Every Knee Shall Bow

Christ Suffered & Died on the Cross for all Mankind

Every Knee Shall Bow

Romans 14:1-23

As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for
disputes over opinions. One believes he may eat anything, while
the weak man eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise
him who abstains, and let not him who abstains pass judgment
on him who eats; for God has welcomed him. Who are you to
pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own
master that he stands or falls.

And he will be upheld, for the Master is able to make him stand.
One man esteems one day as better than another, while another
man esteems all days alike. Let every one be fully convinced
in his own mind.

He who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord.
He also who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives
thanks to God; while he who abstains, abstains in honor
of the Lord and gives thanks to God. None of us lives
to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live,
we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord;
so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are
the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again,
that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you,
why do you despise your brother? For we shall all stand
before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, "As I live,
says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every
tongue shall give praise to God "So each of us
shall give account of himself to God.

Then let us no more pass judgment on one another,
but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance
in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus
that nothing is unclean in itself; but it is unclean for any one who
thinks it unclean.

If your brother is being injured by what you eat, you are no longer
walking in love. Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of one
for whom Christ died. So do not let your good
be spoken of as evil.

For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness
and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit; he who thus serves Christ
is acceptable to God and approved by men. Let us then pursue
what makes for peace and for mutual up building. Do not,
for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything
is indeed clean, but it is wrong for any one to make others
fall by what he eats; it is right not to eat meat or drink wine
or do anything that makes your brother stumble.

The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God; happy is
he who has no reason to judge himself for what he approves.
But he who has doubts is condemned, if he eats, because
he does not act from faith; for whatever does not
proceed from faith is sin.

Note: Today's Gospel reading is John 8:47-59.
Find a Bible translation.

From the Revised Standard Version of the Bible,
copyright 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of
Christian Education of the National Council
of the Churches of Christ in the USA.
Used by permission.

Beliefnet

For Ever And Ever Amen

Philippians 2:1-13

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive
of love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and
sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind,
having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count
others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only
to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have
this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count
equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied
himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the
likeness of men. And being found in human form he
humbled himself and became obedient
unto death, even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him
the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the
earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, as you have
always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much
more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear
and trembling; for God is at work in you, both to will
and to work for his good pleasure.
Bible: King James Version

[Matthew 24:4-14]

"Watch out that no one deceives you. For many
will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,
' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars
and rumors of wars, but see to it that you
are not alarmed. Such things must happen,
but the end is still to come. Nation will rise
against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom.

There will be famines and earthquakes
in various places. All these are
the beginning of birth pains.

"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put
to death, and you will be hated by all nations because
of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith
and will betray and hate each other, and many false
prophets will appear and deceive many people.
Because of the increase of wickedness, the
love of most will grow cold, but he who
stands firm to the end will be saved.
And this gospel of the kingdom
will be preached in the whole
world as a testimony to all
nations, and then
the end will come.

An Interview With God!

John 10:19-30

There was again a division among the Jews because of
these words. Many of them said, "He has a demon, and
he is mad; why listen to him?" Others said, "These are not
the sayings of one who has a demon. Can a demon
open the eyes of the blind?"

It was the feast of the Dedication at Jerusalem; it was winter,
and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of
Solomon. So the Jews gathered round him and said to
him, "How long will you keep us in suspense?
If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."

Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe.
The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness
to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong
to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them,
and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they
shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of
my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is
greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them
out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

Inspiration for your soul

Once upon a time there was a rich King who had
four wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned
her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of
delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the 3rd wife very much and
was always showing her off to neighboring
kingdoms. However, he feared that one day
she would leave him for another.

He also loved his 2nd wife. She was his confidant
and was always kind, considerate and patient with him.
Whenever the King faced a problem, he could confide in
her, and she would help him get through the difficult times .

The King's 1st wife was a very loyal partner and
had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth
and kingdom. However, he did not love the first wife.
Although she loved him deeply, he hardly
took notice of her!

One day, the King fell ill and he knew his
time was short. He thought of his luxurious life and
wondered, "I now have four wives with me, but when
I die, I'll be all alone." Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I have
loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and
showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying,
will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No way!", replied the 4th wife, and she walked away
without another word. Her answer cut like a
sharp knife right into his heart.

The sad King then asked the 3rd wife,
"I have loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying,
will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No!", replied the 3rd wife. "Life is too good!
When you die, I'm going to remarry!" His heart
sank and turned cold. He then asked the 2nd wife,
"I have always turned to you for help and
you've always been there for me.
When I die, will you follow me
and keep me company?"

"I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!",
replied the 2nd wife. "At the very most,
I can only send you to your grave."

Her answer came like a bolt of lightning, and the King
was devastated. Then a voice called out: "I'll leave with you
and follow you no matter where you go." The King looked up,
and there was his first wife. She was so skinny as she suffered
from malnutrition and neglect. Greatly grieved, the King said
"I should have taken much better care of you
when I had the chance!"

In truth, we all have 4 wives in our lives:
Our 4th wife is our physical body.
No matter how much time and effort
we lavish in making it look good,
it will leave us when we die.

Our 3rd wife is our possessions, status and wealth.
When we die, it will all go to others.

Our 2nd wife is our family and friends.
No matter how much they have been there for us,
the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

And our 1st wife is our Spirituality .
Often neglected in pursuit of wealth,
power and pleasures of the world.
However, our spirituality is
the only thing that
will follow us
wherever we go.

So cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now,
for it is the only part of us that will follow us
to Paradise and continue with us
throughout Eternity.

When the world pushes you to your knees......
you're in the perfect position to pray.