Jesus says: Stand through the Storm

Trials are simply a part of life.

No matter who your daddy is, how much money you have in the bank, or what country you were born in, there is simply nothing you can do in this life to avoid suffering.  Suffering comes to us all.

Suffering is such a huge part of life that the leader of another major world religion once said, "All life is suffering," and then spent much of the rest of his life expounding on finding a way to minimize it.

And while I wouldn't quite go so far as Buddha to say that all of life is suffering, if you live long enough, you'll recognize that there is a lot of suffering in this world, and that some of that suffering always manages to find its way into all of our lives in one form or fashion.

Instinctively knowing these things, a lot of what we do in our lives is done in order to proactively combat suffering.

For example, the typical American life is built around the idea of chasing a dream that involves not suffering.  It's built into the very creed of America, and part of our national DNA:  "...life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."  And much of the decisions we make in this life, like where we go to school at, what we study, who we marry, the career we choose, who we vote for, and the reasons why we ultimately go to war with other nations, all these things are driven, in part, because we think by making certain choices that we will be able to largely enjoy life, and minimize the degree to which suffering factors into our daily experience.

And some people are really good at this game.  As a result, some become so insulated to a lot of the troubles of this life, and a lot of their troubles consist of what has been laughably classified on the internet as "First World Problems" or #FirstWorldProblems (for those of you who like hashtags).  

Such #FirstWorldProblems might include:

• "I'm upset that my selfie stick doesn't work with my new cell phone case."
• "There was simply too much food at my Super Bowl party."
• "I have a closet full of clothes... but nothing to wear."
• "My car doesn't even have seat warmers."
• "None of the movies added to Netflix this month are very appealing."
• "My cookie won't fit in my glass of milk."
• "My mom is friends with me on Facebook."

But no matter how hard we try to avoid suffering, storms are destined to enter our life just the same, no matter who we are and what we do.  At some point in our lives, no matter how hard we try, we will all inevitably suffer a job loss, a social injustice, become the victim of a random crime, have our health fell us, have a friend betray us, or lose a loved one.  And in the end, all of us will eventually die.

A storm is always coming.  But how we respond to the coming storm, and the outcome of that storm, is not always the same.

Knowing this is the fate of all men everywhere, Jesus closed out His teaching on the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:24-27) by telling a story about two men. Both men were men who heard His teachings, and both of them were men who ultimately faced a terrible storm.  But between hearing the teachings of Jesus and enduring a terrible storm, both men built a house.  But the difference between the two men was the choice of the foundation that they both built their house upon.  One man built his home on a rock hard foundation.  The other man built his home on sand.  And when the storm came, and it came to both of them, the man who built his house on a sturdy foundation endured the storm, whereas the one who built his home on the sand ultimately suffered the destruction of everything in his life.

Jesus says in this story if we want to be men whose lives endure the coming storm, and know how to truly live life, we need to become men who build our lives on the hard and rock solid foundation of His teachings, and putting them into practice.  

Because if we build our lives on anything else, be it the teachings of Buddha, the homespun wisdom of our grandparents, the sage like musings of the rabbi's, or something we heard Oprah and Dr. Phil say on TV, then we are doing nothing but ultimately setting ourselves up for failure.  

And that's not to say these guys and gals don't have a lot of great things to say.  Sometimes they do.  You can build a house on it, just as the man in Jesus's story did.  But at the end of the day, what they have to say doesn't have much to it, and is prone to easily shifting around.  So while you can build a house on it, that house will never have a firm foundation.  It will always lack a certain trustworthiness, and will ultimately prove itself fleeting when the storms of life ultimately do come.

So if you are going through a storm and want to not only survive it, but thrive even after it is over, Jesus says we need to simply put His words into action in our daily lives.  

We need to find that Jesus Christ alone is the firm foundation that we must ultimately build our lives upon. And trusting in Him and who He is and what He has done, with great confidence we can build our lives on Him and what He has said.  

Things won't always be pretty.  We are going to face some brutal storms.  But with Jesus Christ as our firm foundation, He will support us the entire way, and ultimately make us to stand strong through whatever comes against us.  

Jesus says: Beware of your Preacher

"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits.  Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?  So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits."  ~ (Matthew 7:15-20; NASB)

False prophets are something that Jesus said we should be on high alert for.  But many Christians aren't so discerning, and prefer to take on a more passive and accepting attitude.   At the end of the day, many of us simply want a minister who puts on a good show.

And that's exactly what wolves dressed in sheep's clothing do.  They put on a good show.

Outwardly, their ministry is very impressive.  Who could dare fault them?  They are extremely successful and often have stellar results.  Their naysayers are often said to just be jealous haters.

But for all the success and window dressing associated with their ministry, underneath the veneer is somebody actively looking to take advantage of you in some way, shape, or form.  They can come off as very sincere, very passionate, and very successful at what they do.  They usually have a great message that people just eat up... even very good Christian people.

But at the end of the day, you are being preyed upon.

The false prophet's ministry is often self-seeking, self-promoting, and makes the minister wealthy in the process.  Tough questions about the minister or the lifestyle of the minister are not really welcomed, and is even discouraged.  Blind submission becomes an exalted virtue among the sheep, transparency is feigned, and real accountability is virtually non-existent.  Inner circles are often formed to insulate the wolf dressed in sheep's clothing, so those on the outside can't get a closer look at their leader, and discover some awful truths.

After all, even the best dressed wolf can't hide the fact that it's merely wearing a costume.  The Wizard of Oz could only hide behind the curtain for so long, and it took nothing more than a tiny dog to ultimately find him out.  But if the people are kept far enough way, they'll never be able to pickup on the unusual scent or clothes.

Wolves are aware of this.  So they do everything they can to hide and blend in.  For they ultimately know that while sheep may have very poor eyesight, at the end of the day, they are not dumb.  And, if they get close enough to see something they don't like and are afraid of, they will simply take their business elsewhere.  But, if they never get the opportunity to see if their leader is merely wearing a costume, it's only a matter of time that they'll have something for lunch.

That's why Jesus encouraged us to closely examine the fruit of those who would presume to be our leaders in the church.

Jesus never wants us to be impressed by the show.  The outward acts of an impressive charismatic ministry are not what qualifies one to lead in the church.  The Lord Himself isn't impressed by the outward showmanship, and warns us that there are going to be a lot of seemingly mighty and powerful ministers who put on a good show, yet find themselves tossed into hell one day:

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'  And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.'" ~ (Matthew 7:21-23; NASB)

We often think of false prophets as those who claim special revelations, that take away or add to the Bible.  We think about false prophets as people who deny classical, historical, Christian orthodoxy, and make heretical statements that are at odds with the teachings of Jesus and the apostles.

But in the above passages, Jesus doesn't say that false prophets are simply those who are spreading false teachings.  Such is so obvious that it goes without Jesus even needing to say it.  That's kids stuff.  Instead, Jesus dives a little bit deeper than that in His teaching.

Rather, the false prophets Jesus warned us to be on the look out for are a little harder to discover.  They won't be found by simply examining their statement of faith, or listening to them speak from the pulpit.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught us that false prophets are often people who confess Jesus Christ as Lord, and hold to an orthodox view of the faith, and even do many mighty works in His name (works that would indicate that God is certainly with this person), yet the fruit of their everyday life and conduct reveals where they really stand with God.

It is ultimately the lack of God bearing fruit and character in their personal lives that makes these individuals false prophets, not their theology.  

