New Warrior Ministries!: II Pentecost (Second Sunday after Pentecost)

II Pentecost

2nd Sunday after Pentecost!

Greetings in Christ Jesus,

Epistle: Romans 5: 1-10 (Same reading as the General Lection for the Apostles: another remembrance of All Saints, this time the Holy Fathers of the Church. “Being justified by faith, let us have peace with God…”Also, glory in tribulations… “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son; much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.” Again: taking up the cross.)

Gospel: Matthew 6: 19-25 Lay up treasures in heaven, not in earth. “If your eye be single, your whole body shall be full of light.” No man can serve two masters.

Psalm: Psalm 74/75 “We will praise You, O God: we will praise, and we will call upon Your Name. We will relate Your wondrous works: when I shall take a time, I will judge justices. The earth is melted, and all that dwell therein: I have established the pillars thereof…”

Friends,

Justified by faith! What does this mean to us today? According to today’s epistle we will not be neglected in suffering, we will suffer. We are told to glory or boast in our suffering as well as in our hope of sharing the glory of God. We are told to store up treasure in heaven and not here on this earth. Our heart will be wherever our treasure is, according to the gospel. We have a warning here; 22 the light of your body is your eye. If your eye be single, your whole body shall be lightsome. 23 But if your eye be evil your whole body shall be darksome. If then the light that is in you, be darkness: the darkness itself how great shall it be!

So what is this “justified by faith” meaning? We simply believe and that is it? Regardless of what comes upon us and regardless of our reaction to it; we are justified simply because we believe? In another scripture we are told that even the demons believe and tremble, are they justified by their belief as well? What does it mean to store up treasure in heaven? Is this simply a matter of believing? I say that it is not.

We believe and have faith that Jesus is true to His word and that we have salvation through Him unto everlasting life in the light of Almighty God, we store up our treasures in heaven by being faithful to the commandments of Jesus; love God first with all of our heart, with all of our mind, with all of our soul, and with all of our strength. Secondly we love our neighbor as our self. It is by doing these two commandments that we begin to store up treasure in heaven by doing for others. Care for people, clothe them, feed them, give them water, pray for them, and comfort them. This is storing up treasure in heaven. By loving and acting out of true love.

It need not be difficult through many rituals, care for one another as our Lord Jesus cared for us. Carry each other’s burdens as best as we can. Of course we are limited often times in what we can actually do but we do what we can and never, ever, neglect prayer for others, this is free to all of us.

Remember that it is Almighty God who judges us; rejoice in His love and care of and for us and do not be so quick to judge, discern what is right and wrong and stay away from the wrong but it is not ours to judge, judgment and discernment are not the same and are often times confused with each other, by discernment we may keep our hearts and our souls pure, by judgment we cast judgment on ourselves as well. By this I mean that we do not determine who goes into eternal damnation and who does not, we discern one who is on the road to eternal damnation but we do not send that one there. That is God’s decision alone.

God can do all things; there is no situation that we get ourselves into that God cannot help us out of. Don’t think though that if there is some earthly penalty that we must pay that we will escape this because we suddenly come to God for help. We simply must have the faith and believe. Keep in mind however; God's plan is far above ours. We suffer and we have plenty coming based on what God Himself has in store for us whether it is for purging, for testing, or for reward or necessity for our life. God is in control.

We do not know when this will end and the new beginning will be, in spite of the many modern prophets who make a living selling Jesus and the destruction of the world; we have no clue when it will be. In the meantime, it rains on us all, haters and lovers of Jesus. The sun shines on us all, haters and lovers of Jesus. We remain together in this world until that day. So take a lesson from the readings. Continue to praise and worship Jesus the Christ and the Father through Him. Never cease to pray and live according to the gospel. Allow the Holy Ghost to guide you. Love God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind, and with all of your strength; love your neighbor as yourself. You never know whose life you will change because of this love of God in you.

The light has entered the world and the times; they are a-changing.

If one does not have love for the soul of mankind and the desire that all come to the truth than one does not have Christ in them fully.

Little children, love one another; because this is our Lord’s command and if you fulfill this, nothing else is needed. Through love and because of love we will follow all of the commandments that we have been given. They are written on our hearts by the hand of Almighty God. We simply need to see them within us and follow.

Remember; if we confess our sins and repent, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity.

May the peace of our Lord Jesus the Christ be with you throughout this day and the rest of your life. May the Holy Spirit fill us all to overflowing so that everyone in whose path we cross may receive a blessing from our Lord Jesus the Christ.

Blessings.

In Christ.