The law of Love

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

THE LAW OF LOVE

Matt 5:31-32

31 "It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.'   32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

NIV

Here again we have a difficult teaching especially in our day and age with the commonality of divorces and remarriages. This is not just common among the non-believers, but also within the community of believers. How do we deal with this? What about those who were divorced and remarried prior to coming to Christ? This almost sounds as though this situation is an unforgivable sin. Either committing or causing one to commit adultery, considering what he just said before about how lust in the heart being adultery, it is a very serious situation. Perhaps we do need a little context here. The culture in which Jesus was teaching this principle had really gone astray from the original law which they had been given.

Deut 24:1-4

24:1 If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, 2 and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, 3 and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, 4 then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the LORD. Do not bring sin upon the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

NIV

Within the existing law of the time of Christ, the Israelite men could simply write a divorce decree if for any reason he found his wife unpleasing to him. This word indecent implies improper behavior which leaves a great deal up to interpretation as to what would be considered improper behavior. This could mean she was a bad cook, or she spoke up to much, or tried to boss her husband around, or would not do everything as he said or wanted either in the household duties or the bed. This was entirely up to him with no one to be accountable to for writing this decree. It had become so common, this practice was being abused, so Jesus set a higher standard. But what about our lives today? We do not live under the law, but under the higher standard Jesus set out with these words. The divorce rate in our country is about forty to fifty percent. Of course there are a plethora of factors which go into factoring that percentage rate. Yet the numbers are there and what they do not factor in is the large number of couples who co-habitat without a legal marriage certificate and then in a sense divorce, or end the co-habitation to find another to live with. Yet the point still remains. How do we actually deal with this? This cannot be a finger pointing experience for any who have neither ever married or married and never ever divorced. The fact is this does happen and no one, except the couple, knows the true reason for such legal actions, and in all reality, it is no one’s business except the couple who have dissolved their marriage through divorce. Certainly we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and thus are unable or unqualified to cast the first stone. Yet the standard is there, just as all the other standards for Christian living are there which many, if not all, fail in one or another, or even multiple ones. So we attempt to find some way to legalize this divorce and remarriage situation in the church. For some denominations it disqualifies a person from being a deacon or elder in that church, sighting the requirements laid out in Timothy about being the husband of but one wife. This view is without the proper interpretation of that text. When it is examined it give qualifications of the man, then of his wife, then is states this man should be married to this certain type of woman, not a singular woman. In reality a single man could never serve as deacon or elder or for that matter pastor or priest, he must be married to a certain type of woman. This just shows us how off mankind has gotten from the true sense of the scriptures. So how can we justly interpret these words of Christ about divorce and remarriage?  It is not something we should take lightly. He does give approval for a divorce with the one reason of infidelity, or in the original text, harlotry. This again should be a secret matter within the confines of the marriage and not for public consumption. The fact is, when it comes to sin, we are all guilty of one of another or again in many cases multiply sins. So let us consider, if we are currently married, let us resolve to remain that way forever, unless of course the situation arises which Jesus permits it to end. Nevertheless he does not insist it to end because of infidelity. Forgiveness is a far higher calling. This also does not give way for the husband to abuse his wife, as those who practice Shari Law are in the habit of doing. The law of love overrides, as husbands are told to love their wives, as Christ loves the church. This responsibility for a successful marriage falls squarely on the man. If abuse is practiced by him, how can we expect a woman to submit? There has to be circumstances that cannot be tolerated by any believer. For those who would enter into marriage for the first time, it should be seen as an eternal one. So let us simply try our level best to live up to the way Jesus would have us live, in harmony with each other. Let us not get carried off into the common practices of the world and become one of those numbers. Love covers a multitude of sins.

Don't look

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

DON’T LOOK

Matt 5:27-30

27 "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'   28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

