{"id":6654,"date":"2015-06-28T00:05:10","date_gmt":"2015-06-28T07:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/?p=6654"},"modified":"2015-06-27T13:53:10","modified_gmt":"2015-06-27T20:53:10","slug":"cant-wait","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/2015\/06\/28\/cant-wait\/","title":{"rendered":"Can’t Wait"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it came close to the time for his Ascension, he gathered up his courage and steeled himself for the journey to Jerusalem. He sent messengers on ahead. They came to a Samaritan village to make arrangements for his hospitality. But when the Samaritans learned that his destination was Jerusalem, they refused hospitality. When the disciples James and John learned of it, they said, \u201cMaster, do you want us to call a bolt of lightning down out of the sky and incinerate them?\u201d<\/p>\n

\tJesus turned on them: \u201cOf course not!\u201d And they traveled on to another village.<\/p>\n

\tOn the road someone asked if he could go along. \u201cI\u2019ll go with you, wherever,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\tJesus was curt: \u201cAre you ready to rough it? We\u2019re not staying in the best inns, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tJesus said to another, \u201cFollow me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHe said, \u201cCertainly, but first excuse me for a couple of days, please. I have to make arrangements for my father\u2019s funeral.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tJesus refused. \u201cFirst things first. Your business is life, not death. And life is urgent: Announce God\u2019s kingdom!\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThen another said, \u201cI\u2019m ready to follow you, Master, but first excuse me while I get things straightened out at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tJesus said, \u201cNo procrastination. No backward looks. You can\u2019t put God\u2019s kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day.\u201d (Luke 9:51-62)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\tWhen the Samaritans learned Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, they become inhospitable. Why? Because one of the big arguments between Jews and Samaritans was over the question of where to worship God. Jews insisted that Jerusalem was the only right place, while the Samaritans believed that only Mt. Gerazim would do. <\/p>\n

\tJames and John suggested Jesus simply wipe the Samaritans from the earth. They didn\u2019t like Samaritans anyway. They believed they were headed to Jerusalem so Jesus could lead armies against the enemies of God. So why not start early and get rid of these troublesome, rude Samaritans?<\/p>\n

\tJesus told them no. They didn\u2019t understand Jesus\u2019 purpose at all, any more than those along the way who indicated a willingness to join Jesus, but wanted to wait awhile. Those who were giving Jesus excuses were doing so because they wanted to wait to see how things turned out. Was he really the Messiah? Would he really bring in the kingdom. They did not understand Jesus\u2019 real purpose any more than John and James. <\/p>\n

\tThe Christian message is called \u201cgood news\u201d for a reason. Jesus didn\u2019t come to raise armies, he came to bring the kingdom of God to us by sacrificing himself on the cross for us. He offers us far more than any earthly kingdom. He offers us eternity.<\/p>\n

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When it came close to the time for his Ascension, he gathered up his courage and steeled himself for the journey to Jerusalem. He sent messengers on ahead. They came to a Samaritan village to make arrangements for his hospitality. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[18,17,16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6654"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6654"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6656,"href":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6654\/revisions\/6656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}