Why Do We Force People to Separate from the Bride (Church) of Jesus?

Verses:  Matthew 5:31-32

My thoughts about the verses:

We read these words and we think it is against the will of God to divorce.  These verses have been used by so many Churches to alienate people who are divorced.  They say that those that are divorced cannot partake in the sacraments of the Church.  The sacraments that they are usually are denied are Marriage and the Eucharist.

Yet, I want to ask us why we separate people from Church when they are at the lowest point of their life.  People who are struggling need God more in those moments than people who are not struggling.  Many churches push those that they feel are not up to the same spiritual aptitude to the side.  They often judge certain sins as so much worse than what they themselves do that they do not accept them.

Imagine if Jesus had done this.  Where would anyone of us do if Jesus said I am only going to save people that do not have sin?  See isn’t that what churches are doing if they push people away.  They are telling them that they are not worthy enough to be part of the family.  Yet, look closely Jesus did the exact opposite.

Jesus did not condemn those that were the outcast of the society.  In fact, these were the people that he preached to.  He went out of his way to show us that we are to have a Church family that makes up many different people.  Jesus didn’t pick and choose who he would allow into the Kingdom of God.

Jesus also made it very clear that those that think their better are not in the eyes of God.  A lot of people act like the Pharisees and Sadducees.  They walk around letting people see them praying.  They want people to think of them as the perfect Christian.  They judge people.  They set the rules on who can be a true Christian.

With this is mind we have to ask are we living in Jesus’s example.  Are we choosing to eliminate people from the Church (Bride of Christ)?  The most important thing to remember is that we have no right to push people away from the Church.  Often those that we push away are the ones that Jesus says are the ones who will inherit the Kingdom of God.

Forcing people out of the Church in their time of need is absolutely against the teachings of Jesus.  Choosing to judge people is against the will of God.  We have to open not only our churches but our hearts.  We have to remember that we should never exclude someone from Church just because we think they are worthy to come to our Church.  When we do this we have to think back to this verse. 

The fact is that when you exclude people that have accepted Jesus out of the Church you are technically divorcing them.  Here is the miracle of Jesus he doesn’t follow the rules of these Churches.  Just because one Church may establish a particular group that they feel are not worthy Jesus says come.  Come to me and do not worry about those that will push you to the side.  Once you are a child of God you can never be taken out of God’s hand.

I also want people to know that Jesus doesn’t say that only this group can come to accept the salvation that Jesus gives to the world.  There are so many Churches that follow the example that God has.  We can find a Church that accepts us for who we are.  If one Church says that you are not worthy.  Then search for a Church that has open arms.  You will soon find that these Churches are blessed by God.  They are growing and doing amazing work in the name of Christ.  Do not think that if you find a Church that accepts you for who you are not blessed by God.  We have to remember this as we go forward and find churches that do not pick and choose who can serve God.

Prayer:

Dear God we thank you for your love.  We thank you for choosing to die for us.  We thank you for accepting us as Children if we will only accept you as our savior.  Help us to open our arms and churches.  Help us dear God not to push people away from the Church.  Help us remember that you are the judge.  In the name of the Holy One we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you given your life over to God?  Are you accepting people into your hearts and church no matter what they have or will do?  Are you forcing people out because of your fears?  Are you walking around acting like a Pharisee or Sadducee acting that you are a better Christian?  Do you choose to live in the example of Jesus?

Do not Become a Stumbling Block to Others

Verses:  Matthew 5:27-30

My thoughts about the verses:

Christians often think that I have Jesus in my lie so I don’t have to worry about the sins I have committed.  We think God overlooks them so it is okay f I do little sins.  We think that God overlooks the thoughts we do as long as we do not commit the action. 

It is true that if you are a Christian God covers your sins.  No longer will God see the sins you did in the past or sins that you will commit in the future.  Yet, even though God doesn't see it people see them.  If we are committing sins are we not becoming stumbling blocks for others that see it?

I want to go one step further that this applies to the Church as a whole.  The Church has to make sure that it follows the rules that God has established.  Amazingly when we look at the Bible the thing that we find is that love is the most important thing that Jesus teaches.  Therefor the Church has to put love before anything else.  Love is the key ingredient to a successful and influential Church.

Yet, isn’t it sad how many Churches alienate people.  They pick and choose who can be members.  They forget to minister to those in greatest need.  They choose that what they think are the worse sins.  They chose to eliminate people who cannot accept their way of thinking.

Listen to what Jesus says we must remove the body part that would make us commit sin.  Therefor do whatever you can to keep from sinning.  Yes, you are forgiven but why go out to commit sin like you have an open permit to do whatever you can.  We have to prepare each and every day through prayer and the study of the word not to commit acts that can become stumbling blocks to others.

