Thoughts From the Bible

Luke 6: 41-"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?"  When it comes to personal responsibility, this is a very telling sentence from Jesus. This directly addresses hypocrisy and is instructive to how we should be examining ourselves. Daily life can be very complicated but, as Christians, we are responsible to live our lives as true as we can.  We need to routinely examine how we live our lives and not condemn others for their behavior when we may have a much bigger problem in our own lives. This is why we need to be very careful in our criticism and negative comments about other people and their actions. We need to constantly examine our behaviors and our motives so we can present our lives as true as humanly possible.    Proverbs 12:15- The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise.  

Luke 6: 39-40- (39) And He spoke a parable to them, "Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? (40) A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher."  Jesus is telling the people they must learn about God through reading the scriptures and thinking about how the scriptures apply to their daily lives. If we are not educated about the teachings of Jesus, we cannot teach other people. If someone learns from a teacher, they can teach as their mentor does. We need to study. We need to continue to read the scriptures and learn how to apply Biblical principles to how they live every day .  Today, we need to be careful of those "teachers" who have decided to fashion their own interpretations of how they want the scriptures to be, not how they are. Some of these teachers are refashioning their teaching so it can accommodate the sins of their friends and loved ones. We need to work to be grounde...

Luke 6: 38- "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."  There are so many one verse sermons in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. This verse teaches me two lessons. The first lesson is that I should be giving of my means to serve others and to promote the overall mission of Jesus' message. Yes, this means I need to be prepared to give my money. I also need to be prepared to give of whatever I might have, including my time.  I also need to see that the grace I give to others, whatever that might look like, Jesus will extend that same grace to me. I know that I cannot ever give the amount of grace to someone that Jesus has given me, but my lesson is to find ways to extend grace to people whether they deserve it or not. I do not need to be concerned about what will be "measured back to me ", I need to practic...

Luke 6:37- "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned, Forgive, and you will be forgiven."  There is much included in this one verse. Jesus is telling us it is wrong to determine if someone is right or wrong in a given situation unless you want to be held to the same standard. Jesus will be the one who will judge people. Some people get confused by this verse and think Jesus will dismiss all their sins because they did not condemn others for what they do. Jesus is the only judge. Jesus is directing us to give others grace in situations where someone has been wronged.  We do not know the motivations of the heart, and we do not have the complete picture of another person's life. We may know a person is violating one of God's principles, but we are to stand ready to forgive and then help that person focus on God's principles.     Proverbs 12:8 - A man will be commended according to his wisdom, but he who is of a perv...

Luke 6:36- "Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful."  Mercy is in short supply in our society today and it appears it was probably in short supply when Jesus was speaking with the people. We are so often quick to attack others in our opinions or our actions and look to take advantage of people when they are having issues. Mercy is not something that leaps to the forefront of our minds. Jesus is telling us in connection with the previous verse about loving our enemies, we need to be the first to show mercy to others. Why?  God is merciful to us first. Being quick to show mercy when someone is failing is the ideal opportunity to display God's love for others. It is a great opportunity to live out our testimony of our faith in Jesus Christ. Being kind to others when mistakes have been made is a testimony to our belief in Christ. Helping another person through a trial is another opportunity to be the hands and feet of God.    Proverbs 12: 7- Th...

Luke 6: 32-35-  "But love your enemies, do good and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High . For He is kind to the unthankful and evil."  Jesus is teaching us about unconditional love and an unconditional commitment to other people. I see this as the way we live our lives as being a testimony to our faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus wants to see us as better than those who do not believe in Him. Jesus is expecting us to live our lives at a higher level than non-believers.  We need to commit to living this higher level of life so others will want to follow Jesus because of His promise of the reward being great. In this age of high temptation, we need to lean on the strength of Jesus to live this life of a higher level and know there will be temptations designed by Satan to weaken our testimonies. We need to stay prepared by continuing to read the Bible and continuing to pray for God's strength.    Prov...

Luke 6:31- "And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise."  There are many sayings people can use as mantras for their life. Some people like one quick sentence they can always fall back on when they want to guide their lives in a certain direction. This short sentence by Jesus Christ is one of the directives Jesus gave in the Sermon on the Mount that we can all use to guide our lives.  There are  so many such commands Jesus gave that are written in the scriptures, but this verse can easily guide our interactions with anyone in our lives. This approach to other people will never grow old or out of date. This is a teaching that helps us to focus on others and not be selfish in our approach to life and other people.   Proverbs 12: 4- An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones.  