And, that is why false prophets often work overtime to make sure you only see the side of them that they want you to see.  And this is why they excel at often putting on the best show in town, that hopes to silence those who might otherwise speak against them.  They have no interest in you ever getting to know the real them, and proactively take steps to keep as many people as possible at a distance.

Jesus tells us to beware of such ministers, who put on a good show, yet their lives don't quite measure up to the demands of the Gospel and the teachings of Jesus.

They are dangerous, not only because they have hopes of exploiting you in some manner for their own selfish gain, but because their conduct has the possibility of setting a dangerous precedent that others may be encouraged to imitate as they grow in popularity.   And such behavior is ultimately out of step with the kingdom of God that Jesus came to establish in this world, and sets itself at odds with His kingdom.  And this happens even in ministries that confess that Jesus is Lord, that prophesy in His name, and perform many mighty miracles.

Such a ministry may look like it is part of what Jesus is doing in the work of the kingdom.  But it is ultimately something that will cause a lot of men to be cast into hell.

At the end of the day, Jesus says that the man and the message should be one and the same.  And we should be careful when a closer look reveals that they are not. Prophets should be known for their lives, not their words.

Jesus says: Walk this Way...

"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.  For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it."  ~ (Matthew 7:13-14; NASB)

So often we are guilty of selling Christianity as an experience:  Get saved; Get filled with the Spirit;  Get delivered;  Experience joy;  Experience freedom;  Experience breakthrough;  Enjoy Church; Go to heaven when you die...

And while Christianity is certainly inclusive of all these things, in its essence, Christianity is none of these things.

Rather, Jesus taught us in the Sermon on the Mount that Christianity is all about living your life out in light of the fact that the long anticipated kingdom of God that the Hebrew prophets spoke about had finally come, and in His preaching He called for all men everywhere to live their lives in light of what God is now doing.

When the fullness of time had come, God interrupted the history of this world, and inaugurated His kingdom in the midst of a world occupied by Rome.  Men like Caesar could no longer claim to rule this world and be in charge of it all.  The Messiah has come and taken His seat on the throne of David, and reigns over the world as King of kings, and Lord of lords, to whom all must ultimately bow and swear allegiance.

And if we believe this proclamation that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that His kingdom has truly been established in the midst of this world, none of us can remain the same.  We must all change.

Believing such cannot but produce within us a deep and inward transformation, wherein we awaken to the fact that this world is now ruled by Jesus Christ, and not the Caesars.  Nor is it a world ruled by "we the people," who are so busy asserting their rights via the democractic process.   

Jesus Christ is Lord, not Caesar, nor are the People.  Jesus Christ alone is Lord! 

Imagine living in a world where we believe that.

This belief produces within us a new birth, wherein we experience a rewiring of all of our hearts and minds, and get the joy of entering the world afresh, armed with a radical new perspective.  And this transformation produces within us a new way of living that departs from the way we used to live our lives.

Old timers call this concept "repentance."  

For now we live our lives in light of the fact that Jesus Christ is Lord, and He has established a new kingdom over this world.

And if we believe Jesus Christ to be in charge of everything, such must produce within us a new way of life where we live out our days in light of Him being Lord.  Such must be totally different than living in a world where a hundred other men and forms of government claim to be king, and our allegiances were ultimately towards them.

Now we are invited to live a new way of life, and with a new allegiance soaked into our hearts.  It's a way of life that is not in keeping with anything that came before Jesus (including Moses).

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying men don't need to get saved, filled with the Spirit, or any such thing.  I believe in all these great truths.

But the "true experience" of Christianity isn't to be found in all these crisis moments and other cathartic experiences.  And we fall woefully short in our Gospel proclamation by making men think that these things are the end-all and be-all of Christianity.

No wonder folks think all that Jesus has for them to do is to get saved and go to heaven when they die as a result of us preaching such garbage.  No wonder they believe they can live any damned way that they want, yet still claim they are eternally secure and are going to heaven one day.  They believe that because all we sell to them is a one-time experience.

Such teaching is dramatically at odds with the teachings of Jesus.

Jesus had no desire to assure men of their "personal salvation" simply because they made a confession, said a prayer, got baptized, or any other such thing.  Jesus came to turn this entire world upside down, and you with it.

To hell with such thinking and teaching that says otherwise.

Rather, Jesus taught us that if we want to experience His salvation and all that God has for us, it is to be found in the day-to-day living out of your life in light of the fact that you believe that He is Lord, and that you are part of His kingdom that He setup, and that you are going to live your out of this reality, instead of what you used to think was real.

And if you believe that, your life can never be the same.  And if you believe that, you can experience salvation, love, joy, freedom, breakthroughs, and true abundant living, overflowing with the Spirit of God.

Jesus says: Treat others like God treats you

One of the fantastic assumptions in the teachings of Jesus is that God hears and answers our prayers.  In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said:

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake will he?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!" ~ (Matthew 7:7-11; NASB)

Jesus assures us that God treats His children just like you, as a loving parent, would treat your children.  God isn't a cosmic trickster.  God is a loving Father who cares for His own, and is always looking out for their well being.  If you are truly in need of something, Jesus promises us that we can count on God to take care of us.  All we need to do is simply make our requests known to God, and sit back as we watch Him deliver.

This is a pretty simple and straight forward teaching, and while it would be easy to kick it up a notch and spend an hour preaching a sermon on this topic with a Pentecostal flare, such a thing would be inappropriate.

For when Jesus taught on prayer, the emphasis of His teaching was never really on prayer itself per say.  While there is a place for expounding on the way we ought to pray, who we ought to pray for, when we ought to pray, how long we ought to pray, and other such things, Jesus didn't care to address those issues too deeply.  And if you are reading His teaching on prayer in such a way, you are reading things wrongly.

Rather, when Jesus taught on prayer, He always had an eye on how you were going to behave as a result of praying.  For Jesus, prayer isn't a means by which we get things from God so much as it is a means by which God transforms us through our praying, and how we live our lives after having prayed.

And this teaching on the Sermon on the Mount follows this normal pattern of Jesus in His teaching on prayer.  He ends His teaching on prayer by saying:

"In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the prophets." ~ (Matthew 7:12; NASB)

Take notice of the word "therefore" in the above verse.  It is a word that logical connects us with what was just said to what is getting ready to be said.  As Dr. Tatum used to say in my methods of Bible study class in college, "Whenever you see a 'therefore' ask what the 'therefore' is there for."  

So what is the "therefore" there for?  Jesus says as a result of praying, and seeing God treat us like we would treat our own children, we should therefore treat people in the same way we would want to be treated.

Or in other words, treat other people in the same way you want God to treat you:  

• If you are ever in doubt as to how you should treat somebody else in any given situation, you should treat them in the exact same way you would want your Heavenly Father to treat you.  
• If somebody has wronged you, forgive them, because you want God to forgive you.  
• If somebody keeps doing stupid stuff, be patient with them as they work through their stupidity, just as you want God to be patient with you as you work through your stupid moments.  
• Instead of neglecting others and acting in some sort of passive aggressive manner with people, actively look out for their well being, just as God is actively looking out for your well being.  
• If somebody wants you to help them with something, give them your all, just as God has given you His.  Don't half do anything, because God has never half done anything for you.
• If you receive bad service at a restaurant, leave a good tip anyway, knowing that even when you serve God poorly, you still want Him to bless you with abundant grace and mercy.
• If somebody is looking for your attention, don't keep putting them off, as God always gives you His attention, and never puts you off.
• If you owe somebody money, make paying them back your number one priority, as you live in expectation that God will take care of you financially.

No wonder theologians have dubbed this verse of Scripture "The Golden Rule."

