Mat 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
Selflessness not selfishness. Self-less.
We are NOT to promote self. If anything is becoming more and more clear about Jesus' teachings is that we are to be self-less. We are NOT to draw attention to ourselves. We are NOT to do good so that we can get credit for doing good. If we do good in front of others with the intention of being seen by them so they can note our good deed we have NO reward whatsoever, why? Does someone seeing a good deed negate its goodness? The good that comes from the deed still gets done. What's being talked about here is motive. What is our motive for doing good? If we only do good so that we can get praise from others then we are seeking to be honored and ONLY our Savior deserves honor! We have to take the focus off ourselves we are to give all glory to God. Our lives are candles pointing the lesser light to the greatest Light of all.
Mat 6:2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Hypocrites will make a huge show of their good deeds and the reward they have isn't the reward that the Father in heaven will give them - they will NOT receive the reward of eternal life in Christ- the only reward we should seek.
Mat 6:3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
Mat 6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
While some believe that it gives God glory to do their good deeds and point people towards God we have to really seek to understand what our Savior is saying to us.
Do not let our LEFT hand know what our RIGHT hand is doing.
This is NOT possible. Right? What we do is in our mind and what's in our mind is known. There is NO way our hands know anything anyways, period. Some might argue that a typist's hands automatically know where the keys are- or a gamer's hands know where the control buttons are on their controllers. The truth is…ONLY our brains know. Our brains control the actions of our hands - always. No one can slap someone and jump back defending themselves by saying their hand did it all on its own. No one would believe them- the person's mind controlled the person's actions. So what is our Savior telling us? He's telling us that we are to be SO incredibly secretive about doing good deeds for others that we don't even THINK about doing them to garner credit from others. God sees ALL we do, NOTHING is a secret from God. God knows every good deed we commit we don't need others to know. We don't need to brag about our goodness. We don't need to surround ourselves with accolades and praise. We need to be so careful about letting good deeds that are seen be given praise that goes to our heads. Praise and honor are addictive. That feeling of doing good and of having others know about that good we've done is something that is truly addictive and Satan will encourage us to seek it even just a little bit pleases him. We truly have to shun acknowledgement for the good we do. When it happens that the good we do is acknowledged by other we have to immediately give ALL glory to God. By the grace of God we are able to do any good and only by His grace. We have to realize that ALL good comes from God, ALL good.
Jesus wants to teach us selflessness as He is selfless. We MUST learn selflessness and learn it over and over and over again- learning it daily because at any opportunity our selfish natures will rear up taking over trying to destroy any selflessness we might possess through our Savior. Satan knows selfishness is a key towards gaining us as His trophies. We HAVE to be aware of this! We can't let this slip past us as unimportant, as something trivial. Nothing our Savior tries to teach us is trivial, nothing!
By the grace of God may we become so fully His we are selfless as He is selfless.
In His love!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Love your enemies
Mat 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Hate thine enemy.
Hate definition--
G3404
μισέω
miseō
mis-eh'-o
From a primary word μῖσος misos (hatred); to detest (especially to persecute); by extension to love less: - hate (-ful).
Hate- to detest, to persecute, to love less.
We have no doubt what loving our neighbor means- not really, right? Loving others- treating them with respect, forgiving them any ill will, tending to their needs, revealing the love of Jesus to them. When Jesus says that is has been said - thou shalt love they neighbor there is no mistake about where that comes from.
Lev 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
Thy neighbor here meaning - children of thy people- those children being members of the family of Israel.
It was said in times past to LOVE thy neighbor - those who were of your own people. This is why the question had to be asked--
Luk 10:29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
Who is my neighbor? This is a very valid question and one that needed clarification because based on the old ways that were twisted and warped into anything but love- a neighbor was those of your own people, it wasn't a non-Jew. To clarify what a neighbor really meant Jesus gave this little, but very powerful story-
Luk 10:30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
Luk 10:31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
Luk 10:32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
Luk 10:33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
Luk 10:34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
Luk 10:35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
Luk 10:36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
Luk 10:37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Which of the men was a neighbor to the wounded? The priest, a Jew? No. The Levite, a Jew? No. A Samaritan, one the Jews had NO dealings with? YES! The wounded man was obviously a Jew- coming down from Jerusalem and going to Jericho and the priest and the Levite just passed him by leaving him for dead- a fellowman- one of their own people. Then a Samaritan, one that had NOTHING to do with the Jews saw the wounded man and showed Him compassion. This is truly telling in so many ways!
It doesn't matter if the fellow human being is a hated foe and rightly so- when they're in need you help. Where compassion is needed- it should be shown.
When we show compassion, when we show love we reveal Christ in us. Undeserved love!
Our entire existence is not about you and I as individually being important. Our entire existence is about our Creator, without our Creator we would NOT exist. Man has forgotten this, man has chosen to ignore this, man has taken credit for something they can never take credit for. Man has talked themselves out of believing in the ONLY truth that matters. GOD!