NIV

Not that difficult of an idea here, just don’t look. Certainly our day and age is not much different than in the days of Christ as far as men looking at woman with some degree of lust in their hearts. But today we also have women looking at men with lust in their hearts. It is not uncommon to hear women commenting about a male actor, as also do men about female actors. With the type in common it would be normal to consider there is an amount of lust in the heart. This is exactly what Jesus is talking about, a heart issue. Not that he is speaking about actors, but about the everyday normal interaction with those of the opposite sex. Yet what sin do we not commit? The idea is that of course we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no not one. Yet Jesus expands on the idea of committing the act of adultery and makes it a heart issue. The idea he seems to convey is not to put ourselves in the position of having that lust in our hearts. Don’t look. But that is nearly impossible unless we restrict ourselves to solitary confinement. Then we would still have to deal with the mind’s eye. All that we have ever seen is always in the mind’s eye. So then how can we gouge out our eyes? What else could this mean? In the context of this passage it certainly appears this is specific to adultery in the sexual sense. Yet at the same time whenever we lust after anything of this world, we are in essence committing adultery against God, as we are the bride of Christ. So lusting after clothes, cars, money or anything within the world is committing adultery. When we desire something so much we spend much of our efforts in pursuit of it, it could be considered lusting after it. This is how adultery of the heart works. Don’t look. How can we not? If we say that we want to be more like Jesus, then when we look at another person, of the opposite sex, we look upon them as Jesus would. If they are sick, pray for them. If they are in need of salvation, witness to them. If they are in need of help, assist them. If they are in whatever condition, what would, or how would Jesus handle the situation. But here we are with our heart, the one that is supposed to be filled with the Spirit. Yet it seems we have left some area unopened to the Spirit, keeping it for ourselves and our desires for whatever, in this case lustful thoughts. How do we deal with it matters. Don’t look. As one first lady coined the phrase, “Just say no” Every time we are presented with the opportunity to lust, just say no. It is not alright to just look, for looking with the wrong thoughts is the same as the act itself. Then we could say well then if I am guilty of the sin in my heart, I might as well have the act too. How dangerous the mind can be. Just say no. Don’t look. But they again in order to not look we would have to be in that solitary confinement. So how do we deal with all the visual images before us? Yes, we should be like Jesus, but we still live in this corruptible body that is plagued with all sorts of failures. We have television, movies, the internet, a consist arrival of adds in all sorts of forms to lure us to desire their merchandise or lifestyle. We are continually told we need to secure our future with gold and silver. We are presented with so many images it is almost impossible not to look and have some degree of lust, of want. This is the case here with those of the opposite sex. We cannot look with that kind of lust, the kind of want. This may be more difficult for the youth with raging hormones, then those in the twilight of their years. The whole idea, God created us as man and woman was to come together for the purpose of intimate moments to populate. He created those desires within both man and woman, and that should be confined to the marriage bed. Outside of that, we are in danger, if we look and want, in our heart. Just don’t look. This is not easy, but we just cannot look. Having said that, it still is not the unforgivable sin, but it is sin and when we find ourselves heading in that direction we need to repent, have a change in our thoughts, our heart, and seek the forgiveness of God, the strength of the Spirit to resist the devil and he will flee from us. That is all wrapped up in “just say no” or don’t look. Temptation will not disappear or go away. We have to learn how to live with temptations and just say no, or don’t look. 

Reconciling

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

RECONCILING

Matt 5:23-26

23 "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. 25 "Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.  

NIV

Here is where the rubber meets the road. How can we come to church and engage in any form of worship, either bringing our tithe and offerings, or for that matter even standing singing praises to the Lord when we have the littlest bit of discord in our heart. This discord is not just limited to our heart, but to the heart of those who know us. If our neighbor, our family member, co-worker, anyone has any ill feelings toward us and we have not done everything to adjust it, to resolve it, to remove the least bit of it, our worship, our tithe and offerings are not acceptable to God. If we are, as far as it depends on us, to make every effort to live in peace with all men, then how can we accept any discord to exist? We just cannot go about living our Christian life with our head in the sand. This would mean not being aware if we have offended someone in some way that causes them to harbor ill feelings toward us. Then on the other hand this would also mean that if we in any way caused our fellow believer any reason to have any ill feelings toward us, then their offerings, worship would be unacceptable to God. How could we live with that? This is why we are admonished to not to let the sun go down on our anger.

Eph 4:25-27

25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.

NIV

This passage continues with much about the interactions of believers both in our behaviors as well as our attitudes. We are also admonished to forgive.