This also goes for Churches.  Churches should never be stumbling blocks on someone’s journey to salvation.  We need to understand as the Church as a whole that we are called to be opening and loving to all.  Jesus says that we should love our neighbor.  The only way to love your neighbor is to welcome them into the Church body.  Any Church that acts against this is acting out against the will of God.

Now being someone that was confronted and dismissed as not being a Christian because of being a Lesbian I have another view on this topic. After many years of dealing with this rejection I came to conclusions about the word of God.  I have also come to accept that I wasn’t the stumbling block.  I was being led by God to a place where I could be there for others that had reached these stumbling blocks in their home Churches.

It is hard to accept that a Church will not open its doors to all people.  It is just as hard to accept that Christians believe that they can sin in ways that go against the teachings of Jesus.  In both of these situations they are becoming stumbling blocks.  The Church as a whole has to come to the conclusion that they will no longer condone this behavior.  Any Church that is teaching the love of Jesus to all people needs to pluck those Churches that are going against the will of God. 

Prayer:

We thank you God for your gift of salvation.  We praise you for saving us when we were not worthy.  We thank you for teaching the story of love.  We ask that you help us not sin and become stumbling blocks.  We pray for those churches that do not accept all of your children.  Help Christians and Churches become places of love.  In the name of the Savior we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you accepted God in your life?  Are you trying daily not to become a stumbling block to others?  Are you praying for churches and others to show the love of Jesus by opening their doors and life’s to all?

How Does Anger Affect You?

Verses:  Matthew 5:21-26

My thoughts about the verses:

When we think about the Ten Commandments we respect the fact that we are not to murder.  Murdering is the taking of a life and no one other than God has that right.  Yet, do we really stop and think about the many ways that we murder people each day without hurting a hair on their body?  Do we think about how our decisions can affect a person’s life forever?  Do we hold grudges that defile us in front of God’s eyes?

See anger is as much murder as is actually killing someone.  I know this is hard for us to accept.  Yet, we all have people in our life that we have never forgiven.  We carry that grudge and anger in our life each and every day.  We might even have to be around this person on a daily basis yet our anger allows us to treat them bad.

I have seen numerous times where I would rather know that you dislike me than be a friend that stabs me in my back.  These are those grudges that we hold onto for years and years.  We are all smiles around the person.  Yet, when we get away from them we immediately start talking bad about them.  We turn our smiles into frowns. 

We have to realize that what God wants us to do in reconcile with those that we are angry with.  It is amazing when someone comes to you and tells you that something that you did made them angry.  In fact, you may have never known that you had hurt them.  Yet, they have held that anger that hurt in their life and it has affected multiple relationships.

We then have to look at our own life is there people that we are angry with.  Do we have grudges that we have held onto?  Think about what it does to a body to hold that anger inside.  Jesus makes it clear that we have to forgive those that have hurt us.  We also have to ask forgiveness from those that we have hurt.

See what we miss is that anger keeps us from being the children that God wants us to be.  You cannot fully serve God when you are angry.  When you hold grudges you cannot truly worship God.  You may think that it isn’t interfering with your relationship with God but how can you fully serve God when your life is full of anger.

We need to remember that Jesus set the example that we need to follow.  We were not worthy of the love and grace of God.  Yet, God didn’t hold an eternal grudge against us.  God chose to send Jesus as a way of reconciling us with the one who created us.  We will never be perfect but if we accept the gift of forgiveness that Jesus offers our life will change forever. 

God not only forgives us but forgets the things we have done against God.  The concept is that we have to come to that point that we accept that God not only forgives us but we are totally loved.  The anger that could have been there is nonexistent.  Imagine a life in which the only thing that you have for others is love.  We need to make this a priority in our life.

That is why Jesus says that offering up sacrifices or repentance to God isn’t enough.  We have to go to those that we have hurt and ask for forgiveness.  Now there are times that we cannot actually do this because of distance, their death or not knowing how to get in touch with them.  In those moments we need to ask God to accept our apology.  At the same time ask God to forgive us for letting time and boundaries from keeping us from asking for forgiveness. 

Now what we should also do is freely give forgiveness to those that ask for forgiveness.  This not only helps them but it also helps you.  Again there maybe times that this can’t happen face to face.  So here is where you have the power.  You can forgive them through prayer.  They might not be ready to ask for forgiveness.  Yet, it will help you and will help you keep from allowing anger feel your life.

