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Daily Devotion 

“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” – Matthew 5:31-32

For a long time in the U.S., the divorce rate was increasing. Between infidelity, no-fault divorces, and a general loss of reverence for the institution of marriage, people had less and less of a problem divorcing. People were taking the life-long commitment of marriage less and less seriously.

Then over the last 20 years or so, the divorce rate compared to the population started to drop. According to the CDC, we went from

• 4 divorces per 1000 people in the year 2000
• to 3.2 divorces per 1000 people in 2016

That sounds good at first until you see that during that same time period we se the marriage rate dropped from

• 8.2 (in 2000)
• to 6.9 (2016)

Fewer people are getting married in the first place. We’ve gone from not taking the commitment as seriously to not bothering to make the commitment in the first place.

In our passage for today, we see Jesus re-emphasizing the seriousness of divorce…or maybe it would be better to say the seriousness of the commitment of marriage.

Marriage isn’t meant to be entered and exited easily or lightly…it’s not meant to be exited at all. Later, in Matthew 19, Jesus says divorce was not meant to be at all but was a concession by God due to the hard hearts of the Israelite people.

He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.” – Matthew 19:4-8

Marriage is meant to be a life-long commitment.

Sin makes that difficult. Love and forgiveness make it possible. That love and forgiveness we show are an extension of the love and forgiveness we receive from God through Jesus.

The Church: The Bride of Christ
Throughout the Bible, God uses marriage as an analogy for His relationship with His people, whether Israel or the church. Here, too, sin is a problem. Here, too, love and forgiveness is the answer; not our love and forgiveness, but God’s.

We constantly struggle with our faithfulness and fail repeatedly, but God is faithful. His love never fails. His forgiveness overcomes our failures. Where we continue to dirty our white wedding garment, Jesus blood continues to wash it white as new.

For those of you who are married (or will be one day), I pray that God will bless your marriage with love and forgiveness. You will have struggles, but love covers a multitude of sins.

For those who have divorced, there is forgiveness, grace, and healing in Christ where needed.

For all of us, married or single, I pray that we will always turn to Jesus, confessing our sinfulness, knowing that He will always be faithful. His love is forever.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

Please be with all who are married. Help them to love one another as Jesus has loved them. When they sin against or hurt each other, help them to forgive each other. Please also be with those who are divorced. Forgive them where needed and heal them. Please also be with those who are unmarried, but wish to have a spouse. Give them patience and contentment and provide the loving relationship they desire according to Your will. Please also move in our churches and our American culture, to once again cherish the gift of marriage.

Amen.

If you married, tell your spouse you love them and, where needed, forgive them.

Daily Devotion 

“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 lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 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.” – Matthew 5:27-30

Today, we continue our look at the Sermon on the Mount. Verses 27-30 is the second of six passages where Jesus expounds on the Law, explaining how the people had been missing the meaning behind the Law.

In this example, Jesus deepens their understanding of the 6th commandment. As with the commandment about murder, this commandment isn’t just about the outward act of adultery, but the mind/heart sin of lust. It’s a sobering thought.

Once again, we are faced with our sin, but is it really that big of a deal?

Jesus answers that in the verses that follow. Sin is so serious that it would be better to cut out an eye or remove a hand than allow those members to continue to lead you into sin. Another way we see the seriousness of sin is on the cross where Jesus gave His life for our sin.

Now, Jesus isn’t telling us that at the first sign of temptation we should start dismembering ourselves. What Jesus is addressing here is the seriousness of sin, particularly unrepentant sin.

Sin is destructive.

It, by definition, leads us away from God. When we sin, it is the Holy Spirit in us who moves us to repentance. When we, however, resist the Holy Spirit and refuse to repent we risk everything.

When we decide that the lust of our eyes or the anger in our heart is more important to us that God’s love and forgiveness, we are shunning His gracious gift. As we continue in that sin, we harden ourselves against the continual prompting of the Holy Spirit. Eventually, we may choose to reject God’s gift of forgiveness.

All sin is harmful and dangerous, but a sinful lifestyle is even more dangerous because it regularly resists the Holy Spirit. This may be things like…

• Living with a boyfriend or girlfriend you aren’t married to
• Working a job that where you have to regularly deceive people

Of course, we can also have sinful habits we are unrepentant about as well.