Eph 4:31-32

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

NIV

The whole idea, which is threaded throughout the scriptures is the main point Jesus is making here. We cannot allow any problems, any unresolved issues to fester and think we can just come to worship God, doing the right motions in church, but our heart is not truly right before God. We cannot say, “Well that is just the way it is” “We can’t help it if someone feels that way about us”. Jesus says, settle the matter before you offer your gifts to God. That may mean going to that person and asking them to forgive us for anything we have done to cause them to harbor any ill feelings toward us. We cannot just say we are sorry, but we must ask them to forgive us. This is especially true if they are fellow believers because this then allows them to make right their hearts before God so their worship is acceptable as well as ours. Jesus continues to include the idea about adversaries taking us to court. Legal matters should also be resolved in a hurry, in an equitable way without judicial intervention. This might seem more difficult in our social setting of today as our culture is so embedded in using judicial actions for so many areas of life. Divorce being one that seems to have become a part of Christian life which needs the law to make decisions regarding all matters which were in common. Yet does there exist enmity in the hearts of the divorced? This is a difficult matter. It is difficult not to be judgmental, but the fact exists within Christianity in which separation of contacts but legal and of the heart exist and how we deal with them matters greatly. Partnerships in business are another one of those issues which could arise to ill feelings and thus a break up which again could result in ill feelings, if we allow that to happen. Even in our investments, we could enter into a situation when whomever we have invested with loses our assets. We could feel ill will. There is so much we could include as to how our actions, our behaviors, our attitudes with others can bring us or them to some form of unfriendly, ill-tempered positions, all of which we are to resolve before coming to God with any offerings. That is just the way it is. We must reconcile. We must do the reconciling.

Heart Murder

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

HEART MURDER

Matt 5:21-22

21 "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.

NIV

There seems to be a bit if a challenge here for our scholars of old. The problem is in the reason for anger. Some would like to include a phrase which may or may not be within the context of the original text. This phrase is “without a cause”. If this phrase was indeed part of the original or the earliest copies, then Jesus would be implying there are valid reasons to be angry with others. There would be a valid cause to exhibit heart murder, which is what anger is, at least in the context of this teaching.  But that does not fit within the context. Jesus makes the comparison between murder and anger. Is there any just reason to commit murder? Sure we have those who engage in the killing of others in the course of war, but that is not murder as a result of anger against another. The Lord is certainly making reference to one of the Ten Commandments, “thou shall not commit murder”. He then makes the statement that becoming angry with others is the same, it is heart murder. The two words Jesus uses, “Raca” and “You fool!” have different meanings but carry the same setiment from the speaker. Raca carries the meaning of empty or worthless while you fool implies, “Shut up stupid”.  Both seem to come from the speaker of such words thinking themselves a great deal more important than the hearer. They would be coming from a position of contempt for the lesser important person. According to our Lord this is nothing more the heart murder.  He speaks to an issue of the heart. Surely most of people and especially we believers would never commit such a physical act of murder, to take another’s life. But this is a heart issue Jesus is taking about. Do we commit such an act against another in our heart? Do we in some sense take their life in our heart? If we diminish their importance, thinking of them as dull or stupid, without the intellect of our higher thinking, have we taken their lives, within our heart? Have we made them nothing in our heart, meaningless and empty? When a person physically murders another they have such anger they in essence have placed no value on the person they murder. There is no value of life, no value of that person. Is that not what we do, if we become angry to the point of saying, “Raca or you fool”? We place no value on that person or their thoughts or words. We disregard them as having anything of value in their thoughts or words. We have taken their dignity, their value, in essence their lives. How is it possible to become that angry with another when we are supposed to honor others above ourselves?

Rom 12:9-10

9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

NIV

Rom 12:14-20

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:

NIV

There is so much about how we are to behave toward others that is contrary to anger. That is the whole of what Jesus is making here. Anger is heart murder and with that kind of attitude toward others we are so much in danger of leaving our faith at the doorstep and following Satan instead of Christ. If we are followers of Jesus there is no room within our heart for anger, period, with or without a reason. 

Surpassing righteousness

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

SURPASSING RIGHTEOUSNESS

Matt 5:17-20

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. 19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 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.

NIV

Oh how we could get so clouded in our thoughts by great theological discussions regarding these words of Christ. But it is not in those discussions do we find a meaning for our lives, nor the truth. The parsing of each word further clouds or hinders what Jesus is saying here. Let us simplify this so we can gain the insight he intended us to. Yet even in our attempt to simplify, we get into some theological thought.  The Law is the Law, it is from God and God never changes and the Law has never changed. It has always been the Law and it will always remain the Law. Its purpose is clearly stated for us.

Rom 3:19-20

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

NIV

If the Law changed or was nullified or canceled then we would never know we were living in violation of the Law as sinners and in need of Christ.

