The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Matthew 12:30,
"Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters."
Jesus points to two types of people. Not one type and not three or four. Only two. Those who are "not with me", those do not "gather" with Jesus, but "scatter." Then, of course there are those who do. If we are not with Jesus, then we oppose him.
Those who "gather" with Jesus... what are they gathering? A couple of verse earlier Jesus said, "if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.", verse 28. That is what Jesus is doing! He is building his kingdom. There are those who work together with him to gather in the harvest of souls, those who make up the kingdom of God. On the other hand, there are those who "scatter", those who oppose the work Jesus Christ does in the world, right up today.
I call these two groups "Team Cain" and "Team Abel". We see the division of mankind right in the very first book of our Bibles. In Genesis 4 we read of two sons of Adam and Eve. Cain was the older who killed his brother Abel simply because Cain was not on God's "team", not in the least bit. Abel was.
John makes reference to the account of Genesis 4 when he speaks of the animosity Team Cain has for Team Abel, "Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you." What John refers to as "the world" I simply call "Team Cain" since Cain represents animosity and an aggressive nature toward those who seek to do God's will in working together with the Lord as he builds his kingdom.
Which team do you "play" for? You are either on one team or the other - there is no other option for mankind.
"Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters."
Jesus points to two types of people. Not one type and not three or four. Only two. Those who are "not with me", those do not "gather" with Jesus, but "scatter." Then, of course there are those who do. If we are not with Jesus, then we oppose him.
Those who "gather" with Jesus... what are they gathering? A couple of verse earlier Jesus said, "if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.", verse 28. That is what Jesus is doing! He is building his kingdom. There are those who work together with him to gather in the harvest of souls, those who make up the kingdom of God. On the other hand, there are those who "scatter", those who oppose the work Jesus Christ does in the world, right up today.
I call these two groups "Team Cain" and "Team Abel". We see the division of mankind right in the very first book of our Bibles. In Genesis 4 we read of two sons of Adam and Eve. Cain was the older who killed his brother Abel simply because Cain was not on God's "team", not in the least bit. Abel was.
John makes reference to the account of Genesis 4 when he speaks of the animosity Team Cain has for Team Abel, "Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you." What John refers to as "the world" I simply call "Team Cain" since Cain represents animosity and an aggressive nature toward those who seek to do God's will in working together with the Lord as he builds his kingdom.
Which team do you "play" for? You are either on one team or the other - there is no other option for mankind.
Those who do not gather with Jesus scatter.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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