May 6, 2014 Remember to Love

Remember to Love

Matthew 5:21-22 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”  

“LOVE is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” (1 Cor 13:4)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

    

JESUS’ teaching regarding anger is a wakeup call to all of us, isn’t it? We often look upon anger as an emotion that someone else or something else causes in us. “I’m angry because he insulted me.” “I’m angry it’s raining, and it has ruined my plans today.”

     But anger always comes from within us. Anger is most often a sinful response to the insults, the inconveniences and all the things that go wrong in life. Anger does harm to oneself and it can terribly even lead to murder.

     Jesus speaks against “raca” meaning worthless or empty one. This is verbal abuse, minimizing and negating human value. Such verbal abuse is akin to murder. Such abusive sin will lead to punishment in the torment of hell.

     Focus on this command to consider how you can reconsider your emotions. Then consider the two passages from Paul’s letters to the churches in Corinth and Galatia. These words are a good teacher’s words to help you know the way to live into Jesus’ command.

LIFE Link: Remember, love God and love one another.

May 5, 2014 Be Righteous

Be Righteous

Matthew 5:20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

MY experience has been that when people see the word “righteousness” they seem to be uncertain of its meaning. I think a good way to see “righteousness” is in these words from Moses. “And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.” (Deut 6:25) Righteousness is simply this: obeying God’s commands.

     Jesus, the Son of God and the Living Word of God, of course taught very directly, “Obey God’s commands.” And he taught to his people that their righteousness, their obedience of God’s commands must exceed that of the Pharisees and teachers—men the culture held as people who were very righteous.

     But, in fact, they weren’t. The evidence of Jesus other teachings point to the Pharisees and many teachers of the law as being quite disobedient. Yes, they may have worked hard to show obedience on the outside, but they had a lack of the law on their hearts. He even says to them, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.” (Matt 23:25-26)

     These men needed to obey this law: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5). They missed the heart part. True obedience to God begins in your heart.

LIFE Link: Live the commands in love of the Lord Jesus and be righteous.

May 4, 2014 Law Abiding

Law Abiding

Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”

AS we live in the age of the New Testament, God’s new promise of salvation by grace, we have a tendency to dismiss the Law as defined in the Bible’s law books, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. We read through those laws and are thankful we don’t have to obey all of those things God gave to his people.

     But we must know that attitude is an inappropriate response to God’s Law, summarily defined in the Ten Commandments, and further summarized by Jesus as “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39) The laws God gave to his people were out of his love. He had saved the Hebrews out of Egypt to form a new nation. God then gave them an order to live under. We can compare this to our nation’s constitution as a means to function as an ordered prosperous people. Those basic laws must be sustained correctly if we are to be the nation our founders created.

     Likewise, even in the era of the New Testament, a time when we are saved by grace in the blood of Jesus, we must still live under God’s laws to live in God’s order and peace. Jesus’ life, death and resurrection is a completion of God’s laws as he showed the fullness of “love God and love one another”.

LIFE Link: Love God. Love one another. It’s God’s Law.  

May 3, 2014 Shine Jessus

Shine Jesus

Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.”

I recently saw on television a re-enactment of Thomas Edison’s first demonstration of turning on several electric lights in a dark room of wealthy banker’s home. As he flipped the switch, the camera panned to each light coming on and then pulled back to capture the responses of the men and women in the room. In awe and wonder they smiled, they laughed and they clapped for the wonder they had just witnessed. This phenomenon was completely out of the realm of their understanding; yet, they knew had seen something wonderful. From that day on, the electric light was no longer hidden. Through fits and starts and new experimentations, it changed and became more efficient and safe. But the world was set on a determined course to become electrified for the main purpose of light. Some naysayers wanted to put this new invention “under a bowl”, claiming it was fanciful and useless for the common man.

     Light is the first element God brought into his universe: “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. (Gen 1:2-3) From that moment on, God’s light has been unstoppable to bring life into the world. Of course, Satan wanted to put God’s light “under a bowl” and mankind’s sin has threatened to snuff out God’s light.

     But God’s light is true and eternal. Receive His light. Be His light.

LIFE Link: Light is always life.

May 2, 2014 Be Salty

Be Salty

Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”

SALT today may not seem as important today as it did in Jesus’ time. Salt was key then to preserving food and adding flavor to the food. We seem to have too much fear of eating salt today. But salt is a necessary part of our body. Too little can cause a number of problems just as too much can. Balanced salt intake leads to balanced body chemistry.

     That salt balance is important in Jesus’ words. People who are “salt of the earth” obedient to Jesus, offer a necessary element of life to others. Jesus teaches us to learn and teach his words, to live them out in our daily lives. When we do, we will be as salt, giving balance to life and helping preserve the gospel to be tasted in the future.

     However, “if the salt loses its saltiness”, if we become diluted with worldly teachings and succumb to temptations, we will lose the taste of Jesus. We will find the gospel to be less effective in our faith life just as too little salt is harmful to our health. We will be unable to share the salt, and there will be little taste for Jesus.

     Jesus calls us to seek his truths that it may permeate our heart, mind and soul. All we say and do is to be based on Jesus. Consume him in good doses. Taste the flavor of his love and forgiveness into your life. Then shake it all around as you talk to others. Keep him fresh and he will freshen others.

LIFE Link: Flavor the world with Jesus.