Be Perfect

Someday we will be, until then I have work to do.

Matthew 5:46-48  If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.  47  If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.  48  But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Philippians 3:12  I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.

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Striving to be perfect is something that Paul worked diligently at everyday, he depended on God's grace and power to help him become a better man. Not a perfect man but what an example he is to us, who better to make a claim for reaching perfection than Paul? Who could be more sold out to the cause of the gospel? Who could surpass him in zeal, love or self denial?

Paul's good character was lived out in front of his friends and most importantly he live the same way around his enemies. It is easy to treat our friends good and to keep our behavior as "religious" as possible around them but when we are around the people that don't treat us good then that's another story.

Ephesians 5:1-2  Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are His dear children.  2  Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered Himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

I need to reach for perfection, striving to please God in my obedience to his commands and in a change of character, knowing that I won't be complete until the day that he calls me home.

You have set the standard high Lord, give me the grace to live my life to please you and to have a character that pleases you. I want to live different so that my good deeds will bring glory to you. (Matthew 5:16)

Love Your Enemies

Pray that God will bless them

 Matthew 5:44  But I say, love your enemies! Bless those who curse you. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for those who persecute you!

1 Peter 3:9  Don't repay evil for evil. Don't retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and He will bless you for it.

Romans 12:14, 17  Bless those who persecute you. Don't curse them; pray that God will bless them. Never pay back evil with more evil.

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How crazy is that!?! Of course I want to be blessed and sure I can see praying for my friends to be blessed but praying a blessing for my enemies is a bizarre idea.

Human nature tells me that I need to get back at those people that don't do nice things for me or to me but the same God that gave me all of the grace that i could ever need is telling me to extend that same grace to everybody else.

It is impossible to love the conduct of the person that treats us so bad or lives in opposition to the laws of God but our dislike for the conduct must be separated from our dislike for the person. I need to wish him well, I need to speak kindly of him, I need to help him in his hour of need and I need to pray that God will bless him.

I need to be careful to never have a black list, people to even up the score with, I need to do good to everybody just as Jesus did (1 Peter 2:23).

Help me Lord to treat people the way that you would, thank you that you refuse to treat me the way that I deserve because I am your child.

Go The Second Mile

What better way to display your love?

 Matthew 5:39-41  But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.  40  If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too.  41  If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.

Romans 12:20-21  Instead, "If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads."  21  Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

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My God is a "go the second mile" kind of God, the entire content of the Bible shows us that this is true, God is consistently throughout scripture going the second mile. From the book of Genesis to the book of Revelations God is making every effort to make a relationship with his creation.

Romans 12:9-10  Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.  10  Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

 I need to follow the example of my creator, he went the extra mile to make a relationship with me, he showed greater patience, compassion and has blessed me far more than I deserve. There is no way that I can show the world what love is without going the second mile, no they don't deserve it and they definitely don't expect it in the selfish world that we live in, but that is what it takes to point people to Christ.

 Thank you Jesus for going the second mile for me, help me to sacrifice my time and the inconvenience to point people to you by doing a little more.

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Keep Your Word

Even if it hurts.

Matthew 5:37  Just say a simple, 'Yes, I will,' or 'No, I won't.' Anything beyond this is from the evil one.

2 Corinthians 1:17-20  You may be asking why I changed my plan. Do you think I make my plans carelessly? Do you think I am like people of the world who say "Yes" when they really mean "No"?  18  As surely as God is faithful, my word to you does not waver between "Yes" and "No." 

19  For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between "Yes" and "No." He is the One whom Silas, Timothy, and I preached to you, and as God's ultimate "Yes," He always does what He says.  20  For all of God's promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding "Yes!" And through Christ, our "Amen" (which means "Yes") ascends to God for His glory.

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A promise doesn't mean much these days, it used to be that a man lived up to his word at any cost but these days if the cost or the inconvenience is too great then you will have to wonder if he will come through.

What a difference it would make if Jesus didn't keep his word, he promised us that he was going to die and rise again and he kept his promise, that gives me the confidence to believe that he will keep his word and return for me someday.

