Jesus contradicts Himself???

I would like to consider two seemingly contradictory statements by Jesus found in the book of Luke
~Luke 9:50 "...for he who is not against you is for you." (Context Luke 9:46-50)
~Luke 11:23 "He who is not with Me is against Me..." (Context Luke 11:14-23)

     It seems as though we have a contradiction here!  However, we can't just cut out little snippets of scripture, compare them and draw a conclusion.  We must consider the context!
     In the first passage the disciples were complaining to Jesus because they saw a man casting out demons in the name of Christ who was not a part of their group.  They wanted to stop him, but Christ says no.  This man is obviously a believer (he's casting out in the name of Jesus).  Jesus is not stating a general truism here.  Remember He's talking to a specific group of people (his disciples) and trying to get His point across.  His point is that we must guard against pride in our group and position (as the disciples were guilty of here).  We should not stand in the way of those who are doing kingdom work.  I would like to note, though, that this is not an invitation to accept denominationalism and divisions.  We must be unified in Christ.
     In the second passage we have Jesus himself casting out demons, yet people are refusing to believe in Him (many were actually attributing His power to Satan).  Jesus is making the point that people have to make a choice...  Are you going to follow Christ or not?  If you choose to follow Christ then you're "with Him," but if you choose not to follow Christ then, by process of elimination, you're "against Him."  There is no middle, luke-warm ground. 
     So while on the surface we seem to have two passages that contradict one another, they are actually  consistent with Jesus' teachings, upon further investigation, .
     My question to you is, where do you fall in relation tothese passages?
    ~Do you find yourself being prideful in your group or associations?
    ~Do you find yourself being prideful in your position or responsibilities?
    ~Do you find yourself looking down on others who have a "lower" rank?
    ~Who are you going to choose?

Thoughts????

Patrick Antonucci

The Good Part

Luke 10:41-42 "But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." (NASB) To keep this short, I only quoted Jesus' point, to read the entire passage, click on this Luke 10:38-42.

The good part which Jesus is referring to here is devotion to Jesus and His teaching.
     How often in life do we let our worries in life distract us from Christ?
     How often in life do we let our concerns in life distract us from Christ?  
     How often do we get caught up in preparations, but never actually get to the doing of the thing we're preparing for?
     What are we doing that is keeping us fron the good part?
     What are we worrying about that is stealing our devotion to Christ?
     What is it in your life that is choking out your devotion to Christ?
     What little thing can you surrender to God today that will release some of the worries and concern and help you get the good part?

May you have a blessed day!

Thought???

Patrick Antonucci

The Disciples Prayer

The prayer found in Luke chapter 11:1-4 is most commonly refered to as the "model prayer" (a more common place to read of this prayer is in the Gospel of Matthew), but I would like you to think of it as the "Disciples Prayer" for the next few minutes.
Heres the text:
1It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples."
2And He said to them, "When you pray, say:
'Father, hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
3'Give us each day our daily bread.
4'And forgive us our sins,
For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.'"

Notice that the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. I don't want to get into whether or not to memorize this prayer or if just saying these exact words is some kind of magic formula (but recall that Jesus likely spoke in Aramaic and the original gospel was probably written in Greek).  I want, instead, to point out a few things that will hopefully prove helpful in your prayer life
1) "When you pray"  Implies that you ARE praying
2) Addressed to the Father and immediately gives Him praise and prays for Gods will to be accomplished
3) Petitions God for necessities (God has promised to give us good things, just maybe not what we always expect)
4) Prays for forgiveness, and admits that they too need to forgive others
5) Prays for protection against sin, not that God would lead us to sin, but that given the sinful world we live in that we may resist with His help
 
Hope you had your prayer time today!!!
God bless you...
 
Thoughts???
 
Patrick Antonucci

Sacrifice!

John 3:16
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life..." (NASB)

One informal definition of the word sacrifice is: giving up something, often for someone else.

This, of course, is an understatement of what was done for us when God "gave" us His son.  Jesus chose to leave His heavenly dwelling to come to earth as a man, to take on sin and to save us.  God, in His infinite love for us, sent His Son to die on the cross for us.  That is sacrifice!  That is surely giving up something for someone else!  Not to mention that God did not have to save himself, nor His Son, they are both complelely righteous and holy.
In my previous post I talked about the importance of memorials and the Lord's Supper as a memorial being set up, in one sense, to remind us of Christ's death, burial and resurrection.  Through this memorial we are given a weelky reminder of the sacrifice that was made for us by Christ, its importance in our life and how much He deserves our worship and praise.
Did you participate in the Lord's Supper this past Lord's Day?  If not, why not?  If so, did you focus on Christ and what He did for you on that fateful day at Calvary, His sacrifice?

Let me know,

Patrick Antonucci

Memorials

Joshua 4: 5-7
5 and Joshua said to them, "Cross again to the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel.
6 "Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?' 7 then you shall say to them, 'Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off ' So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever."  (NASB)

     Whether or not you have children, the idea of memorials can be a powerful concept.  Memorials serve as a reminder of somthing significant that should be in the forefront of ones memory.  Think about it.  The church has several memorials; The Lord's Supper (Communion), Baptism and The Lord's Day.  All serve their function in the lives of christians, but they all serve to remind us of important events.  Communion; the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Christ-the cornerstone of the faith, Baptism; the point at which Christ's saving work is applied to our lives through faith, by God's grace, and The Lord's Day; a time to worship God.  What other memorials do you have in your life?  Are they ones that people in general acknowledge, or are they specific to you and/or your family/friends?  Also, what purpose do they serve; of what do they remind you?  ("What do these stones mean to you?")

 Let me know,

Patrick Antonucci