Living in light of eternity

  In the book of Matthew, we have two remarkably similar miracles: the feeding of the 5,000 (Mt 14:13-21) and the feeding of the 4,000 (Mt 15:32-39).   But other than the fact that Jesus multiplies the loaves and the fishes and gives the crowd enough food, there are several differences.  The 5,000 occurred near the town of Bethsaida; the 4,000 occurred along the Sea of Galilee in the region of the Decapolis. Since Decapolis was a largely Gentile region of ten cities, it could be assumed that the 5,000 was for primarily Jews, the 4,000 had many more Gentiles. The most obvious difference between the "feeding of the 5000" and the "feeding of the 4000" is the amount of food used to feed the crowd, with Jesus using five loaves and two fish to feed the 5000, while using seven loaves and a few small fish to feed the 4000; additionally, the number of baskets left over differs, with twelve baskets r...

  Since only God is holy, He is the ultimate standard of holiness.  He has given the Holy Bible to teach us about His holiness and our sinfulness- and ultimately our need for a Savior.  Admittedly, this is a hard lesson to learn, especially when you consider we have a sin sick heart (Ro 3:23) Holiness is particularly hard to understand given the deceptiveness and duplicity of our very nature (Jer 17:9-10; James 4:8; Ps 86:11)  And yet, the book of Leviticus is an instruction manual on holiness…   ‘For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus y ou shall be holy, for I am holy.’  ” (Le 11:45) Leviticus is built around a simple but profound structure- "do this, don't do that."  One verse gives the clue we need for proper interpretation… The LORD then spoke to Aaron, saying, “Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you will not die—it is a pe...

  I may seem hard to believe, but the Pharisees and the Scribes actually accused Jesus and the disciples of defiling themselves.  In Matthew chapter 15 they question Him because they saw the disciples eating bread without washing their hands…   “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” (Mt 15:2)   In their man-made oral traditions, there was an instruction about handwashing.  Around 200 A.D. written down in the Mishnah.  The tractate Yadayim, discusses the rules and significance of handwashing. The Pharisees would have considered these practices essential for maintaining spiritual cleanliness and adhering to their interpretation of the Law. So they were accusing Jesus and His followers of defiling themselves by ignoring their mandates.   ‘Also if one of the animals dies which you have for food, the one who touches its carcass becomes unclean until evening. ‘He too, who eats ...

  Throughout the Bible, we are repeatedly reminded of the importance of our heart.  When using this term, it usually refers to the inner person, meaning our thoughts, emotions, intentions, and moral decisions. For example, in Matthew 5:8, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God," the Lord was talking about purity in the inner man and sincerity in our relationship with God. Similarly, in Matthew 15:18-19, Jesus teaches that what comes out of the mouth reflects what is in the heart.  In this section the Pharisees are critical of the disciples because they ignored ritual washing before eating bread.  Jesus rebukes them for emphasizing external elements of manmade religion and ignoring the deeper and more important aspects of our heart before God.   With all your heart… The command to love the Lord with all your heart is found in several places in the Bible, most notably in Deuteronomy 6:5: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with al...

  From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man. ” (Mt 16:21-23 ESV) In Matthew 16:13-23 we see an unusual series for four events: Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ. In Mt 16:13-20 Jesus asks the disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"  Peter gives an excellent response by saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” To this Jesus gives Peter a big pat on the back and says that the Father had given him this understanding.  He also changes his name to Peter, the rock. I'm sure Peter ...

  For everything there is an appointed time, and an appropriate time for every activity on earth: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot what was planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.   (Ec 3:1-4)   Solomon writes a poetic section about the passage of time (Ec 3:1-8). There is a proper time for everything.  Life is full of many wondrous experiences, and they each have their place.  The passage of time also reminds us of our mortality.  It lets us know how small we are in the grand scheme of things.  It humbles us.     God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained, from the beginning to the end of their lives.  (Ec 3:11)   Solomon sees the beaut...

  On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness ; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. (1 Timothy 4:8) For many of us discipline is a dirty word, and we would rather not add any more discipline to our lives.  But think again.  Everything that is of any value to you involves discipline.  Love and marriage, child rearing, even hobbies require discipline.  The Christian life is no different.  If your relationship with God is something you value, then you will want to apply some discipline in it.   And the Apostle Paul, in writing to his young disciple, Timothy, says “discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness”. So, what is a spiritual discipline? According to 1 Timothy 4:8 a spiritual discipline is a biblical practice that produces godliness when done regularly.  The bible prescri...