Acts 23:29 Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds.

The chief captain of the guard in Jerusalem is writing to Felix in Caesarea. The captain has just heard that there is a group of 40 men who desire to kill Paul the next day so the captain decides he is going to send Paul to Caesarea with 200 solders, 70 horsemen, and 200 spearmen.

In the captain’s letter to Felix, he states that he sees no charge worthy of death or bonds. However, the captain has not released Paul. If the captain really believed that there were no charges worthy of him holding Paul, why did he not simply let Paul go at night and let Paul fend for himself. The trip from Jerusalem to Caesarea was approximately 75 miles and would probably mean that his soldiers would be out of Jerusalem for over a week.

Paul had just heard from God and had the chief captain let him go, we can assume that Paul would have headed to Rome as quickly as possible. Paul of course would have made stops along the way encouraging the local churches.

Nonetheless, even though the chief captain thought that Paul was innocent, he did not let him go and sent him to Felix where Paul remained in custody for approximately two years. Paul then was placed on a ship which was shipwrecked resulting in Paul being delayed several more months before they were rescued.

God had shown Paul what was next in his life, but Paul had to be patient in waiting for the will of the Lord to be fulfilled. Just because the chief captain thought Paul was innocent, God did not allow the chief captain to let Paul go. Instead, Paul experienced bondage as he waited to see how God would arrange things so that he would end up in Rome.

Have you ever seen someone say one thing and do the exact opposite? I am sure we all have seen someone who was a huge hypocrite. We must understand that God does not make a mistake. God knows what is going on around us and nothing is too hard for God. God used a hypocrite like the chief captain to coordinate his perfect will for the life of Paul and God can use a hypocrite in our life to prepare us for HIS will for our life.

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon tells us that there are seasons in our lives and that there is a time and a purpose for everything. Solomon instructs that there is a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up. Solomon shares with us that there is time to weep and a time to laugh. In this passage, Solomon teaches us that everything that happens to us has a purpose by God and that God will take us through seasons as a part of that purpose. Even the season of love is directed by God according to HIS purpose.

What season of life are you in? Are you in a season of sowing or a season of reaping? Are you in a season of preparing the soil or are you in a season of waiting for winter to be over? God has many seasons in our lives and we need to be wise enough to understand what season we are in.

If God has you in a season of planting, then plant. If God has you in a season of reaping, then reap. If God has you in a season of preparing, then prepare. If God has you in a season of waiting, then patiently wait. If God has you in the season of reaping, do not be caught sitting on the sidelines waiting for Lord to drop the harvest in your life, take action according to the season.

2 Peter 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

Faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity are eight qualities that Peter calls the great and precious promises. These eight qualities are a gift from God to enable you to be partakers of the divine nature. However, these eight gifts are not passive in nature but require that you diligently apply them to your life.

For the last year, you have been studying the third of these eight precious promises, knowledge. The knowledge God desires that you add to your faith and virtue is the knowledge of the ways of God. God desires that you take the time to read, memorize, and meditate upon HIS words so that you understand not only what HE has told you to do, but why you are expected to do it.

Faith requires a personal relationship with God so that you can learn to hear HIS still small voice. Faith and knowledge of the ways of God are very closely connected. Those who exercised great faith understood the power of God and simply put their trust in God and asked HIM to do impossible things through them. Faith is getting out of the way of God and watching HIS power and strength in your life.

Virtue requires you to put on the mind of Christ, by filling your mind with those things that are pleasing to God. The things God desires you to fill your mind with are those things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of a good report. As you fill your mind with the things of God, you will naturally draw closer to God. Because you are fighting the battle of filling your mind with the things that are pleasing to God, you can have great victories over sin.

While one would argue that knowledge of the ways of God is an important aspect of both faith and virtue since how can you have great faith without knowledge and how can you think on the things of God unless you first understand what they are, knowledge is third on this list of precious promises. Remember, your Christian walk starts with faith. Faith requires a blind trust in a God that you will not see with physical eyes. Once you accept Christ as your personal Savior, then there needs to be a transforming of your life that comes by virtue.

You have seen someone who has just recently been saved go out and do great and mighty things for God. However, as they mature in the faith, you see them not being so vigorous for the cause of Christ. The problem is often that as you mature in your walk with the Lord, Satan is able to get you to do less for God because you lose sight of the power of God in your life. You are like Peter who was willing to walk on water but quickly sank when he saw the waves.

Adding knowledge to your faith and virtue is an important step to keeping you in the spiritual battles that God has called you to. As you study the ways of God, you learn what HE can do through you and thus should bolster your faith so that you continue to do great things for HIM. As you study the ways of God, you will further understand the mind of Christ and how God desires you to further renew your mind and transform your life for HIS glory.

Knowledge is only one of eight precious promises. You are to add knowledge of the ways of God to both your faith and virtue. As a Christian, God desires that you continue to grow closer to HIM. God desires that you accept HIS precious promises and apply them to your life. Once you understand knowledge, God desires that you diligently add temperance to your Christian walk.

Matthew 7:28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

Christ has just completed the Sermon on the Mount. In this verse, we are told the response of the people who heard the commands of Christ. We are told that the people were astonished. According to Webster’s 1828 dictionary, astonish means amazed, confounded with fear, surprise, or admiration. The commands of Christ found in the Sermon on the Mount was not what people expected to hear.

In the next verse, we are told that Christ had said these words as one who had authority, and we are also told that he did not speak as the religious leaders of the day. You must understand, the commands of Christ are a radical change from the traditions of their fathers. The Jews have been living their entire life making sure that they were following the traditions and making the right sacrifices at the right time so as to make sure that they pleased God.

All of a sudden, here comes a man speaking with authority telling them that God is more concerned with their heart then HE is with their actions. Their entire focus has been upon what they could do for God so that they can earn HIS good pleasure. Now all of a sudden, here is a man who is telling them that if their heart is not right, God is not pleased with them.

The Sermon on the Mount is really the first major direction from God about how the nation of Israel was to order its life since Moses received the law. While Christ made clear that HE was not here to abolish the law, this new law really was much different from the traditions that the Jews had been following for many years.

The problem with the Jews was not that they were not capable of having a personal relationship with God, the problem was that the Jews were so focused upon the law that they failed to maintain the relationship that God desired to have with HIS people.

David is just one example of an Israelite who had a personal relationship with God. We are told that David had a heart after the heart of God. David understood that HIS relationship with God was the most important thing. Saul on the other hand was focused upon himself and while both David and Saul had sinned, God showed great mercy upon the house of David because of the relationship that David had with God.

The Law of Moses was filled with many things that the Israelites were to do and what they were not to do. Because the nation became so focused upon traditions, they lost sight of God. Christ was concerned about restoring that relationship with God and as such, HE taught us in this passage where the proper focus is to be so that we can live a life pleasing to God.

It is easy to go to church and just do the motions each week. You can wear nice clothing, you can sing the songs, you can close your eyes and hear the prayers, and you can say amen at the appropriate times during the sermon. You can fool a lot of people into believing that you are a good person, but God looks at your heart and your righteousness is as filthy rags.

You must take the time to add knowledge of the ways of God to your life. As you focus your attention upon what God desires you to do, you will learn that God is concerned about your relationship with HIM. Your focus should not be on traditions but on the relationship.

Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

Are you a wise man or are you a fool? In this passage, Christ reveals to us who is wise and who is foolish. The wise man is one who hears the teachings of Jesus and applies them to his life. The foolish man is one who hears what Christ commanded and determines that while they are good suggestions, one is permitted to do what they want when they want.

The thing is, from the outside, both individuals could appear to be serving God. However, when trials come, it will quickly be revealed to all what kind of foundation has been laid. The house that was built upon the sand worked just fine until the storms arose. So too, the man who does that which is right in his own eyes appears to be enjoying life and having no problems.

Every one of us at some time in our life will face some unexpected trial. How we survive that trial will be determined long before we enter the trial. If our life is established upon the laws of God and doing HIS perfect will, then, when a trial arises, we will be in a position that we can remain content regardless what is going on around us.

Do you want to be like Peter or like Judas? Both men followed Jesus and heard HIS commands. Peter was rough around the edges and he sinned by denying Jesus. We really do not know too much about Judas other than at some point, his love of money drove him to betray the one whom he had agreed to follow. Both men came to realize that their actions were wrong; however, there responses were completely different. When Peter realized what he had done, he went out and cried while Judas simply went out and hung himself.

Peter was a wise man, he had seen Christ forgive prostitutes and tax collectors and as such, he was still willing to serve Christ. Judas was foolish and the trial of him realizing that he had betrayed the Son of God caused him to believe that his sin was unforgiveable and as such he took his own life.

