20160111 Evil Hearts, Idle Words

Evil Hearts, Idle Words

Matthew 12:31-37 "So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven.  (32)  Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.  (33)  "A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad.  (34)  You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.  (35)  A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.  (36)  And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak.  (37)  The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you."

It’s been several weeks since I last wrote here, so let me remind you what the Pharisees had said. Matthew 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they said, "No wonder He can cast out demons. He gets His power from Satan, the prince of demons."

In verses 22-30 Jesus sheds some logic on their thinking. In this passage He sheds some frightening light on their dark hearts. Those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. What is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? Jesus explains it clearly here. It is speaking against the Holy Spirit. It is calling the work of God, demonic. For that reason, we must be careful about judging another man’s work. Romans 14:4 Who are you to condemn someone else's servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval.

We have discussed this before. We can judge an action as good or bad, sinful or righteous, but we cannot judge the motive of the heart. And, in the case of good works, we cannot judge the power behind them. God often used wicked people to accomplish His works.

What we should really concern ourselves with is our own hearts. I must ask myself and you must ask yourself, “What is in my heart? Is my heart wicked? What pours forth from my mouth?

In verses 36 and 37 Jesus takes it back to our words. It is with words that we blaspheme. It is with words that we praise and give thanks. It is with words that we condemn our fellow man. It is with words we criticize, gossip, encourage, console, bless.

What do your words reveal about your heart? Jesus said we will be judged for every idle word. Strong defines “idle word” as a word that produces no good effect. Are your words producing good? Are they building someone up? Encouraging someone? Bringing joy to someone?

I know I quote this passage often, but it should be the cry of our hearts and today it is my prayer for all of us.

Father in heaven, Psalms 19:14 May the words of my (our) mouth and the meditation of my (our) heart(‘s) be pleasing to You, O LORD, my (our) rock and my (our) redeemer.

And Father, put a guard on our lips. Let no blasphemous words escape us. Cleanse our hearts of all evil. Fill them with praise for You and Your marvelous works. Fill them with encouragement for our fellow human beings, especially those of the household of faith. In Jesus Holy Name, AMEN!!!

20151107 MIRACLES

MIRACLES

Matthew 11:21-24 "What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse.  (22)  I tell you, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you.  (23)  "And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead. For if the miracles I did for you had been done in wicked Sodom, it would still be here today.  (24)  I tell you, even Sodom will be better off on judgment day than you."

Jesus shows here that God will take a person’s life circumstances into consideration as He passes judgment. And it appears that there will be degrees to eternal judgment.

The more important thing for us as believers to consider is that rewards in heaven will be by degree according to how we have lived. (See 1Corinthians 3:12-15) In the passage above Jesus points to the miracles He performed in these cities. The judgment He speaks of is because of their reaction, or lack thereof, to His miracles. He works miracles around us every day. Creation, the air we breathe, the many processes of our bodies are all miracles.

Are your eyes open to see them? Do you give them any thought? Do you look to Him daily expecting miracles, not only for yourself but also for those around you? Are you facing today with anticipation or dread? Do you believe He is Who He says He is and will do what He says He will do?

Father in heaven, thank You for another day. Thank You for the gifts of Your

Son and Your Holy Spirit. Open our eyes today to see Your handy work all about us and open our hearts to live in anticipation of what You will do this day. And may we be found willing to join You in Your miraculous plans. In Jesus Name AMEN!!!

20151015 ENTER WITH A BLESSING

ENTER WITH A BLESSING

Matthew 10:11-15 "Whenever you enter a city or village, search for a worthy person and stay in his home until you leave town.  (12)  When you enter the home, give it your blessing.  (13)  If it turns out to be a worthy home, let your blessing stand; if it is not, take back the blessing.  (14)  If any household or town refuses to welcome you or listen to your message, shake its dust from your feet as you leave.  (15)  I tell you the truth, the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah will be better off than such a town on the judgment day.

As you enter a city, a home, a conversation, go with a blessing on your lips. Be more prepared to bless than to criticize. You carry the Good News. Share it. If they receive your message, then it will be well for them and you. If they do not receive it or even reject it and you, remember judgment belongs to your Heavenly Father.

Knock the dust from your feet. In other words, let that dust be a testimony of their denial and leave it at their door step. Do not carry it with you, nor the sting of their words in your heart. Release it at once and surrender them to their fate but you walk on in freedom. You have done what you were told to do.

Father in heaven, free our hearts from the desire to bring judgment on others. Set us free to believe that You truly do know best and will bring about justice in Your time. Ours is to spread the message and trust You for the outcome. In Jesus Name, AMEN!!!

THE TROUBLE WITH VOWS

THE TROUBLE WITH VOWS

Matthew 5:33-37 "You have also heard that our ancestors were told, 'You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the LORD.'  (34)  But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, 'By heaven!' because heaven is God's throne.  (35)  And do not say, 'By the earth!' because the earth is His footstool. And do not say, 'By Jerusalem!' for Jerusalem is the city of the great King.  (36)  Do not even say, 'By my head!' for you can't turn one hair white or black.  (37)  Just say a simple, 'Yes, I will,' or 'No, I won't.' Anything beyond this is from the evil one.

Christ does not forbid judicial oaths. Note, (1) God sometimes swears by himself (Gen_22:16-17); (2) Jesus made oath before the Sanhedrim (Mat_26:63); (3) Paul made oath to the Corinthians (2Co_1:23). He does forbid all profanity and idle oaths, such as were common among the Jews, and still so defile the mouths of men. –People’s NT Commentary

These oaths that Jesus speaks of here would have more to do with swearing to accomplish something such as revenge, or some great feat. The problem with such an oath is again a matter of the heart. It is saying, “I will accomplish what I set out to do and nothing shall stop me.” To add to that an oath such as, “by God,” or “as sure as the sun rises,” etc. is to claim yourself greater than God. As James points out in the passage below we do not know what life holds for us in the next few minutes, let alone in the long term.

