Thoughts From the Bible

Read Matthew 19: 1- 9-  Marriage is part of the backbone of society. God set this up in the very beginning with the relationship between Adam and Eve. Over the years,  there are those who have worked to make  marriage  less important than it was originally meant to be.  Jesus did not shy away from the men dominated society  and he taught  them this in verses 7, 8 and 9,  ‘They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you; whoever div orces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”’   We need to continue to work to show others the value of marriage and the importance of two people joining to move through life together and work to make each other better. We nee d to be examples of why marriage is important ...

Read Matthew 19: 1- 6-   The Pharisees were testing Jesus and wanted Him to address the topic of divorce.  Divorce remains a constant in society  even after all of these years.  Jesus could have just as easily  been talking to our society today. Jesus wanted the Pharisees to see the importance of  marriage,  and we need to see this too.  In verses 5 and 6 Jesus said this,  ‘and said, “ Therefore  a man s hall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the wo shall become one flesh. So, they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.’   God blessed the union of a man and a wife from the very beginning with Adam and Eve. Through the years, the importance of marriage has eroded as  evidenced  with higher divorce rates.  We need to set the examples of lasting  marriages,  and we need to teach the younger generations how important it is to se...

Read Matthew 18: 23- 35-   Sometimes I think it would be good to put a  plaque  on a wall to commem orate  all  the things God has done for me. I think this would provide something  tangible  for me to see to remind me of  all  the  great things  God has done for me. Forgiveness is not  tangible,  but it is a matter of the heart. God has promised He  will forgive us of our sins if we ask Him for forgiveness.  We need to constantly remind ourselves of how gracious God is to us so we can share that level of graciousness with others.  Jesus said this in verses 33, 34, and  35,   “ And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you? And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So  also,  my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not  forgive  your brother from your heart.”   Forgiveness is o...

Matthew 18: 21- 22- ‘Then Peter came up and said to Him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive Him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. ”’  If someone wants to  write  a book on  basic Christian principles, this short two verse passage would be required reading and study. This is one of those principles that stands out because of breadth of the impact of  the principle.  Jesus is telling Peter he needed to develop a heart of forgiveness that was very deep. Jesus is telling us we need to know we cannot put limits on how  often we  are required to  forgive people. Humans are going to make mistakes, many mistakes. Jesus knows this and lets us know we need to develop this heart of forgiveness by routinely practicing  forgiveness. Much like daily physical exercise, sometimes we will be placed in a position in life to routinely forgive others.  We ...

Matthew 18: 18- 20- As I read through the Bible and find ways I can improve my walk with Jesus, this is one verse that strikes me as one with spirit ual power. Verses 18 through 20 says, “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where tw o or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” I need to better understand Jesus is giving us spiritual tools and principles to use in our daily lives. This is one of those powerful tools. When we bind together, even two or three of us, Jesus will respect the intents of our hearts and work on our behalf. We cannot predict what God’s will is in a given situation all the time, but we can know He will be working on our behalf .   W hen we bind together with other Christians , Jesus will honor our prayers.

Read Matthew 18: 15- 17- We are all human and we all make mistakes. That is a given. Jesus is teaching us we need to be very careful when we know someone in our congregation is doing something that defies Christian princ iples. If we take this to a logical conclusion, this approach to correcting someone’s behavior could impact all of us. Whether it is gossiping about other peopl e, cheating customers at businesses, stealing money, or committing adultery, many people attending churches could be the target of this type of correction. This is a way to approach leaders in our churches or congregations also. Unfortunately, too much of this is needed at this time as we see church leaders resigning from their positions because of sins against others. As Christians, Jesus shows us how to respond also. Verse 15 says, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” Other steps are outlined but we...

Read Matthew 18: 10- 14- Jesus is teaching several things in this short passage. First and foremost for me , He is teaching the value of a single person. Jesus said this in verses 12 and 13, “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninet y-nine that never went astray.” I see Jesus saying He will seek us out in order to not lose us and there is great rejoicing in the heart of God when He is with us. I also see Jesus teaching us we have a resp onsibility to make sure young believers do not go astray because of our inaccurate teaching of God’s principles. Lastly, Jesus is teaching we need to look past our human emotions and give His message to all whether we may personally like them or not. Verse 10 says, “ See that you do not despise on of these little ones. For I tell...

