Good morning! Yesterday we read on the parable of the rich man. The rich man asked Jesus, “what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” Today we will finish the parable and read what Jesus’ taught the disciples through the exchange of conversation with the rich man. Enjoy today’s reading.

Bible Verse – Matthew 19:21-30 NLT
“21 Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. 24 I’ll say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

25 The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.

26 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

27 Then Peter said to him, “We’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get?”

28 Jesus replied, “I assure you that when the world is made new and the Son of Man sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.”

Reflection
The rich man appeared to be doing everything that the commandments required, but he lacked one thing, he wasn’t willing to give up everything to follow Jesus. While the Lord knows our heart, our intentions and resistance, He also knew without His sacrifice on the cross, we would all fall short of entering the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is the only answer to eternal life. On our own we will never be righteous enough or able to follow every commandment, which is confirmed in His statement, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

Let’s look at Romans chapter 10 verses 5-13, for additional clarification.

“5 For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands. 6 But faith’s way of getting right with God says, “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will go up to heaven?’ (to bring Christ down to earth).7 And don’t say, ‘Who will go down to the place of the dead?’ (to bring Christ back to life again).” 8 In fact, it says, “The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.”

And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: 
9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.

Brothers and sisters, there is a lot more in these verses that I cannot cover today, but I want to ensure you understand at least two things:

• Jesus came so that you might be saved.

• You can’t go to heaven without declaring Jesus is Lord, believing in your heart that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, believing in your heart that you have been made right with God and openly declaring by faith that you are saved – following Him. (Refer to Romans 10:9-10)

Today, is the day that you can decide to follow Jesus. My prayer is that each reader will choose to follow Christ Jesus from this day forward.

Prayers
Father God, in the name of Jesus we commit our lives to you. Lord, forgive us for our sins (known and unknown), and teach us to walk in your ways. Lord, we believe you died on the cross for our sins, and on the third day you arose from the grave conquering both sin and death. Lord, thank you for paying the ultimate price for our sins. Lord, we receive you as our Lord and Savior, and choose to follow you from this day forward. Lord, cover us and begin to change us from this day forward. Lord, we don’t want to go back to our old ways. Lord, strengthen us in the faith, equip us for the journey ahead, give us wisdom and discernment to serve you with all our heart and mind. Lord, we pray for our family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors and communities, and ask that you begin to speak to them and change their hearts to become more like you. Lord, do a mighty work in us so that others will see you in us. In Jesus name, amen.

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