Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-style-parent:””; font-size:10.0pt;”Times New Roman”;} In Matthew 7.7–11, Jesus says: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to … Continue reading Ask, Seek, Knock (Matthew 7.7–11), Part 1

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-style-parent:””; font-size:10.0pt;”Times New Roman”;} One Christmas, I gave Tiffany a string of pearls for Christmas. (She makes them look good, by the way.) Pearl necklaces aren’t cheap, which is why I can appreciate what Jesus said in Matthew 7.6: “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.” If for some reason Tiffany ever threw the necklace into a pig pen, I’d … Continue reading Do Not Judge (Matthew 7:1-6), Part 2

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-style-parent:””; font-size:10.0pt;”Times New Roman”;} In Matthew 7.1–2, Jesus said, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Few Bible verses are as well received in our tolerant age as these, but they are usually misunderstood. In order to understand them correctly, therefore, we need to examine what they do not mean. First, they do not mean that the state cannot pass judgment … Continue reading Do Not Judge (Matthew 7.1–6), Part 1

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-style-parent:””; font-size:10.0pt;”Times New Roman”;} Psalm 146:3 offers valuable advice to Christians in America on this Election Day: Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.   The presidential campaign that is (mercifully) coming to an end today may be one of the most religiously fraught campaigns in recent memory. Typically, Republicans have a lock on the so-called “values voters,” whose church-going habits strongly correlate with conservative politics. But this year, the Republican candidate is reticent about his faith, while the … Continue reading Do Not Put Your Trust in Princes (Psalm 146:3-5)

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-style-parent:””; font-size:10.0pt;”Times New Roman”;} Is the Christian life ascetic? Does God want us to live like the monks and nuns of early Christianity, who were indifferent (and sometimes hostile) to physical and material pleasures? Are we supposed to live the carefree life of the birds, trusting to God to provide for our needs? Yes. Or rather, yes to the third question, not the first two. God will provide for our needs because he cares for us more than birds and lilies, which he feeds and beautifies respectively. That is the … Continue reading Do Not Worry (Matthew 6.25–34), Part 4

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-style-parent:””; font-size:10.0pt;”Times New Roman”;} Like most men, I didn’t think much about what style of clothing I wore until I became interested in girls, which was sometime in the late 1970s or early 1980s. Then, I became very concerned. Thankfully, I avoided the parachute pants and Members Only jacket craze of that era and went straight to preppy. I’ve been wearing button-down shirts and khaki pants ever since. Fortunately, I married a woman who thinks I dress just fine. I tell you that in order to tell you this: Most … Continue reading Do Not Worry (Matthew 6.25–34), Part 3

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-style-parent:””; font-size:10.0pt;”Times New Roman”;} Have you ever seen a wild starving bird? Me neither. In Matthew 6.26–27, Jesus tells us why: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Pay close attention to Jesus’ first sentence: “Look at the birds of the air….” Theologians sometimes distinguish between general revelation and special revelation. … Continue reading DO NOT WORRY (MATTHEW 6.25–34), PART 2

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-style-parent:””; font-size:10.0pt;”Times New Roman”;} I am a sound sleeper. Even if my wife tosses and turns in bed, I sleep like a baby—except for my freight-train-like snoring. (Perhaps that’s why she tosses and turns?) I can go to sleep anytime, anywhere, and sleep through just about anything. The one that steals my sleep is worrying, especially worrying about money. Everyone who reads the Sermon on the Mount finds its teachings personally challenging at some point or another. For me, Jesus’ teachings about money (Matthew 6.19–24) and worry (6.25–34) are the … Continue reading Do Not Worry (Matthew 6.25–34), Part 1

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-style-parent:””; font-size:10.0pt;”Times New Roman”;} In Matthew 6.24, Jesus says, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” I have often read this passage and wondered, “Why not?” Why must I make such a stark choice between God and money? Is it not possible to be a rich Christian? And then I have gone on to wonder what precisely it means to “serve” money … Continue reading NO ONE CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS (MATTHEW 6.24)

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-style-parent:””; font-size:10.0pt;”Times New Roman”;} In Matthew 6.22–23, Jesus says: “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” I’d like to point out three things regarding this passage. First, it draws an analogy between the physical process of seeing and the spiritual process of valuing. In the first century, the scientific … Continue reading The Eye Is the Lamp of the Body (Matthew 6.22–23)