Rom 3:21-25

21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

NIV

But here it is. With a unchanging Law which shows us our sin, that we have absolutely no righteousness in and of ourselves and are in dire need of the righteousness of God, Christ. Jesus fulfilled every aspect of the Law perfectly, without one sin at all. He is the perfect Lamb of God, without spot or blemish. The Law remains in effect throughout the ages to continue to show men they cannot follow or fulfill it and are in need of the one who not only established the Law but fulfilled it so those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior are freely justified, considered as one who has fulfilled the Law and therefore declared by God as being right in his sight. This is how we become more righteous then the Pharisees. They tried to live under the Law and they thought they actually could, that their Law following brought them righteousness. But how wrong they were. This is the same as many believers today with their lists of do’s and don’ts. They somehow think by this type of living, it defines their righteousness. But none of us have any righteousness no matter how many good things we do, nor how many supposed bad things we don’t do. These bad things are not like murder or stealing, but their lists consist of smoking, drinking, dancing, going to movies or roller rinks, etc. Some even have lists that include women wearing slacks, or not covering their hair. Some denominations have taken the Law and added and added until it has become just like what the Pharisees tried to live by. But Jesus wants us to live in the Spirit of the Law, which is in him. He is our righteousness. He is the one and the only way we will ever see the kingdom of God. He is the only way for us to enter the kingdom of heaven. Yes, we should try to live a good life making every effort to live a pleasing life in the sight of God. But again what pleases him the most is our accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior. If we live an almost perfect life, nearly living without breaking most of the Law, maintaining our vigilance on our lists of do’s and don’ts, but still we violate in the minutest of ways one point of the Law we have violated the whole Law. Of what value is keeping all the Law except but one of the smallest parts of it? The fact is we are all sinners, and we will never be anything but that, no matter how hard to try to live a righteous life, we will fail. That is not to say we should just go on sinning so God’s grace can abound. But the fact remains no matter how hard we try to live rightly we will fail. That is why we need to live in Christ if we want to enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is our surpassing righteousness. 

                                                                                                                        

Illumination

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

ILLUMINATION

Matt 5:14-16

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. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

NIV

There does not appear to be any other way to see this then the plain truth. Jesus may have pointed to the sun when he was telling those who were listening to him that they were to now illuminate the minds of others about the truth of the gospel message. This is also his message to those of us today who follow him. It is our calling to illuminate the minds of those who do not know Jesus, as well as bring to light the truth, as we are led or inspired by the Spirit, to other believers. Is this not what the calling is upon our local pastors as well as those with the gift of teaching? But it is also upon all of us as we all are called to not just be the light of the world, but to build each other up in the faith.

1 Thess 5:10-11

 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

NIV

Therefor we should be the giving light to all men, both those of the world, but also those in the house, our fellow believers as well as those we live with. So we are to be people who illuminate the minds of others with the truth of the gospel doing it in such a manner that all men may hear us. This idea about seeing our good deeds is a horse of another color. It might appear that it would mean we should go about doing good deeds before men, whatever the good deeds are is the question. Are the good deeds acts of humanitarian deeds? Are the good deeds acts of service in the church? Are the good deeds acts of benevolence? What is interesting is the Greek word translated works is actually not plural, but singular. We are therefore admonished to let our light shine before men so they can see our good work. This is not like the good deeds other men do, such as the humanitarian or benevolent acts of the humanists which leads to them being praised for their great acts. This is a work which brings praise for God.  That would imply we are not just of do good works, or deeds, but that the one good work we can do is accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and this is the act which creates the light within us that we shine before men. This would simply mean living out our faith out loud. Not hiding the fact we are believers in Jesus. This would also imply that we do not allow the ideologies of the world to infiltrate our lives, but that we infiltrate the ways of the world. We illuminate the world. 

Being salt

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

BEING SALT

Matt 5:14

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.

NIV

What does it mean to be the salt of the earth? Perhaps it would be good to investigate just what salt is in order to understand the meaning the Lord intended here for us to learn. We cannot make use of the truth here using the salt we buy in the stores in this country. What we need to see is that in the Middle East countries there is a type of salt that is more natural in a sense. Salt is used for the preservation of food. In fact the Israelites were instructed to salt the grain offerings.

Lev 2:13

13 Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings.