As long as we are more concerned with ourselves, the more our minds are solely focused on self and others as extensions of ourselves, and taken off God we lose the whole reason for our existence. When we lose that reason for our existence we try to fill it with all sorts of things that Satan has handily made available to keep us blinded.
Christ in us is all that matters. By having Christ in us we acknowledge fully that God the Father and God the Word created us, we are theirs, we belong to them- we belong to the oneness that is shared by God our Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit- we are one with them in purpose, in life, in love.
As being one in purpose with Jesus we want to emulate Him- emulate the perfection He is as God who became man. Jesus wants us to learn from Him and He is teaching us that we are NOT the center of our existence. That ALL mankind has been created, ALL mankind - those of our own families, those of our own people, those who aren't of our people, those who are our enemies (by definition not those of our people), those who persecute us, curse us, revile us- they are ALL creatures created by our Creator and because they are ALL created they ALL deserve to find life in the sacrifice of God who became man- God with us, our Savior Jesus Christ.
Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you
Love your enemies.
God loves His enemies- we have all gone astray.
Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Bless them that curse you.
God blesses those that curse Him.
Do good to them that hate you.
God does good to them that hate Him- by the very act of salvation this is proven, by the opportunity of repentance this proven.
Pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.
God does this.
Luk 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.
Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Mat 5:46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Mat 5:47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
Mat 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Be God's.
Reveal God.
Show a living example of a forgiven child of the king to the entire world, to ALL- friend or foe- to all of those you come in contact with.
We ARE children of GOD, we need to BE children of GOD in ALL we do.
We are not to be taken out of this world and all it's horrors of sin and the unrepentant sinful.
Joh 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
We are to be kept from evil. We are to be kept from leaving our God and becoming one with the world for that is true evil- being God-less.
*******
Empty Me- Jeremy Camp
Holy Fire burn away,
My desire for anything
That is not of you and is of me.
I want more of you and less of me.
Holy Fire burn away,
My desire for anything
That is not of you and is of me,
I want more of you and less of me, yeah.
Empty me,
Empty me, yeah,
Fill, won't you fill me,
With you, with you, yeah.
Holy Fire, burn away,
My desire for anything
That is not of you and is of me.
I want more of you and less of me, yeah.
Empty me,
Empty me, yeah.
Fill, won't you fill me, with you, with you, empty me now.
Well won't you empty me, well won't you empty me now. repeat x2
I want more, I want more, I want more of you, Jesus.
I want more, I want more, oh.
Thank you, Jesus.
Thank you, Jesus, oh yeah,
Thank you, Jesus, yeah.
Holy Fire, Holy Fire, Holy Fire, Holy Fire.
Pasted from
*******
By the grace and mercy of our loving Savior, now and forever!
Amen.
Hate thine enemy.
Hate definition--
G3404
μισέω
miseō
mis-eh'-o
From a primary word μῖσος misos (hatred); to detest (especially to persecute); by extension to love less: - hate (-ful).
Hate- to detest, to persecute, to love less.
We have no doubt what loving our neighbor means- not really, right? Loving others- treating them with respect, forgiving them any ill will, tending to their needs, revealing the love of Jesus to them. When Jesus says that is has been said - thou shalt love they neighbor there is no mistake about where that comes from.
Lev 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
Thy neighbor here meaning - children of thy people- those children being members of the family of Israel.
It was said in times past to LOVE thy neighbor - those who were of your own people. This is why the question had to be asked--
Luk 10:29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
Who is my neighbor? This is a very valid question and one that needed clarification because based on the old ways that were twisted and warped into anything but love- a neighbor was those of your own people, it wasn't a non-Jew. To clarify what a neighbor really meant Jesus gave this little, but very powerful story-
Luk 10:30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
Luk 10:31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
Luk 10:32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
Luk 10:33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
Luk 10:34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
Luk 10:35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
Luk 10:36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
Luk 10:37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Which of the men was a neighbor to the wounded? The priest, a Jew? No. The Levite, a Jew? No. A Samaritan, one the Jews had NO dealings with? YES! The wounded man was obviously a Jew- coming down from Jerusalem and going to Jericho and the priest and the Levite just passed him by leaving him for dead- a fellowman- one of their own people. Then a Samaritan, one that had NOTHING to do with the Jews saw the wounded man and showed Him compassion. This is truly telling in so many ways!
It doesn't matter if the fellow human being is a hated foe and rightly so- when they're in need you help. Where compassion is needed- it should be shown.
When we show compassion, when we show love we reveal Christ in us. Undeserved love!
Our entire existence is not about you and I as individually being important. Our entire existence is about our Creator, without our Creator we would NOT exist. Man has forgotten this, man has chosen to ignore this, man has taken credit for something they can never take credit for. Man has talked themselves out of believing in the ONLY truth that matters. GOD!
As long as we are more concerned with ourselves, the more our minds are solely focused on self and others as extensions of ourselves, and taken off God we lose the whole reason for our existence. When we lose that reason for our existence we try to fill it with all sorts of things that Satan has handily made available to keep us blinded.
