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Love

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Mark 12:30-31

For the next few weeks I am going to be looking at the character of Jesus as revealed in the Fruit of the Spirit, and see how I can apply it to my own walk with God. (The Character of Christ, the Fruit of the Spirit in the Life of our Savior; Jonathan Landry Cruse; Versa Press, Inc., East Peoria, IL; 2001

Today I looked at the first aspect of that Fruit – love.

We know God is love. We know Jesus is God. Therefore, Jesus is love, and His Spirit in me is love. What does that look like? I looked up some of the things Jesus said about love.

He commands us to love. Not an option. We are first of all to love God. And not just to feel kindly toward Him, but to love Him with all our heart, our very soul, and our mind. Jesus is the example of that love; the “not-my-will-but-Thine-be done” kind of love; all in, nothing held back.

Here’s the thing – when we accept His salvation by faith in Jesus, God who IS love, inhabits us, transforms us so that loving Him isn’t just something we do – it’s who we are!

My heart beats His heart, my mind thinks His thoughts, my soul is connected to His and He loves through me. In fact, the second command Jesus gives is that we love one another, love our neighbor.

That command has become so distorted these days because we think it means tolerance, acceptance, live and let live. But Jesus tells us to love in the same way He loves, with agape love that says: “your eternal soul is more important than my comfort, or whether or not you like me. I will gladly endure any hardship if it means you will find the Savior.”

I don’t know about you, but I have my limits. I might be able to handle a rebuff now and then, but beyond that, I’m not so sure. Jesus knows that so He says, “Let me love through you. Here is the gift of my Spirit which is love. Let it flow and you will love with agape love.”

Plus, Jesus expects that love to extend to my enemies. Jesus tells me I am to love them, too. Really, Lord? But here’s what I learned today: He’s not talking about friendship or a warm fuzzy feeling for them. He’s talking about agape love which is that selfless love toward another’s eternal soul. Love them like Jesus loves them.

Jesus embodied love. When I am His through His shed blood, He pours out His love on me, fills me with His Spirit so that I can love Him back, and reveal His love by the way I allow His love to flow through me.

It’s a gift!

A Fruit Is Not A Vegetable

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Matthew 7:15-20

Prophets, teachers, preachers – are we to judge them? The answer, according to Jesus is, yes. Jesus gives us two criteria: their doctrine and their actions. If either is in question, you are looking at a false prophet.

I wonder if the same standard applies to all of us who wear the name of Jesus? Shouldn’t we all speak the truth and shouldn’t we all bear good fruit? Of course we should. The preachers and teachers might be held to a higher bar, but there is a similar bar for all of us.

Oswald Chambers in his book on the Sermon on the Mount says this: “You do not gather the vindictive mood from the Holy Spirit; you do not gather the passionately irritable mood from the patience of God; you do not gather the self-indulgent mood and the lust of the flesh in private life from the Spirit of God.” (p 90 of the updated 2016 version)

Can a person be negative, fault-finding, complaining, and have a biting tongue and be a Christian? Honestly, I don’t see how.

We are like fruit trees. We all bear some kind of fruit. The question is, is it good fruit or bad? Does it come from a heart connected to God’s, or a heart connected to the world? It can’t be both.

An apple or a grape is produced out in the open. A fruit is not a vegetable which grows underground and out of sight. Chambers tells us the world has a prefect right to watch the private lives of Christians to see if the fruit of our faith is genuinely good, or sadly rotten.

If I claim to be a Christian but live a life connected with the world – I am not a Christian. A good tree CANNOT produce bad fruit. Coarse language, dishonesty, negativity, meanness, self-centeredness cannot be the Fruit of the Spirit in us. If those things are present in our lives, the Holy Spirit is not.

We are to be a light to the world, a city on a hill for all to see. Like it or not, the world is watching you to see if your claim to Christ is real or not. They will rightly judge you by your fruit. May it be sweet, genuine, and as good as the Spirit in you.

No Worries?

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Matthew 6:25-34

“Faith is our personal confidence in a being whose character we know, but whose ways we cannot trace by common sense.” (Oswald Chambers; Studies on the Sermon on the Mount; Oswald Chambers Publishers; updated 2016; p 59)

Chambers says common sense is mathematical. Faith works on illogical lines. We want to believe that if something happens, there is a result we can predict. If it rains, flowers will grow. If I get married, I will be happy. If I am good, good things will happen to me. But we all know life is messier than that.