A foolish man, once they have started the downward destructive cycle, there is little hope for escape. A wise man will see the storm but because their life is establish firmly on the rock, it does not matter what is going on around them, they know that this world is not their home and that regardless of the storms God is in control.

There is a firm foundation, a rock upon which you can establish your life. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ takes the time to teach us the things that we are supposed to do in order to live a life that is pleasing to God. God is not going to make us obey HIM, however, if we hear the commands of God and willfully chose not to follow them, we are harming ourselves.

Are you a wise man or are you a fool? Have you taken the time to add knowledge of the ways of God to your life? Are you daily studying HIS word to hear what HE has to say and then practically applying these principles to your daily life?

Until you are willing to put God first in your life, your life will be like the house built upon sand. Remember, God created man and put him in a garden where man had daily fellowship with God. Until you learn to restore perfect fellowship with God, you will discover that you are a foolish man and your life will not have the purpose that you desire.

Matthew 7:22-23 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

One of the biggest mistakes most Christians make is that while they admit that they are saved by grace, they still feel that they are judged by God based upon their works. While God will judge you for your actions, more importantly, Christ is showing us in this passage that the most important thing is your relationship with God.

In this passage, Christ reveals to us that we can do all sorts of wonderful things in the name of Christ, but if we do not have that perfect relationship with HIM, our life will be worthless. Christ is revealing to us that it is more important to make sure that your relationship with God is in order than to make sure that everyone looking at you believes that you are a Christian.

When you focus on your relationship with God, as a natural result of that relationship, you will have the power of God in your life and your life will be a testimony to others of what God can do through you. Just because you focus on doing good works for God, it does not mean that you have a relationship.

What is more important to you, that God knows you have a personal relationship with HIM or that the world around you thinks you have a relationship with God?

We often desire the praises of man more than the praises of God. When we focus on the praises of man, it does not matter what we are doing, God is not pleased and we could end up being very shocked when we reach heaven and find out that God does not claim to know us even though we proclaim to know him.

There is a popular story of Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War where some generals were asking whether the Lord was on the side of the Union. Abraham Lincoln wisely remarked that the question was not whether the Lord was with the Union but whether the Union was on the side of God. The words of Lincoln were not original – they were illustrated in this passage by Christ many years before.

Stop worrying about whether the Lord will be with you on a particular endeavor. Instead, you need to take the time to add knowledge of the ways of God for your life. As you study what God will have you to do, you will then understand what you need to do in order to be on the side of the Lord. Your actions should be focused around doing the perfect will of God. How can you do the will of God if you have not taken the time to understand what the will of God is?

When Christ was on this earth, HE did not follow the disciples around, HE commanded the disciples to follow HIM. The disciples did not have to follow Christ, but once they committed to following HIM, than they must follow through good or evil.

You did not have to become a Christian and follow Christ. Of your own free will you had the option to follow Christ. However, once you relinquished control over your life, you cannot afford to dictate to God how you are going to live your life. Instead, you must focus your attention upon hearing the words of God and living your life so that HE might be glorified through you. Your relationship with God is the most important thing.

Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

In this passage, Christ commands us to beware of false prophets. In the next verse, we are told how we are to recognize a sheep from a wolf. Christ tells us that we will know them by their fruits. If we look at the fruits of a man, we should easily discern whether they are dedicating their life to the Lord or whether they are dedicating their life unto themselves.

There are people all around you who may have smooth words, but the doctrine of their mouth will lead to destruction. If you are focused upon the words of an individual, you could easily be led astray. In this passage, Christ is showing us the importance of being vigilant and making sure that we stay on the narrow path.

Your talk talks and your walk talks, but your walk talks louder than your talk talks.

Put another way, you can tell more about a man by the fruit of his life than you can about the words that he speaks. Remember that our adversary the devil is a liar. Satan loves to use lies to deceive you into wondering off of the narrow path that God has for you. These false prophets that you face are simply tools of Satan to cause you to doubt the ways of God and once you start doubting, you become an easier pray.

When Eve was in the Garden, Satan came to her in the image of a serpent. Satan was like a wolf, seeking ways that he could destroy man and the perfect relationship that man had with God. Eve focused upon the words of Satan and quickly found herself doubting God. Because of her doubt, she sinned and quickly found herself full of guilt and shame and she eventually lost her ability to live in the garden.

We understand by scripture that Satan had been kicked out of heaven. If Eve had started to study the walk of the serpent, God would have revealed to her the fruit of the serpent and enlightened her on how she should not follow the serpent to her own destruction. Remember, Eve had a perfect relationship with God, all she had to do was ask God and God could have revealed to her the trap that she was about to walk into.

Nonetheless, Eve liked what she heard and as a result, she walked into a trap of Satan and was destroyed. Eve was destroyed because she took her eyes off of God and put them upon herself. She did not choose to examine the history of the serpent and instead took for granted the words that he spoke. Eve lost more than you and I will ever have because she failed to be careful about the smooth words of the deceiver.

All around you there are scorners and scoffers of the perfect way of God. God has a perfect plan for your life, but you are the one who must be careful that you are not deceived by those who appear to be serving God but in reality are serving Satan. These individuals would take great offense that they are not serving God, but the fruits of their life should reveal the truth.

You shall know them by their fruits. If you are going to walk the narrow path of the ways of God, you must be vigilant to ensure that you are not deceived by the false prophets. You must take the time to add knowledge of the ways of God. You must take the time to talk to God in prayer and ask HIM to reveal to you the fruit of those whom are instructing you.

Matthew 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

During HIS life, Christ taught us that HE is the way, the truth, and the life and that no one comes unto God except through HIM. In this passage, Christ commands us to enter in at the narrow gate. Christ is referring here to the fact that there is only one way to God and that is through HIM. The world is full of false religions that try to create alternate ways to get to God. However, while these other religions give a wonderful false sense of security; if you do not do the way God told you to do it, you are in danger of the judgment.

In the next verse, Christ reveals to us that not only is the gate narrow, but so is the path to life. Christ is showing us that HE not only set up a narrow gate by which all must enter, but then, that individual must stay on the narrow path if they wish to have life. HThis means, it is not only important to become a Christian, but it is also equally important to stay on the narrow path during your Christian walk.

We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. This means that we are not perfect and we will make mistakes while we are on the path. In the book Pilgrims Progress, Christian decided to get off the narrow path and to walk on a nearby path that appeared to be going the same direction. However, the nearby path led to Doubter’s castle. This mistake almost cost Christian his life but he repented and returned to the path and allowed his life to be a warning to others to not make the same mistake that he made.

When we wonder off the narrow path, we need to seek the forgiveness of God and return to the path that HE has placed us upon. Because the path is narrow, it takes knowledge of the ways of God in order to not be led astray. Too many Christians simply did not take the time to understand how God desires them to live their lives. They became a Christian as a way to prevent them from going to hell.

However, ignorance of the laws of God is no excuse when you at the judgment seat of God. God has given you the ability to understand the way that HE has for you. If you refuse to take the time to understand exactly what HE has for you, then you are the one who is jeopardizing your own soul.

You need to take the time to add knowledge of the ways of God. If you were walking a narrow trail high above some rocky cannon, you would be very careful to ensure that you did not make a mistake and that you remained upon the path because any false set could be catastrophic. The same is true for our Christian life. We need to be just as cautious in our own life as we walk on the narrow path that God has for us. We need to carefully examine our walk to ensure that we are staying on the narrow path that God has for us. We need to take the time to study the ways of God so that we do not wonder from HIS perfect will.

The reasoning of man can very quickly lead you off of the narrow path. Instead of relying upon your own reasoning and your own strength, you must daily seek God and learn what HE would have you to do. As you focus your attention upon doing the right thing, God will be able to bless you and allow you to bear much fruit. However, as long as you insist on obeying God your own way, you will not be on the narrow path and you will face the wrath of God on judgment day.

Matthew 7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

In the previous verses, Jesus tells us that if our son asks for bread, we would not give him a stone, or if he asks for a fish we would not give him a snake. Jesus then analogizes this principle to us asking God for good things. We are sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God. However, even though we are sinners, we do not go out and cause harm to those who we love.

God is perfect, HE has no sin. In God there is no evil. If we who are evil know how to take care of those whom we love, how much more does God know how to take care of us whom HE loves?

This passage really reveals to us our own misunderstandings about who we are and who God is. In our own minds, we may acknowledge that we are not perfect, but we do not see ourselves as evil. Calling ourselves evil is not the first thing that comes to our mind. However, all of our good works are as filthy rags. Apart from God we are nothing.

The second thing that this passage reveals to us is that God is good. Because of our own sinful nature, sin has clouded our perspective of who God really is. Because God does not answer our prayers right away or because HE allows some tragic event to occur in our life, we often fail to see just how much God loves us.