NIV

Salt is actually the opposite of leaven. Leaven will spread and spoil the whole of the grain while salt will preserve it. The idea is that we, being the salt of the earth, should be who preserves this earth from destruction. There is two ways in which we could interpret this destruction. The first and likely not the meaning the Lord intends is to be good stewards of the land. To be an environmentalist, working diligently in an effort to keep other men from polluting the air and water. But this has no merit as a life lesson of being the salt of the earth. For one we know that God created this earth in its form and function with all knowledge of the advancement mankind would make and how they would both use the resources he instilled within the earth and the method in which they would give off certain emissions. He created this earth not only to be complete in resources for as long as the earth remains, but to also be its own filter, cleansing itself throughout the ages. Mankind can neither create nor destroy that which God has done. If we could, then we would then be able to consider ourselves greater then God. But this salt that preserves has to do with the spiritual rather than the material. We should be the ones keeping mankind from living in the darkness. We preserve the holiness of God to the world. We keep the word of God present and alive for others to find. But there is also the meaning in the sense that salt keeps us from putrefaction, which is the process of decay, the rotting of the body. There is references to the covenant of salt with the Lord. Jesus is the salt which keeps us from putrefaction. We in turn should keep the earth, which is the rest of mankind from that same process. That is we should have the influence of salt upon other people rather than allowing them to influence our thinking and behavior. This is what the Lord means about losing our saltiness. The salt of the Middle East had great value, it was used for trade, as it did in fact preserve foods, meat and other organic material from the process of decay. However, this type of salt they used, and still have available today, when exposed to the dirt of the earth or even sunlight loses its properties and when it does is ground up and thrown onto paths such like we would use gravel. The research of our historians gives us this information and so we can see just what the truth the Lord was teaching. The Jews would be more than aware of how salt lost its saltiness. It would do so by being contaminated by the dirt of the earth. We can see the same spiritual ramifications in our lives. We can lose our saltiness by being contaminated by the ways of the world. If we are going to be the salt of the earth than we must maintain our purity of thought and behaviors. We cannot allow the thinking of this world to infiltrate our commitment to the ways of God. If we begin to accept certain concepts of the world, we have started the process of decay. There is no compromise between the light and the dark. What commonality is there between a believer and a non-believer? What does righteousness have in common with unrighteousness? And yet as we allow the idea of this world to infiltrate our lives, even the way we conduct our church services, our worship, we have lost some of that saltiness. This is the meaning of being in the world but not of the world. We must be used as the salt, to preserve, but not to be mingled with, infected with the world. Certainly as we allow the world to influence our thinking and compromise our beliefs, they will most certainly trample all over us. 

Persecuted

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

PERSECUTED

Matt 5:10-12

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 

NIV

There are several reasons we might expect some form of persecution because we are Christians. It also should be apparent we should not provoke being persecuted because of our use of inflammatory language or behavior. We should not seek persecution by violating the laws of a civil society either. The point here is that if in the course of living out our Christian walk, making an honest effort to live a peaceful life, as we are admonished to make every effort to live in peace with all men, and because of our walk, others either persecute or revile us, we are to consider it a blessing.

Heb 12:14

14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

NIV

Although throughout the world some believers are persecuted, even onto death, we here in America do not experience that type of persecution. True, it would seem the government, at least those on the far left or who call themselves progressive, is setting upon a course to render Christianity null and void. But this is not a personal persecution, per say, on our being or because we hold true to our faith in the face of adversity.  It is when we as believers, making every effort to live in peace with all men, are singled out just because they know we believe in God and are either passed over for a promotion, or even fired, then we could say we have been persecuted because of righteousness. When we do everything right, making every effort to live in peace with all people, which means no judgment upon those who do not believe as we do, and they feel threatened because of who we are and exclude us from gatherings or discussion, then we might say we have been persecuted because of righteousness. The point is we are obligated by the gospel to love everyone, even those who would be considered our enemy. This law of love along with all the other admonishments to live in peace would prohibit us from any attitude, language or conduct that would cause anyone to hate us enough to persecute us. We also know that some will respect our faith, even revere it, looking upon us with favor, seeking our prayers, even though they themselves do not believe as we do. But we also know there are those who simply cannot tolerate our faith because it stands in opposition to their attitudes and conduct. They would rather live in the darkness because the light reveals their sin. This is why they do not want to have anything to do with us. Yet even in that situation, we must continue to love them, making every effort to live in peace with them for the sake of the gospel. Then we can truly know we are living in a manner that we are living in the kingdom of God. It is when we live as though we are better than others, isolating ourselves from them, excluding them from our lives, condemning their conduct, their lack of faith, their way of life, and they hate us because of it, we have failed and any persecution is not because of righteousness, but because of our self-righteousness. It is not that we should hide our faith, or tolerate wrong behavior, but again, if we love them anyway, as Jesus loved the sinner, we are doing the work of God. Then if we are scorned, hated, reviled, it is because of the righteousness of Christ.  

