Matthew 5 - Love Your Enemies

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor[g] and hate your enemy.’ 44But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,[h] 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren[i] only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors[j] do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48

Oh how easy it is to love those who love you and hate those who hate you. It just seems logical don't it? But Jesus didn't come to preach what was logical or the "in" thing to do. In fact he made reference to what we have been conditioned to think and refuted the thought and gave us another way of living. There is often a struggle between what we have been conditioned to think (those things that we see as being right) and what

Matthew 5 - Go the second mile

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’[f] 39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away."

What would compel someone to do the exact opposite of what is expected of you? Can you imagine even doing something like what Jesus is asking us to do? It seems outrageous don’t it? Well, its not outrageous, it’s Christ-like.

Jesus looks at what the past culture was, an eye for an eye  and a tooth for a tooth. Then He says to go beyond our vengeful nature and tap into our

Life is a blessing ...

Life is continuous and its not going to stop for you when you have a bad day or when things don't work out as planned. Your only refuge is in God. Our source of strength, wisdom, love and so much more. When you feel tired, drained in all facets of your life, it's time to take a break and move closer to God's presence and retreat there and stay there. God is able to get you through those bad days and make those good days miraculous.

In my life...

Every day is a blessing

Every new person I meet, God's creation

Every conversation, honored 

Every smile, heartwarming

Every hug, delightful

Every kiss, adored

Every kind word or word of encouragement is a

Matthew 5 - Let your Yes be Yes and Your No be No

33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. - Matthew 5:31-37

Heaven is God's throne and the Earth His footstool, Jesus reiterated this as it was written in Isaiah 66:1. Can we truly understand the magnitude of that concept? Can we even imagine what that means. If we can, the mere thought of swearing by heaven or earth wouldn't even

Matthew 5 - Marriage is sacred and binding

Right after speaking about Adultery, Jesus' next topic, surprisingly, deals with marriage and this is what he has to say in his sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:31-32:

31 “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

I can't think of marriage without thinking about my parents. They didn't believe in divorce, for better or worst they stuck it out even when they said they would leave, they stayed together. As children, my brothers, sister and I growing up, we got to see what a real marriage