Category: Matthew

If your right eye causes you to stumble, 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. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, 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  (Matthew 5:29-30).

Now we see where the phrase, “Cut that out!” came from.

I think it’s safe to say that Jesus is not literally suggesting self-mutilation as a behavior modification tool.

But

he is slamming home the seriousness of sin.

Beloved, let me ask you a question that I am afraid to ask myself: What sins are you putting up with in your life?

…

… (this is me waiting while you think)

…

Yeah, those sins.  

How much do you want them gone?

There is a scene in the C.S. Lewis book The Great Divorce that I love and hate and fear. In this scene an angel encounters a man who has a lizard sitting on his shoulder.  The lizard, which represents a particular sin, whispers all manner of evil nastiness into the man’s ear. The angel offers to free the man from the evil nastiness by killing the lizard.  The man wants to be free of the lizard–or so he says–but he is unwilling to have it killed. He is afraid that in killing the lizard the angel will also kill the man. After much anguish and debate, the man decides that he wants the lizard gone, even if it kills him.

Brave man.

Beloved, you don’t have to cut off a hand or gouge out an eye to get right with God.

But…would you?  

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

You have heard that it was said, “Do not commit adultery.” But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:27-28).

Well, isn’t this a lovely thought to start your week?

Jesus is talking about the relationship between husband and wife, and telling us that fidelity is a matter of the heart and not just the hands.  On its own, that message is as timely today as it was in the First Century. But Jesus is addressing more than the marriage relationship. He is refocusing the philosophies that his listeners had grown up with.  The Mosaic law the Jews followed was external–what you ate, what you touched, where you went. Jesus is saying that God requires so much more than that. Love in God’s eyes is a matter of attitude, not just action.  Jesus is continuing the process of, “Not abolishing…but fulfilling” that he began way back in verse 17. And he’s just warming up.

Fasten your seat belt, Beloved.

This might get bumpy.

Happy Monday

Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.  Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. (Matthew 5:25-26).

Yesterday, Jesus talked about how strife with others will hinder you spiritual life.

Today, we see that it can get in the way of other aspects of your life as well.

Yeah, so maybe the key is to take care of your interpersonal issues right away, hmmm?  Don’t let them problems brew, or you’ll end up with Trouble Tea.

Get it?  Brew…tea…ya?

When you were a kid, did you ever build a tower out of blocks? The goal, of course, was height; you wanted your tower to reach the stars.  So you started stacking one block on top of another, going for the record. The problem was, before your tower got too tall it started to wobble.  If you didn’t act quickly, it would collapse. The way to strengthen your tower, to keep it from wobbling, was simple:

Make it wider.

As a child you learned that vertical must be supported by horizontal or…crash.

True for blocks, true for relationships.  Your relationship with God does not–cannot–exist apart from your relationship with others. Those relationships are where you put into practice all that you learn from your walk with God.  It’s where the abstract becomes concrete.

What people issues do you have to deal with today?  Deal with them in as quickly and Christ-honoring a fashion as you  can.

Stack those blocks wide, Beloved.  Build your tower tall.

Happy Friday

Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift (Matthew 5:23-24).

Oh, come on Paul.

Can’t I just pray and worship and love God without dealing with…you know…them?

Seriously, Paul, you don’t understand the situation.  You have no idea of the pain and frustration and betrayal and backbiting and desertion that went on.

If you knew what they have done…if you knew what I have done…

What’s that, Paul?

If I knew what Jesus has done…

But I do know what Jesus has done.

Oh

Beloved, it’s easy for words like apologize, and repent, and humility, and forgiveness to remain abstract concepts when we restrict them to our relationship with God.

That’s why he gave us…you know…them.

It’s in relationship that we really learn to love.

So, set down your gift

and take up your cross

and live what you profess.

Today, Beloved.

Happy Thursday

You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’  But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’is answerable to the court, but anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell (Matthew 5:21-22).

Dang it.

I was doing so well, too.

I mean, I can honestly say that I’ve never murdered anyone.  And as for saying Raca, well, I’m not even entirely sure how to pronounce it.

But now, it seems, that’s not good enough.

Frankly, Beloved, it never was.

Happy Wednesday.

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 (Matthew 5:20).

Well, I guess you’re not going to Heaven.

No offense–neither am I.

At least not in our own strength.

Jesus saw these people doing their utmost to follow the letter of the law.  They dotted every I, crossed every T, strained every gnat.  But it wasn’t enough. It never could be. And, they focused so hard on the minutiae that they missed the big picture–

God’s righteous.

Our wretchedness.

Beloved, are you still trying to do this on your own?  Still hoping that if you just work a little harder or read a little closer or pray a little more intensely that you will arrive?

You know it doesn’t work that way.

You need the righteousness of Christ.  And hey, good news! He’s got enough to spare, and he’s willing to share if you’ll just ask him.

