some the desire is so strong that there are no limits as to what they will do to get them.
Temptation is strong in the world. The desire and the passion for wealth and riches is nonstop. We see them in our everyday lives. We dream of them when we are asleep. We are consumed with their possession, in everything that we do. What will we sacrifice to have them? And for those who believe in the teachings of Christ, what do they want? What do they get for turning away from the world and turning to Christ? As Peter asked: "What shall we have?"
Christ made a statement to his disciples to help them understand the nature of God our Father. He told them: "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." He told them this because they were thinking with the minds of men and not with the possibilities of God. He did not explain the simple example that he gave them with reference to the camel and the eye of the needle. He did not show them how it was next to impossible for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Instead he gave them this simple example to illustrate to them the physical limitations of this act.
So the disciples were introduced to the unlimited possibilities of God. Nothing is impossible for God and that was the understanding that Christ wanted his disciples to have. He wanted them to think with a different mind. He wanted them to see the power and majesty of the Father. He wanted them to believe the dangers of riches and how they would hinder one from entering the kingdom. And then Peter grasping the thought of not having riches and the thought of giving up all asked the question. Then Peter addressed him, saying, “Behold, we have left all and followed thee; what then shall we have?"
If we do not have riches, then what do we have? This is the questions that is on the minds of millions of people today. What do we get if we do not have the riches of today? What can we look forward to if we do not have the luxury of today? Do we get a brand new car in heaven? Do we get a million dollar home? Do we have wealth untold in heaven? What do we get then that we can not have now? What does heaven have to offer that is far more glorious than what the world offers now?
We see all the riches that others have that we want. We see the joy and the happiness that others have that we do not have. We are constantly bombarded with the images, and sounds, and impressions of the luxury of what wealth and riches has to offer and those are the things that we desire to have. So we set our minds to going about having those things that are not ours now. We commit ourselves to doing what it takes now, to get those things that our hearts desire. And for some the desire is so strong that there are no limits as to what they will do to get them.
Temptation is strong in the world. The desire and the passion for wealth and riches is nonstop. We see them in our everyday lives. We dream of them when we are asleep. We are consumed with their possession, in everything that we do. What will we sacrifice to have them? And for those who believe in the teachings of Christ, what do they want? What do they get for turning away from the world and turning to Christ? As Peter asked: "What shall we have?"
Christ came that we would have life. He came that we would have life and have it more abundantly. For those who know this meaning there is joy in their hearts. For those who do not, the meaning is lost. What profits a man if he gains the whole world yet looses his own soul? Better still what can a man give for his soul if it is lost. There is nothing more valuable in this world than the life that was given back to man by the sacrifice made by Christ.
What do we get? We get eternal life with Christ. What do we get? We get eternal joy and happiness with Christ. What do we get? We get eternal peace here and now with the knowledge of who we are in Him that created us and gave us life. For he will provide. He will protect. He will assure that we will have all that is needed to live and prosper and to carry his message of life and joy and peace and happiness in the Lord. This is what we get. And for those who do not understand but want to know, seek him. Ask him. Search for him in truth and honesty and you will know what you get. You get the gift of love that comes from a father who loves you. You get a gift that is priceless if you know it's value.
Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.
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