God is good. God loves us so much that HE sent HIS only Son to die for us so that we might have renewed fellowship with HIM again. However, this is not the only good thing that HE has done for you. God desires that you learn how to communicate with HIM. Just as a son has fellowship with his father, so God desires that you have fellowship with HIM.

God is not going to give you everything you wish. Your earthly father did not spoil you by giving you what you wanted when you wanted it, so why should you expect God to do the same? Your earthly father loved you so much that at times, he did not intervene on your behalf but instead he would let you try something on your own knowing that you would not succeed. He did this knowing that once you failed, you would turn to him and that you would be ready to listen to his advice.

God could intervene in our life more than HE does. However, it is because of HIS love for us that HE allows us to face the consequences of our actions. God does not leave us or forsakes us; we are the ones who leave HIM and forsake HIM.

It is time for you to learn who God is. It is time for you to understand what it means to have a personal relationship with your Father in Heaven. You must take the time to add knowledge of the ways of God. You need to stop blaming God for all your problems. Learn to develop a relationship with God and this relationship will last you for many years to come.

God has many good things in store for you. God is willing to direct you, protect you, and provide for you – why do you fail to ask HIM? God desires to bless you and give you the peace that passeth all understanding – why do you fail to ask HIM? God desires to have a personal relationship with you – why do you fail to ask HIM? We serve a loving God; you need to understand that. You need to take the time to understand who God is.

Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

How many good things of God do you not have because you have failed to even ask God to give them to you? You ask not because you are afraid of what God might do. You fear that if you ask God for direction, that HE might send you to some third world country to live the rest of your life. As such, you would rather just not know the will of God since you believe it would be better to not know the will of God then to know it and disobey it.

There is a difference between asking, seeking, and knocking. If you were to walk into a business and ask them for a job, that would be completely different than doing research on a company to determine who was hiring and which company might have a need for your services. The difference between asking and knocking reveals a difference in intensity. When you are knocking, it demonstrates a diligence and perseverance. An individual who is knocking will not quickly give up.

God desires that we learn to ask, seek, and knock to discover a knowledge of the ways of God. We must be willing to take the time to not only ask God to reveal HIMSELF to us, but that we must be willing to set aside the time necessary to hear from God. We must be diligent and insist that we are not going to stop pursuing God until HE gives us that which HE has promised us.

We need to be like the woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years. She fought through the crowd knowing that if she only touched Jesus, then she would be healed. It was her faith and perseverance that healed her.

We need to be like the Gentile woman who insisted that Jesus heal her daughter. Jesus told the woman that HE was called to the nation of Israel. This woman did not leave but insisted that even if she was a dog, the dogs were entitled to crumbs. Jesus tells us about two individuals who had great faith and this woman was one of them.

When was the last time you set aside time to get alone with God? When was the last time you told God that you were going to abstain from eating until God revealed HIMSELF to you? When was the last time you put your focus fully on God and sought to grow in your relationship with HIM?

You must understand that it is not God who draws away from us, it is us who draws away from HIM. God desires to do great things through us, but too often, we fail to ask, seek, and knock because we are comfortable where we are at today.

It is time for you to put the things of God first in your life. It is time for you to start growing in your relationship with God. How can you live a life of contentment if you do not understand what God desires you to do next?

God desires to make the paths of your life clear. God does lead you through some difficult times but you can be assured that no matter how great your trial, God is ready and able to guide you every step of the way. God is waiting for you to just ask HIM. HE promises that if you ask, you will receive, if you seek you will find, and if you knock it will be opened unto you. What have you to fear?

Matthew 7:6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

There are those who you will come in contact with who do not appreciate the ways of God. In this verse, Christ commands you to be discerning, to understand the type of person that you are in contact with and not to play a fool. If you are dealing with an individual who scorns the ways of God, then do not waste your time trying to teach them the ways of God; these individuals will simply dismiss your words and they will then turn on you and cause you much harm.

This verse does not mean that you are allowed to burry your head in the sand and never confront someone who does not believe as you believe. Elijah knew that Ahab and Jezebel hated him. However, that did not stop him from appearing before Ahab and proclaiming the words of God.

Paul knew that the religious leaders in Jerusalem did not appreciate that he was called by God to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. Nonetheless, Paul was willing to die in Jerusalem to share with the religious leaders his testimony of how God used him to preach to those who the Jews considered unclean.

During the ministry of Jesus, one of the religious leaders had a daughter who was sick and he came to Jesus and requested Jesus to heal his daughter. As Jesus was on his way, a servant came and informed the religious leader that his daughter had died. Jesus did not stop but went to the house and proclaimed that the daughter was only sleeping. Those who were around mourning the death of this young girl laughed and because of their laughter, Jesus only took three of his disciples and the parents to see the miracle from God.

That day, Jesus demonstrated great power in raising the dead damsel. Nonetheless, because of the scorning from the crowd, Jesus commanded the family that they were not to speak of the miracle that they had seen. Imagine being that family who just saw God work a mighty miracle in their life and being told that you were not allowed to share the truth with anyone. What had happened to the family was a pearl of God, but if they were to share it, no one would believe them and they would be ridiculed.

It takes great discernment to determine whether you are being bold for the cause of Christ or whether you are casting your pearls before swine. The only way you are going to obtain the discernment necessary to obey the commands of Christ will be to spend much time adding knowledge of the ways of God so that you can hear HIS still small voice.

There are several times throughout the life of Christ that HE instructed someone not to share what had happened. In the same way that Christ shared with those around HIM what was to be repeated and what was to be kept in, so also, God through the Holy Spirit can reveal to you when you are to speak with boldness and when you need to shut up and just enjoy the presence of God.

How can you expect to hear the voice of God when you are crowding your mind with the things of this world? There are many difficult decisions that you must make during your life and as such, you need to be able to hear the still small voice of God. You have a duty to God to obey HIS commands and to teach others to do the same; how can you obey God when you do not even understand what HE is telling you to do? Take the time to add knowledge of the ways of God so that the still small voice of God will be clearly understood.

Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

The more you study the commands of Christ, the more you realize what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. In this verse Christ commands us to not judge. Christ goes on to explain that we have an obligation to first judge our own life and to ensure that we are living a life that is pleasing unto the Lord.

This principle is best demonstrated by Jesus when the religious leaders brought a woman caught in adultery. Jesus told the religious leaders that the one who was without sin should throw the first stone. We do not know what Jesus was writing when he stooped down and wrote in the sand, but we do know that whatever he wrote, it caused all the religious leaders to leave and not judge the woman caught in adultery.

It is pretty easy for you to judge others. Judging others comes in so many forms. When you discover that someone has sinned, how do you handle them? When someone who is poor asks you for money, how do you treat them?

We all have violated the commands of Christ as set forth in this verse. We must remember that it is God in heaven who is the ultimate Judge. Christ demonstrated great mercy while he was here on this earth and we should be following HIS example. This does not mean that we are allowed to condone sin.

When Christ died on the cross, we see that HE was placed between two sinners. One of the sinners confessed who Christ was while the other was too proud to acknowledge that he was a sinner worthy of death and that Christ was pure and holy. As we study the life of Christ, we see that HE is willing to save whosoever will call on HIS name.

Have you ever met an individual who if you tell them they cannot do something, they do it anyway to prove to you that they can. When you are judgmental, you may actually be encouraging someone to continue to live in sin because they want to prove to you that they can continue to live the way that they do.

If you desire to obey God and be a soul winner and bring others to HIM, then you must start following the commands of Christ. How can you live the commands of Christ if you do not take the time to study how Christ expects you to live? It is your knowledge of the ways of God that will enable you to live a life that causes the world to desire what you have.

Rather than judge your neighbor, you need to show love to those who God brings into your life. This means that you must love the sinner but still hate the sin. This is not an easy command of Christ but it is one that we must master if we desire to be used of God. Rather than focus upon the faults of others, we must always be looking at our own life and find the ways that God desires that we change and grow closer to HIM.

How many marriages would be different if the couples would just apply the principles found in this passage? Imagine what would happen if the husband was more concerned about finding and correcting his own problems then he was about finding problems with his wife. Imagine if the wife were to do the same. If you had a couple more concerned with their own faults then they were with the faults of their spouse, then love could really flourish in that home.

Matthew 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Do you realize how much time you spend thinking about things that you cannot change? How much time do you spend worrying about what might happen? Christ is teaching us in this passage that we are not to have our focus upon tomorrow. If you are constantly worried about tomorrow and what tomorrow will bring, you will miss the blessings that God has for you today. When you are focused on today, you can praise God for all the things that HE brings your way.

Moses was a man who was called by God to lead the nation of Israel out of Egypt. Moses had a weakness in his communication skills. Moses was so concerned about what others might say about him and his communication skills that he did not trust God to help him. Instead, Moses insisted that God give him Aaron to be his spokesman. Moses insisted upon the help of a man who had not been called by God and thus when Moses was up on the mountain receiving the law, we see Aaron leading the nation in the worship of a false God.