Enough righteousness to get you into Heaven.

Enough righteousness to get you through Tuesday.

So go ahead, ask him.  I’ll wait.

…

…

…

There, that’s better. You’re looking good, Beloved.

Happy Tuesday.

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 (Matthew 5:17).

We call them Old Testament and New Testament

when really

we should just call it Testament.  

When I was a little kid, I thought that the God of the Old Testament was a totally different guy from the God of the New Testament.  Later, I figured it was the same God, but that he had matured through the eons. You know, he had stopped zapping people with lightning, and had kinda grown from the Rule-giver into the Grace-giver.

Yeah…I didn’t get a lot of doctrinal training early on…

The point is, it’s all the same God.  And his plan didn’t change. It’s not like Jesus was Plan B, after the whole Mosaic Law thing didn’t work out.  The Law worked out. It was perfect. It did exactly what it was supposed to do–show Man that he could never reach God on his own, and provide the framework for the perfect sacrifice that would, finally, bring peace.

Behold the Lamb of God, Beloved.

Happy Monday.  

I wrote this post a few years ago, but it sure seems to fit today. So…

You are the light of the world.  A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  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.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven  (Matthew 5:14).

This little light of mine, I’m gonna…

Sorry.

You know, sometimes I don’t want to let my light shine.  It just seems so little, so dull—I can’t imagine anyone glorifying God because of it.

I’m sure you never feel that way.  Just humor me.

I am writing this from atop Zanja Peak, a wannabe mountain a few miles from my home.  It’s 11:00 PM, and I’m in the middle of a night hike. As I worked my way up here, I remembered something. Nature gets dark at night. Really dark. So dark that if Mandibles of Death, the fluffy yet vicious golden retriever, weren’t with me, I might be a tad trepidatious.

I have a headlamp, and yes I do look silly wearing it.  That’s not the point. The point is, at home the light looks pretty mild.  Wimpy, really. I sometimes have to double check to make sure it’s on. Out here, in the ohsovery darkness, it’s a different story.  As I hike along, if I hear something go bump/slither/growl/snarl in the night, I click my trusty headlamp and the world is ablaze with light.  It’s so bright that my night vision is ruined for several minutes, which can be an adventure all its own, but that is also not the point.

This world is pretty dark, spiritually speaking. That little light of yours may not be much to you.  To a lost soul, it may seem like the very glory of God.

Which, in a way, it is.

Shine for him today, Beloved.

Happy Friday.

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 underfoot (Matthew 5:13).

Salt is a funny thing.  Too much of it will make you gag.  Too too much of it will kill you outright.  And yet it is essential to life.

Salt is easy to overlook, easy to forget about.  When you’re cooking, it’s fun to focus on the interesting spices—cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom.  Who notices salt? But just leave that pinch of salt out of your recipe and see how bland your meal becomes.

Salt is preserving.

Salt is healing.

Salt gives flavor.

People are funny things.

God can use us to bring flavor to people’s lives.

To heal

To preserve

We are sometimes overlooked, but we are an essential component of God’s plan for the lives around us.

And yet, when we put too much of ourselves into the mix—when we try too hard to be noticed—we mess up the recipe.

This is an awkward analogy, but I’m sticking with it.

You are the salt of the earth.  Your saltiness—that which makes you useful to God—is the Holy Spirit working in you.  When you try to work in your own power, you lose your saltiness. There’s too much…you.  So you mess things up.

And your work is pretty much worthless.

Don’t try to work for God today, Beloved.  Instead, let him work through you. Let him sprinkle you where he will, and let the Holy Spirit do his job in the lives around you.

It’s a lot easier, and it’s less likely to make people gag.

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven(Matthew 5:10).

Did you ever read Foxe’s Book of Christian Martyrs?  It tells the stories of men and women who suffered death—in various gruesome forms—rather than deny the name of Christ.

Intense.

And humbling.

I have never been threatened with death for following Jesus. Chances are, neither have you.  Throughout history there has been persecution. Even today, there are many in the world who risk imprisonment or worse for following Christ.  

But not here.

Not yet.  

For better or for worse, we live in a society that allows us to worship God openly, without fear of reprisals.

For the moment, anyway.

I’d like to think that, if real persecution came, I would stand firm, braving whatever might come with a song of praise on my lips.

I’d like to think that.

But I just don’t know, do I? Frankly, I sometimes crumble in the face of the micropersecutions that do come my way.

The odd look.  The occasional raised eyebrow.  A little mocking because I don’t speak or act in the way that the world does.  It’s amazing how little it sometimes takes to send me packing.

Today, as we head out into our respective Wednesdays, let us act in such a way that we stand out for Christ.  If that results in persecution, let us embrace it and rejoice.

Stand out.

Stand up.

Stand firm, Beloved.

Happy Wednesday.