The True Word

The Sermon On The Mount Series: Relationship With God Read: Matthew 6:1-4, 16-21 & 24 This post has been divided into the following parts,      1. Do good to please God [Matthew 6:1-4]      2. Fasting [Matthew 6:16-18]      3. Lay up treasures in heaven [Matthew 6:19-21 & 24] 1. Do Good To Please God [Matthew 6:1-4]:- The first verse says, " Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.  If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. " Jesus instructs us to be careful when we practice righteousness in front of others. Being careful here means to be alert of our actions and intentions rather than the response of others. There can be two types of intentions, > God praising , who give all the glory to God and humble themselves before others just like Jesus. Jesus no matter what great miracles He did, humbled himself and gave praises to His Father. [Also see Matthew 5:16] ...

The Sermon On The Mount Series: Relationship With others [PT. 2] Read: Matthew 5:38-48 I would like to write this 10 verse passage in two points:- If anyone does bad to you, don't do bad in return (Matthew 5:38-40 & 5:43-48). If anyone does good to you, do more than good in return (Matthew 5:41-42). 1.  If anyone does bad to you, don't do bad in return:- In verse 38, Jesus recites a saying, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth". Followed by some examples, i.e. if a person slaps you on your left cheek, turn your right cheek towards the person to slap and if a person sues you and takes away your tunic, give him your cloak as well.  From verses 38 to 48, Jesus tells us to resist an evil person, which means keeping distance from an evil person's presence. The evil person here is a metaphor for wrong deeds. This means Jesus tells us to resist doing evil and seeking revenge. Seeing the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:21-35, The King forgi...

The Sermon On The Mount Series: Relationship With Others Read: Matthew 5:21-37 ; 6:22-23 ; 7:1-6        In this post, we shall be looking into the following teachings:- 1. Murder begins in the heart.  ( Matthew 5:21-26 ) 2. Adultery in the heart. ( Matthew 5:27-30 ) 3. Marriage. ( Matthew 5:31-32 ) 4. Forbidding oath.  (Matthew 5:33-37) 5. Lamp of the heart: The eye. ( Matthew 6:22-23 ) 6. Do not judge. ( Matthew 7:1-5 ) These teachings are related to each other as they teach us how to be with our neighbour and the people around us. Murder Begins In The Heart ( Matthew 5:21-26 ):- Jesus makes it clear that the intention of the command "You shall not murder" goes beyond the seemingly simple Old Testament verse. Jesus explains that the person who murders will not be the only person who will face the danger of Judgement, but if we do  the following we will be in the...

The Sermon On The Mount Series: Beatitudes Read: Matthew 5:1-12               Jesus’ sermon on the mount began with what is now known as the Beatitudes. The word beatitude means to be blessed or prosperous. The 10 commandments given by Moses are completely different from the Beatitudes, instead of giving a list of Don'ts (what not to do), Jesus gives us a list of Do's (what we have to become).  He uses phrases like, “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” ( Matthew 5:7-9 ). These speak  to who the person is, and not just a list of dos and don’ts. For example, how does one become merciful? Is this a one-time event that you can check off once completed? The answer is no, and that is perhaps one reason why the teachings of Jesus within the Sermon on the Mount are so unusual. Wh...

Salt and Light Read: Matthew 5:13-16        Why does Jesus tell us to be like salt and light to the world? And what does he mean? Salt is the purest mineral which is obtained from two pure substances the sun and the ocean, which means we should be pure like salt. Light is the very first thing that God had created and the holy spirit came in the form of fire on the apostles, which gives light to all. How can we be the salt of the world? Salt is often used as a preservative, a cleanser and  a disinfectant. It is a very valuable thing to have, but once it loses its flavour is not even worth than dirt itself. Our faith needs to produce good works like salt without good work our faith is useless, same as faith without works is dead. James 2:17  “ Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead”.   How do we preserve it? The answer is simple we should keep the laws which God has given to us and even we have to give the salt ...

Do Not Worry Read: Matthew 6:25-34    Do you have worries in your life? I know your answer will be yes! If you are a youth you will be having worries about your exams, if you are a new graduate then you will be worried about your job if you are a person working in foreign countries you will be worried about your visa and health. In each and every stages of our life, we will be having worries. Especially if you are a believer in Christ.  A short story, David is a born Christian and he had kept God at least priority and just 1.5 months back he had taken baptism and gave more time to God. After some time he will start facing problems in the family, problems at workplace, personal finance problems, etc. In the same way, once you have given more time to God the devil will start attacking you. What will you do? According to me we should stop worrying and start living a simple life, which means continuing to praise and worship God or having a tal...