Christ in us is all that matters. By having Christ in us we acknowledge fully that God the Father and God the Word created us, we are theirs, we belong to them- we belong to the oneness that is shared by God our Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit- we are one with them in purpose, in life, in love.
As being one in purpose with Jesus we want to emulate Him- emulate the perfection He is as God who became man. Jesus wants us to learn from Him and He is teaching us that we are NOT the center of our existence. That ALL mankind has been created, ALL mankind - those of our own families, those of our own people, those who aren't of our people, those who are our enemies (by definition not those of our people), those who persecute us, curse us, revile us- they are ALL creatures created by our Creator and because they are ALL created they ALL deserve to find life in the sacrifice of God who became man- God with us, our Savior Jesus Christ.
Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you
Love your enemies.
God loves His enemies- we have all gone astray.
Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Bless them that curse you.
God blesses those that curse Him.
Do good to them that hate you.
God does good to them that hate Him- by the very act of salvation this is proven, by the opportunity of repentance this proven.
Pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.
God does this.
Luk 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.
Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Mat 5:46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Mat 5:47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
Mat 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Be God's.
Reveal God.
Show a living example of a forgiven child of the king to the entire world, to ALL- friend or foe- to all of those you come in contact with.
We ARE children of GOD, we need to BE children of GOD in ALL we do.
We are not to be taken out of this world and all it's horrors of sin and the unrepentant sinful.
Joh 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
We are to be kept from evil. We are to be kept from leaving our God and becoming one with the world for that is true evil- being God-less.
*******
Empty Me- Jeremy Camp
Holy Fire burn away,
My desire for anything
That is not of you and is of me.
I want more of you and less of me.
Holy Fire burn away,
My desire for anything
That is not of you and is of me,
I want more of you and less of me, yeah.
Empty me,
Empty me, yeah,
Fill, won't you fill me,
With you, with you, yeah.
Holy Fire, burn away,
My desire for anything
That is not of you and is of me.
I want more of you and less of me, yeah.
Empty me,
Empty me, yeah.
Fill, won't you fill me, with you, with you, empty me now.
Well won't you empty me, well won't you empty me now. repeat x2
I want more, I want more, I want more of you, Jesus.
I want more, I want more, oh.
Thank you, Jesus.
Thank you, Jesus, oh yeah,
Thank you, Jesus, yeah.
Holy Fire, Holy Fire, Holy Fire, Holy Fire.
Pasted from
*******
By the grace and mercy of our loving Savior, now and forever!
Amen.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Givers
Mat 5:42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
Give.
Mat 10:8 … freely ye have received, freely give.
Mat 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
Mar 9:41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.
Mar 10:44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.
Mar 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Luk 6:30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
Luk 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
Give.
Mat 25:35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Rom 12:20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Rom 12:21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
1Ti 6:17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
1Ti 6:18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
1Ti 6:19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
1Jn 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
1Jn 3:17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
1Jn 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
Love NOT in word.
Love NOT in tongue.
But in DEED and in TRUTH.
We can profess our love all we want. We can talk of our love until our throats are dry and we can scarcely speak another word. We can write of our love until our fingers bleed. We can boast of love until people believe it's all we talk about and can't talk of anything else and guess what? All that talk, all that professing of love means absolutely NOTHING! We can say the words 'I love you' a million times and it's worth NOTHING! We can be the world's utmost authority on love and it will mean NOTHING! We are NOT to talk of love, we are to love.
The saying- 'talk is cheap' is very, very true. Talk means very little if our lives don't reflect what we talk about. We call people liars when they talk and talk and talk but never do any of what they talk about. Liars. When our mouths profess love and our actions say otherwise we are LIARS! Why do people think talking about love is good enough? Why do people think that 'people know I love them' when in truth if you are NEVER loving towards them they know no such thing! People want others to believe the love them just because they say they do. People want others to believe they really care with in truth they are anything but caring towards them. People want others to believe they love them when they hug them and kiss them, and yet do little else for them. The showing of affection while never providing for someone's needs means little- hollow affection- words without substance, actions void of truth.
Loving in deed and truth.
Deed-
G2041
ergon
Thayer Definition:
1) business, employment, that which any one is occupied
1a) that which one undertakes to do, enterprise, undertaking
2) any product whatever, any thing accomplished by hand, art, industry, or mind
3) an act, deed, thing done: the idea of working is emphasised in opp. to that which is less than work
Part of Speech: noun neuter
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: from a primary (but obsolete) ergo (to work)
Loving in action. Loving in what we DO. Loving in how we live.
Loving in truth- really, really loving as Jesus would have us love, loving as HE loved.
Mar 10:44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.
Mar 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Jesus came NOT to be ministered unto, but to minister!
We shall be servants!
Mat 5:42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
Minister- give.
Love in deed- give.
Luk 6:30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
Give.
We can profess Christ and never be Christ's. Christ will not know those who profess him in word but not in deed, they will be complete strangers to the greatest Giver of all.
