Matthew 19:1-6  “And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;

And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there.

The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

Tf And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”

Some people in the world jump into a marriage with an “if it doesn’t work, we’ll just get a divorce” kind of attitude. This is not how it should be as Christians. Marriage is an institution of God, the joining of a man and woman together who love each other and who will remain together “to death do us part.” It is a lifelong commitment, just as it is being a Christian. There is no divorcing, or leaving, the family of God if one wants to go to heaven. Just as there should be no separating between a married couple.

“What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.”

This is a direct command from Jesus Himself. What God has put together, no one should dissolve. To do this is to usurp authority over God, and those who dare to do this will have God to answer to.

Luke 6:46-49  “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:

He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.”

Divorce is not acceptable, ever. It is not love, a quality that Christians have been commanded to be filled with. It is not faithfulness. No matter how difficult times might become in a marriage, no matter how frustrated someone may become in their marriage, true love will keep them together.

It starts with each side. Both the man and the woman each have their own role that has been laid out in the Bible, and for each of them, if they want to be pleasing to God, they will keep His words. 

Ephesians 5:22-33  “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.”

As Jesus said, love is the end of the commandment. Do you love Jesus? “Keep my commandments” He said. “Love one another, as I have loved you.” Are you married? Then love them, “til death do you part.”

In Christ,

Andrew

Good morning and welcome in. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture from 1st Peter but before we do that I wanted to ask you a question.  

When you were young was there ever a time that someone bought you a nice big box of crayons?  A lot of times we will get a coloring book to go along with it. But although paper is supplied to work on, sometimes there are other things that can be used as well.

For example, have you ever come home only to find that the children have drawn all over your freshly painted walls and completely ruined the new kitchen linoleum?  The children understand the wrongness of their deed but now the stains are etched into the floor for everybody to see.  But the loving dad goes out and buys brand new floors and walls and completely covers it all up, never to be seen again.

Love covers a multitude of sin.

1 Peter 4:8-10  And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Fervent charity is showing great warmth or intensity of spirit.  

When there is a lack of love the result is a very bitter unforgiving heart.  The church needs to be a place that is filled with mercy and grace, sharing forgiveness with each other.  All of us have made mistakes but we are taught to come boldly to the throne of grace in time of need.  God loves us dearly and wants to reach out with His grace to cover our sins, completely washing them all away in His Divine love.  

Forgiveness requires love.  Love is the end of the commandment.  The more forgiving you are with others the more love dwells in your heart.  We can show the love of God to others by forgiving them as He has forgiven us

Forgiveness from God is a gift, the greatest one that I have ever know.  Each of us need to recognize how incredibly forgiving He is and His manifold grace and extend it to one another in the church.

Colossians 3:12 – Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

Proverbs 10:12 – Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.

1 Peter 1:22 – Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

Colossians 3:14 – And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. 

God wants to forgive us of our sins and wash them all away.  Just like the children in our story He wants to cover them all up.

Let’s think on those things for right now and Lord willing we can talk some more tomorrow. Till then, bye-bye everybody💟

tlkjbc.wordpress.com

Matthew 10:32-33  “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.”

If you truly love someone you will not be afraid to admit this to others. You will be proud enough of them that you will not care what anyone else thinks, and you will confess it to others.

The word confess means to acknowledge faith in; to profess belief in.

We love Christ, so it should be an obvious conclusion that we need to tell others about Him. It is a confession of the mouth: I believe in Jesus. I believe that He is the Son of God and that He died to save us from our sins. He is my Lord and Savior.

Romans 10:9-10 – “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

It’s really not that hard. Jesus is the Creator of heaven and Earth, and we should proudly proclaim our love and devotion to Him to others. It is nothing to be ashamed about; it is the truth. For those of you with children, wouldn’t you be proud of your child if they did something really nice? Wouldn’t you let others know that, “Hey, that’s my child!”? That is because you are not ashamed to let others know.

It doesn’t matter if other people think that we are strange, or “weird” when they learn of our faith in Christ, so don’t be ashamed to let others know that He is your God. 

2 Timothy 1:8 – “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;”

Psalms 119:46 – “I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed.”

