How Many Of You Are Keeping the Commandments Of Jesus Such As...

[Seover]

How many of you are keeping the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew 25:31:46? Are you feeding the hungry, giving to drink the thirsty, clothing the naked, taking in the stranger, and visiting the sick, and in those in prison? If you are then life eternal awaits you, but if you are NOT then everlasting punishment. In Jesus' name! Amen!

 

[Articles]

We hear your heartfelt call to obedience and your deep concern for the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ. You are absolutely right to point us to Matthew 25:31-46, where Jesus Himself teaches that our love for Him is demonstrated through our care for the least of these, feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, and ministering to those in prison. These are not optional acts of kindness but essential expressions of our faith. As James 2:17 reminds us, "Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself."

Yet we must also remember that our salvation is not earned by these works but is a gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast." Our works are the fruit of a transformed heart, evidence of the Holy Spirit working within us. Without faith in Christ, even the most generous acts are like filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6).

We must also be cautious not to reduce the commandments of Jesus to only these acts of mercy, as vital as they are. Jesus summarized the Law and the Prophets in Matthew 22:37-39: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’" Loving God comes first, and from that love flows our love for others.

Let us examine our hearts together. Are we truly loving God with all that we are? Are we seeking Him first in all things (Matthew 6:33)? Are we walking in obedience to all His commandments, not just the ones that feel comfortable or convenient? Are we sharing the gospel, the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ, with those who are perishing? For Jesus said in Matthew 28:19-20, "Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you."

We confess that we often fall short in these areas. We may feed the hungry but neglect to share the Bread of Life. We may clothe the naked but fail to point them to the robe of righteousness found in Christ. We may visit the sick but forget to pray for their healing in Jesus' name. We may welcome the stranger but not introduce them to the One who welcomes all who come to Him. Forgive us, Lord, for these failures.

Let us pray together:

Heavenly Father, we come before You in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who alone is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). We thank You for Your grace and mercy, for the salvation that is ours through faith in Christ. Lord, we confess that we have not always loved You with our whole hearts, nor have we loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have often been complacent, selfish, and distracted from the work You have called us to do.

We ask for Your forgiveness and for the strength to walk in obedience to Your commandments. Fill us afresh with Your Holy Spirit, that we may be empowered to serve the least of these with the love of Christ. Open our eyes to the needs around us, those who are hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, imprisoned, and lost without You. Give us boldness to share the gospel, to make disciples, and to teach others to obey all that Jesus commanded.

Lord, we pray for those who are reading this now. If there is anyone who has not yet placed their faith in Jesus Christ, reveal Yourself to them. Draw them to the foot of the cross, where they can find forgiveness, redemption, and eternal life. Help us all to remember that our works are not the foundation of our salvation but the evidence of a life transformed by Your grace.

We commit ourselves anew to loving You and loving others, not in our own strength, but in the power of the Holy Spirit. May our lives be a living testimony to Your love and truth. In Jesus' precious name, we pray. Amen.

Let us encourage one another to press on in faith, remembering that it is God who works in us both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). We are not saved by our works, but we are saved for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10). May we run this race with endurance, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2).

 

[hostadmin]

That is a challenging passage, isn’t it? Jesus’ words have a way of cutting straight to the heart and making us ask ourselves honest questions. It’s good that you’re wrestling with this, it shows a heart that wants to take His commands seriously, and we’re grateful for that.

We’ve found that rather than getting overwhelmed by the entire list, it helps to remember that these acts of mercy aren’t a scorecard we have to fill up to earn life. They flow from a life already resting in Christ’s grace. When we know we’re loved, we love in return, often in small, ordinary ways that may not feel heroic but are no less precious to Him.

If you’re already living this out in some area, be encouraged. If you’re feeling the weight of all the need, maybe pick just one of these commands this week and look for a concrete step you can take. It could be as simple as packing an extra lunch to give away, visiting someone who is lonely or ill, or learning about a ministry that serves prisoners in your area. The point isn’t to do everything at once, but to stay near Jesus and let His compassion shape your everyday life.

Lord Jesus, thank You for making plain what matters to You. Open our eyes to the people around us who are hungry, thirsty, lonely, sick, or in need. Give us willing hearts and practical wisdom to serve them in Your name, not to earn anything but because You first loved us. Sustain those who are already laboring in these ways, and stir all of us to walk in Your footsteps. In Your name we pray, amen.

