Burunche’s Blog

Matthew 6:16 – 18 “And whenever you are fasting, do not look gloomy and sour and dreary as the hypocrites, for they put on a dismal countenance, that their fasting may be apparent to and seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. But when you fast, perfume your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may not be noticed by men but by your Father, Who sees in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open.”

Today fasting has become trendy. There are all kinds of programs and apps to assist you in knowing how to fast, depending on your weight and body type. One of the best sources of information for Christian fasting is the article on Cru.org https://www.cru.org/us/en/train-and-grow/spiritual-growth/fasting/how-to-do-a-biblical-fast.html This excellent article explains Biblical fasting, some Biblical examples and purposes of fasting, wrong motivations for fasting, right motivations for fasting, types of fasts, entering into a fast, continuing a fast, and ending a fast. I highly recommend this article. Here is their introduction:

“Biblical fasting can be defined as abstaining from food for spiritual purposes. Simply going without food because it is not available or because of medical reasons is not biblical fasting. There must be a spiritual motivation to qualify a fast as Scriptural.

John Piper writes in his book Hunger for God: “Christian fasting, at its root, is the hunger of a homesickness for God. Christian fasting is not only the spontaneous effect of superior satisfaction in God, it is also a chosen weapon against every force in the world that would take that satisfaction away.”

Fasting is a major component of spiritual warfare and should be respected as such. There were many examples of people in the Old Testament who fasted and prayed at the same time. Nehemiah fasted when he learned of the sad state of Jerusalem. Esther and her hand maidens and Mordecai and the Jews fasted before Esther went before the king to beg for the lives of her people. King David fasted, repenting and begging for the life of his first son with Bathsheba. But by the time of Jesus, the ultra – religious had turned fasting into a major show, trying to make certain that EVERYBODY KNEW THEY WERE FASTING!!! All we have to do to find out how these religious leaders behaved was to look at Jesus’ injunctions on what not to do. Evidently, they looked gloomy and sour and dreary and did not bathe or use normal perfumes – THEY WERE SOUR AND GLOOMY AND DREARY AND STINKY!!!

Jesus encouraged His followers to fast, not as a grim religious duty, but as a sign of love for their heavenly Father. Those fasting were not to run around with horrible expressions on their faces but were to be joyful! Today, if you choose to fast, do so as an expression of love for your heavenly Father. “And your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open.”

PRAYER: Father, thank you for the privilege of coming before you in prayer. Thank you that you give us the freedom to fast as well. Help us to be wise in our fasting and to pray so that your Kingdom will fully come and your Will will be fully done in our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 6:13 “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

If you can at all do it, please watch the video at the beginning of this devotional! Pastor Greg Laurie uses only a few minutes to give one of the best explanations of this verse I have ever heard. Here are the points Pastor Laurie makes:

1. We are asking God to help us not get out of His will and unnecessarily place ourselves in the way of temptation.
2. In this verse we are praying, “Lord, don’t let me be tempted above my capacity to resist.”
3. 1 Corinthians 10:13 states, “No temptation has overtaken you, except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”  
4. We are all going to be tempted. And we must not be arrogant, claiming that we would never succumb to a particular temptation, because the Devil knows the exact bait he needs to use to tempt you.  
5. We are very quick to condemn someone else for what they have done but yet we rationalize compromised behavior in our own lives.
6. THE MAJOR TEST OF WHETHER SOMETHING YOU WANT TO DO IS RIGHT OR WRONG: If you are wondering whether or not you should do a certain thing, pray about it specifically and bring it into the clear presence of God. Example: “Lord, would you bless us tonight as we go and party and get drunk?” “Would you bless me as I go have sex with this guy/girl I’m not married to.” “Lord, bless me as I sue my Christian brother, even though I don’t have cause to sue him and I haven’t tried to resolve it.” “Lord, bless me as I divorce my devoted wife because I’ve found another girl.”
7. IF YOU CAN’T PRAY ABOUT IT AND SAY “HALLOWED BE THY NAME” OVER IT, DON’T DO IT!!!”
8. Ask yourself the question, “how would this look if some other Christian gave into it?”If you saw another believer doing what you are doing right now, would it look wrong? Would it have the appearance of evil?”
9. If your answer to these questions is yes, DON’T DO IT!
10. We are appealing to God to place a watch over our eyes and our ears and our feet and our mouth and our hands, what we say and hear and do.

