Living your YES Life

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 s...

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 Pharise...

Say YES to being salty 🧂 and lit 🔥  Scripture “You are the salt of the earth…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…In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭13‬-‭16‬  Brief Observation One of my favorite Christian t-shirts summarizes this dynamite passage with a simple phrase: “Salty & Lit.” These words remind us of our heavenly significance and our earthly responsibility. Jesus, described by John as “the true light” (John 1:9) and “the light of the world” (John 8:12, 9:5), looked at his disciples and said “YOU are the light of the world!” To those who believed the common lie that their life is inconsequential, Jesus told the truth that they are heavenly consequential. To those who struggled with self-doubt, Jesus says, “you shine bright!” Because of this dynamic truth we have a responsi...

Say YES to Jesus’ perspective on happiness Scripture Now when Jesus saw the crowds. He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him and he began to teach them. He said… Happy are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Happy are those who mourn for they will be comforted. Happy are the meek for they will inherit the earth. Matthew 5:1-5 Brief Observation As the disciples gathered by Jesus on the mountainside, he shared his belief on where true happiness is found. The beatitudes each start with the Greek word makaroi which can be translated as “blessed, fortunate or happy.”  In America we are familiar with the phrase “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” and we have a company that boasts being “the happiest place on earth.” Our culture would likely say something different like, “Happy are those who have a lot ” or “Happy are those who have nothing to cry about” or “Happy are those who are in control.” But true happiness is not found in ...