Can you imagine what our lives would begin to look like if we lived this way?  Can you imagine the value our lives would bring to this world and those around us?

We would become like God to them.  

And that's exactly the point of this teaching on prayer.  Stop praying merely to get stuff.  Such teaching is Sunday-schoolish.  Instead, live your life in a way as if you were going about the world granting the prayers of others.

Live in such a way in your behavior to others that you answer their petitions and requests to you in the exact same way that God answers your prayers. Go the extra mile.  Hold nothing back.  Look out for their well being.  Touch their lives just as God has touched yours.

If you want to radicalize your prayer life, radicalize your prayer life by changing how you treat others.

Jesus says: Don't be Stupid... Pigs can't eat Pearls

"Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces." ~ (Matthew 7:6; NASB)

There is something about our humanity that just loves to give people a piece of our mind.  We love to be dispensers of our infinite wisdom.  And those of us with the gift of gab, we just can't wait to share our opinion on any range of topics.

In concluding His teaching on judging others, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns us about the dangers of trying to force feed our little nuggets of wisdom to dogs and swine. Neither dogs nor swine are interested in what you have, so don't try to give it to them anyway.  Though what you have is extremely valuable, it is of no value to them, because it is something they simply cannot eat.  If they tried to, they just might just choke to death, or worse, they might just turn on you.

And treating this passage as a prophecy, we often try to comfort ourselves in such times when we feel the dogs and the pigs have turned on us.  We feel this way when somebody from another theological or political camp rejects the rightness of our position on whatever it is we have to say, and mud slinging ensues.  And afterwards, we dust ourselves off and vow to never share certain truths with certain people ever again.  We tell ourselves that we'll just share our wisdom with those who have ears to hear, and are interested in what we have to say.

However, if you are using this passage in this way (as most people do), you are reading it wrong.

We tend to understand this teaching as an isolated saying of Jesus, and divorce it from its entire context.  In the actual Biblical context within the Sermon on the Mount, this verse follows a string of passages in which Jesus exposes and condemns self-righteous behavior, and our general blindness to it.  This passage is no exception, as it caps off his teaching on the topic of judging others, which immediately preceded this verse.

In this Scripture, Jesus is offering no consolation prize to those who get their butts kicked after a heated argument, even though you were right in your position, and what you were preaching on. Jesus isn't encouraging you to be more discerning, and warning about the dangers of sharing precious truths with a bad crowd, and encouraging you to find people of more worth to share what you have to say with next time.

If such was the case, Jesus wouldn't have ever found a worthy audience to preach to.

Rather, Jesus is warning you and I about the dangers of looking at others in a smug, self-assured, know-it-all attitude to begin with, and then opening our mouths to let others know what we think anyway.  If you deem yourself so wise and think what you have is so valuable, then why the heck are you even trying to feed your pearls to people whom you deem to be dogs and pigs to begin with?

Instead of being so wise, Jesus says your behavior reveals that you are being a complete idiot, and what's worse, is that you don't even know it because you already think you are ever-so enlightened.  You should never look at somebody else and judge them as a dog or a pig (or "lib-tard," to use a modern idiom).  But if you do, then it's no wonder when an unplanned episode of Jerry Springer suddenly breaks out.

When sharing what you think with  others, if you treat them as dogs and pigs, don't be shocked when they act like dogs and pigs towards you in return.  The real danger isn't to be found in what you have to share, or the people you are sharing with, but how you look at others and treat them in the process.

At the end of the day, we tend to be the real the pigs.  

Jesus says: Stop finger pointing

"Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." ~ (Matthew 7:1-5, NASB)

I have to admit, I'm really good at finger pointing.

If you need somebody who can point out the faults of others and dissect them with more precision than a brain surgeon, I'm your guy.  If it were possible to nitpick somebody else to death, the police would've probably issued a warrant for my arrest a long time ago.

As a Christian, I am not particularly proud of this ability.  It is not exactly a skill set that Jesus applauds.  Be that as it may, there is something in my heart of hearts that revels in the nonsense that I have often engaged in.  It makes me feel smarter and morally superior to somebody else.  It fills my tank up with enough self-righteousness to fuel a trip to the moon.

The older I've become the more I've learned I'm not alone in delighting myself in this behavior.  Much of my fellow man enjoys finger pointing too.  A person casually browsing through Facebook on about any day of the week will find more than enough evidence to prove my thesis quite nicely, especially on nights where a hot mess is erupting on the evening news, or during an election season.

Be careful with finger pointing.

When you point the finger at somebody else, you've got three pointing back at you. What you slam somebody else about says a lot more about you than them. Be careful, in judging somebody else you might find yourself to be looking in a mirror.  Just like all the times when you judge somebody else for judging somebody else, yet you remain blind to the fact of what you are doing.

There is a lot of hypocrisy in judging others.  It's attempting to take the speck of dust out of somebody else's eye while you have a 4x4 lodged in your own.  You are blind to your own problems as you obsess over the problems of another.

And if you've noticed, for all the judging we do, we've yet to learn that there isn't a whole lot of good that comes from "calling people out" and "telling it like it is."  Such activity might make for good talk radio and keep folks like Rush Limbaugh employed for decades after decades.  But when it comes to actually solving problems and helping other people, it usually doesn't, and often creates more problems than it solves.

However, in saying all of this, Jesus isn't entirely tossing aside the idea of pointing out the faults of others and making judgments.  He regularly pointed out the faults of others, and so did His closest of disciples.  Jesus isn't saying "don't judge" altogether, as some who are looking to escape their own guilt regularly claim He taught such an idea.  He didn't.

Jesus is actually ok with you judging others.

The thrust of Jesus teaching here in the Sermon on that Mount isn't to refrain from judging altogether, so much as it is an exhortation to look inward at yourself first and foremost, and to not shoot off your mouth every chance you get (as people were not likely looking for your opinion anyway).  It's an exhortation to be quiet on a lot of issues and problems that you see with others and in society as a whole.  It's an exhortation to second guess what you are seeing, and to second guess what you have to say.  It's an exhortation to look inward before you look outward, and to give others the benefit of the doubt, just as you would want others to do in regard to you.

We might correctly summarize this passage in saying that Jesus is simply telling us that before you start gun-slinging at others that "You need to check yourself before you wreck yourself."  

Only in dealing with yourself first will you ever become of the right temperament and gain the skills and vision necessary to go about removing the spec in the eyes of others.  In engaging in a little introspection, you will realize how difficult it was to remove the plank in your own eye before you attempt to remove the speck in somebody else's, and therefore, you will deal more carefully with the eye of another.

And in dealing with yourself first, you will realize how big your problems are compared to how small the problems of others are.  Yet experience would show that we often think of our own problems as trivial and the problems of others as larger than life.

I try to remind myself of this anytime I get into a deep conversation with somebody on an issue in which I am trying to persuade them.  It helps me to be more gentle, patient, and kind. I realize that I did not always believe the things that I believe, or act the way I act, and I have often changed my opinions and behaviors over the years... not to mention the fact that I have often failed to practice what I preach.  Therefore, I will always preach to myself before I dare preach to others.

Therefore, when looking to actually help somebody (instead of merely just judging them), I should speak to them in the same manner that I spoke to myself in my own internal dialogue and struggles over issues that I have wrestled with.  And knowing how I dealt with myself, I will show much more compassion in attempting to deal with others, knowing my own frailty, shortcomings, and tendency to error.

And together, we might become men who see instead of men whose eyes hurt.