Read Matthew 17: 9- 13 - Why did the religious leaders not recognize John the Baptist for who he was? John the Baptist was announcing the coming of Jesus, but John the Baptist did not fit the preconceived role the religious leaders were expecting. In verses 12 and 13 Jesus makes this clear to His disciples, ‘ “ But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also, the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands. ” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist. ’ I wonder how much I miss because Jesus sends a messenger I’m not expecting . The religious leaders were so entrenched and focused on their rituals and religious activities they did not recognize the spiritual message of John the Baptist. I will also contend John the Baptist did not have the appearance the religious leaders' thought was appropriate . I need to make sure I am listening to the message Jesus may be w...

Read Matthew 18: 7- 9- Our world is full of temptations. There are more temptations in our world t oday than that probably ever before in history. Jesus is wanting us to see we all have a responsi bility to work to not succumb to temptation. Jesus wants to see us strengthen our weaknesses. As we review the Bible and the principles we learn , we develop a strong sense of what is right and what is wrong. As we grow and learn, we can recognize temptation.  In verse 7, Jesus says this, “Woe to the world for temptation to sin! For it is necessary that temptations, come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes .” The person who authors these temptations will not be welcomed by Christ. We have a responsibility to resist temptation but those who present the temptations will feel the wrath of God. We need to realize Satan wants to see us fail and Jesus is telling us we need to do whatever is necessary to resist Satan so we can present a better testimony of Jesus Christ.  ...

Matthew 18: 5- 6- ‘” Whoever receives one such child in My name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”’ We have a responsibility as Christians. Jesus shows us the magnitude of this responsibility in t his passage. As Christians, we are to make sure we provide proper guidance to other people and not lead people to sin. With all that has happened in our society lately, we need to learn to deliver Christ’s message with a caring heart and with language that will not cause conflict. The principles of God will cause many to be alarmed because His principles are opposite of how they want to live their lives. We are to move toward others with humility and without hostility but with understanding and knowing the principles of God. We need to continually study and review the principles of the Bible and grow to be comfortable in b...

Matthew 18:1- 4- The following lesson is one that is difficult for many people to understand much less implement in their lives. ‘At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” and calling to Him a child, He put Him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greate st in the kingdom of heaven.”’ Pride and arrogance are alive and well in our society. Jesus is telling us to learn to put other people first in the things we may be involved. Jesus is also telling us we need to understand we are valuable in His sight if we learn to put others first. Psychologically, we need to know we have value and work to have positive opinions of ourselves but part of that means we value other people for who they are, and we should be helping them achieve in this life. Greater than that, we should be working to m...

Read Matthew 17: 24- 27- This is an example where Jesus noted the discrepancy of those in positions of authority and how uneven they may apply those laws, in this instance, the paying of taxes. Jesus also taught us the respect for the rule of law in verse 27, “ However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself. ” This is also a lesson for us in the completeness of Jesus Christ. Not only did He point out the weakness of authorities and the respect for the rule of law, but He showed He takes all things into consideration. He wrapped this whole situation around a miracle of finding a coin in a fish. I must ask myself if I would have had the faith to go fishing expecting to find a fish with money in its mouth.  The disciples had seen so many miracles performed by Jesus; I want to think I would have immediately headed fo...

Read Matthew 17: 14-21 - This is a second look at the previous passage of scripture. It focuses on verse 18 which says, ‘And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly.’ The other lesson I see in these verses is that I need to pray and then listen for what the Holy Spirit wants me to know. I need to open my spiritual soul so the Holy Spirit can help me to discern what the situation may be. Is this situation a phys ical need or is it really a spiritual need as it was in this example in the scriptures? I need to discern when to begin to pray for spiritual intervention because Satan is working to cripple a person . Is this a spiritual battle rather than a physical, earthly battle? I need to be prepared to pray for Jesus to subdue Satan in a given situation. Jesus cast a demon out of the person i n this section of scripture. This was a spiritual battle raging in this poor person. We need to pray for discernment and also give time for the Holy Sp...