devotional “ARCHIVE”

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.

Truthfully, only God knows the heart of man which Jesus specifically speaks to in Matthew 7:21-23. It is a sobering reality though that people we know and love will never spend eternity in heaven. It is a far greater shock to know that simply declaring oneself as "Christian" provides no certainty whatsoever whether he/she will spend eternity in heaven one day.

It has been said that what we feed our minds with will determine our appetite, therefore we are wise to discern what we allow our minds to dwell upon vs. what we should resist.

The Golden Rule is one of the most popular teachings in the world today, originated by Jesus and commonly accepted within our secular culture as well. Its premise is simple: "Treat others the same way we would like to be treated."

At times it is easy to read Matthew 7:7-11 and conclude God will answer every prayer we utter provided we ask in faith. The challenge is that God is not our puppet, genie or Santa Claus whose supreme desire is to make us happy, healthy and wealthy 24/7/365. He simply does not think and act based on our limited knowledge and experience and submit to our authority. Rather, He works through His omniscience according to His sovereign will and for His Glory (not ours).

When we consider that Matthew 7:6 immediately follows five verses admonishing the right and wrong ways to judge others, we begin to see that Jesus shifts His attention from judgment to discernment in this verse. In many ways, discernment is the thread woven throughout all six verses, for how can we know how to respond to others if we are not weighing every circumstance, motivation and intent?

If we delve beneath surface layers, we begin to discover that being held accountable for our thoughts and actions is uncomfortable to most people. It requires us to not only be transparent with who we are, but vulnerable enough to willingly be held accountable.

Whether general anxiety, panic, social anxiety, specific phobias, obsessive compulsion, post-traumatic stress or depression, the fact remains that over 18% of the American population have fallen victim to varying degrees of mental illnesses or disorders that coexist with anxiety (bipolar disorder, eating disorders, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, substance abuse, sleep disorders, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, etc.).

There are two types of slavery prevalent in the world today: Slavery that is forced and slavery that is chosen. Forced slavery or "modern-day" slavery is commonly recognized in our culture as human trafficking, but it encompasses much more.

In a culture fueled by visual stimulation through countless media outlets and forums, Matthew 6:22-23 is indeed an enormous pill to swallow. It is a tremendous platform to identify how the church of Jesus Christ is suffering mightily at gaining self-control over lust of the eyes.

If there was ever a summary verse that depicts the battle between good and evil, heaven and the world, it would be Matthew 6:19-21. The reference to "treasures on earth" speaks to the intoxication of worldly pleasures, while "treasures in heaven" points to spiritual blessings which have infinite, eternal value.

If there is one spiritual discipline which has fallen out of fashion in the Christian church, it would be fasting. It is not that people struggle understanding what fasting is, but rather many possess a lack of trust that fasting produces a substantial benefit worth the effort.

The final piece of the Lord's Prayer is truly where the rubber meets the road for a Christian. Jesus began His teaching by calling out the do's and don'ts concerning how we should pray, then provided a complete example on what prayer should look like, and finished with a stern warning.

The Lord's Prayer is by far one of the most common passages in the entire Bible, and arguably one we gloss over more easily due to its familiarity. It is a tutorial on what to say and how to say it, when we find ourselves caught in the unfamiliarity and awkwardness of praying.

Prayer is an essential, spiritual discipline of the Christian faith, yet many of us struggle with how to pray. In truth, the problem lies more in "why" we pray than "how" we pray, or even "what" we pray about. We fail to maintain the prayer life we should have and aspire to because we lack understanding, for what good is it to have knowledge without application?

Giving is a critical component within the foundation of faith we commit to as born-again Christians. Giving allows us the opportunity to share in the bounty of what God has graced us with, and the satisfaction of knowing we are doing something good for others.

Similar to His teaching on retaliation, Jesus expounds upon man's fleshly inclination to self-protect by charging him to step outside his comfort zone and do the unthinkable: Love thy enemy. In truth, we live predominately within a defined set of boundaries, strategically placed and positioned in our lives to guard and protect us.