Jesus says: You love to worry

If Jesus ever had anything to say to us in America today, I think He would talk to us about worry.  Worry is something we excel at as Americans. 

We worry about our children.  We worry about our finances.  We worry about which political parties will get elected into office.  We worry about our constitutional rights being trampled on.  We worry about global warming.  We worry about radical Isalmic terrorism (and actively contemplate shooting a bunch of them dead). 

We worry so much and so often, I believe Jesus would tell us that we are a people who love to worry.  Otherwise, why would we worry as much as we do unless we love to do it so much? 

Worrying may feel like something of an involuntary action.  We feel like we can't help but worry.  It's just something mothers can't help but do, right? 

But Jesus is of another opinion on the matter. 

Worry is a choice.  Worry is something you voluntarily choose to do.  Worry gives us the illusion of control.  Worry invites us to play out little war games in our head as an attempt to solve our problems and to take control over our destinies.

Jesus says such is a losing battle.  Instead of attempting to war game our way through life, Jesus teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount:

"Do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own."  ~ (Matthew 6:34; NASB)

Jesus commands us not to worry.  "Not worrying" is something we can and must actively do in our life and mind.  And by not worrying, we open up the opportunity in our lives to actively watch God work in our daily life, as we trust Him to put food in our stomach, pay our bills, and put clothes on our back. 


Jesus says that when we worry, our imagination is fundamentally no different than that of the pagan idolator, who deifies inanimate objects and sees imaginary forces as the root cause of all his ills.  And like the idolator, we think if we can but appease all these things and forces, with a little luck, we might just see things work out in our favor.  As a result, we start putting our trust in things other than the Lord to rescue us from all of our problems. 

Now, in saying all of this, I'm not dismissing the reality of the problems we face on a day-to-day basis.  Yes, absolutely, there are problems that we face that are very much real.  Jesus never dismisses the harsh reality of the world we live in.  We are in need of food, drink, clothing, shelter, and protection. 

But instead of war gaming our way through life and attempting to mitigate all of our risks, Jesus encourages us to stop fighting losing battles in our minds, and to transform all of our worries into thoughts and prayers that we take to God.

At the end of the day, when you really think about it, worry is all about worship. 

We will either deify the objects and forces in our imaginations, and go the way of the idolator, or we will find ourselves taking everything in our lives to our Heavenly Father, who knows what we need, and promises to meet us in the midst of our need.

It is no wonder that Jesus ended His teaching on worry in the Sermon on the Mount with an exhortation to "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (Matthew 6:33)  

For it is only in seeking first the kingdom of God and turning away from the idolatry of worry that we will overcome the fears and doubts about the future that plagues our minds.  Worship allows us to encounter the Great I Am in the trouble of every moment as we live out our lives in this world.

For only by turning to God will we avoid the trap of worrying like an idolator, and trying to solve our problems and the problems of this world exactly like an idolator would.  And instead of implementing paganized solutions in our world and the world around us, maybe our imaginations would dream up solutions that are in keeping with the teachings of Jesus and the reality of the kingdom of God. 

And in a world currently plagued by the worries associated with things like Islamic terrorism, I can't help but feel the church could dream up better solutions than doing things like bombing Muslims to hell and arming students at places like Liberty University with guns.  Such solutions seem birthed out of worry instead of solutions birthed out of actively trusting God to intervene in our daily affairs.

Jesus says: Beware of Money!

Alcoholics have this tendency to think that they can hold their liquor really well.  They feel they can always have "just one more," and that they can quit drinking at any time.

People often have this same problem when it comes to wealth.  They don't think they have a problem with the love of money.  They just like to work hard, dream big, and pursue the American dream.

We have this tendency to look at money as a very neutral thing, and say things like "It's only a tool, it's neither good or bad, money is what you make out of it."  Such is fundamentally no different than the alcoholic that thinks they can hold their liquor.  We never view making one more dollar as a danger.

Yet this is the exact opposite view that the New Testament holds.

In the eyes of Jesus and the apostles, money was far from a neutral thing.  Money was something that had the power to transform you, and even damn your very soul.  And instead of looking at wealth as a sign of Divine favor and a great source of blessing, money was looked at as something that was to be handled very, very carefully.  

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!  No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and wealth." ~ Matthew 6:19-24 (NASB)

Here you have it, in black and white (or in red letters if that's your thing)! 

Jesus says the way you view money is of eternal importance.  Your perspective about wealth will shape your eternal destination, and it will define your religion and your relationship to God.

As Jesus says above, He wants us to look at money with clear eyes so that our souls can be full of God's light, and so that we can value things in their true and eternal perspective.  Such will keep us heavenly minded, and safeguard us against ruin.  He warns, however, that if our vision is bad and if we don't have a clear perspective, we are in danger of being lost in darkness, and will understand the world (and heaven) in a very warped and perverted way, though we claim to "really" understand (like some of you who are disagreeing with what I'm saying).

Jesus says that trappings of wealth are so dangerous that you are going to have to choose who you are going to have to a love for, and who you are going to hate.  Jesus says if you love money, you are going to hate God.  However, if you are going to love God, you are going to have to hate wealth.

Loving both simply does not mix, try as you might.

So let's get this straight:  Jesus says you will love money and hate God, OR, you will love God and hate money.

This is what Jesus leaves us with in His teaching on the Sermon on the Mount.  He doesn't leave us room for both.

Of course, such offends our American sensibilities.  It especially offends our American Christian sensibilities.  For we have this tendency to look at wealth as a blessing from God and a sign of Divine favor.  It's become the seal of our righteousness, the proof that God loves us, and that He is on our side!

Far from looking at money as a neutral thing, as Christians we should be as uncomfortable around it as we are idols.  And if we aren't, we can be assured that we are on the fast track to making money our idol and master.  And worst of all, far from being a sign of God's favor and blessing in our lives, it is a warning sign from God that we are on our way to hating Him instead of loving Him.

Jesus says: Stop Praying Long Prayers

"And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.  So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him."  (Matthew 6:7-8; NASB)

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught us that prayer is not supposed to be a cardio vascular workout.

Yet in a great deal of irony, in some Christian circles, it is quite fashionable to connect one's spiritual strength and maturity to the amount of time one spends praying.  Lord knows I've been guilty of this.  And I've often guilt-tripped others for their lack of praying.  For in the Pentecostal tradition I come from, we have this tendency to think of prayer in terms of a long marathon, and liken it unto delivering a baby, whereas Jesus thought of prayer as something more like a short sprint or a power nap.

That of course is not to say that there aren't to be times in our lives that we engage in prayer for long periods of time.  The Bible talks about such things too.  After all, Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness fasting and praying.  And the night when Jesus was betrayed, He "tarried" in prayer for over three hours.  And we read in the book of Acts that the apostles and church gathered together for long times of prayer.

But for the everydayness of life, prayer does not need to be this long drawn out thing.  While prayer is essential to the life of a Christian, you should't feel guilty if your prayer life doesn't measure up to the "giants" of the Christian faith.

God hears your prayers, whether you only spend 5 minutes in prayer a day or 5 hours!

If you were to study the Bible closely, you'll discover that the average time the great men of faith and power spent in prayer was actually pretty short.  Their prayers were marked by very few words. And when the Lord taught us to pray, His model prayer was marked by extreme brevity.  It was something you could say in well under a minute.

I think that your prayer life should be a lot like marriage.