Bringing peace

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

BRINGING PEACE

Matt 5:9

9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

NIV

To bring a resolution to conflict seems to be the main thrust of these words. It would make sense that if two parties are in conflict and someone comes along to arbitrate a peaceful solution, they would be call the peacemaker. It would seem also natural if one of the two individuals who were engaged in some form of disagreement which escalated to a full blown conflict, decided the relationship was more important than proving themselves right, yielded they position, would also be called the peacemaker. However the greatest way in which this word could be applied would be in the sense of bringing peace between a sinner and God. That is not to say we are free from sin, but the use of the word sinner in this case implies one who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and thus are in conflict with God. We could even say they are at war with God. We were once in that position as well.

Col 1:21-22

21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.

NIV

To be an enemy of God in our minds would be to be at war with God. However we were so convicted of our position by the Spirit, but also with the aid of another person who enlightened our minds with the right words from scripture. That person planted the seed of faith within us through the word of God and the Spirit moved within to bring us to a peaceful solution to our conflict with God.

Rom 5:9-11

9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

NIV

Jesus is the ultimate peacemaker and as we have confessed that we follow him and want to be like him, we too should be peacemakers between sinner and God. We cannot do want Jesus did, die on the cross to reconcile himself to us. But we can bring the good news to people who are currently enemies with God in their minds. What better position to live in then to be at peace with God.

Rom 5:1-2

5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.

NIV

We have been rendered innocent, justified through faith and we now have peace with God. This is the message we can bring to the sinner, the one who is still having conflict with God. Then we truly will be the type of peacemaker that would give us the right to be called children of God.

Seeing God

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

SEEING GOD

Matt 5:8

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

NIV

Here is a promised we can sink our eyes into. To look upon God, to see him, to stand in his presence, face to face and live. For in order to do that we must have died in this life and been buried, resurrected and attained eternal life, thus being in either heaven or within the new city of Jerusalem. What an incredible sight we will behold seeing God. The Greek word used here carries the meaning of gazing, with wide open eyes at something remarkable, thus differing from other Greek words translated to see in the sense of casual observation, such as when we see a car drive past where we stand. But here, we stand with wide open eyes, gazing upon the most remarkable image we will ever see, God. But there is a condition to this privilege of seeing God. We must have a pure heart, a clean heart. How can then we ever see God? He has declared our heart is not pure all the time.  

Jer 17:9-10

9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? 10 "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve."

NIV

It is obvious no good deed can ever be good enough to gain eternal life. We are not saved by works, but by faith in Christ Jesus. Certainly in the time of Jeremiah they were all about deeds, as they lived under the law. Yet the law was to show them they could not keep it and thus needed the Messiah, the Savior. But the point here is that in order for us to have that pure heart, the clean heart, we must have the Spirit dwelling within it. We must have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, giving our heart to him. This is the one and only good deed we will ever be able to do. That is the only one good deed that is sufficient. When God searches our heart, he finds Jesus there and thus we will then see God. If however he does not see Jesus in our heart and mind, we will not see God. The only one who is pure is God himself. There is no way we in and of ourselves can have a pure heart. We will never see God in this flesh, but one day when we pass from this life onto eternal life, we will gaze with wide open eyes at the most remarkable sight, God, in all his majesty, all his glory and all his awesomeness. But in the meantime, although our hearts can deceive us and wander off into areas it should not travel, we can still know that the main focus of our heart is to follow Jesus. We will fail at times, we will fall short of the mark, but as long as we have Jesus, God sees a pure heart. That is not to say we should willfully engage in acts of sin, but the fact is we will yield to some temptation at some point, perhaps even on a daily basis. Can we be certain it is not willful? Can we always claim our sin is not willful, but it is against our will and we are unwilling participates? How then can we understand our heart? Yet God sees us through the blood of Jesus which makes us pure, clean and able to one day stand in his presence and see him. There may always be some mystery in this, but there it is, the truth in fact stands before us. With Christ we have a pure heart and we will see God. 