Read Luke 6: 20-26-   Jesus was beginning to teach the people how they should be taking their religious beliefs to a greater level of engagement. Verses 20 and 21 began the new message He wanted the people to hear, "(20) Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said, 'Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. (21) Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh."   Jesus is wanting us to see our different situations in life as part of our spiritual lives and that He sees our situations. We need to learn Jesus is watching and knows our situations. He also wants us to begin to learn how to respond to our personal situations knowing He will give us strength to respond as He wants us to respond. This is part of growing our spiritual lives to be more mature while also providing an outward testimony to others of our belief in Jesus Christ.  Proverbs 12:1- Whoever loves instruction loves knowledg...

Read Matthew 7: 24-   29- Jesus gave us in the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes, so many of the foundational ways to live our lives that refl ect a good relationship with Him. We need to continue to build on this foundation each day we live, one lesson at a time, one thought at a time.  We must incorporate these lessons in how we live our lives each day.   He give s us the example of how important this foundation is in verse 24, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” We need to never lose sight of our sanctification with Jesus comes on a daily basis and building on the foundation Jesus outlined and by what we read throughout the Bible.  Even if it is one verse a da y, one thought per day, we need to concentrate on those simple values and then pray to Jesus to help us live accordingly. His joy in this life will then follow.  

Matthew 7: 21- 23 - “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name , and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”   Jesus is telling us He hon ors the use of His name if what is being asked is within His will.  There are many things we ask that are not in the will of God. Jesus is telling us our relationship with Him is what matters the most. Once again, i t is the condition of our heart, and the intents of our actions Jesus wants to see  reflecting that relationship with Him . Too many want to point to their actions and how good those actions are rather than spending time focus ing on their relationship with Jesus Christ.   Jesus has pointed to this situation multiple times because He knew then and knows now, we need to not forg...

Read Matthew 7: 15- 20- Jesus is giving us a warning. He is also giving us a clue. Jesus is telling us not everyone is as they seem, and we need to be aware that this happens. In verse 15, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” There are those individuals who get caught up in the direction of society and look for ways to justify these new behaviors or direction in the Bible. These individuals become “experts” in what the Bible says about certain topics, yet the Bible does not bend their direction. That is why we must be solid in our knowledge of the Bible. Jesus t ells us we will know who is sincere and who is not by the actions in their lives. Verses 16 and 17 says this, “ You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.” Many Christian leaders are working silently to help and promote others, y...

Matthew 7: 13- 14- “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” We are living in an age where many believe tolerance is the best way to live life. We can be tolerant of different cultures , different personalities, and different priorities in life. In this sermon , Jesus tells us how we are to live our lives. Whether we like it or not, there are do’s and don’ts in how we are to live our lives. Jesus is telling us we need to follow His principles and not venture from those principles   to live a principled life and a life that is a positive testimony of God’s role in our lives. What are those principles?   Those principles are found throughout the Bible and so many are in this sermon. That is where our routinely reading the Bible can lead our lives. Being a Christian is a state of our hearts, bu...

Matthew 7:12 - There are many books that have been written through the years, and those types of books are continuing to be written with the subject being how to live successful lives. Jesus in His sermon simplified it for all of us, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” So many problems could be quickly solved if people took this commandment to heart and lived this each day. There are some who feel we need to have ten steps to every problem in life. Jesus is telling me this is the predominant philosophy I need to apply to how I live every day. Living this way minimizes hypocrisies in our lives. It minimizes problems between us and others we work with or have frequent contact with.  We can solve many of our problems in life if we start with these words from Jesus.

Matthew 7:6- “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you."  Having been a Christian for sixty years, I do not recall a sermon preached on this verse .  As I study what Bible scholars have to say about this verse it gives me reason to pause and wonder the depth of thought included in what Jesus was presenting. We are to present the message and purpose of Jesus Christ to everyone .  There are those individuals in this world of choice, who harden their hearts against God. Anything said portraying the reality of Jesus Christ is disdained by these individuals .  There are times when our persistent approach to these people must be done in prayer rather than causing more angst. This is a difficult thing to understand when a person totally rejects all Jesus Christ preached and lived .  This can also be one of those situations where our greatest influence on someone is the testimony o...

Matthew 7: 3- 5- How quick are we to criticize other people? In our day and time, that is a full-time activity for some people.  So many people are ready to give advice to those they think have messed up their lives or the lives of other people around them. Jesus cautioned us to not be so quick to criticize for a very good reason. In verses 3 through 5, Jesus says, “ Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” Jesus wants us to be sensitive to how we are living our own lives, and He wants us to be sensitive to our own issues. If we are working with the help of the Holy Spirit to be better in our lives and correct or own issues, we will not be so quick to jump on the criti...