PRAYER: Father God, thank you that you will keep us from temptation if we will let you! Please put a watch over our eyes and our ears and our feet and our mouth and our hands, what we say and hear and do. Please help us to realize that if we are beginning to rationalize an action, we need to stop and turn back. And help us to bring all of our actions into the clear light of your Presence. In the matchless Name of Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 6:12 “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” ¹⁴ “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

All of us, the entire human race, is stuck! Each one of us does wrong things and sins, and God views those sins as debts. No matter how hard we try, no matter how many good resolutions we make, we are going to forget and think something bad or say something wrong or act in an unrighteous manner. We need forgiveness every single moment of every day!

Jesus once told a story about a man who had incurred a staggering debt – millions of dollars’ worth – to a wealthy ruler. The ruler was prepared to throw the man into prison, but when the man begged for forgiveness, the ruler relented. Each one of us is like that debtor. There is a Country Gospel song that says, “He paid a debt He did not owe. I owed a debt I could not pay. I needed someone to wash my sins away.” “Great!” you say. “What a wonderful act of generosity.” But wait. There’s more to the story. Because this same man who had just had an enormous debt canceled then turned around and threw one of his colleagues in debtors’ prison over a matter involving a few dollars. And when the wealthy ruler found out, he reinstated the debt and threw the unforgiving wretch into debtors’ prison, where he would live out the rest of his life.

We must ask God for forgiveness. 1 John 1:8 -10 says “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.”

But what if we harbor unforgiveness and resentment in our hearts? Adam Clarke says, “It was a maxim among the ancient Jews, that no man should lie down in his bed, without forgiving those who had offended him. That man condemns himself to suffer eternal punishment, who makes use of this prayer with revenge and hatred in his heart.” If you are unwilling to forgive someone who has offended you in some small fashion, you are crazy! Your unforgiveness makes it impossible for God to forgive you.  We must forgive quickly and completely, not harboring up a list of grievances to be trotted out the next time we are irritated by that person. You will pay a price now in the stress you are putting on your body. But you are also risking paying an eternal price. Forgive and enjoy heaven. Refuse to forgive and choose hell in the process.

PRAYER: Father God, help us! We are so quick to become offended and so slow to forgive! And many times we feel justified in our anger; meanwhile, you have canceled our staggering sin debt through the blood of Jesus. Lord, help us! Even now, cause us to remember those whom we have yet to forgive and to forgive them at once, now and forever. In the matchless Name of Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 6:11 “Give us this day our daily bread.”

Today’s devotional is taken from The Prayer of the Lord by R. C. Sproul.

Jesus teaches us to pray that God would give us daily bread (Matthew 6:11). Obviously, Jesus was not telling His disciples to pray only for bread. But bread was a staple in the diet of the Jews, and had been so for many years. Furthermore, bread was a powerful symbol of God’s provision for His people in the Old Testament. We remember how God cared for the Israelites when they were in the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt. Life in the wilderness was hard, and soon the people began to complain that it would be better to be back in Egypt, where they had wonderful food to eat. In response to these complaints, God promised to “rain bread from heaven” (Ex. 16:4). The next morning, when the dew lifted, there remained behind on the ground “a small round substance, as fine as frost… . It was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey” (vv. 14, 31). When God miraculously fed His people from heaven, he did so by giving them bread.

It’s interesting to me that in the language of Western culture, we sometimes speak of one partner in a marriage (it used to be almost exclusively the husband, but not so much these days) as the wage earner of the home. But more colloquially, we call that partner “the breadwinner.” Even in our slang, we use the word bread as a synonym for “money.” Bread remains, at least in our language, as a powerful symbol of the rudimentary basis of provision for our needs.

After the Korean War ended, South Korea was left with a large number of children who had been orphaned by the war. We’ve seen the same thing in the Vietnam conflict, in Bosnia, and in other places. In the case of Korea, relief agencies came in to deal with all the problems that arose in connection with having so many orphan children. One of the people involved in this relief effort told me about a problem they encountered with the children who were in the orphanages. Even though the children had three meals a day provided for them, they were restless and anxious at night and had difficulty sleeping. As they talked to the children, they soon discovered that the children had great anxiety about whether they would have food the next day. To help resolve this problem, the relief workers in one particular orphanage decided that each night when the children were put to bed, the nurses there would place a single piece of bread in each child’s hand. The bread wasn’t intended to be eaten; it was simply intended to be held by the children as they went to sleep. It was a “security blanket” for them, reminding them that there would be provision for their daily needs. Sure enough, the bread calmed the children’s anxieties and helped them sleep. Likewise, we take comfort in knowing that our physical needs are met, that we have food, or “bread,” for our needs.

