Food and Righteousness

Where what you eat and spiritual life is concerned, the Bible makes a distinction. What you put into your body is not where your righteousness lies; it is what is in your heart and how responsibly you behave toward others that you become righteous.

Matthew 15:17-20 (NLT)  17 “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. 18 But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”

2/24/2019

All Divisions are Released

All divisions of race, politics and gender are released in relationship with Christ. Your soul is equal with all others before God. As old as this is, it still isn’t understood in some faiths and parts of the world. It is a life and world changing idea.

Galatians 3:28 (MSG)  28-29 In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. Also, since you are Christ’s family, then you are Abraham’s famous “descendant,” heirs according to the covenant promises.

2/17/2019

Your Uniqueness

Jesus and John the Baptist were faulted for opposite things: John lived off the land by himself.  Jesus loved to eat and drink with friends. Some aren’t happy unless they criticize those who get things done. Be like Jesus and John. Follow the plan God has for you.

Matthew 11:18-19 (NIV) 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”

2/13/2019

Lost Sheep

All people matter to God. No one falls through the cracks of God’s love. This isn’t true of families or governments. Humans and their institutions are innately self-serving, imperfect and political. Trust and seek God. God knows who and where you are all the time.

Luke 15:4-6 (NLT)  4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost,what will he do? Won’t  he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds  it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.'

2/10/2019

Water into Wine

The water Jesus turned into wine at the wedding at Cana was water for hand and foot washing. Christ can make a miracle out of the most mundane things. We have to come to him with the problem, however. If Mary hadn’t, the miracle and this lesson would not exist.

John 2:1-3 (TLB) 1 Two days later Jesus’ mother was a guest at a wedding in the village of Cana in Galilee, 2 and Jesus and his disciples were invited too. 3 The wine supply ran out during the festivities, and Jesus’ mother came to him with the problem.

2/3/2019