This past weekend, several of us had a girls’ weekend in Gatlinburg, Tennessee to attend the Gaither Family Fest. While we were there, one of the ladies received word her brother had had a stroke and they were rushing him to a hospital in Jacksonville, about 60 miles away from his home. Our friend was stuck hundreds of miles away, unable to be with him and their family at such a critical moment.

We all know her brother. Rick is a good man, a deacon at our church, a willing servant of God, and a lover of Jesus. How do we make sense of his trouble at this time? That’s where faith comes in.

First let me say, as I think about this portion of Scripture, not one of the seven of us in that mountain cabin ever asked how something like this could happen to such a good guy. No one said, “He doesn’t deserve this.” I don’t think any of us questioned why this was happening. But all of us went to God in faith, trusting God for the outcome. Knowing the character of God, we can rest in His love of and care for Rick’s physical body. He’s the same God who cares for the flowers and the birds, and Rick is more dear to God than any flower or bird.

God has already done the best thing for Rick when He took care of his sin problem by dying on the cross. Rick is God’s precious child through his faith in the saving work of Jesus. We can trust God for Rick’s eternity. Certainly we can trust God for Rick’s present.

Jesus tells us not to worry. So what does it say when someone claims they can’t help but worry? Do they not have faith in God’s power and promises? If Jesus tells us to do something, and we say we can’t do that thing, is that disobedience?

Jesus doesn’t tell us not to be concerned. He doesn’t tell us not to seek medical help, or to erase Rick’s situation from our minds, and pretend it’s not happening. What Jesus is saying is not to waste time wringing our hands or pacing the floor, imagining worst case scenarios, and being paralyzed by fear. We are praying for Rick with open hands, trusting that the God whose character we know and love, is working even this out for Rick’s good and God’s glory.

Paul expressed this kind of faith in Philippians 4:19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Rick’s need right now is physical healing. As people who love him, we are praying that his physical body will be healed so we can enjoy this ornery guy for a long time yet. But we hold on lightly, understanding this life is not the end.

Chambers asks this important question for all of us: Are we going to be true to the revelation that God is good? Are we going to be true to His honor, whatever may happen in the actual domain?” (p 60)

My prayer is yes.

PS: I had just hit the “publish” button when I got a text from Rick’s sister saying that after the doctor looked at the test results and spoke with Rick to find an improvement in his speech, they cancelled surgery! God answers prayer, dear ones. I know not every situation has the same results. But God is good and works for the good on behalf of his children. Rick’s not out of the woods, and we will continue to pray, but I just wanted to share the good news with you. May God be praised!

Jesus Just Doesn’t Let Up

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Matthew 5:38-42

Have you ever heard anyone say this passage in confusing or even that it certainly can’t mean what it says: should women stay in abusive marriages? Should I sit back and watch a thief ransack my home and not defend it? Should I give money to every bum with a cardboard sign by the side of the road?

I want to share what Chambers says about this: “We always say we do not know what Jesus Christ means when we know perfectly well He means something that is a blunt impossibility unless He remake us and make it possible.: (Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, Oswald Chambers Publishers, updated 2016, p 40).

Throughout his sermon, Jesus is speaking about our character, our disposition, our integrity. In these verses He continues that lesson using shocking examples from their culture.

To us He says: “Think of the worst insult or disrespect you can imagine, the biggest offense against you, the most unfair treatment you’ve every encountered. Then imagine you not having the desire to defend yourself or get even. Imagine you reaching out to the offender with generosity. Imagine you being kind to the person intent on hurting you.”

“Impossible!” you say. “That person doesn’t deserve my kindness.”

God’s answer? “Did I ask you to treat them the way they deserve? Do I treat you the way you deserve?”

Jesus doesn’t let up, does He? He’s always revealing one hard truth after another. This time He is addressing humble obedience. It has to do with letting go of my perceived rights and allowing Him to live His character through me. I have to surrender my will and accept His will.

Nowhere does Jesus talk about money in this passage. But we read these verses and interpret them materially. We read it and think about the bum on the side of the road. It’s a lot easier to think that way than to face my pride and my self-esteem or my skewed sense of fairness. Yet those are the things God is asking us to face.

You and I both know Jesus tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who mistreat us. Here, in this portion of the Sermon on the Mount, He is telling us how that looks in real life.

Impossible on our own. But very possible, a done deal, when the Holy Spirit is free to express the character of God through us.