One who naturally gives has a gift, a blessing, because so many of us are takers more than givers. Those natural givers have something in common with our Savior in a very special way. Is it any wonder Satan will attack the natural givers so horrifically? Being able to give freely is something very, very special.
Jesus would have us LEARN to give because not everyone is a natural giver. Over and over Jesus is revealing Himself to us in His lessons. We are to treat others as Jesus treated us. We are to reveal Jesus through our lives in all ways, not just on the written page, not just by speaking. Don't get me wrong- some people give of themselves in their words I would never say otherwise but those giving in their words need to live giving. We need to be givers in all aspects of our lives and by the grace of God we will be! By the power of the Holy Spirit we will be givers, we will love in deed and in truth!
Givers.
Because He gave.
In His love!
Give.
Mat 10:8 … freely ye have received, freely give.
Mat 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
Mar 9:41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.
Mar 10:44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.
Mar 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Luk 6:30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
Luk 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
Give.
Mat 25:35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Rom 12:20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Rom 12:21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
1Ti 6:17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
1Ti 6:18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
1Ti 6:19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
1Jn 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
1Jn 3:17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
1Jn 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
Love NOT in word.
Love NOT in tongue.
But in DEED and in TRUTH.
We can profess our love all we want. We can talk of our love until our throats are dry and we can scarcely speak another word. We can write of our love until our fingers bleed. We can boast of love until people believe it's all we talk about and can't talk of anything else and guess what? All that talk, all that professing of love means absolutely NOTHING! We can say the words 'I love you' a million times and it's worth NOTHING! We can be the world's utmost authority on love and it will mean NOTHING! We are NOT to talk of love, we are to love.
The saying- 'talk is cheap' is very, very true. Talk means very little if our lives don't reflect what we talk about. We call people liars when they talk and talk and talk but never do any of what they talk about. Liars. When our mouths profess love and our actions say otherwise we are LIARS! Why do people think talking about love is good enough? Why do people think that 'people know I love them' when in truth if you are NEVER loving towards them they know no such thing! People want others to believe the love them just because they say they do. People want others to believe they really care with in truth they are anything but caring towards them. People want others to believe they love them when they hug them and kiss them, and yet do little else for them. The showing of affection while never providing for someone's needs means little- hollow affection- words without substance, actions void of truth.
Loving in deed and truth.
Deed-
G2041
ergon
Thayer Definition:
1) business, employment, that which any one is occupied
1a) that which one undertakes to do, enterprise, undertaking
2) any product whatever, any thing accomplished by hand, art, industry, or mind
3) an act, deed, thing done: the idea of working is emphasised in opp. to that which is less than work
Part of Speech: noun neuter
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: from a primary (but obsolete) ergo (to work)
Loving in action. Loving in what we DO. Loving in how we live.
Loving in truth- really, really loving as Jesus would have us love, loving as HE loved.
Mar 10:44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.
Mar 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Jesus came NOT to be ministered unto, but to minister!
We shall be servants!
Mat 5:42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
Minister- give.
Love in deed- give.
Luk 6:30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
Give.
We can profess Christ and never be Christ's. Christ will not know those who profess him in word but not in deed, they will be complete strangers to the greatest Giver of all.
One who naturally gives has a gift, a blessing, because so many of us are takers more than givers. Those natural givers have something in common with our Savior in a very special way. Is it any wonder Satan will attack the natural givers so horrifically? Being able to give freely is something very, very special.
Jesus would have us LEARN to give because not everyone is a natural giver. Over and over Jesus is revealing Himself to us in His lessons. We are to treat others as Jesus treated us. We are to reveal Jesus through our lives in all ways, not just on the written page, not just by speaking. Don't get me wrong- some people give of themselves in their words I would never say otherwise but those giving in their words need to live giving. We need to be givers in all aspects of our lives and by the grace of God we will be! By the power of the Holy Spirit we will be givers, we will love in deed and in truth!
Givers.
Because He gave.
In His love!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Christ Centered
Mat 5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
Giving up of self.
Jesus is teaching us, trying to teach us to give up our selfishness. We cling to it so desperately. The world revolves around…us. How could it be any different? Seriously, how can we take ourselves out of the center of our own existence. We've heard often the saying about somebody 'being their whole world'. A mother for a child- that child being the mother's whole world. A husband for a wife- that wife being the center of the husband's whole world. Or we hear that someone's job is their life. Of course we've ALL heard that we need to have a WELL BALANCED life without anyone becoming another's whole world. Well balanced meaning that instead of having your life revolve around anyone's or anything's world you have time for yourself, time for others, time for work, time for play- balance. What does Jesus want us to have? A well balanced life? I don't think so. Seriously, I think Jesus would have us have our life revolve around Him, because ONLY in Him can we find real life, real love. If our Savior is the center of ALL we do we are not in any danger of putting ourselves, anyone else, or anything else before our God. The only way our life is ever really balanced is in Christ. With Christ as the center of our lives then others will come first before ourselves and these words…
Mat 5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
… will be understood.
Giving to others. If someone asks you to do something, doing that and more for them without their asking is truly us revealing Christ in us.