There is nothing too great for God. It does not matter what your need is, God is sufficient to take care of you. If you are focused upon your weakness, you are opening the door to fail. However, when you focus upon God and what HE can do for you today, you will find great strength.

How was it that Moses was able to part the Red Sea? Moses did not have some great talent to part water. Instead, Moses was faced with a problem; the Egyptian army was about to kill or capture the entire nation of Israel. Moses was not worried about what the people were going to eat tomorrow let alone next week. Moses was not worried about what path the Lord might take them on tomorrow. Instead, Moses was focused upon how God was going to use him today to deliver the nation for the hands of their enemy.

It is too easy to focus on the problems of tomorrow. God is able to direct you, protect you, and provide for your every need. If you are focused upon that which is out of your control, then you will not be looking to God and how HE might take care of your need. In order to change your focus, you need to stop relying upon your own strength and start relying upon God and what HE can do for you.

You must take the time to fill your mind with the things of God. The more time you spend adding knowledge of the things of God, the easier it will be for you to not yield to the temptations of the wicked to worry about things that are out of your control.

When David killed Goliath, he was not focused upon the height of the giant. David was reliant upon God and he knew that God would deliver Goliath into his hands. Saul was on the same battlefield as David, yet Saul saw the height of the giant and he did not trust God to deliver Goliath into his hands. Saul may have been the tallest man in Israel, but because he lost focus of how strong God was, he saw David receive the praises of the nation for killing Goliath.

Christ commanded us to not worry about the things of tomorrow. If your focus turns off of God and onto yourself, you will quickly see how weak you are and how quick you are to yield to temptation. However, if you follow the commands of Christ and focus your attention upon the things of God, you will soon realize just how strong God is and how HE can deliver you from all of your problems.

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

In this passage, Christ teaches us how to handle worry. Over the previous verses, Christ told us not to worry about our daily needs because God would take care of us. Christ has told us what not to do; now HE shows us what we are supposed to do. Instead of filling our mind with worry and concern about what might happen, Christ tells us to fill our mind with the things of God and seeking first HIS kingdom.

How can you seek first the kingdom of God if you are worrying about things that God never intended for you to worry about? If you are filling your mind with things that should not concern you, then you do not have the ability to think about those things that God desires you to fill your mind with. God should be first in your life, you cannot afford to be double minded; you cannot afford to be filling your mind with things that God never desired you to be concerned with.

When God created this world, HE put Adam and Eve into a perfect garden. Adam and Eve did not have to worry about food, they did not have to worry about shelter, and they did not have to worry about clothing. God met their every need and they had perfect fellowship with God.

Man sinned when he turned his focus off of God and started thinking about how God might be depriving him of something special. Because man had started thinking about things that he should not fill his mind with, he set himself up to sin and destroy the perfect environment that he found himself in. Because of the mindset of Adam and Eve, they failed to seek first the kingdom of God and they lost out on the rewards that God had for them.

You are a child of God. While God has not put you in the Garden as HE did Adam and Eve, God has promised to take care of your daily needs. If you allow your focus to become distracted from pursuing the things of God, you are the one who loses out. Because your mind started focusing upon the things of this world, you set yourself up to be tempted by Satan in a way that you might yield.

The battle over sin begins in your mind. If you allow yourself to start becoming concerned over things that you cannot control, you will start to worry and set yourself up for failure. However, if you remain strong and follow the commands of Christ, you will limit your ability to yield to temptation because your focus is centered upon God.

We need to be like Job who although many terrible things were going on around him, he did not allow his focus to turn to the things of this world. Job was resolute to acknowledge God in all of his ways. Job refused to worry about all the things that were going on around him and instead he was focused upon sharing with his friends the truths of who God was. It was because of the faithfulness of Job to keep control over his mind that we see the Lord was faithful and lifted Job out of his troubles and restored him once again.

Seek ye first the kingdom of God. This means that the things of God should have a priority in your life. You must focus upon the things of God. You must take the time to add knowledge of the ways of God. As you keep God as a center of your focus, you set yourself up to see just how God can use you to do great things. If you allow worry to control your mind, then you will never be able to obey God and seek first the kingdom of God.

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?

What is the most pressing thing in your mind? If I could all of a sudden hear your prayers, what is the prayer request that I would hear most often? Is God glorified by your most frequent request or does your most frequent request demonstrate your lack of understanding in the ways of God?

Too often, our prayer life is filled with requests for our own pleasure. We ask God for blessings that we can consume upon ourselves. In this passage, we hear Christ commanding us that we are to take no thought for our life. Our basic needs should not be our center focus.

When the nation of Israel was wondering in the wilderness, we see how God took care of their basic needs. Daily God provided their daily bread. Over the forty years, their shoes did not wear out. The nation of Israel wondering in the wilderness is an excellent example of how God can take care of those who follow HIM.

When you put your trust in the Lord, HE will take care of your needs. HE will protect you, HE will provide for you, and HE will direct you. When your heart is not focused upon HIM and you feel that you must take care of yourself, your lack of faith will hinder a closer walk with God.

God desires that you start trusting HIM for your daily needs. Do not focus on the things that you need, instead, learn to start focusing upon HIM and learning to hear HIS still small voice. When you take the time to fill your day with praise for the good things that HE has done and then take the time to hear HIS direction for your life, then you can have the faith necessary to trust God for your needs.

What is your most pressing need at this time? It does not matter how big or how small your need, do you believe that God knows your need? Do you believe that God is able to provide for your need? Rather than spend your time worrying about how God is going to answer your prayers, you need to learn to cast your cares upon HIM. Change your mindset and start praising HIM for the good things that HE has already done for you. Start examining your life to understand what HIS will is for your life.

If you are focused upon your needs, you will not be able to focus upon God and HIS still small voice. However, if you are focused upon God and praising HIM for providing for your daily needs, your focus is changed and God can provide for your daily needs without you spending hours of your time worrying how God is going to provide for you.

The Bible is full of promises of God on how HE will take care of you. You have a choice, either you are going to believe God or you are going to rely upon your own strength in praying for your needs. When you trust in HIM, that is when you obtain the peace that passeth all understanding.

You must take the time to add knowledge of the ways of God. The more time you spend understanding who God is and what HE expects of you, the easier it will be for you to cast all your cares upon HIM and learn to fully trust in HIM. How can you trust a God that you do not take the time to understand HIS purpose for your life? If you are going to obey Christ and do what HE says, then you must first understand HIS commandments and apply them to your life.

Matthew 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

What is the most important thing to you? Where is your heart? Are you more concerned about your house here on earth than you are about your mansion in heaven? Are you more concerned about your bank account on earth than you are about the crowns that you will be able to throw at the feet of Jesus? Are you more concerned about your reputation with friends than you are about the souls of the lost?

In this passage, Christ commands us to lay up treasures in heaven. This means that the things of God must have preeminence in our life. The things of this world will eventually be destroyed. You can spend a life amassing great wealth, but the day you die, it does you no good. You can spend your life bringing many to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and upon your death, those individuals can still be winning more souls for the kingdom of God.

What is important to the world is not necessarily what is important to God. If your measure of what is important comes from what you see others deem important, you will not be pursuing the things of God. However, if you add knowledge of the ways of God and spend your time pursuing the things of God, then you will have your heart in the right place and God can richly reward you.

The Sermon on the Mount details the things that God desires you to focus your attention upon. If you spend your time pursuing the things of the world, you will not have the time to pursue the things of God. You cannot serve both God and this world, either you serve God or you serve yourself and the things of this world.

Christ commands us that we are to love the Lord with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourselves. As you study the commands of Christ, HE reveals to you just what it means to love the Lord with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself. Christ shows you that it is your heart that is the most important thing; if your heart is not right towards God, how can you say that you love HIM.

In Acts five, we read the story of Ananias and Sapphira. This couple owned a piece of property that they decided to sell. Ananias and Sapphira had seen how many other Christians had sold a piece of property and given the entire proceeds of the property to the church. Ananias and Sapphira decided that they were going to keep back a portion of the proceeds but that they were going to tell everyone that they had sold the property for the amount of the gift.

Ananias and Sapphira did not have their heart set upon the things of God. They desired to do a good thing for God and they wanted to make sure that they received the praises of men. However, they were not fully ready to trust completely in HIM and as such, they held back a portion because they trusted in their own strength more than they trusted in the power of God.

Ananias and Sapphira did not have their heart in the right place and it cost them their lives. Christ has shown us how God expects us to live. If we keep our focus upon the things of this world, then God can bless us and use us. However, when our focus is upon our own strength, God is not with us and our faith will be weak. Do not allow the things of this world to come between you and God. Focus your attention upon God and you will have true life.

