Month: November 2016

Matthew 5:11 Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. As it turns out, our defective nature can be addicted to so much more than just drugs or alcohol.  Just as some are addicted to chemicals, others are addicted to the…
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Matthew 5:7,9 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Racially charged incidents are apparently not uncommon in our local jail.  A group of inmates illustrated this to me recently.  In their story, they described a self-proclaimed white supremacist who made life…
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Matthew 5:3,5,6 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. I never understood the opening verses of the sermon on the mount until I recognized how…
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Matthew 4:23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel… and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. I am full of good excuses.  When Jesus says I am to deny self and follow him, I have plenty of reasons not to do so.  I am not…
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Matthew 4:18-20 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers… casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. The Empire Strikes Back (Star Wars) was the first…
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Matthew 4:8,9 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Having twice failed to cause Jesus to stumble, Satan swung big for…
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Matthew 4:6,7 If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you,”…. Jesus said to him, “It is written, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” I have often wondered if Christians need to wear seatbelts.  The train of thought goes…
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Matthew 4:2,3 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” When I got home from work last night, I was starving.  Perhaps I was far from actual starvation, but…
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Matthew 3:9,10 Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father”… I recall the pride I felt when I was first issued a pager back in residency.  I had become someone important. That pager was my bat-signal and I was about to be the hero. Endless midnight phone calls about constipation…
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Matthew 3:7,8 When he (John the Baptist) saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming… he said to them, “You brood of vipers!… Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” Have you ever apologized, saying you were sorry, and then not actually changed anything?  Did the sorrowful behavior stop? I have been there.  As the consequences…
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