Worship is the arena in which God recalibrates our hearts, reforms our desires, and rehabituates our loves. Worship isn’t just something we do; it is where God does something to us. Worship is the heart of discipleship because it is the gymnasium in which God retrains our hearts. James Smith
The church’s worship is a uniquely intense site of the Spirit’s transformative presence. James Smith
Scripture.
“Just say a simple, “Yes, I will,” or “No, I won’t.” Anything beyond this is from the evil one.
Observation.
Jesus goes on to teach about divorce and vows.
In the Old Testament, it was permissible for a man to divorce his wife by simply giving her a written notice. Jesus now says that while this might be the law, the way of discipleship is to avoid divorce, unless a wife has been unfaithful .
In the past, people were required to fulfil vows that they made. The Pharisees found various loopholes rendering vows as unnecessary and deceptive. Jesus says, “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No’. Anything beyond this is from the devil.
Application.
A vow was supposed to be a way of binding a person to fulfil what they had promised to do. To swear on the name of God was, in theory, to call down the wrath of God if you break your promise.
The Pharisees had brought in levels of binding for various vows, making the practice totally worthless. As usual, the burden of this fell on the poor and uneducated people who were prone to being defrauded.
Jesus tells us to be people of our word. If we promise to do something, we should do it.
I recently had some big renovations done on my home. The total cost was ova, $150,000. There was no contract, just the bond of trust that I would pay what was owed and the various tradesmen would not overcharge me.
When we follow Jesus’s commands to follow through with their promises regardless of legalities, everybody benefits.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you require us to live up to the promises we make. Please help me to ensure that I am a trustworthy person in every part of my life. Amen.
Yes, Christian formation is a life-encompassing, Monday through Saturday, week in and week out project; but it radiates from, and is nourished by, the worship life of the congregation gathered around Word and Table. James Smith
Scripture
“It is better for you. To lose one part of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”
Observation
The law says that if someone kills another person, they are subject to judgement. But Jesus now says, that getting angry or calling someone an idiot is just as bad and may cause us to end up in hell. If we remember, when offering a sacrifice in the temple, that somebody is angry at us, we need to go and fix that relationship immediately.
If we are taken to court It is in our best interest to settle our differences before it comes to being adjudicated.
Adultery, like anger, starts in the mind. Lusting in our hearts after someone is as bad as adultery.
If our eye or hand leads us into sin, we should remove them from our body. It is better to lose a part of our body than it is to go to hell with a complete body.
Application
Eternity is real and hell is awful.
We occasionally hear of someone who has got caught in a remote location, and the only way to get out is to cut off the trapped body part. If we value our life on earth so highly, then we should value eternal life even more highly
It is easy to allow small sins to escalate. Nobody starts off running red traffic lights. We start by running the amber lights and gradually increasing the transgression. And then one day the light is red, and a car is in the intersection.
Jesus is telling us here that we don’t start off being murderous and adulterers. The sin starts in the mind and slowly escalates.
If we are serious about going to heaven, we will want to take severe action before we find ourselves in hell. Perhaps, we have to cut off the internet rather than a body part, or leave behind corrupting friends.
Eternal life is worth any sacrifice.
Prayer
Lord, please show me what parts of my life are leading me away from you. Give me the grace to cut them off. Amen..
New Life Narrabri 