I Will

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Matthew 5:31-33

People who marry take an oath before God and witnesses. They give their word to be faithful to one person for the rest of their lives. We tend to make these verses in Matthew about marriage and divorce. But the real message Jesus is trying to get across is much wider and deeper than that one issue. He’s been talking about integrity in this Sermon, about character and disposition. He’s been talking about the seriousness of sin and its effect on our spiritual health.

Then he uses the marriage oath as an example. We ought not to read verses 31-32 without verse 33. It’s a shame the Bible publishers put in that arbitrary break. So let’s not, for sake of argument today.

If you make an oath of any kind (which Webster defines as “a solemn promise, often invoking a divine witness, regarding one’s future action or behavior”), you had better honor and protect it. If you don’t, and you break that solemn promise, you are no different than an adulterer. Jesus is painting a word picture, using marriage as an example of someone who doesn’t keep his or her promises.

Sometimes I think we consider an “oath” as a big deal, like a doctor taking an oath to do no harm, or a witness taking an oath to tell the truth in court. But if I know Jesus, He’s not only talking about the “big.” He always gets to the heart of an issue, doesn’t He? That’s what I believe He is doing here.

Have you ever heard someone referred to as a “man of his word?” What does that mean? I think most of us know at least one person who has the kind of integrity that if he says he will do something, you know he will. He always does what he says.

We, as Christ followers, ought to be men and women of our word. Whether it’s a promise to pay our loans on time, or take out the trash, if it’s the promise to our employer to do our job, or a promise to our child to go to the dance recital, if we say we will… we will. Jesus was a man of HIs word, and if He is our example, we ought to be, too.

I believe Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, is laying out the truth for believers. We are held to a higher standard. Our faith is evidenced by the kind of life we lead. More than anyone, a Christian ought to be the person who has integrity, honesty, the person who will follow through with what is promised.

If you say, “I will,” will you?

I’ve Got Rights

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Matthew 5:29-30

Paul tells us we are to present our bodies as living sacrifices to God. I think Jesus is saying the same thing here in these verses.

I’m all about submitting my heart to God. I truly want to be salt and light, separate from the world, wearing the righteousness of Jesus, and pointing others to the saving grace of God. But I don’t think I’ve ever really considered what that should mean for my physical body.

Oswald Chambers in his commentary on the Sermon on the Mount (Oswald Chambers Press, updated 2016), points out that it’s easy to give up bad things for the sake of our spiritual lives. Yet God asks us to give up good things, too, and that might not be so easy.

We know our society is “rights” focused. Often our “rights” are exactly what God wants on the altar.

I have a right to drink alcohol. I have a right to get drunk. I’m an adult. I have a right to go to R rated movies. I have a right to sleep in on Sunday mornings. I have a right to eat as much as I want. I have a right to over-eat. I have a right to piercings and tattoos. I have a right to have consensual sex with anyone I like. It’s my body. I have a right to support abortion and transgender causes. I have a right to work two jobs to provide luxury for my family.

Not all our rights are bad. Some are more easy to surrender than others. Yet God says we are to surrender them all. Our relationship with God is not just spiritual. It’s physical, too. It’s this flesh and blood body surrendered to God, giving Him all rights to use as He sees fit.

Sometimes He asks us to “cut off,” or “gouge out,” some things for the sake of our spiritual, eternal life. Sometimes it hurts.

Chambers ends his commentary on these two verses with this:

“…are we prepared to give up the best we have for Jesus Christ? The only rights we as Christians have is the right to give up our rights.”

Think about that for a second. God wants us to give Him all. I think that includes mind, body, heart, and soul. I think it includes our right to our hands and our eyes, our homes, our families, are talents, are finances, our health, our future. A.L.L.

In fact, and here’s what hit me today as I read Chambers’ opinions concerning this whole cut-off-your-hand-and-gouge-out-your-eye thing. This is another quote from page 32. I’ll leave you with this:

“If we are only willing to give up wrong things for Jesus Christ, we should never talk about being in love with Him.”

Disposition

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Matthew 5:21-22

I’m using Oswald Chambers, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount; God’s Character and the Believer’s Conduct, (Oswald Chambers Publishing, updated 2016) as I spend time in God’s Word these days. Chambers uses the word “disposition” regarding these two verses. He says we’re born with it. I had to stop and consider that for a moment, but I get it. We see it on display in newborns. Some are pleasant, joyful, sweet from the moment they’re born. Others are cranky and fussy right off the bat. No one had to teach them. It’s who they are from birth. And traces of that original disposition follows most throughout their lives.