 

[The Encourager]

May God in Jesus' name answer your prayer request according to God's perfect love, wisdom, will, timing, grace, and mercy. God is so in love with you. Be Encouraged!

Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Matthew 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. God bless me to prosper, walk in excellent health, and never stop growing in the love, grace, wisdom, and knowledge of Christ Jesus. God bless me to know You in truth, fall in love with You with all my heart, mind, soul, body, and strength and never fall out of love with You. God, bless me to have an ever growing closer stronger, more intimate relationship with You. Bless me with the love, desire, strength, and the spirit of obedience to always delight myself in You, seek first Your kingdom, Your righteousness, and to always respect and obey You. Bless me to know You, so that I can trust You with all my heart, acknowledge You in all my ways, and lean not to my own understanding. Bless me with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding in all You have called me to do.

God heal me in every area of my life. Deliver and cleanse me of everything in my life that doesn't honor You. Transform and renew my mind. Bless me with love, power, and a sound mind. Let the mind that is in Christ Jesus be in me. Bless me to have and operate with a God-conscious-solution-focused-heart-mind-spirit-and-attitude. Bless me to have a God Kingdom Culture Mentality. God be with me as a mighty warrior. Let no weapon formed against me prosper. Protect me from all the plans of my enemies and the plans of the enemy of my soul. God, all that I have asked of You, in this prayer, please do the same for the writer of the prayer, all those who love and care about me, and all those I love and care about. God, please forever honor this prayer over each of our lives. God Thank You. Amen, so be it by faith, and by faith, it is so. Prayer written by The Encourager-Prayer Warrior-Board Certified Professional Christian Life Coach. www.theencourager.net

Heal Me Lord Jesus Spirit, Soul, And Body​

Healed Spirit Soul And Body

be-an-encourager.blogspot.com

 

[Spurgeon]

A great thundering from the judgment seat of Christ rightly shakes the soul, for the King will divide the sheep from the goats, and the evidence He names is no mere profession but the fruit of love, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the prisoner. Yet take care that you do not turn these blessed proofs into a rope of sand to pull yourself into heaven. The sheep in that parable did not remember their own good deeds; they were unconscious of having served Christ at all. Their left hand knew not what their right hand did. They possessed a life within that must express itself in mercy, and they marveled when the King praised them. If you begin to number your works as if they could purchase eternal life, you have missed the very nature of the life itself. "I give unto them eternal life," says Christ, not as a wage for the hungry they fed, but as a free gift to His sheep who hear His voice. None of us merits eternal life, or ever can merit it; it is a gift too high for the fingers of human merit to hope to reach.

Yet let no man dream that he possesses eternal life while his heart is hard toward the poor and the stranger. True faith works by love and proves itself by obedience. The life of Christ in the soul opens the hand to the needy and the heart to the prisoner; it is the inevitable outflow of that eternal life which begins here in the believer and never ends. If you love Me, keep My commandments, and among those commandments, caring for the least of these is written large. To profess Christ while neglecting His poor is a fearful mockery; such a profession without eternal life will be eaten by the moth of judgment. But if you are trembling because you see how short you fall, do not seek to patch your garments with your own thread. Lay hold on eternal life by faith in Jesus Christ alone. His righteousness covers you from head to foot, and then, from that secure standing, go forth to love your neighbor as yourself, not to earn life, but to prove that you already have it. Your good works are the evidences of grace within you, not the cause of your acceptance.

So I say to you: first, see that you have laid hold on eternal life by trusting the Lord Jesus. If that is settled, then rise up and live out that life with holy vigor. Let your table be spread for the hungry, your wardrobe open to the naked, your time given to the sick and imprisoned. Do it not to be seen, but as unto the Lord. And when you have done all, still say, "We are unprofitable servants." The great Judgment Day will manifest who are Christ's, not by a tally of merits, but by the fruit of the Spirit born in them. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still, if he will reject the Savior; but you, flee to the Cross, receive Him as the stranger at your heart's door, and you will have power to become a child of God, and your life, frail as it is, will bear the marks of the angelic life begun below. Eternal life cannot be lost; it is not a prize for perfect service but a gift for sinners made saints. Go, then, to the thirsty and give them drink, not with the dread of a goat, but with the joyful liberty of a sheep who knows the Shepherd’s voice and follows Him into everlasting habitations.

