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| The Attitude♥of God Jesus said: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.“ |
Matthew 5:48. |
| Jesus | is not speaking, in the above quote, about sinlessness! He is speaking of attitude-in-action. He is speaking of a behavioural value system for demonstration among His people. |
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| So – | If you consider yourself a Christian in any sense whatsoever, this is for you – now! | |
"I say to you, 'Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust'." |
Matthew 5:44-46. | |
| OK! | Now, where do we begin? | |
| "...it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God..." | 1 Peter 4:17. | |
| Jesus had warned us, concerning His coming judgment of us all at His return, that – | ||
| "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me." | Matthew 25:40. | |
| Remember then! | Jesus, our example, demonstrated this way forward for us in His own personal behaviour. He even used violence to clear the temple's Court of the Gentiles of distracting commerce, and then challenged them all with – |
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| "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'?" | Mark 11:17. | |
| His disciples later saw this as divine fulfillment of the following prophecy – | ||
| "For the zeal of Your House has consumed Me; and the reproaches of the ones who reproach You have fallen on Me." | Psalm 69:9. | |
| But, | it was not stones that Jesus was protecting! It was people! | |
His compassion produced a zeal for the welfare of people which could not be intimidated; particularly for those seeking God who were being hindered by the commercial interests of Israel's priesthood. |
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Remember also then, the words of the prophet Zechariah concerning the value of those who belong to God, for this is where we are to begin – |
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| "...he who touches you touches the pupil of His [God's] eye..." | Zechariah 2:8. | |
| Do our attitudes to others really reflect God's sensitivity concerning the welfare of others? | ||
| And, | with the same zeal that Christ demonstrated? | |
| It is time to begin! |