Jesus gives us a sobering warning. Do not choose a life of sin. The temporary pleasure of your sin is not worth Hell. So, if something in our life is continually leading us into sin, we should remove that from our life or take specific precautions to prevent it from leading us into sin.

These may be things like…

• Pouring out any alcohol in your house if you struggle with alcoholism
• Putting a filter on your computer if you struggle with pornography
• Finding a new living situation until you are married
• Getting counseling for a sinful habit
• Putting boundaries on a relationship with a friend who is a bad influence

To be clear, it’s not that we sin and instantly lose our salvation. It’s that when we continue to sin without repentance, we may eventually reject our faith and God’s grace. It’s the rejection of faith, then that condemns us.

So, strengthening your faith with positive actions can also help, be it…

• Reading the Bible
• Praying
• Joining a Bible study
• Going to church regularly
• Private confession and absolution

We sin every day, but the Holy Spirit moves in us to bring us to repentance. When we through faith respond with repentance, we are assured of God’s forgiveness. Praise the Lord that He does that. God doesn’t just leave us in our sin. He doesn’t even sit and wait for us to start feeling repentant. He moves in us through His Word to confess our sin and He forgives and renews us. Praise the Lord!

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for loving me so much that even when I sin, You move in me to lead me to You in repentance and You forgive me. Help me to always be repentant and always look to You for forgiveness, knowing that You will always keep Your promise to forgive me.

Amen.

If you have been holding on to a sin and resisting repentance, take some time today to pray, confess, and be forgiven.

Daily Devotion 

“So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.” – Matthew 5:23-26

Every week, right before we celebrate Communion (the Lord’s Supper), we have the passing of the peace. We walk around the sanctuary greeting each other and sharing the peace of Christ with each other. If you’ve gone to church for long time, it probably feels normal and natural. However, to someone who hasn’t been in church before, it actually can seem like a very strange and disruptive practice.

The service is going along doing things one might expect Christians to do…

• We sing songs.
• We read a few passages from the Bible.
• We listen to a message.
• We pray.
• Screeeeeech!…

Then it’s like we decided an hour was too long, so we put an intermission in the service.

“Alright, everyone can get up and walk around for a while talking with each other…and say something we don’t normally say in everyday conversation.”

Why Do It?
It can seem awkward and like a disruption to the flow of the service. So, why do we do it? Are we stretching our legs? Is it just to greet people or is there something more to it?

Here’s Why.
The passage from Matthew 5:23-26 tells us. In this passage, Jesus is continuing to talk about our relationship with others and its connection with our relationship with God. In the verses right before this, Jesus says we shouldn’t hold grudges or harm our brother/sister with our words.

Now, He brings it to a point, you can’t separate your relationship with God from your relationship with others. God’s love and forgiveness compels us to love and forgive each other.

As we prepare for Communion, we examine ourselves and confess our sins, looking to Jesus for forgiveness in His body and blood. The passing of the peace during this preparation time is an opportunity to set aside any grudge or issue you may have with your brother or sister in Christ.

We have peace with God because our sins have been forgiven in Christ and we pass that same peace to each other, a peace between each other that comes from our forgiving each other as Christ has forgiven us. Then, we come as one body to Communion, truly unified, to receive Christ’s body and blood.

The passing of the peace is not an intermission and it’s more than just a time to greet each other. It’s a time to go to your brother or sister and offer or receive forgiveness and assure them that there is peace between you.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for forgiving me. Help me to forgive my Christian brothers and sisters and, when necessary, to confess and receive forgiveness from them. Make us one, truly unified in peace, love, and forgiveness we have in You.

Amen.

Next time you participate in the passing of the peace, think about the peace you are sharing and, if your are not at peace with someone, make peace with them. That’s what Jesus did for you.

Daily Devotion 

In our last devotional post, I wrote about how the Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ day had lost the real meaning of the Law. The Law had, to them, become a list of very specific rules to follow. They had lost the heart of the Law, that we are to love God and love our neighbor. Starting in verse 21 of Matthew 5, Jesus proceeds to illustrate how the religious leaders were missing the point.

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” – Matthew 5:21-22

When we try to deal with God according to the Law and our works, we often try to lower the bar to a point that we think we can achieve. Don’t murder. I can do that. See, I’m a good person, I’m not going around murdering people. That’s the same thing the Jewish religious leaders were doing.