James 4:13-16 Look here, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit."  (14)  How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it's here a little while, then it's gone.  (15)  What you ought to say is, "If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that."  (16)  Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil.

Jesus points out that anything more than a simple “yes” or “no” is from the evil one and James here reiterates this. It is evil because it is generated from a desire to build up ourselves as something special above what we truly are, which is exactly what Satan attempted to do long ago. We have already pointed out that we are to be humble in all of our dealings and that our wrath does not work the righteousness of God. Many oaths are made in a moment of anger with a desire for revenge. Romans 12:19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, "I will take revenge; I will pay them back," says the LORD.

This takes us to another matter of the heart – trust. When we feel the need to take revenge we refuse to trust that God will judge fairly and that He will keep His promise to bless those who are persecuted for His sake. On top of that we fail to respond with prayer, forgiveness and blessing toward those who use us and hurt us.

Other translations of Matthew 5 use the word, “Swear” and some commentaries include the use of ungodly language (cussing) when they discuss this passage. Along those lines let it suffice to quote the apostle Paul. Ephesians 4:29 Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

Father in heaven, Thank You we can trust You to bless us and to judge fairly. Help us to yield to Your Holy Spirit in all our dealings. May we be found peaceful, trusting and faithful. May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight. In Jesus Name, AMEN!!!

MURDER

MURDER

Matthew 5:21-26 "You have heard that our ancestors were told, 'You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.'  (22)  But I say, if you are even angry with someone [without cause], you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.  (23)  "So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you,  (24)  leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.  (25)  "When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be thrown into prison.  (26)  And if that happens, you surely won't be free again until you have paid the last penny.

First I wish to point out that the word for “without cause” is not in all the Greek texts. That is the reason that phrase is grayed out in verse 22. James tells us very clearly that our anger does not work God’s righteousness (James 1:19-20). Therefore, I urge you to not use that phrase as justification for anger. And don’t use Jesus’ indignation in the temple as justification for your anger either. He is completely holy and can be angry and absolutely not sin. You and I need a lot of help with that.

Verse 22 is a warning against anger. The warning being that to allow yourself to become angry you put yourself in jeopardy of judgment. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:27 that undealt with anger gives Satan a foothold. And let me tell you, if Satan gets a foot in the door he will cause as much damage as he can as fast as he can. Anger is the proverbial Pandora’s Box.

The next part of the warning moves from just being angry to name calling. At this point our anger has moved from just a heart issue to a verbal assault. The next step is speaking curses against the object of our anger. Proverbs 18:21 “The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.” At the point you have begun to speak curses your anger has turned to rage and the next step after that is at least causing harm if not actual murder. So, it seems prudent to take action as soon as you see anger rising in your heart. I mentioned James 1:19-20 above. James 1:19-20 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.  (20)  Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.

Matthew 5:23 takes us to a deeper love for God and our fellow man. If anger causes such harm and devastation for the person who is angry then I not only need to keep my own heart in check, but I must also quickly clear up any matters in which I have offended another. If you are even at the altar or, in modern days, in your pew with your offering dangling over the offering plate and suddenly remember someone has reason to be angry with you, leave the offering, but go and do all you can to reconcile with that person. Then come back and present your offering to the Lord with a pure heart and a clean conscience.

I know someone is thinking, “But that person doesn’t have a right to be mad. I didn’t do anything wrong.” Are you sure? Read verses 25 and 26 above again. Search your heart and ask God to show you if you did anything offensive and then ask Him if you’ve responded to the offended person in an offensive way. He loves you and will show you if you approach Him with an honest heart. You don’t have to admit to things you didn’t do, but be honest and understanding with yourself and the other person.

Our adversary is Satan and he is also known as the accuser of the brethren. Years ago we knew a young lady who had opened herself up to demonic influence. One evening at a bible study she sat in our living room on the floor with her knees drawn up to her chest. Speaking in a voice that was not hers she began turning herself to face each of us, one at time and accusing us of various sins. I’ll be honest, I was a concerned about what she would say my sin was. I started rebuking that demon in the Name of Jesus telling it to get out, but it didn’t stop and I was getting angry. She got all the around to me and accused me of some pretty heinous stuff. I bowed my head and asked the Lord why this thing was able to do this. In that moment He reminded me of the passage above. The King James Translation says, “Agree with thine adversary quickly.” So I did. I looked that young lady in the eyes and said, “You are absolutely right. I’m a low life sinner full of lust, greed and all sorts of sin. But it’s all under the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ.”

When I said that she screamed at me to stop it. We all started singing every song we could think of about the Blood of Jesus. A few minutes passed and she began to weep and to say, “It’s gone. It’s gone.” God set her free in that moment.

Had I allowed my anger to take control instead of admitting my failure and proclaiming the goodness and salvation of Christ Jesus, I believe that demon would have won a victory that day that could have effected everyone in the room. There would have been much trouble instead of freedom and rejoicing.

Father in heaven, It is so easy for me to get angry, for us to get angry. Help us to look to You and to trust You when others persecute us, pick on us, and treat us with contempt. Help us to honestly admit our own failures and to show our adversaries the love that You have given us. Thank You for the power and fruit of Your Holy Spirit that helps us in all things to glorify You. In Jesus Name, AMEN!!!