Do some people take advantage of those who are *good* to them, knowing they'll give more of themselves than asked? Yes. Can you feel taken advantage of if you are giving from your Christ-centered heart? Seriously? Can you? Doesn't selfishness demand we feel resentful, that we feel taken advantage of when someone truly does take advantage of us? This is why we TURN THE OTHER CHEEK. This is why we go TWO miles when we are only asked to go one. This is Christ, this is selflessness. We can NEVER feel taken advantage of if Christ is our center, never. He wants us to give, give, give even to the undeserving, or those we perceive as undeserving. We can never be deserving of Christ, He gives us undeserved love and forgiveness. We have to live our lives the same way towards others, not questioning whether anyone is deserving of our giving, of our love.
We are NOT the way. We are NOT the truth. We are NOT the life.
Christ is the way, the truth and the life!
These words of Christ are OTHER centered. Jesus came to SAVE us. Jesus' life was OTHER centered- God the Father first and others second. Never was Jesus to teach us to be self centered. Never were we commanded to love only ourselves, never. God and others- this should be our focus. God always first! It's wonderful to be other centered but only if we are God centered first, pulling in others to that center where God lives in us.
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory
Christ in us!
By His grace!
Amen!
Giving up of self.
Jesus is teaching us, trying to teach us to give up our selfishness. We cling to it so desperately. The world revolves around…us. How could it be any different? Seriously, how can we take ourselves out of the center of our own existence. We've heard often the saying about somebody 'being their whole world'. A mother for a child- that child being the mother's whole world. A husband for a wife- that wife being the center of the husband's whole world. Or we hear that someone's job is their life. Of course we've ALL heard that we need to have a WELL BALANCED life without anyone becoming another's whole world. Well balanced meaning that instead of having your life revolve around anyone's or anything's world you have time for yourself, time for others, time for work, time for play- balance. What does Jesus want us to have? A well balanced life? I don't think so. Seriously, I think Jesus would have us have our life revolve around Him, because ONLY in Him can we find real life, real love. If our Savior is the center of ALL we do we are not in any danger of putting ourselves, anyone else, or anything else before our God. The only way our life is ever really balanced is in Christ. With Christ as the center of our lives then others will come first before ourselves and these words…
Mat 5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
… will be understood.
Giving to others. If someone asks you to do something, doing that and more for them without their asking is truly us revealing Christ in us.
Do some people take advantage of those who are *good* to them, knowing they'll give more of themselves than asked? Yes. Can you feel taken advantage of if you are giving from your Christ-centered heart? Seriously? Can you? Doesn't selfishness demand we feel resentful, that we feel taken advantage of when someone truly does take advantage of us? This is why we TURN THE OTHER CHEEK. This is why we go TWO miles when we are only asked to go one. This is Christ, this is selflessness. We can NEVER feel taken advantage of if Christ is our center, never. He wants us to give, give, give even to the undeserving, or those we perceive as undeserving. We can never be deserving of Christ, He gives us undeserved love and forgiveness. We have to live our lives the same way towards others, not questioning whether anyone is deserving of our giving, of our love.
We are NOT the way. We are NOT the truth. We are NOT the life.
Christ is the way, the truth and the life!
These words of Christ are OTHER centered. Jesus came to SAVE us. Jesus' life was OTHER centered- God the Father first and others second. Never was Jesus to teach us to be self centered. Never were we commanded to love only ourselves, never. God and others- this should be our focus. God always first! It's wonderful to be other centered but only if we are God centered first, pulling in others to that center where God lives in us.
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory
Christ in us!
By His grace!
Amen!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Jesus' love- not our love
Mat 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
Mat 5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
I didn't touch on this so much yesterday but it does need to be touched on especially in our day and age when we think nothing of suing people. It's true, we sue for anything nowadays. We cannot fathom being sued by someone and NOT trying to get away from having to pay them, or trying to get away with paying them the least amount possible. It's always considered a 'good deal', a 'win', when a person gets sued and they don't have to pay a lot of money. You won! You only have to give them a 100 dollars! It could have been much worse, you might have had to pay them 1000 dollars! Do you see the thrill? The thrill is with getting away without having to pay- it doesn't matter if it's due the person or not if we can get away without having to pay much we will and call it wonderful, call it good.
So here is our Savior and He says- if any man sues us and takes our coat- we give him our cloke too. WHAT?! Time to do a double take, right? If we're sued and someone *wins* and gets our coat we are not to only give him our coat but MORE! We are to give more than is rewarded, how can we possibly get our heads around this? Seriously. Being sued is horrible. I wouldn't want to be sued. You know, Jesus doesn't specify whether or not this is a justifiable suing- that we deserve to be sued, but in truth most people never believe they deserve to be sued, they'd rather work things out without involving the justice system. Not all believe that way, there are some that understand things happen - like an accident on their property- and they know they should be sued. Not everyone fights being sued.
There are a lot of different scenarios but the fact is - Jesus simply said if any man sues us.
