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Tag: Matthew

  • The Scrolls of Dr. Luke

    The Scrolls of Dr. Luke

    Revelation 5:1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

    Imagine having been given a tremendous responsibility to write the Holy Scrolls of God! Imagine Christ Jesus, risen King of all creation having instructed you to record the Gospel of the Cross and Resurrection for God’s Holy Church.

    Why was a Scribe so highly regarded? Few men (and only the learned) could read and write the Holy Word of God.

    Jesus had spoken with the authority of a Scribe, even as learned one teaching from a Higher Authority.  Perhaps less than five men in one hundred of those who heard Jesus teach could read. And perhaps only a dozen among a thousand could write down the words of Jesus in any language.

    For the Apostle John to have been given by Christ the very Word of Revelation (above); for the Apostle Matthew, a lowly (but literate) tax collector to have been given the charge to record the Gospel; for Luke, a doctor to the Apostles and follower of the Way to be given the charge to write down the Gospel being preached to all the world and in his most literate meticulous medical way to record the record of the Acts of the Apostles: these from the Throne of the Lord carry tremendous responsibility and eternal consequence of getting it right.

    In the Name of God, the Gospel Truth must be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

    By witness of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit the Gospel truth is Good News we can take to the bank of eternity.

    The first Scroll of Luke (the Gospel of Luke) begins in this way from the witness given to him at many different times, by eye witnesses of Jesus:

    Luke 1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

    Dr. Luke has recorded the events leading up to the Cross and resurrection.  Now in the Acts of the Apostles Luke will relate the journey and witness of the Apostles taking the Gospel into all the world.

    To be continued…

     

  • Above the Golden Rule

    Above the Golden Rule

    Jesus said: “This is the great and first commandment.”

    Do you know what it is?

    You do not have to be a Christian to know the golden rule. We have heard it quoted by unbelievers as a standard of behavior that we should love one another.  But do not fall into the trap of the world in giving a commandment of God and an emphasis of Jesus a misplacement in your priorities.

    In fact, that is the trap the Pharisees and Sadducees often tried to bait with their questions to Jesus. Whatever His answer, they had a better one… or so they thought. In fact in this instance they probably had the Ten Commandments in mind.

    Matthew 22

    The Great Commandment

    34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.

    36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”

    37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment.

    39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

    What is Jesus saying here?

    In context of the Ten Commandments, the first four Commandments relate to our obedience to and worship of the Living God. These are the MOST important, yet even Christians have a tendency to overlook their importance.

     Deuteronomy 5:

    6“‘I am the Lord your God…

    7 “‘You shall have no other gods before me.

    8 “‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 9 You shall not bow down to them or serve them…

    11 “‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

    12 “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God…

    The second is like it… The ‘golden rule’ is a summary of Commandments IV – X, which all relate to how as God’s family we must love one another; yet first: You shall love the Lord OUR GOD!

    Matthew  22:36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”

    37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment.

    Worship God with ALL your heart, soul, and mind!

    What does this “greatest Commandment” mean to followers of Christ Jesus who have a personal relationship with the Living God?

    Understand what Jesus tells us about our worship of the Lord here:

    • Heart -‘ kardia’ – ‘denotes the centre of all physical and spiritual life’
    • Soul – ‘psychē’ – the breath of life; the seat of the feelings, desires, affections, aversions (our heart, soul etc.); the soul as an essence which differs from the body and is not dissolved by death (distinguished from other parts of the body)
    • Mind – ‘dianoia’ – the mind as a faculty of understanding, feeling, desiring; way of thinking and feeling; thoughts, either good or bad

    Does JESUS mean to say that GOD should be the center of our physical and spiritual life? Does our ‘lord’ mean to say that the seat of our feelings, desires, affections ought to focus on God? Does Christ imply that a Christian should think first about God and what God desires for our life?

    Yes. Yes. And yes.

    “You shall love the Lord your God

    with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

    This is the great and first commandment.

     

     

  • Radical Reconstruction

    Radical Reconstruction

    Matthew 5:12a ESV Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.

    NOTE: The following devotional is transcribed from THE APPLAUSE OF HEAVEN, Sept. 26, Morning, by Max Lucado (a favorite, encouraging Christian author).

    In the sermon on the mount, … what Jesus promises is not a gimmick to give you goose bumps nor a mental attitude that has to be pumped up at pep rallies. No, Matthew 5 describes God’s radical reconstruction of the heart.

    Observe the sequence.

    1. First, we recognize we are in need (we’re poor in spirit).
    2. Next, we repent of our self-sufficiency (we mourn).
    3. We quit calling the shots and surrender control to God (we’re meek).
    4. So grateful are we for his presence that we yearn for more of him (we hunger & thirst).
    5. As we grow closer to him, we become more like him. We forgive others. (we’re merciful).
    6. We change our outlook (we’re pure in heart).
    7. We love others (we’re peacemakers).
    8. We endure injustice (we’re persecuted).

    It’s no casual shift of attitude. It is a demolition of the old structure and a creation of the new. The more radical the change, the greater the joy. And it’s worth every effort, for this is the joy of God.

    [As I stated, this timely devotional was written by Max Ludaco.]

    Do not be discouraged, beloved believer, if you have just come to Christ or have reached only an early step in your growth in the Lord. We are a “CHRISTIAN UNDER RE-CONSTRUCTION.”

    Rejoice, and be glad.

    For further study of the Beatitudes from Matthew 5, visit the series from our earlier posts.