That is what Jesus taught His disciples to do. To go out and preach the word to those who hadn’t heard it, and to spread His love. Paul did that. Peter did it. We should too.

1 John 4:15 – Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.   (Verses like 1 John 4:15)

Have you confessed your love for Jesus to others?

In Christ,

Andrew

Good morning and welcome in. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture from 1st Peter chapter 3 but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.

Many years ago I went to a local car dealership because our family was in desperate need of a vehicle. The old white car didn’t look like very much and the interior was pretty tough-looking completely absent of any of the modern-day frills that you would find in today’s vehicles, but when the dealer put the key in the ignition I knew that there was more going on inside of that old car under the hood.

That motor purred like a newborn baby kitten and I sat down and cut a check for that old white car for $500.  I drove that car for the next five years and like a faithful steed it carried us well over 70,000 miles. The general appearance on the exterior was not very impressive, nor important to the longevity and the very successful and usefulness of the vehicle.  What was inside of that old car was what truly mattered…..

……The little motor underneath the hood.

1 Peter 3:3-5  Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;  But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.  For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:

Life is more than what you see on the outside because what matters more than anything is what’s under the hood,.. inside of the heart.  

Many years ago a man I knew worked at a car dealership. Some of his main functions were to vacuum, clean, wash and wax them so that they would be presentable and sellable to the public. What they did was dress them up.

The Apostle teaches women to keep focused on what is not corruptible, which are matters of the heart.  Outward adornment is focusing your attention on the outward appearance.  I think that each of us needs to remember the truth that we all age and true inward beauty in our hearts is what will truly last.  Kindness, grace, and mercy will far outlast our physical appearances.  Its inner beauty and a meek and submissive heart that counts.

So before we go please remember,…

Braiding the hair, putting on diamonds and pearls, shopping at the malls and going to rummage sales, simply to find the latest fashion will only take your focus and attention off that which is most important……

……What’s under the Hood

Let’s think about those things for today and Lord willing we can talk some more tomorrow.  Till then, bye-bye everybody.💟

tlkjbc.wordpress.com

Have you ever watched a marathon and noticed what kind of clothing the participants wear? Some people just want to participate and may walk the entire way, not focused on winning, and might wear just their normal everyday clothing, but those who plan on winning that race will wear something different. Something light, and easy to move around in and doesn’t restrict their movement. They won’t carry their car keys, extra food or water, or their wallet in their pockets. All of those things are just extra added weight that will only slow them down and that is why they leave them behind.

Hebrews 12:1  “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”

“Beset” means “to attack, especially from all sides” or to surround. 

The life of a Christian is also like a marathon, and the entire world of people are the spectators, watching you to see how you run. Watching to see if you allow other things to slow you down and hold you back. How you live, how you speak, how you act, how you treat others, and deal with certain situations that come up in your life.

What are some things that could weigh you down? Sin is a broad definition, but temptation, the love of money, and the cares of the world can be like a ball and chain around someone’s ankle. The world is not heaven; it is a place filled with snares of sin that a Christian needs to push aside and not allow to slow them down on their quest to be holy, as Christ is holy. 

1 Corinthians 9:24  “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.”

When we go for a walk with our dog in the summertime, she will often leave the trail to race off after squirrels and other creatures, and many times when she comes back she will be covered with a bunch of thistle burrs clinging to her fur which we will have to remove.

Those burrs are like sin that tries to stick onto you, and need to be removed. “The sin which doth so easily beset us.” Sin, as I have written before, is a virus, really. It is a disease which will try to spread to wherever it can go, attacking whoever it can attack. As Christians, we need to remain vigilant and lay aside sin if it tries to slow us down.

We need to endure temptations, and overcome them. We need to resist the devil, and he will flee from us. We need to endure to the end, so that we may be saved.

James 1:12  “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”

Every step in a marathon is one step closer to the finish. Each day that passes is one day closer to Christ’s return. Don’t let sin weigh you down and prevent you from crossing that finish line.

In Christ,

Andrew

Good morning and welcome in.  Today we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture from 2 John but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story

Many years ago, our family was babysitting one of our neighbors dogs.  She was a vivacious husky who enjoyed playing in the snow.  One cold morning I rose up out of bed because I saw her bolt by the house which wasn’t a normal thing for her to do.  Afterwards when I went outside, I saw  a huge black bear with its head stuck all of the way inside of her dog house.  Because of her reaction,he was a completely unwelcome visitor in her home.