I need to be careful when I make a promise, it doesn't help my witness if I don't follow through, living with integrity can be inconvenient some times.

Help me Lord to be wise when I make promises to you or to those around me.

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Do Not Commit Adultery

Even if it is only in your thoughts.

 Matthew 5:27-28  "You have heard that the law of Moses says, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust in his eye has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Psalm 51:10  Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.

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Jesus audience was full of religious leaders that took pride that their actions were so very pure but he knew what was going on inside their heads. They were legalistic and they had never physically committed adultrey but Jesus said that their evil thoughts and their imagination was an indulgence that was just as bad.

Did you ever wonder what Jesus wrote in the dust in John 8:8? Maybe it was some of the names of the good looking ladies in town that these guys were wishing that they could be with. Thinking about these ladies in an impure way is just as bad as being with them, what a shock to the religious leaders that had so much pride in the fact that they didn't behave that way.

1 Corinthians 6:18  Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.

I will stay in God's word each day and seek to have a clean heart so that I will not fall into sexual sin.

Help us Lord to apply this teaching to our lives so that our homes and our churches will be stronger.

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Be Reconciled

God likes to fix relationships

 Matthew 5:23-24  "So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you,  24  leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.

Matthew 18:15-17  "If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.  16  But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses.  17  If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won't accept the church's decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.

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 Sometimes it seems so much easier to not fix a relationship than to face the issues and become right with that person, but God doesn't care for the easy way of doing things, he went through great effort to make relationships right. Through Jesus we have been shown the great lengths that God would go to in order to fix a relationship. Why not take the easy way out and just write us off and let us self destruct?

2 Corinthians 5:18-19  And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to Himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him.  19  For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

He made us right with him if we would just accept the free gift and he gave us the perfect example of how far we are to go to make a relationship right again. We are supposed to be making relationships right with our fellow man and we are to show them the way to be made right with God as his ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) we are his representatives to introduce the rest of the world to the God of relationships. He isn't impersonal he is relational and he wants us to be the same.

Thank you Lord for making the relationship right between you and I. Help me to be busy showing people that relationships matter, especially the relationship with you that is possible only because of Jesus.

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Honor God's Law

His way is best

Matthew 5:17-20  "Don't misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.  18  I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God's law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.

19  So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God's laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.  20  "But I warn you--unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

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Jesus makes it perfectly clear that his reason for coming to earth was not to get rid of the law, rather he was here to accomplish the purpose of the law (Romans 10:4, Galatians 3:24). We have been made right with God through mercy and grace on God's part but that is not a good excuse for getting rid of God's commands to his people.

After all that Christ has done for me it would be ridiculous for me to live my life for myself. I need to live to satisfy and please him by being obedient to his commands, if I am disobedient to him and choose what pleases me then their wouldn't be any proof that I love him, there wouldn't be any way for somebody to tell that I agree with God that my old way of living is wrong.

James 1:22-25  But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

I must hold up God's commands in the highest of regards. Sitting through the preaching on Sunday morning and listening to my small group leader or Sunday school teacher is wonderful but it doesn't have any value if I do not apply God's rules to my life.

Help me Lord to always view your commands as a tool to keep me from danger, I want to dig into your word and be obedient.

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Shine Your Light

No sincere and humble Christian lives in vain.

Matthew 5:14-16  "You are the light of the world--like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.  15  No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket.

Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.

16  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."

Ephesians 5:8  For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!

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Attempting to be an undercover Christian is a difficult task. After all we are supposed to be different and then if we are not different the question can be asked were you ever a Christ follower to begin with? Being a Christ follow just naturally says that you are going to stand out, cause if you are living your life with any concern for "What would Jesus do?" then you will not be able to hide much better than he did.

Let it be seen that you are a real Christian but be very careful about the motivation. The proper motive to influence us is not simply that we may be seen (Matthew 6:1), but it should be that our heavenly Father may be glorified. When we are seen humbly working, doing good deeds we are a strong testimony for the gospel, we shine out through the darkness with the hope that the world is so desperately longing for.