This petition of the Lord’s Prayer, then, teaches us to come to God in a spirit of humble dependence, asking Him to provide what we need and to sustain us from day to day. We are not given license to ask for great riches, but we are encouraged to make our needs known to Him, trusting that He will provide.

If we find that God’s hand seems to be invisible to us and that we cannot discern His providential intrusion into our lives, that may be due partly to the way we pray. We have a tendency to pray in general. When we pray in general, the only way we will see the hand of God’s providence is in general. As we enter into prayer, this conversation and communion with God, and put our petitions before Him, pouring out our souls and our needs specifically, we see specific answers to our prayers. Our Father has invited us to go to Him and ask Him for our daily bread. He will not fail to provide it.

PRAYER: Father God, you have invited us to ask for our daily bread. We thank you that you are a good Father and give good gifts to your children. Please supply our needs and help us to recognize when we are asking not because we need something but because we merely want it. Thank you that your mercies never fail and that you always hear our prayers. In the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 6: ⁸ “Therefore do not be like them. (the heathens praying loudly, repeating the same thing over and over again) For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. ⁹ In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.¹⁰ Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Jesus’ followers were confused! All their lives, they had seen the ultra – religious people reciting long prayers in public as loudly as they could. Even those who worshiped Baal or Ashtar prayed in the same fashion. This was the only model for prayer that they had, but now Jesus was telling them that this manner of prayer was useless. By this point, the disciples were probably scratching their heads in bewilderment. And it was then that Jesus gave his listeners a very simple outline for prayer.

“Our Father in heaven” – Jesus was trying to encourage his hearers to realize that God was their good heavenly Father. This teaching was revolutionary because fathers were viewed as kind and loving and approachable. Even the Pharisees did not view God as a kind Father but as a stern remote Deity who had to be served by keeping a long list of dos and don’ts. The heathens worshiped by making sacrifices or by going through rituals, but their gods were always viewed as remote and not personal. Now Jesus was describing a heavenly Father who cared so much for His children that He already knew everything they needed before they asked.

What does “hallowed” mean? Dictionary.com defines “hallowed” as “regarded as holy; venerated; sacred. Terms associated include holy, sacred, dedicated, honored, sanctified, blessed, consecrated, divine, anointed, inviolable, sacrosanct, and unprofane. Jesus wanted us to recognize two things: God is our heavenly Father and God is pure and holy.

“Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The Bible describes the coming of God’s kingdom as a time of love and peace and joy. We should pray that God’s kingdom will begin to come in our hearts and minds and lives, no matter what our outward circumstances might be. C. S. Lewis once wrote, “God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.”

Why is it so important to beg God for His perfect will to be done? Because men have free will and can make terrible choices. Again, quoting C. S. Lewis: “Hell begins with a grumbling mood, always complaining, always blaming others… but you are still distinct from it. You may even criticize it in yourself and wish you could stop it. But there may come a day when you can no longer. Then there will be no you left to criticize the mood or even to enjoy it, but just the grumble itself, going on forever like a machine. It is not a question of God “sending us” to hell. In each of us there is something growing, which will BE hell unless it is nipped in the bud.

Every moment, we stand at crossroads and make choices. We either choose to go on with God or to turn away from God. There is no such thing as a minor decision because our minor decisions in a given direction will lead us further and further down a particular path. Today, choose to go on with God.

PRAYER: Father, we thank you and praise you and bless your Name! You are completely pure and holy. It is only because of your great love for us that we continue to exist. May your kingdom fully come and your will be fully done throughout this world. In the mighty and precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

1 John 3:1 – 3 “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of ^[a]God! Therefore the world does not know ^[b]us, because it did not know Him. ² Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. ³ And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

Today is Valentine’s Day. St. Valentine is the patron saint of lovers, epileptics, and beekeepers. By some accounts, St. Valentine was a Roman priest and physician who suffered martyrdom during the persecution of Christians by the emperor Claudius II Gothicus about 270. According to legend, St. Valentine signed a letter “from your Valentine” to his jailer’s daughter, whom he had befriended and healed from blindness. Another common legend states that he defied the emperor’s orders and secretly married couples to spare the husbands from war.

