Reconcile Before It's Too Late

Matthew 5: 21-26 continues Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a pure heart.

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder,[a] and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause[b] shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

The church I attended as a child put so much emphasis on being pure at heart before giving your tithes that before offering was collected at every service, the pastor would say

Jesus Christ Came to Fulfill

In Matthew 5:17-20, during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reveals the purpose of His coming:

17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

The word fulfill means to accomplish, complete, or realize. Jesus did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill what was written in both the law and the prophets. Therefore, we cannot ignore what was written in the Old Testament. Instead, Jesus is showing us that everything in scripture points to Him. Jesus did not come to erase the law nor the prophets but to bring their purpose to completion, to realize what was written about Him while revealing God's ultimate plan for salvation through Him.

It can be likened to a relationship. First, there is the initial period where you get to know the person and you date that person. Later comes the courtship where you decide that this is the person I am going to exclusively date with the intent to marry. It is followed by the engagement where you make it official that this is the person who you are going to marry and choose to marry. Marriage then cements what was already there and what you have built. Now does that mean that the previous stages before marriage were meaningless or null and void? Does marriage cancel out those stages? No, it does not. Marriage now ties those stages together because those stages lead up to marriage.

Jesus was that marriage that tied both Law and Prophets together and did not cancel out either because both are important. He states how important the Law and Prophets are by stating the consequences for breaking and observing the commandments. This teaches us that what God has declared for His people to follow will stand til the end of time. "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled," Matthew 5;18

Jesus goes on to talk about our righteousness and how it has to exceed that of the Pharisees and scribes. These persons in Jesus' day accused him and his disciples of not following the Law on numerous occasions. They held themselves above others as they knew the law and observed the law on their terms. They switched the law to suit their lifestyles and taught others to do the same (Matthew 15:1-7). They were not really following the commandments of God but the teachings of men that twisted God's commandments to their liking. 

Furthermore, although they knew the law and could recite it from beginning to end and backward again, their hearts were far from God (Isaiah 29:13, Matthew 15:8). Jesus is saying that we need to go beyond just knowing the law and judging others based on it but we have to observe the law in our hearts, that's where it is most important and where our righteousness can begin to blossom. God looks at our hearts (1 Samuel 16:7).

Brothers and sisters continue to study the word and applying the word of God to your lives.

God bless you!

Believers are Salt and Light

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 

14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 

15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

In today's world, there is a constant search for purpose and meaning in this life. As believers, we should know our purpose, we should know who the Lord has called us to be and what we should do. In His sermon on the mount, Jesus has called those who believe in him and those who choose to follow him to be Salt and Light.

I have often wondered why Jesus compared believers and followers to salt and light. There are many insightful commentaries available, and some explanations resonate deeply. Reflecting on this has encouraged me to explore another perspective of the same scripture for our Bible study.

Jesus said "You are the Salt Of The Earth." Why did he say salt of the earth and not salt of the world? I discovered, as a young child on a trip to a local farm, that salt is used as a fertilizer. A fertilizer nourishes and aids in the growth of a plant. Jesus was saying that we are called to be that essential mineral to help with the growth of others.

When God created man, he used the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7). This creation connects us to all mankind as God created us all. However, we are set apart as believers because we are called the Salt of The Earth. Therefore, Jesus is calling us to be that fertilizer that is necessary for mankind to truly live and grow as we are all connected to the earth. If we choose to call ourselves Christians or believers of Christ, and follow God's word then this too is a part of our mission while on this earth. As salt, we are called to help others grow in Christ, believers and unbelievers. If we cannot be the salt and light, we lose our worth and become good for nothing (Matthew 5:13)

Jesus also called us the Light Of The World.  Now when we go back to Genesis again, after creating the heavens and the earth, the first thing that God SPOKE into being was LIGHT (Genesis 1:3). Furthermore, it states that God divided light from darkness (Genesis 1:4). There has to be a separation between light and darkness, the two cannot co-exist. If we are called to be light then we cannot mix or meddle in darkness or have darkness in us. We are in the world but not of the world. (John 17:14-15)

The light that radiates from a lamp is used to light up a house. This house that Jesus refers to is The World.  He calls us to be the Light of The World. The world is filled with darkness to those who do not see the light, the unbelievers. We have to let our light so shine before men so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). Our lives have to be examples to others. Our light has to radiate so intensely that it causes others to turn from darkness and glorify our Father in Heaven!

Brothers and sisters, God loves you and wants us to live the life and purpose He has called for us to live. We need to spend time in prayer, meditating on the word of God, and developing our relationship with God. Therein lies the true meaning of life and the keys to fulfilling our purpose.

Take care of each other, truly love each other, pray for each other and be the Salt and Light Christ has called you to be and that He in his infinite knowledge knows that we can be.

God bless you!

Blessed Are You When They Revile And Persecute You...

Jesus' sermon on the Mount covers a variety of teachings that provide valuable guidance for believers in their journey of faith. In Matthew 5, Jesus starts with the Beatitudes and in this account by Matthew, our focus will be on the last beatitude.

       
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Persecution can take many forms, and we may not always recognize it for what it truly is. To persecute means to persistently harass, oppress, torment, afflict, torture, annoy, or cause trouble for someone. 

