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Understanding the Discipline of Giving
1 “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. 2 When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do- blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they…
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True Freedom
True freedom isn’t found in lack of discipline. True freedom is found as a result of discipline. Our lazy view of Christianity has reduced us to saying a prayer of salvation to get our “Get out of hell free” cards. The call of the Kingdom of God is freedom. Freedom to obey. Freedom to walk in the power of the Spirit.…
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The Call of the Lord: “Just come and talk”
My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “LORD, I am coming.” (Psalm 27:8, NLT) Coming out of a great leadership retreat last weekend, then through the fog of a touch of flu, staying focused on what God is asking of me in prayer has been tough throughout the week. This verse in…
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The Irony of This Pope
The more I read about Pope Francis, the more I deeply admire him. He just visited the home of his name sake: Francis of Assisi. What I find so challenging is here is a man who heads the biggest “institutional” church in the world, but lives with such prophetic joy. He challenges the religiosity of his own structure, which ends…
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The Righteousness of the Pharisees
20 “But I warn you- unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven! (Matt. 5:20, NLT) The righteousness of the Pharisees was a behavioral based righteousness. It’s a “disease” any of us can be afflicted with in our culture. It’s just too fun to pick…
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Translation comparisons of Matthew 5:17
17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. (NLTse) Mat 5:17 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (ESVST)…
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Go, and be an irritant
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. 14” You are the light of the world- like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and…
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Statements of Jesus We Get Hung Up On
The big “hang up” statement we’ll be dealing with this week in our ministry time will be Matt. 5:48 — “So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” We carry a lot of baggage with that word, perfect, and that is what hangs us up from understanding what Jesus is really asking of us… and what is possible.