True Mercy

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

TRUE MERCY

Matt 5:7

7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

NIV

There is no question this is an act in which we would be imitating God, for he has indeed shown us great mercy in giving us a way to eternal life. However to show mercy upon another person certainly brings us to a point that is critical to our faith. Mercy is almost the same or the result of pity, having pity on the afflicted. This would usually bring to mind those who are in need of help, being afflicted with some illness or perhaps poverty. There are several issues do deal with in the act of showing mercy in these cases. We should not be as the publicans standing on the street corner pounding their chests, “see how merciful I am”. That fits right along with when we are giving, not to let the right hand know what the left hand is doing. If the reason, whether we are aware or not, is to show others our acts of mercy, then we have already received our reward. But this type of mercy may not be the intention of our Lord. To receive mercy from God is to receive his provision which allows us to escape the condemnation we have placed ourselves under by living a sinful life. When we repent, have a change of mind, a change in our thinking, and accept his provision for salvation, Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have received abundant mercy. Therefore could it be possible this is the type of mercy we should show others, that is to express to them the mercy of God. What greater affliction could a person have then to be afflicted with sin? Yet there still is the normal type of mercy that would be appropriate for us to minister to others with. But again this should not be as a show, but to be done in secret, so to speak. But the greatest mercy we could have upon another person who is afflicted with sin, is to tell them there is a way out, a free gift of God that will give them freedom and relieve their affliction. There is healing for all, a real healing, an eternal healing for all who are afflicted. 

Starving

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

STARVING

Matt 5:6

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

NIV

If we were stranded upon an island filled with nothing but beaches of sand surrounded with salt water, with nothing to eat nor fresh water to drink, we would understand these words hunger and thirst. But in our modern era and the close proximity of supermarkets there may never be a time when we actually need to go hungry or become thirsty. But there is a pending danger coming to all mankind if they lack the righteousness of God, Jesus. This danger will be far worse than being stranded upon that desert island, it is first the pits of hell and then the lake of burning sulfur. If anything, that should inspire one to thirst and hunger for the righteousness of God, Jesus.

1 Cor 1:30

 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

NIV

This was written before by the prophets about Jesus being the righteousness of God and therefor is our righteousness. In and of ourselves we have no righteousness and as such we have doomed ourselves to perish. But if we thirst and hunger for Jesus we will be filled. It is a desperate act to search for food and drink upon that desert island, a clawing in the sand in hopes to find something to satisfy the hunger that gnaws at our inners or a spring of fresh water to quench the dryness that is overtaking us. This should be the desperate act in which we should seek Jesus. Of course we have already received him into our lives and thus this thirsting and hungering need not be a part of our character or attitude anymore, for we have already been filled. But should that be? Should not we continue to thirst and hunger for his righteousness within us? What does it mean to be filled? If we were to partially fill a glass with water, which would leave room for something else. But if that glass were totally filled to the brim, there is no room for anything else. Then could we say that we are not truly filled to the brim with the righteousness of God if we still seek after things of the world to fill our wants and desires. Again, it is not that God would have us go without these things, but we are to seek after God, after Jesus, after righteousness first.

Matt 6:24-34

24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. 25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

NIV

We cannot be filled with the kingdom of God and with the material wealth of this world at the same time, nor can we share them or mix them together in our glass, our being. It is one or the other and for us, it needs to be the kingdom, the righteousness of God, Jesus. As the song writer puts it:

To be like Jesus, to be like Jesus, all I ask – to be like Him, All through life’s journey from earth to glory, all I ask- to be like him.

Is that all we ask? Do we thirst for more of Jesus? Do we hunger for more of him? Do we truly want to be filled to the brim with Jesus? Have we become distracted from this hunger and thirst for him by other things, trying to satisfy, to fill our being with them? It is a matter of priorities. Seek first the kingdom of God. First things first. Fill our being with Jesus. Fill it to the brim, then he will make our glass larger is a sense and add the things of the world we need. But our priority should be to desire to be more like him, to be filled, to thirst and hunger for him, as if we were starving.

Cause and effect

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CAUSE AND EFFECT

Matt 5:5

5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

NIV

Happy is the person who is meek, or gentle in spirit. The original word is actually a compound word which our English language would have used gentlemen. It would seem our society today has lost the concept of this word. It appears as if everyone is far more concerned about their own rights than the rights of others. Jesus used this word to describe himself.

Matt 11:28-30

28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." 