Matthew 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

In this passage we receive two commandments from Christ that are designed to assist us in our daily walk with God. The first commandment deals with fasting. God expects fasting to be a part of your Christian life.

As you study scripture, you read about many godly men and women who abstained from food and saw God work in their lives. We understand that while Moses was up on the mountain receiving the law of God that he fasted for 40 days. It was during this time on the mountain that God permitted Moses to see the backside of God. Moses’ relationship with God grew because of the time HE spent fasting alone with God.

Elijah was also a man who fasted for forty days. Elijah had just seen God use him greatly in that he prayed and he saw fire come down from heaven and he prayed and he saw rain come from a small cloud. However, Elijah now lacked direction for his life so God had him fast and it was at the end of this prolonged fast that God revealed himself to Elijah and gave him a new direction for his life.

Esther is another individual who fasted and saw God work mightily as a result. Esther had been informed that the Jews were going to be destroyed. She was instructed that she needed to intercede on behalf of the Jews. However, before Esther went before the king that could take her life, Esther and many of the Jews fasted for three days. God protected Esther and by the courage of Esther, the Jews were preserved.

If you desire the power of God in your life, then you need to obey the commands of Christ and implement fasting into your life. However, in addition to fasting, Christ commands you in how you are to fast. Not only are you to obey, but God looks at your heart to ensure that you are fasting for the right reasons.

In this passage we learn that we are to fast in such a way that others do not necessarily know that we are fasting. The religious leaders used to fast but because they desired the praises of men, they made sure that others knew how miserable they were. God does not honor those who obey HIM for the purposes of obtaining the praises of men. God looks at your heart and HE expects you to obey HIM because of your love for HIM.

When you take time to add knowledge of the ways of God, then you understand not only what God expects you to do, but also what attitudes HE desires you to have. Fasting is just one of the things God expects of you as a Christian. However, if you desire the full blessings of God, you also understand that God looks at your heart and expects you to have a right relationship towards HIM.

Just as a parent knows when their child is obeying them for the wrong reasons, so also does God know your heart and why you do things. We are commanded that we are to love the Lord with all our heart. How can you love the Lord with all your heart if the reason why you are obeying HIM is because you desire the praises of man? Take the time to daily check your life to ensure that your heart is right before God; ensure that you are obeying HIM for the right reasons.

Matthew 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

With these words, Christ reveals to us the essential elements that need to be in our prayers. Christ had just admonished us that we are not to pray with vain repetition. This means that God does not want us reciting this prayer word for word for the simple fact that we have memorized the words. Christ is not teaching us words that we must memorize, Christ instead is showing us the elements that need to be in our prayers so that we know what God expects to hear when we pray.

The first element of prayer is praise. God loves to hear the praises of man. God created us in HIS own image. Just as you like to hear the praises of your fellow man when you do something good, so also, God desires to hear your praises for the good things that HE has done in your life.

The second element of prayer deals with the will of God. Our prayer every day should be that we are faithful in fulfilling the will of God for our life. By daily praying that the will of God will be done, this will cause you to seek the will of God and then give you the guidance that you need in how to direct your paths.

The third element of prayer deals with asking God to provide for our needs. Too often, we spend a large portion of our prayer time asking God to give us the things that we need. However, in this passage, Christ is making clear that our heart is not ready to ask God to provide our needs until we have first praised HIM for the things that HE has already done and we are seeking HIS will for our life. We really cannot know our needs until we first understand what HIS will is for our life.

The fourth element of prayer requires us to confess our sins. While you may not be a sinner who commits number every day. However, Christ told us that if we break the least of the commandments, we are guilty of breaking the entire law. If you understand the ways of God, you understand that even the smallest sin of a lack of faith makes you a lawbreaker in the eyes of God. Every sin comes between you and God creates a wall between you and God. Confession is necessary to remove that wall that is hindering your relationship with God.

The fifth element of prayer causes us to ask God for the strength to avoid temptation. When you became a Christian, you entered the army of God and Satan is constantly in a battle with you to cause you to sin and fall short of the glory of God. Rather than just react to results of your sin by confessing them after you commit them, Christ is warning us that we also need to spend the time praying for the strength to avoid the temptation to begin with.

The final element of prayer returns to praise. God desires that you understand the importance of praise. It is God who gives you life. It is God who directs, protects, and provides for you. It is important that you understand who God is and that you take the time to recognize God for HIS influence in your life.

Take the time to add knowledge of the ways of God to your life. When you study the commands of Christ, you understand what God expects you to do and you fill your arsenal with tools that are necessary to have a fruitful and effective Christian life.

Matthew 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

What kind of conversation would it be if every twenty seconds, the person told you that they needed your help, that they really, really, really needed your help? How quick would you want to get away from the conversation when your friend could not think of one good thing to say?

This is how we often treat God. Our prayer life is filled with our laundry lists of things that God can do for us. We are not concerned about what we can do for God or what the will of God is for our life. Instead, we treat God like a Santa Clause and we continue to repeat the exact same prayer until God gives us what we want.

What kind of conversation would it be with your spouse if all you said was I love you. While those are very important words, if that is all you said, the relationship would grow real stagnate real quick.

Too often, Christians do the exact same thing in their prayer life. They have developed a canned prayer that is simply recited by rope memory. They think that God is pleased with the fact that they are praying and as such, that is all that there is to their prayer life.

While the Lord’s prayer contains some very important doctrine that should be contained in our prayers, we should not be constantly reciting these words thinking that these words in and of themselves are some magical formula that all of a sudden connects us with God. In this passage, we are warned against vain repetition. In the same manner that we do not want others communicating to us vain repetitions of preprinted words devised by someone else, so likewise, God does not want to see us doing the same thing with HIM.

If you want to mature in your Christian life, then you need to take the time to start developing a personal relationship with God. You do not create a personal relationship with God if your prayer life treats God as too whom it may concern. You must change your attitude about who God is. If you understand that God created Adam and Eve to have daily personal fellowship with HIM, and you start allowing your prayer life to follow that mold, then maybe you will start seeing some power in your prayer life.

God is not an idol made from the hands. God is the one who made you in HIS own image. An idol may have ears but it cannot hear. An idol does not care what you say to it because the idol is not going to understand you anyways. In the same way that you can hear the conversations of others, so God can hear when you speak to HIM. God can hear you, but are you treating God like a baby, like a young child, or like your Creator God who desires daily fellowship with you.

It is time that you start maturing in your relationship with God. It starts with your understanding of who God is. Until you take the time to add knowledge of the ways of God, you will not understand who God is and how you are to communicate with HIM.

Do not waste your time talking to God as if HE was a baby who does not understand you. Instead, start having a meaningful conversation with God where you praise HIM for the good things that HE has done in your life. Learn to start hearing HIS still small voice so that you know what HE desires you to do. Start treating God as God and your relationship with HIM will grow.

Matthew 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

Jesus is not telling us that we are not to pray publically. Jesus is addressing the problem of people who were praying for the purpose of obtaining public approval. The purpose of your prayer cannot be to obtain the praises of men. If you are praying so that others can see how righteous you are, God will see your heart and the praises of men will be all that you receive.

Prayer is how we communicate with God. It is through prayer that we are able to praise God for what HE has done in our life. It is through prayer that we are able to ask HIM to reveal HIS perfect will. It is through prayer that we are able to seek forgiveness. It is through prayer that we are able to pray for strength to avoid temptation. It is through prayer that we are able to ask God to provide for our daily needs.

When you pray, if you are praying for any other purpose other than communicating with God, God will see your heart and HE will know. God desires that prayer be used to communicate with HIM, not as a tool for you to show the world just how spiritual you are.

Jesus was condemning the practice of the religious leaders who would pray so that men would hear them and know just how spiritual these men are. This is not a practice that was only done during the time of Christ; you do not have to look very far to see people praying in public for the accolades of men.

When was the last time you were asked to pray in public? How did you pray? Did you pray from your heart to God, or where you more concerned about what others thought that you prayed a long prayer so that others thought you were more spiritual? God is concerned about your heart. If your heart is not right, then it pollutes your prayer. If the pride of your heart desires the praises of men, then do not expect to hear from God and to have a deeper relationship with God.

Pride is a dangerous sin as a Christian. It is pride that destroyed the Garden of Eden. One of the purposes of prayer is to ask God to keep us from temptation. Every day, you should be asking God to keep you from the temptation of pride. If you understand the importance of keeping your heart pure before God, God can then use your prayers to touch the lives of others and to convict them of their need to have a personal relationship with God.