My wife and I when we first got married, we spent two weeks together on our honeymoon.  And since then, we have times where we slip away for a few days just to be with each other.  But in the day-in-day-out of our relationship, we don't spend hours upon hours talking to one another.  We briefly acknowledge each other in our morning routine as we get ready for work.  We might send a text message or two back and forth throughout the day.  Then once we get off work and we settle in for the evening, we spend a little time chatting for the remainder of the night. And if we have something important to talk, we will spend a longer time conversing and hashing those things out.

But, the vast majority of the time my wife and I spend together, we don't spend in conversation, but we spend it simply just enjoying life together.  That is what we got married for after all!  And so it should be with us in the Lord.  In fact, I think if I spent hours upon hours talking to my wife every single day, it would probably hurt our relationship in the long run.

And so it is with God.  If you want to risk destroying your relationship with God, spending hours upon hours a day in prayer is a great way to do that!  Take that as a word of wisdom from somebody who used to spend a couple hours a day in prayer with God on a regular basis.  It did not make my relationship with the Lord any better, in fact, I would argue that it made things worse.  And such praying had a tendency to hurt my relationship with others as well.

Talk to the Lord.  Keep the lines of communication open.  Tell Him what you are thinking, and listen back.  Have some quiet time from time to time.  But above all, live your life in the mere enjoyment of the Lord.  And if you are in need of something or see somebody else in need of something, take a minute or two out of your day and simply let God know.  You don't have to work yourself into a psychotic frenzy to see God respond. You need not pray in tongues for hours upon hours to see God at work in your life, or the life of others.  Do all things by prayer, but don't spend forever and a day in your prayer closet.  Get out into the world.

For it's just as Jesus said.  God already knows what our need is.  He will respond simply by us entrusting all of our cares to Him, for we are in close relationship with Him.  He's walking along with us in the cool of the day, participating in our life.  We don't need to spend hours upon hours running our mouths and yapping God's head off.  We just need to point things out from time to time.

That's what prayer is really supposed to be like.

Jesus says: Stop Taking Volunteer Selfies!!!

These days, an increasing number of churches are having a multi-day volunteer events, in which there is a big push from the pulpit for the church to come together corporately for the purpose of engaging in good works that impact the local community, to serve as a witness to our civic leaders and neighbors as to the value of our church in our city, and to demonstrate the love of Christ.

Mimicking what has long been a practice in corporate America, these "Love Week" events typically require volunteers to log and record the hours they spent volunteering and to report it back to the church.  Also, they generally require all the volunteers to wear a bright colored t-shirt with the church logo on it for advertising purposes, and to show our unity as a church.

And just as in corporate America, a camera always magically appears from nowhere to take a picture and record the event, so that the picture can be later used for promotional purposes, to show how awesome and valuable our church is at "giving back."  And often, volunteers readily whip out their cell phones, and take selfies of their group, and post these selfies on Facebook for all the world to see.

And we do all of this, because it's exactly what Jesus told us to do... right?

Interestingly enough, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught us to just do the opposite:

Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.  ~ (Matthew 6:1-4; NASB)

We may not literally blow trumpets in the marketplace anymore when we seek to do a good deed.  But we sure as heck love to blow up Facebook and Instagram with us engaging in charitable works all around town with our friends.

Our most beloved corporations and churches just love to get their hands on as many recorded volunteer hours and photographs as possible.  Such is great fodder for advertising, or more importantly, to remind government officials making zoning decisions about how important your organization is to the community.  Plus, it gives volunteers warm fuzzies about being part of such an "important" organization that gives back to the community and "really makes a difference."

In other words, such activity at the end of the day is self-seeking and self-promoting.

And it is ultimately deceptive, because it gives the impression that such activity is being engaged in purely for the love of community, as a selfless act, when in fact such activity is being engaged for purely selfish purposes.  It gains the attention that is sought from others, and that attention is ultimately sought for the purpose of benefiting the corporation, the church, or the individual.

Of course, Jesus says if attention is something you crave, then feel free to soak up all the attention you want from this world.  The attention you crave is the reward you will receive in full.  But don't think you have any brownie points with God, or that you've done something of eternal significance.  You'll get your proverbial "pat on the back" and favor with the people you desire attention from.

But don't think you'll be receiving an ounce of favor from God.  God won't even notice what you've done.  You might get a few miles out of the attention you gain from others, but that's not going to gain you very much in the grand scheme of things.

Instead, Jesus says that when you engage in good deeds, do your good deeds as quietly as possible, and seek to be noticed by God, and God alone.  Jesus says to lay off all the volunteer selfies and blowing up Instagram with them.  Jesus says don't do a "check-in" a status update on Facebook every time you volunteer at the local homeless shelter or soup kitchen.  Jesus says stop recording your volunteer hours to report to your pastor.

After all, God notices what you are doing to help others. Every hour you've volunteered is recorded in heaven with Him.  He sees what you are doing in secret, without you seeking to bring attention to yourself.  And He who sees what you do in secret will grant you more favor than anybody in this world could possibly grant you, not only now, but throughout all eternity.

Jesus says: Your Love is too Small. Love Bigger.

Jesus says that as humans, we are really good at loving those who love us back.  

Most of us manage to love those who we are supposed to love, like our immediate and somewhat extended family members (most of the time).  Most of us manage to love a couple of really close friends and some folks we know at church.  Some of us love a couple people that we work with.  And, one or two of us manages to even love our boss.

But that's usually where our love stops.  Beyond that, ice begins to form along the ridges of our heart, as we grow increasingly hard and cold towards others outside this circle of people that we love most.

As a result of our love growing colder the further somebody gets from the center of our hearts, we often begin to treat people very differently from the people we really love.  For example:

• You demonize every former romantic interest you've ever had.
• When some random person you don't know on Facebook openly disagrees with a comment you make about President Obama on a Fox News report, and then you proceed to hurl every insult your sanctified lips can muster at that person.  
• Anytime you see a homeless person begging for money on the side of the road, you make sure to tell your kids never to give people like that money, because they will probably just use it for booze or drugs.
• You gladly bend over backwards to help somebody you like, but get irritated and upset over inconveniences others cause you to experience.
• When you see a black person walking down the side of a road that you are driving on, and you instinctively lock your car door.
• You make it a point to vote for certain politicians because they promise to destroy every Islamic radical who wishes to do harm against the United States or the nation of Israel.  
• When you talk badly about somebody because they are rich or because they are poor, and assume they are such because they lack some sort of virtue or mindset that you just so happen to possess. 
• You never volunteer in the community, and you give little or no money to any person or organization besides your immediate family or local church.  
• If you experience bad customer service somewhere, and you act like a jerk towards the people who work for that company because of it.
• You feel happy when "karma" finally pays back somebody you don't like, or you find it impossible to be happy for them when something good comes there way.
• When you try to out perform your peers at work or school instead of simply just doing your personal best every day.  
• You are overly critical of others, and more than happy to point out their shortcomings.
• When you regularly "forget" to follow through on promises you make to others.  
• You don't respond to phone calls or text messages in a timely manner (...yeah, I just went there).  

I could probably rattle off a million other things other than what I have listed above.  And I don't do such simply as somebody who is nothing more than a finger-pointer.  I do such as somebody who is something of an expert at not showing love towards others.  

And naturally speaking, I think we all know what it means to be an expert at not showing love towards others.  We love those whom we love, and that's all there is too it.  To everybody else we are cold, callous, indifferent, rude, short-tempered, and even openly hostile and hateful.  

Yet, Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that heaven doesn't give out any rewards for loving those that love you back.  There is nothing particularly virtuous about this ability.  Jesus said even godless pagans are able to do the same.  Heck, even Hitler loved his mother and his wife.  So what makes you so special?