In this passage, however, Jesus pulls the rug out from that approach. He brings us back to the underlying purpose of the Law, to love God and love our neighbor. Sure, you may not be physically killing your neighbor, but are you holding a grudge for something they did instead of forgiving them? Have you said nasty things about them or called them names?

When I was a kid, I learned the phrase,

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

But I learned through experience that it’s not true. You’ve probably learned that lesson, too. Words can hurt…badly. In fact, bones and bruises heal in a few days or weeks, the damage from words can last a lifetime.

Loving each other means more than refraining from killing. It’s not hating each other. It’s not destroying each other with words.

This passage gets real at the end.

“whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”

What are we to do? Shoot, I’ve done that and worse. What hope do I have?

When the bar of the Law is placed correctly, we can never achieve it. We have all fallen short of the glory of God. So, we don’t approach God by our works, but by His mercy in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Through faith in Jesus our sins, even those nasty things we’ve called people, have been removed. They are as far from us as the East is from the West. Instead, we have been made holy and righteous in God’s sight.

Being made holy and righteous by God (not of ourselves), we are then called to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5) and receive the fruit of the Spirit. In this case, we look to patience, gentleness, self-control, and most of all…love. These are the work of God within us which help us to let go of the anger and control our tongue.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

I confess I have held grudges instead of forgiving. I have called people names and torn them down with my words instead of building them up. I am sorry and ask for Your forgiveness, trusting Your promise that You will forgive. Help me to love others. Help me to forgive others as You have forgiven me. Give me patience, gentleness, self-control, and love.

Amen.

If you’ve been holding a grudge, ask God for forgiveness and then ask Him to help you to forgive as well and let go of the grudge.

Daily Devotion 

There’s an old song from the 1960’s called, “I Fought the Law and the Law Won.” I was reminded of that song when I read Matthew 5:17-20, today.

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. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

This can be a challenging passage. Jesus is addressing an accusation by the Jewish religious leaders, that Jesus was trying to do away with the Law, which they had received from God. Jesus, however, counters their attack by saying that He wasn’t there to abolish the Law but fulfill it.

There were two primary Jewish religious leaders of the day.

• Scribes – The Scribes studied and copied the Scriptures (the Old Testament) and other religious writings and knew them backward and forward. They helped with legal disputes and they taught the Law of God. They were very concerned about the knowledge.
• Pharisees – The Pharisees also knew the Law well, but also followed other Jewish traditions known as the oral law. They were primarily focused on following the Law…and making sure everyone else did as well.

Both these groups looked very religious and looked like they were the ones who were the holiest. However, their faithfulness to the Law was primarily outward. They had lost the internal obedience to the Law, to love the Lord with all their hearts and love their neighbor. It was all about the rules, for them, not the love.

Why did Jesus have so many run-ins with the Scribes, Pharisees, and other leaders?
Jesus sounded like He was teaching something contrary to the Scribes and Pharisees. This is because the Jewish leaders had lost the real message of the Law and the Prophets and Jesus was teaching the true meaning.

Today, we still see this in the church.
We see people who are totally focused on the Law. You have to do this and don’t do that. This can be a problem. It’s not that the Law isn’t good, it absolutely is, but if you aren’t seeking to follow the Law out of a love for God and our neighbor, you’re missing the point and we aren’t truly following the Law. As Paul writes in Romans,

“Love is the fulfillment of the law.” – Rom 13:10b

In addition, our relationship with God isn’t based on following the Law, something the Scribes and Pharisees taught and many churches today still teach. Our relationship with God is based on faith. We follow the Law in response to what Jesus has done and because it is good for us and our neighbor.

So, what does all this have to do with a song from the 60’s?

When we try to make ourselves worthy of God through the obedience of the Law, we lose. We always lose. We simply always come up short. When we look at our lives honestly in the light of the Law, it always condemns us. We are sinners and can never achieve righteousness through our works.

This leaves us in a scary place. As Jesus said, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” We are forced to respond like the disciples in Matthew 19:25,

“Who, then, can be saved?”

It’s at this point that the Law has done its primary job. It’s shown us our sinfulness and shown us we can’t save ourselves. We can only look to Christ.

It is Jesus who perfectly fulfilled the Law, lovingly obeying the Father in all things, even unto death. In His death, Jesus took our sins upon Himself and took our punishment. He became sin, who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Through faith in Jesus, we not only have our sins forgiven, but we have Jesus’ perfect righteousness imputed to us (put on us like it was our own).