Does this mean we are to give more to someone who is already taking us for something? Can you imagine being sued and having to pay 1000 dollars and then giving the person suing you 2000 dollars? Giving more, giving perhaps undeservedly. Giving. This does go hand in hand with turning the other cheek it really does and the same principle applies. Compassion. Revealing Christ not revealing ourselves. Our nature is completely selfish. It really is because so often those who do give and think themselves unselfish are even more selfish than the takers because they lament no one appreciating them enough-- SELFISH. We are selfish…are carnal nature will constantly try to rule us and it does a good job. Turning the other cheek, giving more than we are required to someone taking from us, deserved or not, these things are not common.
Jesus is not common.
Jesus wants HIS love to be revealed, love we embrace and let shine through us, not our love, not love that we give in order to get, not love that is corrupted by selfishness. Jesus' love! JESUS' LOVE!
By His grace me His love be revealed through us now and always!
His LOVE, not our love, HIS LOVE!
In Him forever!
Amen.
Mat 5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
I didn't touch on this so much yesterday but it does need to be touched on especially in our day and age when we think nothing of suing people. It's true, we sue for anything nowadays. We cannot fathom being sued by someone and NOT trying to get away from having to pay them, or trying to get away with paying them the least amount possible. It's always considered a 'good deal', a 'win', when a person gets sued and they don't have to pay a lot of money. You won! You only have to give them a 100 dollars! It could have been much worse, you might have had to pay them 1000 dollars! Do you see the thrill? The thrill is with getting away without having to pay- it doesn't matter if it's due the person or not if we can get away without having to pay much we will and call it wonderful, call it good.
So here is our Savior and He says- if any man sues us and takes our coat- we give him our cloke too. WHAT?! Time to do a double take, right? If we're sued and someone *wins* and gets our coat we are not to only give him our coat but MORE! We are to give more than is rewarded, how can we possibly get our heads around this? Seriously. Being sued is horrible. I wouldn't want to be sued. You know, Jesus doesn't specify whether or not this is a justifiable suing- that we deserve to be sued, but in truth most people never believe they deserve to be sued, they'd rather work things out without involving the justice system. Not all believe that way, there are some that understand things happen - like an accident on their property- and they know they should be sued. Not everyone fights being sued.
There are a lot of different scenarios but the fact is - Jesus simply said if any man sues us.
Does this mean we are to give more to someone who is already taking us for something? Can you imagine being sued and having to pay 1000 dollars and then giving the person suing you 2000 dollars? Giving more, giving perhaps undeservedly. Giving. This does go hand in hand with turning the other cheek it really does and the same principle applies. Compassion. Revealing Christ not revealing ourselves. Our nature is completely selfish. It really is because so often those who do give and think themselves unselfish are even more selfish than the takers because they lament no one appreciating them enough-- SELFISH. We are selfish…are carnal nature will constantly try to rule us and it does a good job. Turning the other cheek, giving more than we are required to someone taking from us, deserved or not, these things are not common.
Jesus is not common.
Jesus wants HIS love to be revealed, love we embrace and let shine through us, not our love, not love that we give in order to get, not love that is corrupted by selfishness. Jesus' love! JESUS' LOVE!
By His grace me His love be revealed through us now and always!
His LOVE, not our love, HIS LOVE!
In Him forever!
Amen.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Compassion for evil doers
Mat 5:38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Mat 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Mat 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
*******
Exo 21:24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Exo 21:25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
Lev 24:20 Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.
Deu 19:21 And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
*******
It had been said, in fact it was a common practice for criminal matters to be handled this way- an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. If you did something bad to a person and were caught- you paid with a *like* action. It sounds like fairness doesn't it? More than one person would easily say that a person who steals deserves to have their things taken from them, a person who maims another deserves to be maimed, a person who murders deserves to be killed, and so on. It's only fair, right? Those who intentionally hurt others deserve to be hurt- justice needs to be served, vengeance needs to be had.
We've thought it, we've felt it, we've wanted justice, we've wanted others to get their just reward, we're guilty of this - none of us are exempt. Now with that in mind ask yourself this question… did you ever want *more* than justice for some wrong done to you or a loved one of yours? Did you ever want them to suffer more than they really deserved? Did you want that simply because that person had the audacity, the evil in them to commit the evil act? Do we want a person to pay double, triple because they had NO right to do what they did? Do we sometimes want their death even if they did not commit murder- simply because of the horrifying pain they caused? Do we in our finite judgment really believe we have a right to take life from anyone?
I'll be the first to admit that evil, true, real evil exists- that there are people who have embraced evil to its fullest and their lives reflect that. Evil deserves to be wipe out, but we aren't the ones who are to do that wiping out.
We were given an instruction on how to deal with the wrong doing others would inflict upon us and we weren't satisfied with getting just and eye for an eye- we wanted two eyes for one eye. We weren't happy with getting a tooth for a tooth we wanted a whole mouthful of teeth for a single tooth. We couldn't be trusted to err on the side of good because inevitably we would err on the side of evil. Our own evil nature would take over and we don't mete out justice fairly but allow our judgment to be colored by all that makes us who we are. Who hasn't heard about a judge being harsh because he/she was having a bad day? We can try our hardest to be fair and that's a good thing- as far as it goes- but we are very imperfect and the imperfect judging the imperfect is never very good.
