Posts

Step 10: Say YES to Jesus’ Definition of Perfect Love

Step 10: Say YES To Jesus’ Definition of Perfect Love 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Brief Observation In this election year, imagine turning on the news and seeing the leading candidates praise their opponent’s accomplishments and character and praying for them. Hold that in your heart for a moment. That’s not what we’ve come to expect. But that’s what Jesus is getting at in this part of the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus is inviting his appr
Post a Comment
Read more

Step 9: Say YES To Jesus' Surprising Response to Opposition

Step 9: Say YES to Jesus’ Surprising Response to Opposition Scripture 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. Brief Observation Do you know the story of St. Patrick? His story is the story of an absurd love. He was captured as a teenager by the Irish and after he escaped he sensed God’s call to return to the Irish to tell them about Jesus. He returned to his captors! He returned to those who had mistreated him. He embodied what Jesus describes in his sermon on the mount. Instead of returning to Ireland to seek vengeance and make his captors pay for what they had done to him, he returned to t
Post a Comment
Read more

Step 8: Say YES To Jesus' Wisdom on Promises

Step 8: Say YES To Jesus’ wisdom on promises Scripture 33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. Matthew 5:33-37 Brief Observation When we say “YES” to Jesus, we’re saying “Yes” to using our words the way He did (and does). His words create, care, challenge and confront…all in love. What we read above is an example of how his words challenged his disciples (then and now) to be care-filled with their words of promises and commitment. Think with me about the effects of broken or unmet promises. Have you ever had someone break a p
Post a Comment
Read more

Step 7: Say YES to Jesus’ Perspective on Marriage and Singleness

Say YES to Jesus’ Perspective on Marriage and Singleness  Scripture ““It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭31‬-‭32‬ ‭NIV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.5.31-32.NIV Brief Observation Commitment is hard. And the life-long covenant of marriage may be the most difficult commitment to keep. It requires love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (all of which are provided by the Spirit to those who say “Yes” to Jesus…Galatians 5:22). And in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus challenged his disciples to not give up on marriage as people in their culture were.  Later, in Matthew 19:4-9, Jesus explained that God set up marriage as a life-long spiritual and physical bond between man and woman and added this com
Post a Comment
Read more

Step 6: Say YES to Jesus’ Perspective on Lust

Say YES to Jesus’ Perspective on Lust Scripture ““ You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 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.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭27‬-‭29 ‭NIV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.5.27-29.NIV   Brief Observation Jesus did not come to earth, go to the grave or come back from the dead for us to be casual with sin in our lives. He did not give you the gifts and the call you have so that you could waste them on lust. When Jesus instructed his disciples in the sermon on the mount, he mentions hell (Gehenna) three times. First, in reference to trashing someone with words (Matt 5:22). Then the other two times are about dealing with lust (5:29 & 30). Where Jesus instructed his followers to be swift in dealin
Post a Comment
Read more

Step 5: Say YES to Jesus' Perspective on Anger and Insults

Week 5: Say Yes To Jesus’ Perspective on Anger and Insults Hey YES Peeps! If you haven’t noticed, the weekly encouragement is coming from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. And I found out that The Bible Project is doing a year long study of the Sermon on the Mount and so far it’s awesome! Check it out and follow along . Here’s this week’s YES encouragement… Scripture “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…And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. … First go and be reconciled to them;  …Settle matters quickly with your adversary Matthew 5:21-26: www.bible.com/bible/111/MAT.5.21-26.NIV   Brief Observation You have not ever and never ever will meet a person who is disposable. Every person that you live with, study with, worship with, work with or work for is someone wo
Post a Comment
Read more

Step 4: Say YES to Jesus’ perspective on the Old Testament

Step 4: Say YES to Jesus’ perspective on the Old Testament  Scripture “ 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.  …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.”  Jesus in ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬, ‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.5.17-20.NIV   Brief Observation If we are going to take Jesus’ call on our lives seriously, we will need to carefully consider his attitude and approach to the Old Testament (aka “the Law and the Prophets”), those scriptures that came before his incarnation. Some people want to accept the gracious and forgiving Jesus of the New Testament while rejecting what they perceive as the condemning and vengeful God of the Old Testament. But that comes from a misunderstanding of God and the nature of the Old Testament. What’s interesting is that the Pharisees and teachers of
Post a Comment
Read more