This reminds me of the Christian Life

There are sometimes in life that we need to pull in the welcome mat.  Doing this doesn’t necessarily mean that we don’t care or love others, it means that we love Jesus and his teachings more.

2 John 1:9-11  Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

The word doctrine is defined as “teachings” or a belief, or set of beliefs that are held and taught by a church. Doctrine is a set of ideas or beliefs that are taught and believed to be true.

Love for Christ and his Word has to be a greater love than any love that you could possess in this world. Love for Him and His teachings must be be greater than a wife, children or any possessions that this world could ever offer you.  Those who reject scriptural truth are the enemy of Jesus Christ.

John 14:23-24  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.  He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.

We are not supposed to receive people into our homes who don’t share our beliefs, or the teachings of Jesus Christ.  When you receive someone it means to welcome them.  There are many ways that you can receive teaching and instruction in your home, through a newspaper, a magazine, TV, and more recently on the internet or through a cell phone.

This is both a scriptural command and a warning from the dearly beloved Apostle John. Opening up the door of your home to somebody who doesn’t share your faith in Christ can affect and influence all those who dwell within. By opening the door to them, you are inviting all kinds of false religions, philosophy and worldly beliefs right into the privacy of your own living room.  Those who wholeheartedly reject the doctrinal teachings of Christ wIll be summarily sentenced to eternal damnation.  

As a Christian, whatever teaching you allow into your home needs to be bible based and Christ centered otherwise shut the front door.  The Apostle clearly  teaches to not allow anti biblical teachings to enter inside. As a child how many times were you told to take off your shoes before you came in the house?  If your parents didn’t want your muddy shoes in the living room why would you bring in worldly philosophy and anti-Christ Doctrine?

Teaching can be a very profitable profession, but many people teach, not because they genuinely care about others, or want then to grow in biblical truth, it is simply motivated by a greedy and covetous heart.

Titus 1:10-11  For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.

There is a lot of false teaching that goes on in the world today, many of them profess to be a follower of Jesus, but the Apostle John taught that if they were outside of the doctrine of Christ and what He taught, these people were to be rejected, shunned and not to be believed.  

1 John 4:1 – Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

False teachings can lead people astray from the truth

Hebrews 13:9 – Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines…….

Ephesians 4:14 – That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

When it comes to it, there are times when the safest and best thing any of us can do, is kindly shut the door, and don’t let a bear…..

……In the Doghouse.

Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.

tlkjbc.com♥️

Note: Any copies may be printed and freely distributed among those who have no internet service. There is no AI creative involvement in my writings, and must be left intact because they are very personal to me. These are not to be sold, and are made public only for the free benefit of Spiritual knowledge to those who are genuinely seeking the will of God.

Psalms 33:8 – Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

The word fear has different meanings depending on its usage, but when used as in our verse above, fear means to feel awe or reverence towards, or to venerate.

Our God is an awesome God. Incredible. Amazing. There is none like Him. The Creator of heaven and Earth. With just the power of His voice He created light. In just six days He created everything in the world! He truly is amazing.

You know, I am not a particularly artistic person. I rarely have the patience to try to draw a picture exactly or as close as I can to the real thing. But one day I just felt a spark of inspiration and I decided to try copying a picture of a cartoon bird. After what must have been about an hour or two, the picture that I had drawn looked nearly identical to the original, and I felt like I had really accomplished what I had set out to do. 

Sometime later, I went over to a person’s house to go and visit with them, and they happened to be a very talented artist themselves, and they showed us some of their drawings and paintings they had done, and they were absolutely amazing. Pencil, watercolor, charcoal-many different methods of creation, and they were all incredibly detailed and accurate. Some of the pictures had taken weeks worth of time to complete, and it clearly showed. Looking at all of those amazing pictures that person had created made me realize how little I really knew about being artistic.

But even with all of the things that man could ever do or create, the pyramids, canals, dams, performing surgery, or creating symphonies, there is nothing that could ever compare to the awesomeness of our God.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 – Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

Proverbs 1:7 – The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Who else could do what our God does? Who else can create life? Only He can. Every time a new life is created is a other miracle. This amazing power of our Lord deserves and commands our awe and reverence.