Chambers says our disposition fashions our character. So when Jesus is using murder as an example of serious sin, we suddenly realize He’s not just about the taking of a life. He’s actually referring to grumpy old men (and women), the “Karens” of the world, the Debbie Downers, the Sarcastic Susies, and the Nasty Neds. He is speaking to people who use others as the butt of jokes, or who delight in making even their friends look like fools. Some people have to put someone down in order to feel good about themselves. Jesus is telling us that’s a problem. He says people with that disposition are subject to judgment.

I would say people born with that disposition cannot talk themselves out of it. They are incapable of changing who they are. They need a personality transplant. And that’s exactly what God offers! He wants to remove the diseased disposition and replace it with his own.

Consider Jesus’ disposition, His temperament, and personality. That’s what he’s offering to any who receive Him. For a Christian to say, “That’s just how I am,” is denying the power of God. Look how Peter’s disposition was changed. Or Paul’s. You have no excuse to continue being the “old nature” when God wants to, and can, make it new.

That old disposition might be who you were. But it can’t be who you are if the Holy Spirit lives in you.

What is Good?

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Matthew 5:21-30

Jesus, in verse 20, just got done saying our goodness must exceed that of the Pharisees, those professional do-gooders. They were men who went out of their way to be and do good, and held themselves up as what goodness should look like. Exceed that?

Then, if that’s not impossible enough, Jesus goes on to make it more impossible!

We humans look at a person’s actions and evaluate the level of good or evil. A good man is someone who does NOT murder, does NOT cheat on his wife, does NOT steal or lie or throw tantrums. A good man is someone who DOES value life, fidelity, honesty, and self-control and demonstrates these virtues by his good choices. We see his actions and say, “That is a good man.”

Most of us, if we try, can reach a level of goodness using those indicators. But Jesus reminds us we look on the outside, God looks on the heart. And that’s where the rubber meets the road.

If I have hate in my heart for anyone, if I nurture anger toward someone, if I gossip about someone or reveal things that could ruin a reputation, if I consider myself superior to anyone and treat them like I think they’re unimportant or ignorant, my righteousness does not exceed that of a Pharisee, and Jesus says heaven is closed to me.

Then Jesus throws in lust. Most people don’t literally have sex with their neighbor’s wife. But infidelity extends to our thought life, the choice to look at someone and think about having sex with them, perhaps looking at pornography, or daydreaming about sex.

We can commend the guy who has been a faithful husband for 50 years, but not realize he is addicted to pornography. We can commend a woman for her commitment to her husband and family, and not realize she thinks about leaving them every day. We don’t know what goes on inside a person’s mind. God knows. And God judges what goes on inside a person’s mind as though they were actions.

Thank God for Jesus, who took the punishment for our sins of thought and action. Thank God for the Holy Spirit who changes our hearts so that our thoughts and actions are pure.

Oswald Chambers, in his book on the Sermon on the Mount points out purity is not innocence. “Purity is not a question of doing things right, but of the doer BEING right on the inside.” (p 22). He goes on to say purity isn’t something we’re born with like innocence. Purity comes from conflict. Purity comes from wrestling with sinful thoughts, with ungodly attitudes, and defeating it. Purity is a result of coming through the refiner’s fire.

God doesn’t accept our goodness as a tradeoff for sin. In fact, there is no goodness in us to give. All you and I have is our badness, but when we give God our badness, He gives us the goodness of Jesus! He refines the badness into Jesus’ goodness.

Our righteousness will exceed that of the Pharisees when we are wearing the righteousness of Jesus. An impossible righteousness to achieve on our own. But wonderfully possible through the blood of Jesus.

Blessed, Not Necessarily Happy

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Matthew 5:1-20; Luke 6:20-26

I finished my time in Galatians yesterday. I loved spending time in that letter, seeking God’s heart through Paul’s words. But this morning I went to my bookcase to look for my next study and found a book I’ve had for a while but never read, written by Oswald Chambers entitled, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount; God’s Character and the Believer’s Conduct. (Oswald Chambers Publications Association Limited; updated in 2026) That got my attention. So for the next few days or weeks, I will be looking at Jesus’ sermon and considering Dr. Chamber’s take on it.