When people hear your prayers, they should not be thinking about what a great Christian you are. When people hear your prayers, they should understand that you have a personal relationship with God and that you are a prayer warrior who knows how to talk with God. Your prayers should draw others attention to God and not to yourself. This can only happen if your heart is right before God. If the sin of pride is in your heart, then Satan will exploit your sin in an attempt to cause your listener to think more about you then about God.

You must take the time to ensure that your heart is right before God. The washing of water by the word of God is the best way to purify your heart to ensure that you are praying for the right reasons. To wash your heart with the word means that you must take the time to daily read the Bible and to add knowledge of the ways of God to your life. God sees your heart so it is important that you have a right heart when you pray.

Matthew 6:2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.

This verse has two different commandments by Christ for you to live by. The first command is that you are to give to the poor, and the second command is that when you give, you are to give in such a way that others give you praise for your actions.

Hardly a day goes by that you cannot look in the news and see some rich individual giving some large gift to a group who takes care of the needs of others. This individual is receiving the praises of men by all the publicity that they are receiving. While it is a nice thing to give to the needs of others, God does not want you to give so that you receive the praise.

You must remember the reasons why you are supposed to give to the needs of others. One reason is because you are obeying God. God desires that you take care of the needs of others as a reminder to you of all the good things that HE has done for you. HE desires that you remember that HE is the giver of all good things and that as you are generous and take care of the needs of others; HE will be able to bless you in ways that you never imagined.

If you are obeying God for the wrong reasons, God no longer has a desire to bless you. Scripture is full of examples of individuals who did the right thing for the wrong reasons and did not receive the full blessings of God. Christ is making sure that our attitudes are right towards God and that we understand that we not only do the right thing, but that we do it for the right reasons.

During the life of Jesus, we learn about the widow and her two mites. This widow quietly gave all that she had and Christ proclaimed that she gave more than all the rich individuals who proudly proclaimed the size of their gifts. We do not know exactly how this widow was blessed for her proper gift, but we do know that while man did not recognize her for her sacrifice, God did, and that is the most important thing.

Most people falsely believe that as long as they do the right thing, God will be happy and God will reward them. However, it is very clear by the study of the words of Christ in the Sermon on the Mount that God is not only concerned about your actions, but that HE is even more concerned with your heart. God desires that you not only do the right thing but that you do it for the right reasons.

God is concerned about your heart. God desires that you give, but if you desire to receive HIS recognition, then HE expects you to not only do as HE says, but to do it in such a way that HE receives the glory. It is our pride that causes us to desire to obtain for ourselves recognition for the things that we do. However, God resists the proud and gives grace unto the humble. Until you are able to get yourself out of the way of God and allowing HIM to work through you, you will never fully experience all that HE can do through you.

You must take the time to add knowledge of the ways of God to your life. When you understand the ways of God, then you understand the importance of having a pure heart, a heart that is concerned for pleasing God. If the things of this world are more important to you than the things of God, you have your priorities wrong and you will not be able to enjoy the full blessings that God has for you.

Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Yes you read that right. Christ is commanding you to live a perfect life. Christ is our example and we are commanded to follow HIS example. By your own strength, you cannot live a perfect life, but by the strength of God residing in you, you can do the impossible.

There is a second place in the gospels where Christ told someone to live a perfect life. It is the story of the rich young ruler. The rich young ruler had obeyed the commandments from his youth, but there was one thing Christ told him to do in order to be perfect. Christ told the rich young ruler to sell all that he had and give it to the poor.

We are told in the book of Job that Job was a perfect man. This does not mean that Job was without sin because we know that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Job was a wise man in that he daily interceded for his children. Job had a great comprehension of who God was in that he understood that he was naked when he came into the world and that he could not take anything with him in death. However, even though we know that God called Job perfect, how do we live a perfect life?

Paul teaches us in Romans 12:2 that we are not to be conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. If you desire to obey Christ and live a perfect life, then it starts by understanding the perfect will of God.

The perfect will of God is that you do not be conformed to this world but that you instead be transformed by the things of God. When you allow God to transform your mind, you are opening up your life so that you are no longer in control but that God through you is glorified.

The word transformed used in this verse is the same as the word transfigured used when Jesus went up on the mountain and was transfigured. When Jesus was transfigured, HIS garments shined with the light of God. When the disciples saw Jesus, they were not seeing the same Jesus that they had seen just a few minutes before.

Just as Jesus was transformed, so too must we be transformed. We cannot afford to live our lives the way that the world lives their lives. We must learn to put aside the things of this world so that the world has no control over our lives. As we fill our mind with the things of God, the light of God will be able to shine through us and thus when the world looks at us, they will see God.

You cannot live a perfect life if you do not rid yourself of the influences of this world. You love to do the things of the world, but until you fully give your life to serving God, you cannot live the perfect life that God commands you to life. To live a perfect life, you must transform your mind so that you are filling it with the words of God. Until the words of God fill your mind, the influences of this world will be too strong for you.

Take time to add knowledge of the ways of God to your life. The more time you spend meditating and memorizing the words of God, the easier it will be for you to take on the mind of Christ. As you allow the words of Christ to fill your life, you are positioning yourself so that you can overcome the wicked one. Overcoming the wicked one is what is required of you if you are going to obey God and live a perfect life.

Matthew 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

How come so many Christians have this false belief that just because they are Christians, they are entitled prosperity here on this earth? This is not a principle taught by Christ. In this passage, we see just the opposite. We see that God does not withhold the sun from the evil just because they are evil. Furthermore, in an agricultural community, rain is necessary for crops. However, God does not without the rain just because someone is unjust or give rain just because you are just.

You are not entitled to great riches and prosperity just because you do that which is right in the eyes of God. Joshua and Caleb were just men who desired to serve God. However, they were forced to wonder in the wilderness for forty years with an entire nation that could not trust God.

Meanwhile, the rest of the nation of Israel lacked faith, but still they saw God provide their daily food for them. They may not have acted like the children of God, but for forty years, their shoes did not wear out.

During the life of Elijah, we see God withholding rain from the nation of Israel for over three years. This was a punishment to Ahab for his wickedness. However, it was not just the wicked king Ahab who suffered; Elijah also suffered during the drought as did 7,000 men who never bowed a knee to Baal.

God collectively punished the nation of Israel for their sins. So likewise, we live in a day that man does that which is right in their own eyes. You should not think that God is going to allow you to prosper while HE causes all those around you to be punished for their wickedness. God will be looking out for HIS children, but it does not mean that you will avoid suffering. God took care of Joshua and Caleb and ensured that they did not die. God took care of Elijah and made sure HE had daily provision, but they still suffered the trials with those around them.

If you do not spend the time adding knowledge of the ways of God, you are going to spend one confused life as a Christian. The ways of God are not always your ways. God does not work in accordance with our little mind. You will never fully appreciate what God is doing all around you until you take the time to understand the ways of God.

How can you expect to have great faith and be able to move mountains if you do not understand what God is trying to do in your life? You may be facing a difficult trial, and rather than turn to God and understand what HE is trying to teach you during this time, too many Christians go off and start praying for God to remove their trial. When God does not immediately answer their prayers, they lose faith in God and start wondering why they claim to be a Christian.

The next time you face a difficult time in your life, you need to stop and see what God is trying to do. It may be a trial like Joseph where God needs to prepare you for a certain duty at a certain time. It may be a trial like Job where God is testing you to see if you will remain faithful. It may be a trial like Paul where God allowed him to suffer for the glory of God. If you do not understand why God is allowing you to face a particular trial, you are going to be the one who is frustrated and you are the one who is going to suffer. Stop and take the time to understand what God is trying to do in your life so that you can take the time to properly serve HIM.

Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

You want me to do what? Now wait a second Lord. You have gone a little too far with this commandment. I understand how you are supposed to love those who love you; that just makes sense. If someone treats me right, I should do the same to them. I should not do evil to those who do me good. However, I think you have gone just a little far with all this talk about loving your enemies. If someone has done me wrong; I think I have the right to hate them. Besides, getting back at someone is so much fun. I love plotting ways to make them pay for what they have done.

What, did you say? You said Vengeance is mine, I will repay, thus saith the Lord. You mean to tell me that you do not want me finding ways that I can get back at my enemies. Lord, you are taking out all the fun of Christianity. It seems like you do not let me do anything fun. Love, love, love, everything seems to revolve around that four letter word. Do you realize that it is not easy to love everyone? I think you are asking the impossible by commanding us to love our enemies.

What, you understand that it is impossible? You say Greater is HE that is in you than he that is in this world. You mean to tell me that you want to reside in me and give me the strength to do the impossible? Lord, I am not sure I like this idea. If you are in my life helping me do the impossible of loving my enemies, then that means I am not going to be able to do all those wrong acts that I enjoy so much. I know I should not be doing that which right in my own eyes, but it is my pet sin, I do not know what I could do if I were not allowed to do it.