When Jesus goes so far as to say that you must "love your enemies, and to pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44; NASB), I am confronted with the reality that my ability to love is too small, and that I need to learn to love bigger that my heart's present abilities.  I need the type of love that can only come from God to fill up my heart, and make me the kind of person that can love those not only outside my bubble, but those who are openly my enemy and even want me dead.

Because my enemies... I want them dead, and I want them dead in a very Old Testament sorta way.  And the deader they are, the happier I usually am.  And, I think there is something like that in all of our hearts, to one degree or another.

It is no wonder then that Jesus linked the idea to be sons of God with the ability to love our enemies.  For such is something our hearts just don't naturally do.  It's only something those born of heaven can do, even as Jesus did on the cross.

We are more than happy to love our families and to love our country, and we are willing to defend both to the point of death.  But when it comes to loving somebody who is from another country or somebody that wants to harm or even kill us or somebody else that we love, then praying for their well being is something we leave off our to-do list for the day.  

Instead, we prefer to pack up the rucksacks of some soldiers and send them off to make war.  We'll even send these soldiers care packages just so they can keep up the morale necessary to kill people on our behalf.

Yet this ability to love our enemies is something that Jesus says indicates we are truly children of God.  Our ability to make war... not so much.

But loving those outside our heart's inner circle is something we fail so badly at.  And loving our enemies and those who actually wish us mortal harm is something entirely foreign to our way of thinking as American Christians.

It can't help but make me wonder, are we as saved as we think we are?  Our love is so small. We need to learn to love in a much bigger way.  

Jesus says: Your smile is missing

Once upon a time when I was single, and I developed quite an extensive check list in my mind of things I was looking for in a future spouse.

The basic things I desired were pretty simple and standard.  She had to love the Lord, be smart, funny, have a decent job, and above all, she had to be good looking (because I just couldn't stomach the idea of presenting an ugly grandchild to my parents one day!)  

But the specifics were pretty specific.  In fact, some of my friends thought I was being too picky about some of the things I wanted in a wife.  They were pretty sure I would never find one!

Among those specific things I was looking for in my future wife was that she was a woman that enjoyed smiling, and that she also have pretty and expressive eyes that were full of life.  I kid you not when I say that there are many girls out there that made my short list and did not get very far with me when it came to a relationship because they were lacking in this area.

When some girls smiled, I noticed they did not show their teeth because they smiled with their lips clamped together.  Or, there was this one girl in which the white of her eyes were frequently red.  I don't know if she had a medical condition or if she was doing drugs (I didn't stick around long enough to find out).  Either way, these things tended to turn me off quite quickly once I noticed them.

I personally don't think any of that sounds too nit-picky, do you?

After all, as human beings we place a great deal of value on our eyes and our teeth when it comes to ourselves.  We like to have both of our eyes and all of our teeth.  We cherish the ability to see clearly and to chew all of our food.

Eyes and teeth are so important to us that Moses even used these two parts of our body as a means of explaining how we are to go about measuring and exacting justice under the Law of God.  "Eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth" sorta stuff.  If somebody is guilty of plucking your eye out, justice is to be found in plucking their eye out.  The consequences of your actions are to be paid back in proportion to the crime you have committed, or had committed against you.  Justice is all about making things even.

But as Martin Luther King, Jr so aptly pointed out in the teaching of Jesus on this matter, the problem with "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" justice is that eventually the whole world ends up blind, and without much of a smile.

So, when somebody wrongs us, instead of seeking justice, and pursuing the desire to get even, Jesus says we start thinking about life beyond justice:

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.'  But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also.  If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.  Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.  Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you." ~ Matthew 5:38-42 (NASB)

Because of my prior profession, I had the opportunity to go to court many times.  And in court I noticed that there isn't a lot of smiling that goes on (such is a great reason to never become a lawyer).  And why should there be?  Everybody is busy plucking out eyes and teeth.  Everybody is busy defending or asserting their rights.  There is no joy in such occasions.

But for the person who has their rights violated, yet decides to not pursue justice, there is a great joy that can be found.

It's the type of joy that when somebody slaps you on one cheek, you are able to offer them the other. It's the type of joy that if somebody tries to sue you and take your shirt, you are able to give them your coat also.  It's the type of joy that if somebody forces you to go one mile, you are able to offer them a second mile.  And, it's the type of joy that if somebody wants to borrow from you, you find it's not such a big deal if they don't pay you back.

The Christian doesn't need to seek justice for themselves.  They don't need to defend their rights... even those granted by the U.S. Constitution.  Instead of getting caught up in the endless cycle to seek justice for themselves, they realize they serve a King who on a cross paid for all the justice that this world could ever imagine and hope for.

Knowing such things, we can do the aforementioned stuff that Jesus spoke about because we've discovered an inner joy deposited deep within our hearts from the Holy Spirit.  And, that joy from the Lord becomes our strength, and the type of stuff that makes us truly into saints.  It liberates us to find a freedom that no constitution or judge can ever grant us.

And. it lets us keep our smiles.

Jesus says: Stop Swearing to God (in a secular society)

In an increasingly secular society, it's becoming less and less common for people to assert the truthfulness of what they say by backing it up with a good old-fashioned "I swear to God..."

And to some degree, I'm pretty happy with that.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus clearly condemned such behavior:

"But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement be, 'Yes, yes' or 'No, no'; anything beyond these is of evil."  ~ Matthew 5:34-37 (NASB)

This is a pretty simple teaching from Jesus.  Jesus says we need to stop trying to manipulate others by invoking the name of God in order to back up the truthfulness of what we say.

Our lives should be so full of integrity that we are known to be a trustworthy person who follows through on what we say. If we promise something to our boss or to a customer at work, they should sleep well at night knowing that we are fully dependable and will deliver what we have promised exactly as we have said.

And of course, living in a secular society, invoking an oath in the name of God is increasingly out of fashion.  So we resort to other behavior which Jesus also condemned in the above teaching.

For example, salesmen have this tendency to over promise on what they plan on giving to a client.  They often make outlandish claims as to the superiority of their product and service, promise the sky, set unrealistic deadlines, and project expenses that often end up being drastically lower than what a project often ends up costing.

You also see this a lot in the world of politics too.  "We can build that new state of the art stadium for only 125 million dollars," only to see that stadium project costing the tax payers 200 million dollars.

Additionally, a lot of businesses will try to convince you they are the right man for the job because of testimonials they solicited from their clients; they have a strong reputation with the BBB; or because of a celebrity endorsement received from a beloved public figure.  Spectrum Brands sold over 100 million kitchen top grills because they were able to get George Foreman to back it with his image and reputation.

All of this stuff might make for great marketing.  It makes a lot of people filthy rich.

But at the end of the day, this behavior is fundamentally no different than the behavior that Jesus condemned.  It's all an attempt to manipulate others in engaging in a desired behavior based on the invoking of somebody or something else perceived as greater and more sacred than our own word.  Our word isn't holy enough.  But, if it comes from the mouth of George Foreman, then that is gospel.

We might not be swearing by God much these days, but we are definitely swearing to others "by Jerusalem," or in other words, things others perceive as holy and sacred, even in a secular society.

Jesus says: Don't Get Married Twice.

I once knew a man that was married. But over the years, he fell in love with somebody else, and stopped being in love with his wife.  And, being a deeply moral church-going man who didn't want to break one of the Ten Commandments, it is my understanding that he refused to sleep with his new love interest.

