Happy Monday! May the Lord bless and keep you today.
“21 “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’[Exodus 30:13 and Deuteronomy 5:17] 22 But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell. 23 So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, 24 leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God. 25 When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 And if that happens, you surely won’t be free again until you have paid the last penny.“- Matthew 5:21-26 NLT
Jesus was sharing from the 10 commandments, but he went beyond just the words, he also discussed the condition of our heart, the inward attitude of the very act. The other warning includes our thoughts of being superior over anyone else. Our heart and our attitude are critical to the life we have in Christ. In order to have a heart for God we must continue to seek the Lord to keep it pure. If we are angry, we need to seek the Lord and his guidance to remove bitterness and hate from our heart, to remove bias against another person and seek forgiveness not only from the Lord but those who have offended.
Today, will you ask the Lord to check your heart condition? _______
Will you ask him to repair brokenness, anger and dissension? ________
Father God, thank you for loving us and forgiving us when we come to you for forgiveness of our sins. Lord, our hearts get tainted by the news, social media, conversations, past hurts and rejections, and at times by those we have put our trust in. Lord, break our hearts of all bitterness, then mend them to be better than before. Lord, extract the bitter roots that have grown in our hearts. Remove all anger and evil thoughts toward others so that we will be fully reconciled to you and able to hear from you. Lord, we want you to use us, remove those things including our attitudes that hinder us from living a full life in you. Lord, align our expectations with yours, teach us humility of heart and love for one another. Help us to pray for those we have been offended by instead of holding anger inside our hearts and minds. Help us to pray for our nation and our churches. Lord, we need you, our world is lost and does as it pleases without consulting you. Lord, remind us of your power and might. Heal this land. Change us, Lord. In Jesus name, amen.
Keep seeking! Keep trusting! Keep praying!
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Mary E. White Ministries 