Does this mean I think all evil should be simply ignored? No.
But I believe ANY evil person we judge needs to be judged with compassion.
Mat 5:38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Mat 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Mat 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
Those who would hurt us need to get compassion from us- not returned evil. What's this doing? What's this compassion all about? It does what? It REVEALS JESUS.
The salvation each of us can have is given to us freely and totally undeserved. The compassion that is within us through the love of our Savior can be freely given to those undeserving. This is the message we are to hear from these words of our Savior, this is the lesson we need to learn. Not to do unto others as they've done to us, no… but do what our Savior would have us do unto them… reveal undeserved compassion and in doing so we reveal the love of God.
By His amazing love and grace may we seek Him and His wisdom whenever we are in a situation needing compassion over justice or revenge.
In His love!
Mat 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Mat 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
*******
Exo 21:24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Exo 21:25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
Lev 24:20 Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.
Deu 19:21 And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
*******
It had been said, in fact it was a common practice for criminal matters to be handled this way- an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. If you did something bad to a person and were caught- you paid with a *like* action. It sounds like fairness doesn't it? More than one person would easily say that a person who steals deserves to have their things taken from them, a person who maims another deserves to be maimed, a person who murders deserves to be killed, and so on. It's only fair, right? Those who intentionally hurt others deserve to be hurt- justice needs to be served, vengeance needs to be had.
We've thought it, we've felt it, we've wanted justice, we've wanted others to get their just reward, we're guilty of this - none of us are exempt. Now with that in mind ask yourself this question… did you ever want *more* than justice for some wrong done to you or a loved one of yours? Did you ever want them to suffer more than they really deserved? Did you want that simply because that person had the audacity, the evil in them to commit the evil act? Do we want a person to pay double, triple because they had NO right to do what they did? Do we sometimes want their death even if they did not commit murder- simply because of the horrifying pain they caused? Do we in our finite judgment really believe we have a right to take life from anyone?
I'll be the first to admit that evil, true, real evil exists- that there are people who have embraced evil to its fullest and their lives reflect that. Evil deserves to be wipe out, but we aren't the ones who are to do that wiping out.
We were given an instruction on how to deal with the wrong doing others would inflict upon us and we weren't satisfied with getting just and eye for an eye- we wanted two eyes for one eye. We weren't happy with getting a tooth for a tooth we wanted a whole mouthful of teeth for a single tooth. We couldn't be trusted to err on the side of good because inevitably we would err on the side of evil. Our own evil nature would take over and we don't mete out justice fairly but allow our judgment to be colored by all that makes us who we are. Who hasn't heard about a judge being harsh because he/she was having a bad day? We can try our hardest to be fair and that's a good thing- as far as it goes- but we are very imperfect and the imperfect judging the imperfect is never very good.
Does this mean I think all evil should be simply ignored? No.
But I believe ANY evil person we judge needs to be judged with compassion.
Mat 5:38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Mat 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Mat 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
Those who would hurt us need to get compassion from us- not returned evil. What's this doing? What's this compassion all about? It does what? It REVEALS JESUS.
The salvation each of us can have is given to us freely and totally undeserved. The compassion that is within us through the love of our Savior can be freely given to those undeserving. This is the message we are to hear from these words of our Savior, this is the lesson we need to learn. Not to do unto others as they've done to us, no… but do what our Savior would have us do unto them… reveal undeserved compassion and in doing so we reveal the love of God.
By His amazing love and grace may we seek Him and His wisdom whenever we are in a situation needing compassion over justice or revenge.
In His love!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Swear not at all
Mat 5:33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
Mat 5:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
Mat 5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Mat 5:36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
Mat 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
Let your communication be Yes or No- whatsoever is more than these comes from evil.
When we use 'Maybe', what are we really doing? Seriously, think about it for a moment. We've ALL used the word maybe when someone wanted us to say yes or no, haven't we? Ask a question and someone says maybe… you get that gut feeling their real desire is to say no, but when we want them to say yes, or yes when we want them to say no. Maybe is used when a decision isn't ready to be made and that's not such a bad thing. But this isn't really talking about saying maybe it's talking about swearing an oath. We need to understand something- historians of the day tell us that it was common for people before Christ to swear and oath to someone but NOT feel obligated to truly keep that oath believing that God would understand the reasoning- the performing unto the Lord the oaths and NOT the people to whom you've made them was a way to appease the guilt of not keeping your word- and THIS wasn't right. Just as God allowed people to divorce for petty reasons until Jesus came to set them free with the truth because of the people heart hardness- people were allowed to appease their guilt of being unable to complete an oath by claiming God's understanding.