I will bring glory to God by working on the mission that he has called me to live out, working with the motivation of advancing the kingdom.

Help me Lord to always be humble in ministry, thank you for finding me useful, I want to shine to bring you glory.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him -1 Timothy 1:12

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Rejoice

There is always a reason to do it.

Matthew 5:11-12  "God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are My followers.

12  Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way."

1 Peter 4:12-14  Dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.

13  Instead, be very glad--for these trials make you partners with Christ in His suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing His glory when it is revealed to all the world.  14  So be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.

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If there are problems and trials don't get upset about it. What a concept, God's way of thinking is so opposite of our way of thinking, it is strange to us to adjust our thinking to be like his. We know that his way is right but it is a strange concept for us to go against the grain and accept suffering with great joy when the rest of the world is struggling to avoid it.

Think about it, if Jesus existence on earth had gone very smooth and he had avoided the insults and the persecution then where would we be? His suffering was an opportunity for good, he suffered for a great cause. (Matthew 10:25)

Jesus suffering is the only reason that we can have any joy, peace or eternal security. He suffered without any revenge (1 Peter 2:23) so that we can ultimately rejoice with him for eternity.

James 1:2  Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.

I will view suffering as an opportunity for good instead of dread, God's way of thinking is so opposite of ours so this will be a challenge to do.

Thank you Lord for your suffering that brought me eternal life with you.

Follow Me

Disciples of Jesus must be followers of Jesus

Matthew 4:19   Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”

Matthew 16:24  Then Jesus said to the disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me.

John 12:26   Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.

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Some people are "directionally challenged" I love those people that need help with getting somewhere. It makes me happy when I know the way and there is somebody that needs me to show it to them.

Jesus knows the way and he loves to show it to his disciples, he knows where he is going and he wants to take us along. If we would just obey his command to "follow me" then he will be the light for our path so that we will never get lost.

John 8:12 Jesus said to the people, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life."

I like to lead, I don't follow too well, this is something that has caused problems in life. So many times when I was in charge of what direction that I was going to go in usually took me down some dirt roads with some big potholes.

I need to follow the light of the world and be sure to stay off of those roads that lead away from the light.

Jesus forgive me for those times when I was in control and I decided to chart my own course instead of following you.

Repent

Agree with God about your condition.

Matthew 4:17  From then on Jesus began to preach, "Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. "

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Jesus first command to us is to repent, he begins his work the same way as all the prophets, and John the Baptist had done.

That's the place that we all have to start in our relationship with God, every relation has to be repaired in order for it to grow. If I am still blantantly going against God, then there isn't going to be a foundation to build a relationship on, it will be like the man building his house on sand. (Matthew 7:26)

Through repentance we are agreeing with God about what we have done that caused the breakdown. This repentance should imply sorrow for our offenses, true regret for breaking our relationship with God, the very sins that resulted in Jesus cruel death. (2 Corinthians 7:10, Romans 5:8)

God did for me what I was powerless to do for myself, I need to realize the only sense of fulfillment and joy in this life is through a relationship with my creator, a relationship made possible by Jesus.
Matthew 3:8  Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. 

Help me Lord to be quick to access my sins and to see them the way that you see them. Thank you for loving me enough to desire an intimate relationship with you.

You might like to read: Commands of Jesus blog series.

Disciples Of Jesus Are Called To Give

Giving helps me to preach the gospel without using words.

 John 3:16  "For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

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Jesus gave his all, literally, there was nothing that he held so tightly that he was not willing to give up for the advancement of the kingdom. He gave it all away his hands were wide open up until the day that they were nailed to the cross.

Just how much generosity do I have? How much am I willing to give so that Christ will be seen in my life? The less sacrifice attached to the message the less meaning it has to those that we are trying to reach.

"He is no fool who gives what he can not keep to gain what he can not lose" - Jim Elliot

The giving potential of a follower of Christ is rarely maximized, I am pretty sure that I can do more to help those that are in need so that they will have to say to themselves "Why does this guy keep on giving so much?"

Help me to share the good news Lord by giving sacrificially so that people will notice you in me.