Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Cor. 15:58

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Sunday, November 13, 2011

day 147: "One Jot"

 Matthew 5:18
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. (KJV.. I think)

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I'm using this version today because I have it handy. I was working on tomorrow's Sunday School lesson and thought it would be a good '365'. 

Anyway, this is Jesus talking and he's saying how people have accused him of coming and telling them not to follow the Jewish law any more.  In the verse before it, Jesus said that he didn't come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it.

He then goes on to this point that we are supposed to follow the Jewish law and not take 'one jot or tittle' away from it until the world ends.  A jot is the smallest Hebrew letter, or the yod.  A tittle is the small projection on the Hebrew letter that distinguishes it from similar letters.  So basically he's saying you have to follow the law all the way to every dot of the i and crossing of the t.

There is no way.

Do you have any idea how many laws there are in the Old Testament?  613 commandments.  That is a lot.

That can be discouraging (and confusing really).  But this what I get out of it.  The Pharisees were big on the law.  They prided themselves on living the law to the letter, and Jesus said that was good.  It was good to obey the law.  HOWEVER, our inside needs to be as 'good' as our outsides... in fact, our heart needs to be more so.

There is no way we can do any of it without God.  God has to live so fully in our lives that people can see Him in us. 

Following the laws are good.  Being a good person is good.  However, none of it matters if you don't know Jesus as your Savior.  Even good people don't make it to Heaven if they haven't asked Jesus to forgive their sins :(  God has to live inside you so He can shine outside you.

God Bless You :)

Kelly

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