I am not sure that I like this idea. You say that that I am to draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Lord, you need to take it easy on me. I am not sure I like this idea about being purified. It sounds so brutal. You say that you must do it so that I can bear fruit. Lord, I am not very bold, maybe I do not want to bear fruit. Maybe I am comfortable with just getting along.

What, you said that if I do not bear fruit you will do what? You say that every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I am not sure that I like the thought of this. It really sounds like you are holding me to an impossible standard. I am not sure that I am ready to love my enemies so that I can bear fruit.

WHAT!!! You mean that there is more than just loving my enemies. You say I have to bless them that curse me. You say I must do good to them that hate me. You say I must pray for them that persecute me. Lord, I think you are going a little far here. Yes, I understand that this is what you did for me on the cross. I understand that you are asking me to be different so that I can be a light in this world. I just think that you are going a little far expecting me to be perfect. If I start praying for those who are doing me wrong, I might start loving them, and after what they have done to me, I am not sure that I want to start that president.

Yes, I hear you Lord. I understand that you are the vine and I am the branches. I understand that I need to abide in you because without you I can do nothing. Lord, I understand you want me to take the time to add knowledge of your ways so that I can abide in you. If I do not understand how you want me to live my life, then I have already failed to live my life as a Christian. I know it will not be easy, but with your help, I am willing to do the impossible.

Matthew 5:40-41 And if any man will sue thee at law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

God desires that you demonstrate true Christian love to those around you. In these verses, we see that if someone does you wrong, you must go out of your way to give to them above and beyond what they request or demand. The first mile is out of obligation, but the second mile is out of love.

Do you understand what kind of impact your life can have on those around you if you sacrificially give to those around you? If a person is mad at you and seeks revenge and you simply respond by giving what they demand plus more, how can they remain bitter at you? It is only when you go above and beyond the call of duty that the world will truly see the light of Christ in your life. If all you are doing is serving yourself, why should they think that you are any different from the rest of the world?

You can tell others that you are a Christian with your words, or you can tell it to them with your actions. However, while the world hears your words, they see your actions better.

Not only does going the second mile help demonstrate the love of God to the world, it also helps you not be bitter regarding the things going on in your life. If all you do is what is required of you, Satan will be nagging you, reminding you of just how unfair life is. However, when you follow the commands of Christ and go the extra mile, the joy you experience when you go the extra mile will help you not be bitter at those around you.

When you choose to love someone by blessing them, you greatly reduce your ability to hate. Someone may have just done you a great evil. Rather than spending your time trying to figure out how you are going to get even with them, you need to be thinking of ways that you can love them and help them. The more time you spend loving the less time there is to hate.

You may not be responsible for how others act around you, but you are responsible for how you respond to them. If you respond in hate, how are you any different than the world around you? However, when you choose to respond in love, not only does the world take notice, but God is now able to bless you. Furthermore, God will also enable you to counsel with others who have had evil things occur in their lives. You will now have a testimony of how you can overcome the urge to retaliate and instead fulfill the commands of Christ to love.

Christ is a perfect picture of this principle. The world hated HIM and nailed HIM to the cross. However, rather than strike them dead with a host of angels, Christ willingly died on the cross so as to demonstrate HIS love to you and me. Christ chose to respond to beatings with blessings. Christ chose to respond to lashes with love. Christ chose to respond to persecution with prayer.

It is easy to forget just how God expects you to live your life. It is easier to hate than to love. However, the more time you spend adding knowledge of the ways of God to your life, the easier it will be for you to properly respond to the difficult situations that occur. If you are not diligent in adding knowledge of the ways of God, Satan will be quick to get you to do your own thing. However, if you fill your heart with the words of God, they will be quick to your mind when you have to respond to circumstances in your life. How you respond to temptation will be first determined by the time you spend developing a relationship with God.

Matthew 5:28 But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

In the Ten Commandments, we were taught that one should not commit adultery. However, when Christ came to this earth, HE did not destroy the law, but called us to a higher standard. The higher standard that Christ called us to does not only require us to ensure that our actions are pleasing to God, but now we are also accountable to God for our thoughts.

When Jesus was asked about divorce, HE told us that it was because of the hardness of our hearts that God permitted divorce in certain circumstances. However, Jesus then went on to show us that from the very beginning it was not the will of God that man should divorce. When a man and woman marry, they become one, and that union was never intended to be broken.

How many times have you heard someone say that they wish they had the blessings of God upon their life? They make clear that they think they deserve more from God for their commitment to be HIS child. However, these same people who feel like God owes them something are the same people who do not attempt to live their lives according to the perfect standards of God. They want the best from God, but they are not willing to do HIS perfect will.

God may have permitted man to obtain a divorce but HIS perfect will is that no divorce occurs. If you desire to serve God, then you need to take the time pursuing the perfect will of God. You cannot be your own judge, but instead, you need to take the time to add knowledge of the ways of God so that you can understand how you appear in the eyes of God.

It does not matter how good of intentions you have, if you do not live your life according to the perfect will of God, you will never receive the full blessings that HE has for you. In this passage, Christ makes it clear that God is not just looking at your actions but that the thoughts of your heart will also be judged.

It does not matter how pure your actions are, if Satan has control of your heart, God will not be able to use you to the fullest extent possible. You may not have ever committed the act of adultery, but that does not mean that you have not violated the law of God and committed adultery in your heart.

If you have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, you must confess your sins because HE is faithful and just to forgive you of your sins. It is a hard concept to understand but you must also confess the sins of your heart to God. Just because you have never acted upon your thoughts, it does not mean that you have not sinned.

When Christ died on the cross, HE died for your sins; this includes your sins of your heart. You are not saved by your own righteousness; you are saved as a result of you accepting the gift of God. Your own works will not result in your salvation.

God has made HIS perfect will perfectly clear. You can know HIS will by adding knowledge of the ways of God. God not only expects your actions to be pleasing to HIM, but HE also expects your thoughts to be pure. If you dictate your own standards for your life, you will probably still ensure that your actions are right since it is only natural that one earns their way to heaven by being good. However, only God can set a standard where you are accountable for your thoughts.

Matthew 5:23-24 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

You have heard that God desires obedience over sacrifice. In this passage, Christ reaffirms this Old Testament principle and expands it by revealing to us that if our relationship with others is not right, then our relationship with God cannot be right. How can our relationship with God be right when we cannot get along with our brother whom we can see?

You understand that you are to love the Lord with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. If you only obey the first Commandment and refuse to obey the second Commandment, you are still a law breaker and you are guilty of breaking the entire law. God is not concerned with all the wonderful things you do for HIM if you are refusing to love your fellow man whom you can see.

To hate your fellow man and attempt to love God would be like a person attempting to drive cross country in a car that had no motor. If you are going to be a Christian who properly reflects the light of God, you must both love God and your neighbor.

You may argue that the days of offering sacrifices to God are now over and as such, this passage no longer applies to you. This is a very short sided argument and does not take into consideration the depth of the teaching Christ is presenting.

Every time you pray to God, you are bringing a sacrifice. Remember, before the death of Jesus Christ, God did not speak with the common man but instead only spoke through the priests and the prophets. The bringing of the sacrifices was necessary in order for the priests to intercede on ones behalf.

Now that Christ has replaced the sacrificing of animals, HE is the perfect sacrifice. Because of HIS sacrifice, we are able to come to God and talk with HIM. We are able to make our petitions known directly to HIM. We are able to confess our sins to HIM because of the sacrifice of the Pure Lamb.

Prayer is an important part of your relationship with God. It is through prayer that you are able to speak with God and to ask HIM for protection, provision, and direction. Every time we pray, we are presenting to God the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In this passage, Christ is revealing to us that it is more important to go and repair our relationship with our fellow man before we come to the Lord in prayer and make our petitions known to HIM.

In 1 Peter 3:7 this principle is further elaborated when we are taught that a husband must dwell with his wife with knowledge, honoring her so that his prayers are not hindered. If a husband cannot be one with his wife, how can he expect to be one with God? Why should God honor the prayers of a man who cannot love his wife as he loves himself?

The more time you spend adding knowledge of the ways of God, the easier it will be for you to understand that God is looking at our relationships with others here on this earth. If our relationship with man whom we can see is not right, then our relationship with God whom we cannot see will never be right.

Matthew 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

In this passage, Jesus is laying out a higher standard for Christians. The Ten Commandments state that one should not kill. Jesus likens anger to that of killing. Jesus is making clear that God is not only concerned with your actions, but also with your thoughts. Before, the Jews could only sin by committing wrong acts. Now, Jesus is showing us the perfect law and the perfect law states that sin begins in the heart.