Psalms 33:8 – Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

There is nothing that we could ever create to compare to the Creator. We stand in awe of him

In Christ,

Andrew

Andrew is no longer a part of this ministry because he opened the lied to me, deceived me, and betrayed me. Although many of his teachings are very helpful, they were written in a period of his life before he renounced his faith, and committed wicked deeds against me and the gospel of Christ. Other people who were involved and encouraged him in this activity, will have to answer to God for what they have done. He really didn’t love God the way that I love the Lord, but it is by his actions that God will determine the sheep from the goats.

Good morning and welcome in.  Today we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture from the book of Hebrews but before we do that, I wanted to ask you a question.

How many times have you gone to bed at night and then woken up to see a big pile of white fluffy snow outside the front door.  Although we were sleeping all night long, there was something going on outside that we couldn’t see, but the snow was evidence of what happened during the night. When we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and the things that He taught it is outward evidence of something that’s going on inside of our hearts. The unseen things of God are seen in our lives,  revealed to others through our faithful lives towards Him.

How many of you like to go fishing in the summer? Each time you put a worm on your hook the evidence that there are hungry fish under the water is your bobber going up and down.  Evidence is a sign which shows that something exists or is true.

Hebrews 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Works are evidence of an inward faith and belief in God.  The Apostle Paul had a life changing conversion when he became a Christian.  The evidence of his faith was most of the New Testament that we have today.  The result of true faith will result in obedient works.  Works are evidence of faith inside your heart.

James 2:17-26  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

But wilt thou know, 

O vain man, that faith without works is dead?  Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?  And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. 

Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Whatever we do in the Christian faith has to be motivated out of true love in our hearts for the one who died for us on the cross.  Works are a result of our faith in God but they need to be motivated by a loving heart by those that are ready to obey and do His will.  The Lord Jesus taught that in order to obtain eternal life we need to do the will of His heavenly Father.  

I think that the evidence that we need to show to the world is obedience to Christ, and it must be based in a love for Him rather than religion.  Sitting in a church twice a week doesn’t make you a Christian. Giving money to the church doesn’t make you a Christian. All these things are purposeless without a true love in your heart for the one who died on the cross for you. Our faith is the evidence of things not seen but our faith must be motivated out of love and faithfulness to God, otherwise any works done will be burned up.

The Beloved Apostle James taught that faith without works is dead but these works need to be done out of love for Christ whether it’s praying, fasting or other duties in the church.  They must be motivated from the heart, out of love for Jesus.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3  Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Doing God’s will has to be based in love for Him rather than religion.

People can do all kinds of things that are not motivated out of true love in their hearts for God.  Doing Gods will is the requirement to obtain eternal life, and obeying Jesus is the proof of our love, but don’t confuse this with religion.

Why did Noah build an ark? He didn’t do it to appear religious in the eyes of the public, but rather to save his family from the destruction of the world that was coming.  His works were faith based rather than religious.  When Moses left Egypt it was not to appear religious to others but because he truly believed in God with all of his heart.  

Our lord Jesus warned the disciples not to be like the hypocrites, who did all kinds of religious duties but they really didn’t believe in Him with their hearts. Some people would pray and fast but it was not because they loved God.

So we learn that we can do a lot of religious things in our lives but we must understand that they must be motivated by love.  Faith is the evidence of things unseen but faith needs to be more than just religion, it needs to be serving Christ out of love for the one who died on the cross to provide us a way to heaven.

Real faith requires real love, so, let it snow!

Let’s think about these things for right now and Lord willing we’ll talk to you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye-bye everybody.💟

tlkjbc.wordpress.com

“And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”

How many of you have set out some food for the birds, only to have it stolen away by a squirrel? As probably anyone with bird feeders knows, the most annoying pest to a bird feeder is a squirrel. You can fill up a feeder to the top with seeds hoping to attract a bunch of song birds, and come back later in the day to find that a squirrel has chased all of the birds away as he tries to protect his prize. 