I have always heard that the beginning of Jesus’ sermon contains the Be-Attitudes we Christians should have in all circumstances, that IF we are happy in hard times, THEN God will bless us. But I’ve always wondered that if that were the case, what does it say about Jesus? He got angry. He was sad. He was impatient and discouraged at times. Would He tell us to do something He Himself didn’t do?

Of course not.

Dr. Chambers got me thinking about something maybe you’ve always known but I’m still figuring out. These verses express God’s view of us, not our view of ourselves. It’s not that Jesus is telling us to be happy when we are broken, but rather we can rejoice in our position as children of God that results in: comforting in sorrow, the filling of the Spirit, the ability to see God’s hand at work, the assurance God cares for us and is preparing a place for us. No matter the situations we face, God blesses us with Himself.

I think Jesus is telling us that when we go through hard times, we can be assured our Heavenly Father wraps His arms around us and becomes everything we need to get through. I wonder if we can read these verses as though God is speaking:

You are blessed WHEN your spirit is broken BECAUSE of the confidence you have in the fact that you belong to Me no matter what.

You are blessed even WHEN you are in mourning BECAUSE you know that I am your comforter.

You are blessed WHEN you humble yourself before Me BECAUSE I can use you to reach the world.

You are blessed WHEN you want more of Me BECAUSE of my promise to will fill you to overflowing.

You are blessed WHEN you show mercy to others BECAUSE it’s My mercy you are revealing.

You are blessed WHEN your heart is pure BECAUSE you then can see My hand at work in every aspect of your life.

You are blessed WHEN you are a peacemaker BECAUSE that identifies you as My child.

You are blessed even WHEN you are treated unfairly because of your love for me BECAUSE you have confidence in the fact that one day I will usher you into My presence forever.

If we read the Beatitudes and tell ourselves our attitudes during hard times are tied to God’s blessings: the If… then interpretation, I think we will be discouraged. I don’t think that was Jesus’ intention. But if we read them as reminders of God’s favor, His precious blessings on us as His children, I think it gives us reason to get up in the morning and face even the most difficult day. God’s blessings are contingent on His character. Whew!

Now in Matthew 5:11-12 Jesus reminds us we do have reason to be happy and rejoice, not as conditions for blessings, but because we are so blessed by God. No matter what happens as a result of our commitment to God, even if we are treated unfairly, we are not alone.

And one day we know we will see Him face to face as He welcomes us into His forever kingdom.

Hallelujah!

I’m Free!

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Galatians 3:27-4:11

A little boy was standing in his front yard when a man, just freed from prison, ran past him, hands waving in the air, and shouting, “I’m free! I’m free!” The little boy watched the spectacle a bit confused, not understanding the man’s excitement. “So what?” he shouted after the man. “I’m four!”

I wonder if we are ever underwhelmed by the freedom we have in Christ because we don’t really understand it. The little boy in my story certainly didn’t understand what “free” meant. Do we?

We do this or that. Or we don’t do this or that. We say the right things. We smile, lend a hand, and all the while we hope it’s enough. We struggle with sin, we are paralyzed by guilt, we doubt, and we hold back. We stand in a prison God has freed us from by the blood of Jesus.

Satan loves to convince us that God’s grace is not enough. But he is a liar. What he doesn’t want you to believe is that if you repent of sin and accept Jesus as your Savior… YOU ARE FREE!

You’re free from the punishment of sin, you are free from the power of sin over your life. In Jesus, there is victory, cleansing, joy. Satan cannot confine you with the chains God has already broken.

So don’t let him. Yes, there will be struggles. Surrender them to God. There will be failures. Ask God to forgive. There will be doubts and fears, but God wants to free you from those and replace them with the assurance of His presence and strength.

Dear one, if you have accepted the free gift of God’s grace, don’t live like you haven’t. Don’t stay a prisoner when the prison walls have already been destroyed and your chains have already been broken. My prayer is that you, and I, will surrender today to the One who has freed us, that we will allow Him to be our strength. We will be reminded that Jesus has set us free from the bondage of sin and death. His death is enough.

I’m free to love Him! I’m free to receive Him! I’m free to call Him Father! I’m free to go to Him boldly in prayer! I’m free to rest in Him! I’m free to obey Him, not out of duty or out of hope He will accept me. I’m free to show Him how much I love Him by the things I do so that others can find Him, too.

I’m free! I’m free!