If you desire to add knowledge of the ways of God, the Sermon on the Mount is an important passage to study. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ commands us how we are to live our lives. Many of the teachings of Jesus in this passage are counter-intuitive. Nonetheless, if you desire to live a life pleasing to the Lord, then you must carefully study and apply the teachings of Christ so that God can be glorified through your life.

Most people will agree that killing another human being is wrong. Cain was the first man who committed the sin of murder. We know that God placed a mark on Cain protecting Cain from the vengeance of others. At this time, God was the ultimate judge and he did not allow man to sit in judgment of another man. After the flood, God told Noah in Genesis 9:6 Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

After the flood, God established the civil government to punish those who had committed murder. The law that God gave to Noah was further clarified in the law that God gave to Moses. In the 10 Commandments, God made it clear that Thou shalt not kill. God also made a place of refuge for those who had accidentally killed where they could be safe from the judgment of the next of kin.

Christ is now revealing to us the higher standards of the ways of God. God will judge our thoughts. The simple act of getting angry without cause in the eyes of God is the same as murder. Jesus revealed to us that there is a place for righteous anger when HE cleared the temple of the money changers. However, you must remember that you are not perfect like Jesus was and thus, any time you start getting angry, you better be concerned that you are not endangering yourself to the wrath of God.

You will never be able to fully understand who God is. You are a sinful man and God is Holy and pure with no beginning and no end. Nonetheless, you can understand the standard by which God will judge you. If you do not live according to the perfect standard of God, you have sinned and you must confess your sins and accept the blood of Jesus to cover your sins.

If you murdered someone, you know you have sinned and that would be a sin that you know you would need to confess. However, it is sometimes hard to remember every time you have been angry at someone else. That is one reason why Jesus told us to not let the sun go down on our wrath. This means that we must take the time each night to confess our sins of anger with God so that we keep a short list of sins with God. By coming before God daily to ask God to forgive us, we almost eliminate the chance of forgetting about a sin that needs to be confessed. If you desire to live your life according to the perfect standard of God, then you must control your anger.

Matthew 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

We are to be examples to those around us of the commands of God. God has established certain rules by which HE expects us to live our lives. When we choose to take on HIS name and call ourselves Christians, we have a responsibility to demonstrate to the world and our fellow brethren a life that is pleasing to God.

The world does not like hypocrites and neither does God. In this passage, Christ is teaching us that HE did not arrive to destroy the law but to fulfill it. Commands regarding murder, adultery, honoring your parents are still in effect, even though Jesus came. Jesus did not want us to think that just because HE had come to earth, the basic commands of God had changed.

Instead, it is more important than ever for you to live your life so that the light of God can reflect through your life. The world knows the basic commands of God. While the world does not obey commands like you are to only serve one God, they expect you to only be worshiping one God. However, when they see you living a double standard, they know that you are not properly modeling the life of a true Christian and as such, they are not interested in following your example because they know that you have nothing to offer.

The world has heard that God is love. The world has heard that you are to love your neighbor as yourself. However, when the world looks at you, do they see you loving them? Do they see you looking after the needs of others? Do they see you being a friend to them when they have a problem? Do they see loving the sinner but hating the sin?

You are to be an example to the world around you about how God has changed your life. Jesus once taught that an individual who caused a little one to stumble should be thrown into the sea with a mill stone tied around his neck. So likewise, you must be careful that your life does not cause a young Christian in the Lord to stumble. A young Christian will not have a deep knowledge of the ways of God and thus can be easily influenced by a mature Christian. If you as a mature Christian lead them astray, you will be accountable to God for your actions.

In this passage, Christ reminds us of the significances of what we teach others. If by our example or words, we live a life of hypocrisy, God will judge us and we will not hold a high position in heaven. However, if both our words and actions are in accordance with the principles of God, then God will put us in a position of high esteem in heaven.

How are you going to obey and teach the commands of God if you do not understand them yourself? You must spend the time in the Bible studying the ways of God if you are going to teach others how God expects them to live. The more time you spend adding knowledge of the ways of God, the better your understanding will be as to who God is and what HE expects.

How do you want to live in heaven? Do you want to be least or do you want to be great? Christ has shown us what we must do in order to be great in heaven. It is now up to you to determine how you are going to live. Are you going to take the time to understand the ways of God so that you can not only obey them but teach them to others? Are you going to be an example so that God through you might be glorified?

Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ is commanding us to be a light unto the world around us. In the previous two verses, Christ compares our light to a city on a hill that cannot be hid, and to a candle in a house that is not hidden under a bushel. So likewise must our light shine.

Too many Christians desire to just simply get along with the world so they attempt to be just like the world and not let their light shine. By refusing to let your light shine, you not only are disobeying God, but you are also refusing to allow God to use you to bring others to HIM. It is because of your light that enables the world to see something different about you and to know that there is life when one chooses to serve God.

The light that you shine is not your own. Instead, God is the light and it is HIS light that must shine through you. Just as a properly cut diamond reflects the light, so too, when your life has been properly prepared by God, you too will reflect the light of God to a lost world. God will allow you to go through many trials so as to chip away many flaws in your life that prevent you from properly reflecting the light of God.

It is not easy to serve God and be a perfect instrument to reflect the light of God. You do want the best for your life? In the same way an Olympic athlete must spend years training to be the best so that they can have a moment to shine in the world, so also the process of God preparing you to be the best that you can be takes time.

The day you accepted Christ as your personal Savior, you did not instantly know everything God expects you to do. You live in a sinful world and sin has entangled your life. Some sins God may immediately release you from when you accepted Christ as your personal Savior, while others God desires that you learn to seek HIM and rely upon HIS strength to overcome.

The impurities of sin will diminish your ability to reflect the pure and perfect light of God. If you desire to be used of God to do great things for HIM, then you must be willing to go on the operating table of God and to allow HIM remove sin from your life.

When you take the time to add knowledge of the ways of God to your life, you allow God to show you the areas that are diminishing the light of God in your life. The more time you spend with God, the easier it will be for you to see how your life grieves God. Instead, you must learn to pray like Jabez who prayed that God would keep him from evil so that his life would not grieve God.

Until you learn to start living in the power of God, the power of sin will always be greater. Until you learn to submit your life over to God and allow HIM to show you the areas where your light is weak, you will not be obeying God by letting your light shine.

No one can make you shine your light. This is something that you must do for the glory of God. Remember, God desires obedience over sacrifice. You can do so much good for God, but if you are refusing to obey HIM by purifying your life so that your life properly reflects the light of God, then you are living in disobedience. The choice is yours; will you spend the time with God so that you know what it takes to allow your light to shine brighter for God?

Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

When you became a Christian, God gave you a manual by which you are to live your life. The Sermon on the Mount is chalked full of ways that God expects you to live. There are three types of Christians, those who read the Bible and allow it to change their lives, those who read the Bible and still do their own thing, and those who refuse to read the instruction book of God and do what they want, when they want. What type of Christian are you?

In this passage, Christ tells us that as Christians, we are the salt of the earth. However, in the same way that salt can lose its flavor, so too can a Christian. A Christian who has lost his flavor is worthless in the eyes of God. A Christian who has lost his flavor will be one who does what he wants, when he wants. That Christian no longer cares about how God desires him to live his life and instead has chosen to be in control of his own life.

The world already does what it wants when it wants. The world has learned how the pleasures of sin do not satisfy. They have learned that they cannot be content and how they do not have true happiness even though they are doing those things that they thought would give them happiness.

If you are doing the same things that the world is doing, you are not offering to the world anything but a fire insurance policy. There is no flavor to your life and the world really has no incentive to change from their wicked ways and start living a life for God. It is only when your life changes and you are living for God that your life can have a flavor that would cause the world to see the difference between their life and the life that God desires to give them.

During the times of the Roman occupation, we see the religious leaders compromising their standards so that they could remain in the good graces of the occupiers. The religious leaders were more concerned about keeping their power then they were about doing the right thing that they failed to see their Messiah when HE came. When the Romans looked at the Jews, they did not see anything that would cause them to wish to join the Jews. Instead, we see that being a Roman citizen was very important and many paid a great price to have that honor.

We read in Bible about the Roman centurion who did many wonderful things for the Jews. This centurion was the exception, not the rule. The Jews were more influenced by the Romans then the Romans were of the Jews.

We see that when John the Baptist was preaching, he was being the salt of the world. John the Baptist was having an effect upon his world and as such, we are told that even the Roman soldiers came out into the wilderness to hear him preach. John the Baptist was so effective for God because he put the things of God first in his life.

You must take the time to add knowledge of the ways of God to your life. It is the Bible that will give you the flavor that you need to show the world the difference between the ways of God and the ways of the world. Until you take the time to understand who God is and then strive to obey HIM, the world will not taste the flavor of your life and will dismiss your religion as a feel good safety blanket. Until you start living for Christ, your life will be flavorless and your life will be good for nothing.