It really can be a frustrating task trying to keep those rodents off of your feeders. In an effort to keep them away, I once ran a long, thin wire between two trees and hung a feeder directly in the middle, thinking that I had beaten those squirrels, but I was wrong. I watched in disbelief as those squirrels crawled upside-down along the wire to reach the food. I have also pushed a slippery metal rod into the ground and hung a feeder on that. For about an afternoon it worked as I watched them climb up a foot or two and then slide back down to the ground. By the end of the day, however, they had figured out that they could climb the tree above the feeder and drop the 8 feet down onto it. 

You can even put out a feeder specifically for the squirrels, but it will not be enough. After clearing their food out, they will still want the bird’s food too. There is a word for this kind of behavior: covetousness.

Covet in the Bible usually means to long for inordinately or unlawfully; to hanker after (something forbidden). It also is to have or indulge an inordinate desire, especially for another’s possession. There are a few times in the Bible when it says something like to covet the best gifts, or covet to prophesy, but the kind of covetousness we are focusing on here is the sinful type. The desire for something wrong or that is not yours and does not belong to you.

How many times has the love of money torn apart a family at the reading of a will? In the event of a person’s death, all of the deceased’s possessions will often be given as an inheritence to the person or persons of the deceased’s choosing. Sometimes though, those who do not receive anything or very little will become very upset and will argue that they should have received more. This “bad blood” is a result of our topic today. Covetousness.

Jesus warned of this in Luke 12.

Luke 12:13-15  “And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.

And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?

And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”

This man had a desire for his brother’s inheritance. It was not his because it hadn’t been given to him, and it filled him with covetousness. So great was his desire that he even went to Jesus to try to obtain half of the inheritance, but as James wrote, you can ask for things but not receive them because it is done out of a person’s lust.

James 4:1-3  “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

Money is probably the most coveted thing that some people seek to obtain for themselves. They feel like they have to have it, and as much of it as they can. They see others out in the world with millions while they don’t, and that inordinate desire for money can lead to many bad things.

1 Timothy 6:10  “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

You cannot buy happiness with money. The amount of things you own do not make you happy. I can remember wanting a toy so badly as a child that I couldn’t stop thinking about getting one, and once I got one and played with it for a couple of days, guess what? I wanted something else. I was already tired with my brand new toy, and wanted something different, something that I didn’t have. 

We need to be content with the things that we have (Hebrews 13:5). If the Lord decides to bless us with something then praise be to His name. We need to be seeking the things of God, not the things of the world, because Christ is all that we need.

Psalms 119:36  “Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.”

In Christ,

Andrew

What if you were pushing a shopping cart through a store when out of nowhere someone’s 8 year old child purposely rammed their own cart into you as hard as they could, what you do? Being that the child is not yours, it is highly doubtful that you would “return the favor” or punish that child in any way. Why? Because it is not your place deal out punishments to the children of others; it is reserved for that child’s parents to correct and punish that behavior.

That is what our verse today is about: not avenging yourself when you are wronged, but letting God take care of it. 

Romans 12:19-21  “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Vengeance is revenge taken for an insult, injury, or other wrong, the act of avenging. Other similar words are reprisal, retaliation, or retribution. 

As Christians, we learn that there will be people that will hate us for our faith and belief in Jesus, and they may treat us poorly. They may do evil to us, but we are not to avenge ourselves in any way. We need to allow ourselves to suffer that persecution, just as Christ did. “Turn the other cheek” is what He taught in Matthew 5:38,39.

“Ye have heard it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.”

There was a similar instance in the book of Luke where a some people did not receive Jesus into their town, and the disciples asked the Lord what He wanted them to do.

Luke 9:51-56  “And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,

And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.

And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.

And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?

But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.

For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.”

Jesus, even though He could have because He is God, didn’t allow His disciples to do this. He didn’t punish those people for their unbelief and because they didn’t receive Him into their city. Just as He didn’t avenge Himself by raining fire down on those who crucified Him on the cross, but instead suffered, and allowed it to happen. 

Suffering is something that we need to get used to if we want to model our lives after the life of Jesus. It requires that we allow ourselves to suffer wrongfully and not avenge ourselves. It is not our place to punish others when they sin against us. Vengeance belongs to the Lord. He will take care of it.

In Christ,

Andrew