But Jesus says "Blessed are you" when they do these things to you for My sake. 

The word blessed means to be divinely favored, to have good fortune, and to be worthy of deep reverence and respect. We as believers are blessed when we are reviled and persecuted for Jesus' sake.

There are stories of people in other parts of the world who are continuously tortured and killed for declaring Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Some people are unable to pray as they would like just like the early Christians who were killed for believing in Jesus and declaring His word. For those of us who have the freedom to serve the Lord and worship him freely, we are blessed. Let us continue to pray that the same freedoms are given to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Being persecuted comes in all forms. It may even come from those who claim to love us. I know a friend whose family turned against him for speaking the word of God. They oppressed, tormented, and degraded him in any way they could because they did not want to hear him preach the word of God. Those same family members almost cost him his life, reputation, and sanity because of the many evil things they did to him and said about him. Looking back he said, he never thought his own family would do those things to him but he loves them nevertheless because He realizes that Jesus was persecuted and we too will be persecuted for His sake. He's happy he went through that, for now, he has a testimony that encourages others going through the same thing.

Jesus said, "A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also" John 15:20. Jesus' persecutions are comparable to what we have to go through. It is not too much for us to bear, we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ!

In verse 12 it says, Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.


Rejoice! Be exceedingly glad! How many of us can say that when going through persecution? Not an easy feat! But it is attainable! We have to remember that great is our reward in Heaven. The Prophets, Jesus, and The Disciples were all persecuted before us, so if we are partakers in the faith, declaring the word of God, we too are subject to the same decree.

Continue to persevere brothers and sisters in Christ! When going through those turbulent times, if you need to cry, scream, vent etc. do so in a way that honors God and pray continuously. Pray your way through it all. In the end, our reward is greater than what we have to endure.

May God continue to bless you!

The Battle of The Word

Matthew 4 details the temptation of Christ and the beginning of His ministry. 

The very first verse starts off with, "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." This verse here conveys that this temptation was inevitable and almost a rite of passage for Jesus, seeing that he was led up by the Spirit. Something monumental occurred before this temptation and something even more monumental was ahead of Jesus after the temptation. The temptation occurred right after Jesus' baptism which further illustrates that this was something that Jesus had to go through. This temptation revealed to us that even Jesus was not immune to the temptations of the devil. However, Jesus was able to overcome the devil's temptations using the word of God.

The temptation of Jesus is what I like to call the "battle of the word." Jesus who is referred to as the Word of God (John 1:1) was using the word of God to rebuke the devil's words. Isn't it interesting that the devil would use the very thing that Jesus embodied? 

The devil contorts scripture to get Jesus to do what he wants. Remember that this was after Jesus had fasted for forty days and nights in the desert. Jesus was weak physically but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually He was quite strong. The devil comes to tempt us at our weakest moments or times in our lives, we are not immune to this. It will happen. However, do not be worried or fearful, Jesus showed us that the only way to win this battle is to be armed with the word of God. Speak God's word, defeat the enemy.

Jesus was about to begin his ministry, he was fasting, connecting with God and that is when the devil saw an opening to deter him from his path, from his purpose. Jesus was prepared. As believers, it is important to know the word of God. The devil showed how one can take the scripture out of context just for the purpose of leading you astray. 

Therefore, it is so important to read the scriptures, the word of God, the bible. As Paul states in 2 Timothy 3:16 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." As we see here every temptation that the devil set before Jesus, Jesus used the word of God to rebuke and overcome the devil.

Imagine if Jesus had fallen victim to these temptations, where would we, as humanity, be? Take a minute or two and really ponder that. I honestly don't want to imagine it. I'm just grateful that Jesus won the battle for us.

Jesus serves as an example for us all, that regardless of what temptation comes our way, even at our lowest and weakest moment, we should hold on to the word of God. Fight your battles, armed with the word of God. I know firsthand how speaking the word of God gave me strength and kept me moving forward when all seemed dark and bleak. My only defense was the word of God. That is all I needed and it is all you need. Whenever we feel overwhelmed by whatever is going on in our lives, find a scripture that will encourage you and keep you moving closer to God.

What is amazing about the temptation of Christ is that after Jesus rebuked the devil, the angels came and ministered to Him (Matthew 4:11). This serves as another example that after we have fought our battles and held on to the word of God as our pillar, as our defense, God will send His angels to minister, to help, to tend to us and to aid us.

Let us continue to fight the "battle of the word" and the only way we can truly win this battle is to know the word of the living God. Let us get absorbed in it so that when those temptations, trails and tribulations come our way, we may win the battle, just like Jesus showed us that we can.

I pray God's blessing upon you and your household. Shalom!

Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand! Matthew 3:2

In Matthew 3, John was preaching and baptizing people in the wilderness telling them to "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at Hand" - Matthew 3:2. All the people of Judea and the regions around Jordan were baptized and they confessed their sins Matthew 3: 5-6.

When the Pharisees and Sadducees came to John's baptism, he said, 

“Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore

Gifts Given to Jesus

Matthew 2 describes what happened after Jesus' birth in Bethlehem and how the wise men were on a search for Jesus, The King of the Jews. They went to Herod the king, thinking that a king should be born in a palace but however he was not there. Herod and all of Jerusalem were