Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

Divorce 31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. The subject of divorce is often a "touchy" subject in the church. Why? Because there are many in church today who have been divorced, and some have re-married. I have heard it said, "the divorce rate in the church is the same as outside the church". Recent stats say the church's divorce rate has gone down compared outside of the church, but the rate still is sizeable (the data I researched said roughly 1 in 3 divorce rate among Christian marriages) So while we clearly need a strong and clear biblical message on divorce, we need to be sensitive to those who have gone through a divorce. Some people who have been recently divorced, don't want to go to church because of the shame of b

Adultery 27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. It is hard to imagine how much damage has been done in our society and in our families by not obeying this commandment. The pure act of adultery takes away the most vital component of any marriage. Trust. While it is possible to reconcile through forgiveness and inner healing, Jesus gives us this commandment, like all other commandments for our good and protection. Unfortunately many have had to learn through the harsh consequences that betrayal of tr

"23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift." You have probably heard it said, "don't let the sun go down on your anger!" One of the worst nights of sleep is when you go to bed mad at some on. It is better to settle matters quickly and not suffer the pain. Today Jesus goes one step further, and says if you are in worship and offering something to God, if you have an unresolved issue with a brother or sister in Christ, resolve that first. We see here how important relationships with others are to God. Jesus is trying to root out hypocritical worship, where we sit in church looking pious, when our lives are filled with unresolved relational issues. If one of our relationships is out of sync, we shouldn't wait or rationalize why there are other things more

Murder 21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. Have you ever been in a situation where you thought you had done all of what was required of you, only to find out there was more to do? You wanted to say, "really" more to do! Jesus starts in a series of teachings that will leave the religious folks, like the Pharisees, saying, "Really we thought we had done all that the Law requires". Jesus begins a series of teachings that begin with "You have heard that it was said..." Jesus is taking, in this instance, the minimum requirement of the Law, and going far beyond to the spirit of law. For instance someone cou

"Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." There is a danger in assuming we can abolish the laws God gave to His people as a means to set them apart, and show the world that He was the one true God. Although we can never measure up to the Law because of our sinful nature, it does not exclude its Intrinsic value as God's perfect standard. As we said, Jesus fulfilled the Law in every way thus validating it true essence. The Law did not have any value any more, Jesus would have clearly taught us this. So why is Jesus so adamantly against those who set aside these laws and teach others to do so? He called these people, "the least in the kingdom". Notice they are still in the kingdom, they are still saved, but their influence is minimal. Whereas those who practice a

Truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished So the question becomes, "Why do we still need the Law, if Jesus has come to fulfill the Law through his life, death and resurrection?" If we are not under the Law but under grace, why will not the smallest letter, or the least stroke of a pen not disappear until everything is accomplished. And what does Jesus mean when he says, "until everything accomplished?" Clearly this shows that we are in a period of time where we still need the Law. And Jesus further adds this time is until, "heaven and earth disappear". We can assume he means at the end of time when he returns to inaugurate a new heaven and earth. I would suggest that there are two reasons that Jesus says to the disciples that even though he is a fulfillment of the Law, it should not in any be abolished until all

The Fulfillment of the Law 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. I am not sure if you were around long enough to remember the song "I fought the law, and the law won", by the Bobby Fuller Four, released in 1963. But it became a very popular song that was remade by the popular band, "The Clash" in 1979. Some of our younger readers will definitely know that band. In the bible, "the Law" refers to the Ten Commandments and the other laws God gave to the Jewish people to set them apart from the other people. God promised them that if obeyed God, He would bless them and make their name great. But He also warned that if they turned away from the Law, He would withdraw His hand of protecti

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. After Jesus tells the disciples they are the salt of the earth, today he tells them they are the "light of the world". Whereas salt flavors and preserves, light illuminates. Can you imagine how much chaos there would be if cars had no lights when driving at night? And this was what the world was like before Jesus came into the world. God created the light when he said, "Let there be light!" God said, "the light was good because it separated or divided the light and darkness". W

Salt and Light 13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. We know salt is essential for living. About 1/2 of a percent of our body weight is made up of salt. The easiest way we lose salt is through sweating it out. When I have run marathons and sweat a lot, I literally had salt on the outside of my running shirt. I was also prone to de-hydration in my life. When I played in sports I got a de-hydrated a couple of times. It was not fun. My breathing became very rapid, and it was a very scary feeling. Luckily we had a friend over who was a doctor and he spotted it was dehydration. He had me down two big bottles of Gatorade, and eventually I stabilized. We know in Jesus' day that salt was very important as well. Since they didn't have the sophisticated mining tools and didn't take salt out of the ocean water, the supply was very lo

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. In the current campaign for the next President of the United States, unfortunately we have begun to see a lot of insulting going on between candidates. I think that is unfortunate. Instead of campaigning for what they stand for, they are spending more time trying to insult their competitors. But I think Jesus is talking about a different kind of insult. Jesus is talking to his disciples about the type of insults they will incur not by what they say, but who they follow. And he doesn't mince words. He says you will be insulted and treated badly because of being associated with me. But he also gives them a promise. By enduring this kind of treatment for His Name, there will be a reward for them in heaven. Next, he compares them

