Author: David Short

Matthew 5:23-24

Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Personal Challenge

We must notice that in this command that we have been given, that it is about our brother or sister, and if they have something against us. This means that if we have offended them and know it, then it is our responsibility to go to them and seek reconciliation. We are the ones that most humble ourselves in order to mend the relationship. Well, what about if they have offended us? We are to give them grace and forgiveness. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Genesis 5:2-3

He made them male and female, and blessed them; and the day He made them He called his name Adam. Now Adam lived two hundred and thirty years, and begot a son according to his form and image, and named him Seth.

Encouraging Words

One prevailing precept in the Eastern Orthodox Christian view is the constant reminder that we are all created in the image of God. This image of God is an icon that He gave us so that we see Him in every person that we interact with. This is how we can obey His command to love our neighbor, by knowing that if we love our neighbor, we are loving God. We must remember, also, that if we are harsh or unloving towards our neighbor, then we are also treating God this way. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Note: as you look at the icon of the creation of Adam, notice that the faces on Jesus and Adam are the same.

Genesis 4:25

Again Adam knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore a son, and he named him Seth, saying, “God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.”

Encouraging Words

God remains faithful to us even though we so often fail to be faithful to Him. Adam and Eve broke the relationship that they had with God by disobeying Him and eating the forbidden fruit. By this act, sin entered Gods’ creation. God continued to love them and care for them. They were blessed with sons and through Cain, murder entered God’s creation. And God continued to love them. He gave Adam and Eve another son to replace Abel. This is the same God that loves us, faithfully, no matter how many times we are not faithful to Him. Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Matthew 5:16

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Personal Challenge

Notice that in this passage we are not told to be speakers cranked up to a high volume, but lights that shine bright. It is our actions that speak the loudest to those around us. These actions require us to be present in the lives of others displaying the love of Christ for them. We cannot be doing this if we are spending all of our time within the walls of our homes and churches practicing the formalities of our faith practices or running off to mountain top experiences building up our personal “spirituality”. We must be loving Christian living in such a way that we bring the love of Christ to all. It is our actions that shine His love on the lost. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy?

Genesis 4:7

Did you not sin, even though you brought it rightly, but did not divide it rightly? Be still; his recourse shall be to you; and you shall rule over him.”

Encouraging Words

Most of us have heard of the stony of Cain and Abel and how it does not turn out well, However, we miss this verse in the middle of the story. We see here, God talking to Cain about his sacrifice and his attitude, or the state of his heart. God is giving Cain a chance to repent and to work at making it right. God loves us and wants the most for us. Glory be to God!

Matthew 5:3-12

Genesis 3:11-13

Thus He said, “Who said you were naked? Have you eaten from the one tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” Then Adam said, “The woman You gave me, gave me of the tree, and I ate.” So the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Personal Challenge

It is always someone else’s fault. It seems like every child is born with the innate ability to point the finger at someone, or something, else when they are caught doing something that they should not have done. As adults, most of us have mastered this ability. It all started in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve were challenged about eating the forbidden fruit. They could have confessed the truth, that they had wronged God, but rather than that, they pointed to someone else that made them do it. God’s desire is that we run to Him when we have sinned, confess that sin, and seek His forgiveness. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Matthew 4:1-11

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’
and,
‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

Personal Challenge

This is a lot of text to read through but is important to get the whole picture. Here is Jesus just having finished fasting in the wilderness for 40 days. He is hungry. He is tired. And now the tempter shows up to tease Him into trusting in the tempter to meet His needs. Jesus defends each attack, each temptation, with a quote from the scriptures. “It is written…” Our personal challenge is to know the scriptures well enough to be able to push back on the temptations that come our way. There is one more very important lesson in here. Even the tempter proclaims, “It is written…” He too knows the scriptures and will twist them to his advantage. We must be careful that we do not do the same and twist the scriptures to mean what we want them to mean. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!