So, wanting to be righteous and proper, he eventually divorced his wife and married the one he was in love with.  In doing so, he thought what he was doing was the righteous thing.  After all, he loved God and he didn't want to sleep with somebody that wasn't his wife, and commit adultery.  So he found a loophole that allowed him the freedom to marry and sleep with somebody else, and he found this freedom in divorce.

What do you think?  Was this man righteous in the eyes of God?

According to Jesus and His teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus would say that this man committed adultery in what he was doing.  The Lord said:

"It was said, 'Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce'; But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery."  (Matthew 5:31-32; NASB)

Jesus's teaching on marriage is pretty simple and straight forward.

Jesus says you should only get married once, and unless there has been an affair that destroys your marriage, you shouldn't get divorced.  And, should you do get divorced on other grounds anyway, then you definitely should not get remarried.

Jesus equates getting remarried under such conditions with being fundamentally no different than committing adultery.  A divorce decree is just a loophole we use to justify what amounts to adultery.

That's some pretty heavy teaching, and the Lord taught on this subject more than once.  For divorce and remarriage was just as much a problem in His culture as it is in ours today.  So heavy are the implications that when the Lord later taught on the same subject again in Matthew 19, the apostles were astonished that Jesus was teaching such a thing, and challenged him on the matter.  To which Jesus told the apostles that if they wanted to be a part of the kingdom of God, that it would be better off for them to become like a castrated eunuch than to get married, divorced, and remarried.

You see, in the eyes of Jesus, marriage is fundamentally a spiritual act.

"To be fruitful and multiply" was the first thing human beings were commanded to do by God, and God designed mankind for marriage at the very start of creation.  One might say it's in our DNA to seek out romantic companionship and to long to be married.  And in getting married, a spiritual transaction takes place whereby we become "one" with each other.  And since it is a spiritual transaction mediated by God,  no amount of divorce decrees issued by a judge can undo what God Himself has joined and knitted together.

Therefore, once you are married, you are permanently married.  And in the eyes of God, the only thing that can destroy the bonds of matrimony is death, where you cease to exist, or adultery, wherein you become one with somebody else.

Yet in our society today, and even in the eyes of many Christians, a divorce decree is all that we feel like we morally need in order to make it ok to pursue other romantic interests. And for some people, it doesn't even take that.  Many people in our society begin dating again as soon as they get separated, and before they are even officially divorced.  In fact, I remember when I was single and on some dating websites, "separated" is an official relationship status that I would occasionally come across.  

In the eyes of Jesus, all of this is adultery.

Of course, in saying all of this, I am often reminded of my own family history, which makes me teaching this matter particularly personal.  One of my parents was previously married.  And I would not even exist today were it not for divorce and remarriage.  Had my parents done everything by the book, you would not be reading this blog today.

So in saying these sorta things, I am intimately and personally aware of the ramifications of the Lord's teaching on this matter.  But, I say these things with a heart full of compassion.  I'm casting no stones, as I've not been flawless when it comes to doing everything by the book in the romance department.  I have my own sins, and I know how challenging the teachings of Jesus can be for me!

The words of Jesus on this matter are no more comfortable for me to say than they are for most to hear.  I'm aware of the toughness of the Lord's teaching on this matter.  And, it was a hard thing for the apostles to hear when it came from the lips of Jesus himself.  So, believe me, I understand why people get upset at hearing this teaching today, especially because it is delivered by flawed men like me, who aren't Jesus.  And I understand why so many pastors shy away from this doctrine.  It simply gets up in our business like few other Biblical teachings.

In fact, I remember a time I preached a sermon on this very topic in a church, and at the end of the message during the invitation, somebody stood up and said "I am mad!"  That's not exactly something they train you to handle in Bible college, and I was pretty shocked when it happened.

Such a teaching is hard to hear.  And it does make us mad.  It makes us mad because it makes us deeply uncomfortable about the way we've lived or are living our lives.  We realize that the standard that Christ establishes for marriage is very high, and many of us know very well that we've failed in this department time and time again.  And we know what a beautiful thing marriage can be as designed by God, and we know how much we've allowed the devil into our lives to destroy that sacred and beautiful thing.  Such teaching makes us mad at others, ourselves, and the devil.

Ultimately, I truly believe it is the teaching of Jesus regarding our romantic lives that we most desperately need to allow to penetrate our hearts and minds if we are going to be full blown followers of Christ.  For, there are few things in our lives and in our culture that we regard as more important and sacred than our romantic relationships.  We are cool about Jesus talking on just about any other topic, but when it comes to what happens in the bedroom and between who and when, even we are tempted to tell the Lord to mind His own business, as we pursue the things our hearts want.

However, I believe there are few areas that test our commitment to being disciples of Jesus Christ than the area of surrendering our romantic lives to the Lord.  For if we allow the word of the Lord to deeply penetrate the depths of our heart so as to capture even our sexuality, then it is safe to say that there isn't any area in our life that is off limits to Jesus.

The heart wants what the heart wants.  And its matters of the heart that are often the most complicated.  But I'm convinced that if Jesus can take hold of that thing that beats so wildly in us, then He will have captured us lock, stock, and barrel.  For it is ultimately our hearts that the Lord wants above all things.  But we have to be willing to give it up and over to Him.

Jesus says: You're self-righteous adulterers!

I remember talking to a man once who said, "I would never cheat on my wife, but she doesn't care where I get my appetite from so long as I am hungry by the time I get home for dinner."

There is something about our humanity that loves to lust.  We love it almost as much if not more-so than actual sex itself.  The erotic is something of a drug that we are capable of taking a hit from at almost any time.  Who hasn't had a fling in their mind with somebody real or imagined at some point in their life?  And who didn't love it?  We all have.

We love lust because lust allows us to enter into a secret world where we can indulge in others without actually indulging in others.  There is a certain sense of morality about lust.

Like the man I once talked to, he would never ever dream on cheating on his wife.  He loved her very much.  But after many years of marriage to her, the honeymoon was over, and he needed a little something extra in his life to work up his "appetite."  But it's all good, because he was keeping his actions in check, and not stepping out on his wife.  In essence,  without realizing it, this man was arguing that lust helped him to be a faithful and dutiful husband.

It's amazing how deep our sense of self-righteousness runs.

And it is this sense of self-righteousness that makes it possible for books like "Fifty Shades of Grey" or websites like "Porn Hub" to make their way into all of our homes.  And I would argue that our struggle with lust isn't so much lust itself, as it is our own self-righteousness.

After all, most women don't want to be seen as whores with a past.  And most guys don't want to be known as a player or a cheat.  So we never engage in acting out in the physical what we do in the mental. And that makes us feel good about ourselves.  It's the, "I would never cheat on my wife, but I will work up my appetite" attitude that takes hold on us more powerfully than anything else.

But to such Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount:

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery'; but I say to you that everyone  who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matthew 5:27-28; NASB)

So, before you start patting yourself on the back about what a good person you've been, consider the words of Jesus regarding lust.  You can pat yourself on the back all you want about being single and a virgin.  But your Internet Service Provider knows what sort of websites you like to visit.  You may never chaet on your spouse, but Facebook knows how frequently you visit the profile page of an old high school crush, or the one that got away.  And what harm is there in a little flirtation you indulge in with the guy or gal at work or at the gym?

All these activities (and more) are simply self-righteousness mascarading as lust.

And I think that is ultimately what makes lust so intoxicating and such a difficult sin to overcome.  That's why we clear internet browser histories, or only hit on others when our spouse isn't around.  We hate the idea of being exposed more than the behavior we are actually engaging in.  We want to continue to keep up appearances and making sure we have a squeaky clean reptuation.  

