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The Words of Jesus of Nazareth
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Whoever hears my words, and acts upon them, is wise, and builds on a foundation made of stone.
The rains descend, and floods rise. Hurricane winds beat against the house, and still it stands: for it is built on solid rock.
But whoever hears my life-giving words, and rejects them, builds on a foundation of sand. The rains descend, and the floods rise. Hurricane winds beat against the house, and the foundation crumbles. The house collapses, and great it its fall.
Two men went into the temple to pray, one a proud, self-righteous man, the other a tax collector known for his dishonesty. The proud man prayed this prayer: "Thank God I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially that cheating tax collector I see in the corner. I never cheat, or commit adultery. I fast twice a week, and I give the temple a tenth of all that I earn."
But the tax collector remained in the back of the temple, and dared not lift his eyes toward heaven as he sorrowfully prayed, "God, please be merciful to me, an unworthy sinner."
I tell you that the tax collector who recognized his need of God's mercy, returned to his house lighthearted, free from anxiety, and forgiven. Those who, in their pride, exalt themselves, will be humbled, while those who humble themselves will soar above the cares of this world to a place of blessing and honour.
Let even the little children come to me, and don't hold them back. For the kingdom of God belongs to hearts so trusting; for without a childlike faith you will never enter the kingdom.
If any person chooses to do my Father's will, he will easily discover whether my teaching is of God, or whether I am just preaching my own ideas. My doctrine is not mine, but of him who sent me.
The world worships blindly. At least as Jews, we know what we worship, and that the world's salvation is born from among us. Believe me: the time is coming, and has already come, when people who would worship God won't run here or there, looking for the place where God is supposed to be saying: "Here He is! This is where we should pray."
True believers will worship God in spirit and reality. God the Father seeks those who offer this kind of sacrifice, of worship and of praise. If you were to keep silent, then the very stones would shout out.
Perhaps you have read that, when King David and his soldiers were hungry, they entered the temple and at the holy bread reserved for the priests, an act that was forbidden by the religious laws.
If you were a student of the Hebrew laws, you would know that on the Sabbath days the priests that work in the temple desecrate the Sabbath, yet are counted blameless. I tell you there are more important things than the laws of the temple. If you had grasped the meaning of the scripture, "I would rather have mercy than sacrifice," you would have ceased condemning the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.
Suppose an animal you cared for fell into a ditch on the Sabbath, wouldn't you make every effort to pull it out? Isn't your life more valuable? You think nothing of spending the Sabbath performing long ceremonies and observing religious liturgies, how is it then that you criticize me for healing on the Lord's day? When will you stop judging by mere appearances, and begin to make right judgments? The Sabbath was created for you. You were not created for the Sabbath.
I have come into this world that the blind might see, and they that boast of their vision might become aware of how blind they truly are.
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These are the very words of Jesus of Nazereth. Taken originally from the Bible , and arranged here by subject as they appear in Lee Cantelon's book "The Words" (c) 1997. [www.thewords.com]
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The_Words
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