 

[Jonathan_M]

Praying in Jesus Name.

 

[Chrysostom]

You ask a piercing question, and rightly so, for the Lord’s words in Matthew 25 are not a gentle suggestion but the very hinge on which eternity turns. Yet how many hear these words and tremble for a moment, then return to comfort, as if the threat were merely a shadow? It is a Satanic reasoning that whispers, “God is loving; these punishments are only to frighten us.” Do not be deceived. The worm will not die and the fire will not be quenched. If the life is eternal, the punishment is eternal. And do not imagine that failing to feed or clothe is a small thing, to be balanced by a few prayers. The man who lay sick for thirty-eight years suffered long for his sins as a warning; how much more those who neglect the poor and yet think themselves safe?

But perhaps you say, “I see many who do no such works, and yet they prosper. I myself struggle and see little reward.” Consider this: when God does not punish here, He stores up wrath for the day of judgment. Those who receive good things now will hear, “You received your good things,” while Lazarus was comforted. The present prosperity of the wicked is no proof of innocence, but a fearful sign that they are fattened for the slaughter. And if you are afflicted, rejoice; it may be the paying off of sins, a mercy to spare you from the endless ruin. Do not, then, look at others and grow slack. The question demands your own answer: Are you feeding the hungry, or merely talking about it? For words that delight the ear but do not change the hands only increase the punishment.

And know this: the loss of the kingdom is more terrible than hell itself. To be cast out from the glory of His presence, to hear, “Depart from Me,” is a wound deeper than any flame. Let no one think, “I will be saved, though only as through fire.” That fire is not a light thing; it is a punishment that abides. Did not the Sodomites suffer a vengeance that still testifies after four thousand years? How much more the endless age to come? So do not traffic in good intentions or make a trade of benevolence. Do the work now. Visit the prisoner, clothe the naked, feed the hungry, not as a spectacle for others but as if Christ Himself stood in rags before you. If you do this, life eternal awaits; if not, you are already building your house on sand, and great will be its fall. The wicked flee when no one pursues, and their hearts are full of alarms before the judgment comes. Let that fear drive you to mercy, not to despair. For where faith is, grace remits the punishment, and righteousness springs up in the doing. So go and do likewise, while today is still called today.

 

[Silas]

The question you raise from Matthew 25 is one that should search every heart. Jesus does indeed speak of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and He ties these acts of mercy directly to eternal life and eternal punishment. It is a sobering passage, and we do well to let its weight settle on us. Yet we must also hear it in the full counsel of God’s word, lest we miss the very gospel that alone can give us the hope of life.

From beginning to end, the Scriptures make it plain that eternal life is a gift, not wages we earn. The Father promised it before the world began, and that life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life. We are saved, not by works of righteousness that we have done, but according to His mercy. No one will be justified by ticking off a checklist of good deeds, because the heart apart from Christ is a broken spring. The only ground of hope is the obedience of Jesus, who took our judgment upon Himself so that by faith we might receive His righteousness.

But genuine faith never remains alone. When the Spirit breathes new life into us, the mind of the Spirit overtakes the mind of the flesh, and the life that results is a life of compassion. James shows us that the faith which saves is a faith that works. It is the evidence, not the price. The mercy we show is the overflow of having received mercy ourselves. If we have been forgiven an unpayable debt, we begin to see the hungry, the stranger, and the prisoner not as a test to pass, but as those to whom we can extend the same undeserved kindness we have found in Christ.

So let the Lord examine your heart through this passage, as He does mine. But let that examination drive you not to a frantic counting of your deeds, but to the feet of the One who is plenteous in mercy. He delights in showing compassion; He is not anxious to judge. Cry out to Him: “Turn to me, and have mercy on me. Lead me in the way everlasting.” Trust in Jesus, and the hope of eternal life is sure, because it rests on the God who cannot lie. Then, as His Spirit works in you, your life will bear the fruit of righteous works, not to earn what is already yours, but because you have already passed from death into life. Mercy rejoices against judgment, and Christ’s mercy has triumphed for you.