But Jesus has us figured all out.

And, in order to deal a crippling blow to the power of lust, Jesus exposes and categorizes us as adulterers in our hearts.  Wearing a Scarlet "A" is an identity few of us are really willing embrace.  Instead, we like to say we just have a problem with porn or flirting with others.  We say we like the ladies, or we like the attention.

But Jesus says our true problem is with self-righteousness.

And until we deal with the root problem of the intoxication we have over feeling good about ourselves, we will never be able to truly defeat any struggles we have with lust.  You'll never cut lust out of your life until you are willing to believe and confess that you are an adulterer at heart.  But most of us who struggle with lust would never really confess to being an adulterer.

Instead, we shun that label for a million other labels, as we don't think our sin is that severe.  So we make light of it.  But to Jesus, our sin is that severe.  And our trivializing lust as a million other things than what it truly is, adultery, keeps us enslaved to the grasp that sin has on our life all the more.  And all because we want to think of ourselves as a little more righteousness than we in fact are.

Jesus Says: You might be a murderer if...

"Well, at least I'm not like so and so!"  

Have you ever noticed this tendency we have as humans to toss angry fits of self-righteousness whenever we feel the need to vindicate ourselves?

In the process, we throw everybody in our cross-hairs under the proverbial bus for all the wrong things they've done.  We push somebody else down in order to lift us up.  And, to really drive the point home and just to make sure you know what a wonderful person I am, we then proceed to put the bus in reverse and back it right over them again.  We double down on our abusive language, and make no apologies for it.

You see this sort of thing all the time on cable news, the Jerry Springer show, and in countless "debates" on Facebook.

The longer I live, the more I am convinced there is nothing that we love more than gossipy slander and the straight out character assassination of others.  Putting others down Donald Trump style is where the real action is at.  No wonder he's such a popular political candidate.  There are few things more entertaining than watching somebody tell somebody else off, and really letting them have it.  And as Bible believing Christians, we love such things!

Yet in the eyes of Jesus, such heated exchanges and mincing of words are quite destructive.  In fact, Jesus says they are so destructive that He likens them unto murder.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said:

"You have heard that the ancients were told, 'You shall not commit murder' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell." ~ (Matthew 5:21-22; NASB)

How many times have we told somebody they were a "good-for-nothing" or a "fool?"  Sadly, some know all too well what it means to be told by their parents and teachers "you'll never amount to anything!"  Such words are destructive and murderous.

Yeah, I know, you've never literally put a knife in somebody's back.  You've just cut them down with the words of your mouth until there isn't much left.  Such might not get you arrested for murder these days.  But Jesus says that such words are enough to convict you in His court just the same, and to send you to the same place where murderers go for all eternity.

That's some serious stuff.

You might not be Adolf Hitler, but in the eyes of Jesus, you aren't too far removed.  You are closely enough related to him in your character to spend all eternity in hell with him.

You see, the Bible teaches that you and I are created in the image and likeness of God.  That is what makes humanity unique and special when compared to animals, which are not.  Therefore, when we kill another person, we become guilty of destroying the image of God in which humanity was created.  To attack another person is to attack God Himself.

Such is why God considers murder such a serious offense.

Likewise in the same spirit, Jesus sees our words having the same effect.  When we slander somebody else, we end up using our words in such a way to destroy somebody who is created in the image and likeness of God.  It makes us no different than somebody who is guilty of murder.  We both are guilty of destroying somebody created in God's image.  The only difference is the nature of our weapons.

So, the next time you get all worked up and feel like you really need to give somebody a piece of your mind, and let them know what you are really thinking, carefully consider the things you are about to say.  Instead of being the type of person who speaks words that have the power to kill the souls of others, become the type of person who speaks words of life.

If you really wish to prove yourself righteous, talk to somebody else as if you were talking about God.  After all, they are created in His very likeness.  They might appear to be an awful good-for-nothing person.  But at the end of the day, they still look more like God than looking like nothing.

Jesus Says: Your Ethics Stink

In the Sermon on the Mount, there are few verses more controversial than the bomb Jesus drops in Matthew 5:17-20:

"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill... For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven" (NASB)

So much could be said about this passage of Scripture, and a lot of commentary has been written on it.  Unfortunately, I have not neither the time, space, nor intention to give you a fully digested breakdown of this passage.  So, I'll cut to the short of it and give you the "King Jimmy" version of what Jesus is saying:

"Your ethics stink." ~ Jesus (King Jimmy Version)

The religious leaders of Jesus's day were amazing Bible scholars and students of the Word.  If you wanted to study theology, you studied it under these guys.  They had everything nice and neatly organized and categorized.  If you had the time and mental energy, you could memorize everything they said and know almost exactly how a good Torah observant Jew should behave in just about every situation.

But in spite their exegetical exactitude in their handling of the Scriptures and attempting to apply it faithfully to their real life context, Jesus found this sort of precision to be out of step with the heart and mind of God.  Jesus felt that for all their rigors in attempting to genuinely obey the Law of Moses, they still hadn't gone far enough in their quest, and were falling woefully short.

Such a thought would've come across almost as insane to Jesus's hearers.  How in the world do you get more exacting than the scholars and religious leaders of their day?  They so prided themselves as their exactness that they called themselves the Pharisees--- or "the Holy One's." 

How in God's name would you exceed and surpass the standard of righteousness which they had so carefully measured and upheld for all to follow?

In the mind of Christ, there was only one way to satisfy and fulfill the righteous demands of the Law and the Prophets.  Such would never come through attempting to obey the Law and the Prophets down to the slightest jot and tittle. Such would require an inward transformation and reprogramming of the heart of a person at their very core.

Jesus did not discard the Law or the Prophets in His ministry.  Rather than simply discarding them as many think He did, Jesus actually became in His very person the embodiment of everything taught in the Law and the Prophets.

Jesus didn't handle the Law with Pharisaical exactitude and a measuring tape.  He didn't need to figure out (unlike the Pharisees) how far one could venture from home on a Sabbath day without violating the commandment to keep the Sabbath day as a day of rest.  Rather, because He lived as one with a heart that no law could condemn, every single action Jesus undertook was always in keeping with the Law of God.  So much so that He deeply upset the Pharisees by doing things they were convinced violated the Sabbath observation laws, such as healing the lame and blind, or even plucking the head of grain in a field.  To such a thing Jesus could declare that He was "Lord of the Sabbath," and continue on His way without so much as having a crisis of conscience over what He was doing on the Sabbath.

Jesus could do these things, because in His very person-hood, He was and is the very righteousness of God, and is exactly what a person ought to be in relation to the Lord.  As such, He didn't need a law telling Him to observe the Sabbath.  For in His heart, the Lord was always observing the Sabbath, even if He was healing the sick or plucking grain in a field.  Likewise, Jesus didn't need a law telling Him not to murder, for He was not a murderer in His heart.

And the Lord taught us in the Sermon on the Mount, such is how we ought to be.  As followers of Jesus, we shouldn't need laws telling us not to steal, not to kill, and not to commit adultery.  We need to become the very embodiment of the Law of Moses and the Prophets, even as the Lord was.  And such requires a spiritual renewal and inward disposition of the heart that can never be gained through the strictest of Jewish observations.  Such can only come by means of receiving and living your life in the Holy Spirit.

Such can only ultimately only come as a gift from above.  Such can only come from our perfect Heavenly Father, in whose image we have been made.  Such can never come from adhering to the toughest of ethical systems and standards.  For those systems are ultimately broken, and never quite get to the heart of anybody.