Cut it off

Jesus was never afraid to ruffle some feathers. He would deliberately say things that would infuriate some of the most powerful people of his day. Just look at when he told the Pharisees, the religious leaders, that they were of their father the devil. (John 8:44) So we know that Jesus wasn't afraid of saying something radical in order to get people attention.
We find him doing just that in Matthew 5 as part of his famous sermon the mount. In Matthew 5 Jesus is talking about various issues such as anger and hatred and then he comes to the issue of lust, a lengthy subject by itself. Jesus makes the point that just by looking at a woman with lustful intent you are committing adultery with her in your heart. Again a tough thing for many of the people to hear. But then Jesus goes on to make a suggestion on how to deal with this sin problem. In verse 29 and 30 "If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell."

Now why would Jesus suggest that we should amputate parts of our body? After all I don't need both of my eyes to lust. The issue isn't the eyes or the hands causing the sin, the issue is the heart. The heart is where the longing for sin comes from and put actions to our wrong desires. So should we cut out our hearts? Of course not.

Jesus is obviously taking this to extremes so that they get the point he is trying to make. Sin is a serious issue, and it must be dealt with seriously. That means that at times we may have to cut ourselves off from things that lead us into a sinful lifestyle. A recovering drug addict should not go and be with the people that he used to do drugs with. He is asking for trouble. Instead he should be willing to separate himself. It is the same way in our life.

If sin is such a serious issue that can send us to hell and keep us the life that God has chosen for us then is there any measure that is too much? If cutting off my hand would help solve the issue I just might consider it. But instead there are other things in life that I can  separate myself from in order to live a holy life that is pleasing to God.

So what is it that you need to cut off today? Perhaps it is your T.V., computer, a relationship, a specific place. Whatever it is, find the courage to cut yourself off from those things that are holding you back in your relationship to God

Blessed Are...

There are many times that I look at scripture and have a hard time figuring out exactly what it is that God wants from me. Hopefully I am not the only one that feels this way.

One of the areas that I have felt this was when Jesus talks about the Beatitudes. Those blessed are statements have never seemed to make much sense to me. But as I have studied more and begun to understand more of what Jesus talked about I begin to see a theme to the beatitudes that I previously didn't see there. The Beatitudes start in Matthew chapter 5. 

"And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

As I began to look at these statements i began to notice that they are the opposite of what we try to have in our life. None of us want to be poor in spirit or meek, and most certanly none of us want to mourn. Yet for the people that posses these they are blessed in a variety of ways. So maybe there is something to these.

After studying more I began to notice that Jesus is talking about how things in the Kingdom of God are going to be and how we should be now. We should be poor in spirit because the proud in spirit won't rely on god the way we all should. Those who mourn are mourning over the sin in their own lives and the damage it has done to our relationship with God. The meek don't look proudly on themselves but allow themselves to be humble.Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are never satisfied with where they stand with God, they always want more of him. The pure in heart discipline themselves to see the sinfulness for what it is and separate themselves from it. And those that are persecuted have a conviction that no many can every take away from them.

No wonder those that display these attributes are called blessed by Christ. This is how we all should live. It isn't natural by any means but it puts us in the proper perspective with God. We stop believing the lies about ourselves and how good we are and we are convinced of the goodness of God.

So which of these do you need to work on?