NIV

Gentle and humble in heart, a gentleman. Of course it would be difficult for women to be gentlemen, but the concept of being gentle and humble in heart can be exhibited by both genders. If we are gentle and humble in heart then we should not think more highly of ourselves then we should. It would imply that we would then not withdraw ourselves from the harshest of believers, the prideful, those who consider themselves more spiritual, because the gentle and humble in heart do not consider themselves superior to none, knowing in our heart that we are nothing at all except from the mercy and grace of God. When we are judgmental it is due to a lack of being gentle and humble in heart. Judgmental attitudes are proof of feeling superior in some sense. Having a critical attitude also is a result of thinking more of ourselves then we should. Being a gentleman is more than opening the door for a lady, or offering a coat in the chill of the night. Being a gentle and humble in heart person means we understand who we are in Christ. All we are, all we have, all we do is solely due to God. Without Christ in our lives, we are nothing more than sinners condemning ourselves to perish. Yet even the sinner, who has not yet accepted Christ is the creation of God and thus he loves them as he does those of us who have accepted Jesus. Therefore the one who is gentle and humble in heart does not even consider themselves better than the vilest of sinners. We too are but sinners save by grace. There is nothing better within us than any other human upon this earth, except the Spirit. The reward for this attitude is to inherit the earth. It would make sense Jesus did not mean this planet earth, as it will be destroyed one day. The other word this original language could be translated is land. This would make far more sense in the context of Jesus first talking to the Jews who were always aware of the Promised Land, the land of Canaan. But to us the Promised Land has a totally different meaning, as well as the Jews have already occupied their promised land of Canaan. They were in it when Jesus spoke these words. So then those who have the attitude of Christ, being gentle and humble in heart will inherit the eternal Promised Land. Is this then a condition of salvation? No, by no means, no work, no deed, no behavior or attitude results in salvation. It is only through accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior through faith are we saved. But then we are to take on certain traits of Christ. If we do not take them on then would that mean we are not saved? No, but the fact is that being saved means becoming like Christ. If then we are not in the process of being like Christ, would we be able to say that we never actually accepted him as our Lord and Savior? Maybe we just call ourselves Christians, but in actuality we have not submitted to his authority in our lives, being our Lord and Savior. However, if we have accepted him as our Lord and Savior, then it would make sense we have also submitted to his authority in our lives, giving over our own will to him, setting aside our own wants and desires for the greater purpose of God. In doing that we would then desire to be more like Jesus, taking on his character of being gentle and humble in heart. It is sort of a cause and effect. We are happy, we have an inner peace knowing our position in Christ rather than being concerned about our position in the church. This inner peace brings us to the place of complete trust in God for our salvation, which gives us eternal life. 

Mourn for comfort

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

MOURN FOR COMFORT

Matt 5:4

4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

NIV

To experience the inner peace because of grief, or grieving, which is to mourn is the context here. What is it we should mourn or grieve about? Two areas come to mind and are most likely the intent of our Lord in these words. First is to grieve over the lost condition of those who have not accepted Jesus as Savior. The second is to grieve over the sin of fellow believers as well as the sin in our own lives.

2 Cor 12:21

21 I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged.

NIV

It is apparent Paul was mourning over the sinful condition of other believers who were caught up in sin without repentance. Should we not grieve, feel sorrow and anguish over people who are living in the state of sin? Should we not grieve over our fellow believers who find themselves continually sinning? Sure we might not know about their sin, as most of us do not live as transparent a life as we should. It may also be that most of the sin we believers commit is in our thoughts rather than deeds. Although the sin of gossip does seem to leave our thoughts and become a deed. Judgmental attitudes may also get expressed in some form of deed. Nevertheless, without enumerating all the sin believers could be guilty of, rather than judge them, we should mourn for them. This then also applies in the second way. We should be mourning over our own sin. This would especially be true in our having a judgmental attitude about another believer’s sin. But the truth of the matter is, we should mourn because we have sin in our life. We cannot find consolation for sin in the world. In fact, it is the world that offers us the opportunity to commit sin. It has been said the some drown their sorrows in drink or drugs. But that does not bring about comfort, but rather more sorrow, depression and despair. Jesus says that when we mourn over our sin, we will be comforted. This Greek word implies to call near, to invite, invoke, consolation. Jesus said that we who are heavy laden should come to him and he would give us rest.

Matt 11:28-30

28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." 

NIV

We will get to these words of Christ again, as we journey through this gospel, but for now let us take comfort in the fact that as we mourn, grieve over the sin that is in our lives, Jesus will give us rest. We should never be content with any sin in our lives. It would seem that might be easier said than done. When we confess that we are not perfect, that we will never be perfect, are we making an excuse for having sin in our lives? Yet the fact is we will never be completely free of all sin. But whether we accept that fact and are comfortable with it, or we mourn or grieve because of it, is the point. Acceptance of sin in our lives does not bring us any comfort. Mourning because of the sin in our lives brings us comfort, it gives us rest, and we can repose in Jesus. Does that mean we should just continue to sin so that God’s grace can abound? By no means!  But the fact is we do still sin and for the most part we engage in sin willingly. How could we sin against our own will, or unwillingly? Still it comes down to the fact we can never be content with this situation in our lives. We should mourn over our failures, our weaknesses, our sin.