I am thinking about those that were studying the Bible and communing with God.  They openly welcomed a stranger to come in and worship God with them.  Yet before the night was over 9 would lay dead.  That isn’t the end of the story what I think was the most amazing part is what the families did during the arraignment.  They did something that many of us would have a hard time to do.  They forgave him for his actions.  It doesn’t mean that they condoned what happened.  It doesn’t mean that they were not in grief.  It doesn’t mean that they were going to forget what happened.  It didn’t mean that they didn’t want to see justice for their loved ones.  What it did was free their spirit of anger and hate.  They were able to reconnect with God and to start the healing process.

We need to remember that forgiveness is something that we can freely give.  Allowing yourself to let go of anger and grudges will free you from the hurt in your life.  Follow the example that Jesus gives us.  Don’t ask God to forgive you until you ask forgiveness for what you have done.  It is in that act that you show God that you have a heart of love.  Follow this rule and you will soon find out that your life is changed for the good.

Prayer:

We thank you for your love.  We praise you God for your forgiveness.  We thank you for forgetting the things that we do wrong when you accept us in our life.  Help us ask for forgiveness when we need to.  Help us forgive those that have hurt us.  Help us most importantly God to ask for your forgiveness by asking Jesus in our life.  In the name of the Messiah we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you asked God to forgive you for all that you have or will do?  Do you have the faith to accept God’s everlasting love?  Are you willing to forgive those that have hurt you?  Are you ready to ask for forgiveness for the people that you have hurt?  Are you ready to show people the love that Jesus has shown to you?

Jesus is the fulfilment of the Law

Verses:  Matthew 5:17-20

My thoughts about the verses:

We need to look back to the law.  The law was written in a time when a new nation was being formed.  The book of Leviticus is directions put in place to ensure that the Jewish community would flourish as they started growing as a community. We have to remember this as we hear the words from Jesus.

Many of the people who were listening to the stories were Jews.  There were many in the community that not only believed in the laws of Leviticus they also practiced the rules that the Pharisees and Sadducees had established.  They believed that if they stayed within law they were pleasing God.

At the time sacrifices were made to cleanse them from the wrong they had done.  The sacrificial animal’s blood is what was needed for the cleansing of the people’s sin.  We have to understand the role Jesus played in this sacrament of the Jewish community. 

We have to go back to the story of Abraham and his son Isaac.  God called Abraham to take his son and sacrifice him as an offering to God.  Abraham out of his faith took Isaac to offer him up to God.  Yet, God was only testing his faith.  God provided a ram for that sacrifice.

Yet, if we look back at it from a different perspective we can understand how Jesus fulfilled the law.  The law required blood to cleanse the world.  Abraham showed through his faith what the final fulfillment of the law would be.  God would have to send the son to be the fulfillment of the law. 

Jesus’s blood paid the final atonement for the whole world.  Just like Abraham had faith in God when he took Isaac to the altar we have to have that faith in Jesus.  Imagine how hard it would be to let your son die for people who were unclean.  Yet, knowing through that sacrifice they would become clean.  Abraham had experienced it yet he was stopped.  Therefor he grew stronger in his faith for he knew that God would provide.

Today we need to understand that God did provide that last sacrifice.  Jesus will be there for anyone who will accept the gift Jesus is offering. Once you accept Jesus into your life your sins are forever forgiven and forgotten by God.  God no longer sees you as unclean.  You can come straight to God for all of your needs because you have the blood of the lamb cleansing your life.

There are so many who need to feel that cleansing power.  Yet, they do not understand that all it takes is faith.  They try so many ways to follow a set of laws.  They try to do the right thing.  They put themselves on a pedestal and believe that they have done enough good in life.  Yet, they lack faith in the power of Jesus.  They believe that they can do it all by themselves.  Yet, if they would just accept Jesus in their life things would change forever. 

Yet, Jesus tells us that the law was to be followed until the law was fulfilled.  The moment Jesus went to the cross the last sacrifice was fulfilled.  When Jesus rose from the grave the law ended.  Jesus became the lamb that gave his life willingly so that we may have eternal life.  God provided the lamb for us just like he provided the ram for Abraham. 

We can embrace this or we can choose not to.  This is the only thing left for us to do to have eternal life.  We have a choice to make.  We do not have to make sacrifices because the blood has cleansed all that will say yes to Jesus.  Giving your life over to Jesus allows the cleansing blood to cover all your sins. 

Prayer:

Dear God we praise you for your love.  We thank you for your sacrifice.  We praise you for your sacrifice of the perfect lamb.  We ask that you come into our life and cleanse us.  Help us be the people that you want in our life.  In the name of the Law Fulfiller we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you accepted God in your life?  Have your shared your gift of salvation with others around you?