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. IT MAY SEEM strange that Jesus should pass from peacemaking to persecution, from the work of reconciliation to the experience of hostility. Yet however hard we may try to make peace with some people, they refuse to live at peace with us. Not all attempts at reconciliation succeed. John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount First of all, rather than talking hypothetically about this passage, we know that thousands of Christians are being persecuted and killed for their faith in Jesus Christ. In Assyria, groups of Christians are being slaughtered for their faith including women and children. It's funny we don't hear much about this in the news, but the United Kingdom has recently deemed this genocide. It is estimated that one Christian is being martyred every five minutes in Iraq. You can read more of the sobering details at this link http://www.gatestoneinsti

9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. THE FOLLOWERS of Jesus have been called to peace. When he called them they found their peace, for he is their peace. But now they are told that they must not only have peace but make it. And to that end they renounce all violence and tumult. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship Since there are many definitions of what peace means to different people,in order to understand this beatitude we should focus on its biblical meaning. One commentary says this, "The Greek word translated "peacemaker" is used in only one other place in the New Testament, in a slightly different form. Colossians 1:20 says, "For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross." It is important to say that the peace with God is the foundation of any other peace. While many look

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. THERE IS an interaction between seeing and being. The kind of person you are affects the kind of world that you see. … And conversely, what you see affects what you are. Simon Tugwell, The Beatitudes INDEED, what would one search for when one has God before one's eyes? Or what would satisfy one who would not be satisfied with God? Yes, we wish to see God. Who does not have this desire? We strive to see God. We are on fire with the desire of seeing God. Augustine, Sermon As we unpack this beatitude, we know that in fact no one is pure in heart. If we were pure in heart we wouldn't need Jesus to purify and cleanse us from our sin by dying on the cross. Even the man after God's own heart David said in Psalm 53, "Create in me a pure heart, and renew a right Spirit within me." David knew his heart was impure and that only God could make it pure. The word for pure is the Greek word "Kathari" w

7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. John Wesley was a missionary in Georgia. A slave stole a jug of wine and drank it. The governor, James Oglethorpe, wanted the man beaten. Wesley went to the governor to plead for the slave. The governor said, “I want vengeance. I never forgive!” To which Wesley replied, “I hope to God, Sir, you never sin.” Contrary to the governor's attitude, Jesus says that those who show merciful will be blessed, and will in return be granted mercy. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Grace is getting what you don't deserve. Mercy is pardon. Grace is unmerited favor. Mercy is shown in the story of the Good Samaritan. In this story, the Samaritan had mercy on, or showed pity to the man who was beaten and left for dead on the side of the road. The irony of this story is that the two men who would be expected to show mercy, the priest and the Levite, both avoided the man by walking on the other side of the road. Maybe they t

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. One of the things that drive the media and advertising industry is to create things that we hunger for. Why is it the most popular reality show lives that people vicariously live through? Why is porn a multi-billion dollar industry in our country? Why do violent thrillers do so well at the box office? The answer is that most people lead dull and un-interesting lives, and they look to fill it with something exciting. The answer is our soul is longing for something deeper. We hunger and thirst for something more than this! St Augustine said, "Thou madest us for Thyself, and our heart is restless, until it rest in Thee." Some of the most evocative words in the Old Testament come from Ecclesiastes 3:11, "God has made everything beautiful in its time; also he has put eternity into man's mind, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.&quo

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. When we see the word "meek" we usually associate it with being "weak" or a "pushover". A much better translation would be "gentle" or "humble". Like most other beattitudes, they are counter-intuitive. We usually assume those who would inherit the earth are strong and powerful. But Jesus talks about a different kind of strength, which he modeled. Jesus, though he was in very nature being God, humbled himself and emptied himself and became a servant. Jesus re-defined strength as laying one's life down for the sake of others. He defined greatness as becoming like a servant, not the one looking to be served. But today Jesus says, "Blessed are those who are meek". Remember "blessed" means "happy". The idea is that a person will have joy if they are meek. The blessedness is more of a spiritual prosperity than earthly gain. Jesus said about himself i

"Blessed are those who mourn,for they will be comforted." Of all the paradoxes in the Beattitudes, this is the most dramatic. This passage seems so paradoxical it is hard to comprehend its meaning. Here are a few quotes from people much smarter than me. "It's an astonishing thing to speak of the joy of sorrow, of the gladness of grief, and of the bliss of the brokenhearted," writes Bible scholar William Barclay. "EVERY SUFFERING can be blessed because it hollows out a place in us for God and his comfort, which is infinite joy." Peter Kreeft, Back to Virtue "IT IS impossible for one to live without tears who considers things exactly as they are." Gregory of Nyssa, De Beatitudine In our world mourning is often seen as a bad thing, or something to be avoided at all costs. But in Jesus' life we see mourning was a part of his life many times. Jesus mourned when his friend Lazarus died. Jesus mourned when he looked over the people

The Beatitudes 5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. What is a "beatitude"? It comes from the Latin word which means, "beautiful". Someone has termed these "be-attitudes", indicating they are something we can control from the inside by our attitude. Although Jesus has been talking to the crowds so far, he gets away to teach his disciples. Jesus spends his time doing three primary things: preaching about the availability of the kingdom, teaching about how it works, and finality showing how it works. We might call this "manifesting" the kingdom. As we move through the sayings of Jesus this year, we see will see him speaking from one of these three contexts. The "beatitudes" begin a section of Jesus' teaching called the "Sermon the Mount". As the text say