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Matthew 5:29,30 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. If I do not have the relationship with God that I want or if I find myself enslaved to…
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Matthew 5:27,28 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. When I was a teenager, a well meaning youth leader at our church told the boys that it…
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Matthew 5:21,22 You have heard that it was said…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… Do you ever scream at people in your head?  People, in fact, can be infuriating idiots.  I…
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Matthew 5:17 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. I assume that every high school graduate can recall the behavior that ensued on those days that a substitute teacher showed up.*  It was as if the rules…
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Matthew 5:13-16 You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world… let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works… I once, in a fit of righteous anger, walked into a pastor’s office, swore at him and told him how horrible he was behaving.  I…
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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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