By faith we have been declared righteous, more righteous than the scribes and the Pharisees. We could never achieve that righteousness ourselves, but God has given it to us as a gift. So, when we look at the Law and it accuses us, we can respond as Paul does in Romans 7:24-25a

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

I confess that Your Law is good. I also confess that I have not obeyed Your Law. I ask for Your gracious forgiveness through Your Son, Jesus. I cling to the promise You have made that by faith I have been cleansed of all my sin and made righteous in Your sight not by what I have done, but what Jesus has done in His perfect fulfillment of the Law. Thank you.

Amen.

If you have been following the Law of God out of fear or a desire to make yourself righteous, let the fear and self-righteousness go. It is by faith you are made right with God. Rest in that grace and then go love your neighbor in joy.

Daily Devotion 

Have you ever gone out at night when there was a full moon and you could see almost as well as if it were day?

Have you ever seen the moon when it was so bright it was almost difficult to look at?

I’ve seen some pretty bright moons over my years and have always been fascinated by the night sky, but I learned something a few years ago that is so amazing to me.

The moon isn’t very reflective.

It has a reflectiveness rating (Albedo) of only 0.12, meaning it only reflects about 12% of the light shown on it. It is actually one of the least reflective bodies in our solar system. I heard one scientist (I can’t remember his name right now) say it’s about as reflective as an old, dirty tire.

Why does the moon appear so bright in the sky?

• The sun is REALLY bright. It isn’t because the moon is so great at reflecting the sun’s light, but rather because the sun is so bright.
• The moon is close to the earth. Other bodies in our solar system are more reflective, but they are dimmer to us because they are so far away.

In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus says,

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Isn’t Jesus the Light of the World?

When you first hear this, you may wonder, “Wait. I thought Jesus was the light of the world.” Yes, He is. As John 1 describes, Jesus is the light that came into the darkness. However, in the Sermon on the Mount here in Matthew 5, Jesus is telling us that we are the light of the world. Both are true.

You Are the Light of the World…but How?

• Jesus shines brightly. Much like the moon, we don’t generate our light in and of ourselves. Rather, we reflect the light of Christ. Also, much like the moon, the truth is that we don’t tend to reflect the light of Jesus very well. We sin. We mistreat people. We often live like the dark world. Thankfully, the light of Christ is bright enough to shine through that. We love others and speak about Jesus and that shines brightly because it’s Jesus’ light.
• We are close to people. Jesus has called us to shine the light of Christ before others. Like the moon is near the earth, we need to be near those who need the light.

So let your light shine. Go out into the world and be different. Love like Jesus and tell others about Him so that others may see the light of Jesus and glorify the Father.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

I confess that I do not reflect the light of Christ very well. I often see more darkness in my life than I’d like to admit. Please forgive me, transform me, and help me to shine the light of Jesus to everyone around me.

Amen.

Who’s life can you illuminate today with the light of Jesus?

Daily Devotion 

If you’ve ever wondered why the food you cook at home doesn’t taste like food in a restaurant, even if you follow the same recipe, it’s usually for one (or both) of two reasons, salt and fat. Fat adds a richness to the flavor and salt brings out the flavor.

In Matthew 5, Jesus calls us salt.

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

First, take notice that Jesus doesn’t say you should be salt or you could be salt. He makes the declarative statement, “You are the salt of the earth.” As those called through baptism into faith in Jesus Christ, this is who you are…you are salt.

There are many properties to salt, but as Jesus continues the passage He specifically mentions taste. Salt has a flavor and brings out the flavor.

 So, what is our distinctive flavor? What makes us different?

It is Christ, Himself. Lose that and we are no longer special. However, when we live in Christ, we have something special to offer the world…we have Christ.

Other passages of Scripture may help us further understand this concept.  In Mark 9:50, a passage remarkably similar to the Matthew 5 verse, Jesus says,

Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.

In Colossians 4:6 it says,

“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”

In both of these passages, salt is related to being gracious and at peace with others. We have been forgiven in Christ and thus we offer grace and forgiveness to others. In fact, we not only give our grace and forgiveness but also point others to the grace and forgiveness they can find in Jesus. We show the love of Christ. This is our distinctive flavor. When shared with others, it brings out that flavor in their lives as they experience the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

You have given us grace when it was not deserved.  You have brought peace with You despite our rebellion.  Help us to also treat others with grace and peace and, in so doing, show them the grace and forgiveness You have for them.

Amen.