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The motive behind our gift is more important than the gift itself. Paul said if he gave all of his goods to feed the poor, or if he made the ultimate sacrifice of giving his own life for someone else, and wasn't motivated by love, his gift would profit him nothing (1 Cor. 13:3).
Many Christians give faithfully but never see the hundredfold return that the Lord promised because of wrong motives (Mk. 10:29-30). Paul said God loves a cheerful giver - not one who gives grudgingly or out of debt (2 Cor. 9:7).
Jesus gave us the key to purifying our motives in this same teaching. He said, "But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth" (Mt. 6:3). Giving in a manner in which...
THE PEOPLE THAT SAY THEY DO NOT BELIEVE THE BIBLE ARE NOT REALLY THINKING CLEARLY. I AM NOT ONLY TALKING ABOUT NON-BELIEVERS BUT ALSO BORN AGAIN CHRISTIANS. I PERSONALLY AM NOT SURE THESE "BORN AGAIN" CHRISTIANS ARE REALLY BORN AGAIN. IF ALL SCRIPTURE IS INSPIRE BY GOD, HOW COULD YOU NOT BELIEVE IN ALL OF IT. HOWEVER, THE NON-BELIEVERS I CAN UNDERSTAND. THE BIBLE EVEN SAYS THAT THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND. JESUS' DISCIPLES ASK HIM WHY HE TAUGHT IN PARABLES AND HE SAID IN MATTHEW 13:13 "Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand."
DO YOU SOMETIMES FEEL UNWORTHY OF GOD'S LOVE? YOU KNOW YOU HAVE SINNED AND FEEL SO BAD ABOUT IT. WELL, IF YOU HAVE, AND WE ALL HAVE, JUST ASK GOD TO FORGIVE YOU. WHEN JESUS DIED FOR YOUR SINS, IT WAS FOR THE SIN YOU JUST COMMITTED AND THAT SIN HAS ALREADY BEEN FORGIVEN. HOWEVER, WHEN WE DO SIN AND ASK FORGIVENESS, THAT PUTS YOU BACK UNDER THE UMBRELLA, SO TO SPEAK, OF GOD'S PROTECTION AND TELLS THE DEVIL THAT YOU ARE STILL IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AND HE (THE DEVIL) HAS NO POWER OVER YOU.
Which would you rather have - God defending you, or you defending yourself? That's the choice that Jesus is offering us here. "Turning the other cheek" is not a prescription for abuse but rather the way to get the Lord involved in your defense.
Many people feel that these instructions of Jesus guarantee that others will take advantage of us. That would be true if there was no God. But when we follow these commands of Jesus, the Lord is on our side. He said in Rom. 12:19, "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but [rather] give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance [is] mine; I will repay, saith the Lord."
When we fight back, we are drawing on our own strength. But when we turn the other cheek,...
SOME PEOPLE THINK GOD IS PUTTING BAD THINGS ON THEM TO TEACH THEM SOMETHING OR TO MAKE THEM A BETTER PERSON. THAT IS AS FAR FROM GOD AS YOU CAN GET. GOD IS LOVE. WOULD YOU PUT CANCER ON ONE OF YOUR KIDS TO TEACH THEM A LESSON? I DON'T THINK SO AND IF YOU THINK THAT THEN YOU NEED TO BE BORN AGAIN BECAUSE YOU DEFINITELY DON'T KNOW GOD.
A person who has to swear or make a promise to validate his statements is a person whose word is no good. The thrust of Jesus' teaching here is that we should live in such a manner that no one would ever have to have additional proof that we are telling the truth. Our word should be our bond.
We have all heard the story of the young shepherd boy who cried wolf when there was no wolf until finally no one believed him when the wolf really came. Our lack of integrity in performing our word has the same effect on people today.
Very few people conduct business anymore with their word and a handshake. Even contracts are not sacred if an individual can afford a good enough lawyer. But this is not the way God intended it.
God has fulfilled...
I WRITE A LOT ABOUT GOD'S PROMISES BUT HAVE YOU EVER LOOKED THEM UP FOR YOURSELF TO SEE JUST WHAT THEY SAY? IF YOU HAVEN'T, YOU ARE MISSING OUT ON WHAT GOD HAS IN STORE FOR YOU. LOOK WHAT IT SAYS IN 2ND PETER 1:3-4 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. IF WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THESE GREAT AND PRECIOUS PROMISES ARE, HOW CAN WE EXPECT TO ESCAPE THE CORRUPTION. IT SEEMS THAT GOD'S PROMISES AND OUR FAITH NEED TO BE CLOSELY ENTWINED IF WE HAVE ANY EXPECTATIONS OF RECEIVING ANYTHING.
God's commandments are not intended to make us miserable--they're meant for our own happiness. Satan's lie in the Garden of Eden caused Eve to question God's motives behind His command (Genesis 3:5).
Malachi 2:15 says God hates divorce. God doesn't hate the people who divorce. He hates the act of divorce because of the damage it does to people. God loves people.
Today, people see divorce as an easy way out of marital problems. But this is based on the misconception that the mate is the problem--which is rarely the case.
People who blame their mate for their problems give in easily to divorce, thinking that a new partner will solve the...
I WAS READING MATTHEW 6 AND IN VERSES 25 JESUS SAYS NOT TO THINK ABOUT OUR LIVES OR THE THINGS WE NEED TO SURVIVE. (MATTHEW 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?) I WONDERED ABOUT THIS BECAUSE HOW COULD WE NOT THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS. JESUS, HIMSELF, THOUGHT ABOUT PAYING HIS TAXES. (MATTHEW 17:27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.) WHY WOULD JESUS TELL US TO "TAKE NO THOUGHT" OF THESE THINGS.
Is Jesus advocating dismembering of our bodies? Quite the contrary. He is drawing on the universal drive within every person of self preservation to make a point. If you value your body highly enough that you would never sacrifice one of its parts, then you should esteem your spiritual well being much higher.
Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve, man's priorities have been misplaced. Great effort is put into preserving our physical life while our spiritual condition is often overlooked. It constantly gets put on the "back burner" while we tend to more urgent matters of this life.
Yet our physical bodies are just temporary. If we live 70 years or...