No more! This would be allowed NO longer! People who were genuine in their needing God's help, God's forgiveness when they failed to keep an oath were overshadowed by those abusing the situation. How easy it became for them to make an oath and then know that they NEVER really had to keep that oath- they LIED. Just as people used the allowable reason for divorce and abused that reason, they abused this too.
No reason was good enough to lie! No reason was good enough to make an oath and then NOT keep it! People have DIED to stand by their oaths, but for some reason others think absolutely nothing of lying to a person. Some think nothing of making an oath all the while they know even as they are making that oath that they won't keep it. LIARS!
God cannot abide a liar, and is it any wonder???
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
The devil is a LIAR. The devil is the Father of LYING!
Is it any wonder Jesus said this--
Mat 5:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
Mat 5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Mat 5:36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
Mat 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
Swear NOT at all.
Swear by NOTHING!
Don't even swear by yourself, not even a HAIR on your head!
If you don't swear - if you don't make any oaths- if you don't make any promises especially if you don't know if you can keep them- then you won't be lying. An oath, a promise, is important. We are NOT to make any oath lightly. In the third commandment God states we are not to take His name in vain. We do take it in vain when we swear by God, when we perform our oaths to God while lying to others. Jesus would have us understand that sin separates us from Him. Lies separate us from God. Every time we lie we sin. People don't want to believe that, they just plain don't want to believe that it's true. They love their lying, they love their cherished white lies, they love the ease with which they can tell untruths and deceive others and they pacify themselves by telling themselves that it isn't hurting anyone. Wrong. It hurts God. It hurts us and we don't even realize it because we don't feel physical pain when we lie. We don't feel physical pain when we are being separated from God. If we felt the pain we wouldn't believe that lying hurts no one. Spiritual pain, agonizing spiritual pain… if we could only realize. God realizes, God knows. Jesus knows and anything that separates us from Him is not acceptable to Him. Love, this is love- God and God with us.
By His grace may we keep from swearing any oaths. By His grace may we keep from lying. By His love now and forever and ever!
Amen.
Mat 5:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
Mat 5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Mat 5:36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
Mat 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
Let your communication be Yes or No- whatsoever is more than these comes from evil.
When we use 'Maybe', what are we really doing? Seriously, think about it for a moment. We've ALL used the word maybe when someone wanted us to say yes or no, haven't we? Ask a question and someone says maybe… you get that gut feeling their real desire is to say no, but when we want them to say yes, or yes when we want them to say no. Maybe is used when a decision isn't ready to be made and that's not such a bad thing. But this isn't really talking about saying maybe it's talking about swearing an oath. We need to understand something- historians of the day tell us that it was common for people before Christ to swear and oath to someone but NOT feel obligated to truly keep that oath believing that God would understand the reasoning- the performing unto the Lord the oaths and NOT the people to whom you've made them was a way to appease the guilt of not keeping your word- and THIS wasn't right. Just as God allowed people to divorce for petty reasons until Jesus came to set them free with the truth because of the people heart hardness- people were allowed to appease their guilt of being unable to complete an oath by claiming God's understanding.
No more! This would be allowed NO longer! People who were genuine in their needing God's help, God's forgiveness when they failed to keep an oath were overshadowed by those abusing the situation. How easy it became for them to make an oath and then know that they NEVER really had to keep that oath- they LIED. Just as people used the allowable reason for divorce and abused that reason, they abused this too.
No reason was good enough to lie! No reason was good enough to make an oath and then NOT keep it! People have DIED to stand by their oaths, but for some reason others think absolutely nothing of lying to a person. Some think nothing of making an oath all the while they know even as they are making that oath that they won't keep it. LIARS!
God cannot abide a liar, and is it any wonder???
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
The devil is a LIAR. The devil is the Father of LYING!
Is it any wonder Jesus said this--
Mat 5:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
Mat 5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Mat 5:36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
Mat 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
Swear NOT at all.
Swear by NOTHING!
Don't even swear by yourself, not even a HAIR on your head!
If you don't swear - if you don't make any oaths- if you don't make any promises especially if you don't know if you can keep them- then you won't be lying. An oath, a promise, is important. We are NOT to make any oath lightly. In the third commandment God states we are not to take His name in vain. We do take it in vain when we swear by God, when we perform our oaths to God while lying to others. Jesus would have us understand that sin separates us from Him. Lies separate us from God. Every time we lie we sin. People don't want to believe that, they just plain don't want to believe that it's true. They love their lying, they love their cherished white lies, they love the ease with which they can tell untruths and deceive others and they pacify themselves by telling themselves that it isn't hurting anyone. Wrong. It hurts God. It hurts us and we don't even realize it because we don't feel physical pain when we lie. We don't feel physical pain when we are being separated from God. If we felt the pain we wouldn't believe that lying hurts no one. Spiritual pain, agonizing spiritual pain… if we could only realize. God realizes, God knows. Jesus knows and anything that separates us from Him is not acceptable to Him. Love, this is love- God and God with us.
By His grace may we keep from swearing any oaths. By His grace may we keep from lying. By His love now and forever and ever!
Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)