What kind of love would compel a man to flout an all – powerful Roman emperor to help people? For that matter, what kind of love is currently compelling Chinese Christians in Wuhan to hand out masks and to preach the Gospel in the midst of the Coronavirus outbreak? The first Chinese doctor who reported the Coronavirus threat was punished by his own government but yet persisted in raising the alarm. This brave doctor recently died of Coronavirus; he was a Christian. The poem he wrote is circulating on the internet; it will move you to tears. So, what force moved St. Valentine? What force is moving the Chinese Christians of Wuhan? This force is the love of God that they have experienced, a powerful, overwhelming kind of love that strengthens the weak, gives courage to the coward, and compels people to demonstrate that love to strangers even at the risk of their own lives.

St. Valentine laid down his life for his faith. The Chinese Christians are risking their lives. And all of these sacrifices are because Jesus, God’s only Son, who was perfect and without sin, gladly laid down His life to die a shameful death on a Roman cross for the sins of all of us. The song in the video says, “How deep the Father’s love for us! How vast beyond all measure. That He should give His only Son to make a wretch his treasure.” Apart from the love of God, all of us are wretches who would never make it into heaven. But a perfect holy loving God has made a way for anyone who will accept the sacrifice of Jesus and believe on His Name.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, we don’t understand why you were willing to die for us, but we are grateful that you did so. We can’t understand that kind of love, but we can accept it without understanding it. Lord, forgive our sins! Heal us emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually. And thank you for your sacrifice. We bless your Name! And thank you that we will one day be with you in heaven. Amen.

Matthew 6: 7 – 8 “And when you pray, do not heap up phrases (multiply words, repeating the same ones over and over) as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard for their much speaking. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”

If things were noisy at a Jewish temple, they were a whole lot noisier at some of the heathen shrines! 1 Kings 18:25-29 tells the story of Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal several hundred years before Jesus. The Baal worshipers changed all day long, even cutting themselves and running around their altar until all they could do was to limp. Why were people chanting so much? Could it have been because they didn’t know the one true living God and actually thought that if they repeated the same request or demand over and over, they would manipulate God into doing whatever they wanted Him to?

Here Jesus is trying to point us away from meaningless rituals and point us to His Father. “But,” you ask, “What about Jesus’ teaching in Luke 18 where he advises people to always pray and not to lose heart and give up? What about the story of the widow and the unjust judge?” (Luke 18: 1- 8) Jesus is not trying to discourage us from continuing to pray or to intercede. But think about it. If your child wants something, he or she will come to you and ask for it. And if the child doesn’t receive the desired answer the first time, the child will keep returning to ask again and again. But smart children are not going to stand in front of their parents chanting the same thing over and over and over. Such a practice is likely to cause the parent to send the child away, rather than to grant a request.

When I was growing up on a Midwestern farm, I desperately wanted a horse to ride. I asked my parents several times for a horse, but they told me they weren’t sure I could take care of one. One thing I knew that I might have to do if I owned a horse was to clean out the horse’s stall. We had milk cows and each day they filled the dung channel in the milking parlor. Without being asked, I began cleaning out the cow manure on a nightly basis. I was nine at the time. I cleaned cow manure for a whole year, but at the end of that year, my parents got me a horse.

God is a good father; in fact, God is a perfect father. Earthly fathers sometimes have no idea how to help their children, but Father God always knows our needs and wants, even before we do. What God wants is for us to approach Him in prayer quietly and confidently, certain that He will hear us. As the song says, “He knows my name. He knows my every thought. He sees each tear that falls, and hears me when I call.” Find a quiet place and talk with your heavenly Father. He’s waiting for you.

PRAYER: Father God, thank you so much that you have created us to love you and to desire you. Please help us to pray in faith that you are hearing us and that you care for everything about us. And thank you that we don’t have to chant or to mouth meaningless words, but that you always hear us the first time. Help us to listen for your still small Voice. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Matthew 6: 5-6 “Also when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward in full already. But when you pray, go into your most private room and, closing the door, pray to your Father, Who is in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open.”

Well! That temple in Jerusalem certainly must have been noisy! As if it weren’t enough that big donors were advertising their donations with fanfares of trumpets, the ultra – religious people were standing in front of everybody in the synagogues and even on street corners, showing off how well and how loudly they could pray! And Jesus saw this and warned his followers that this kind of prayer was noisy but useless. Jesus was advising that we should find the most private place that we could, away from other people, and close the door, so that others would not hear us. Only after withdrawing from others, were we to pray to our Father, Who is in secret. Sadly, many church prayer meetings appear to turn into competitions to see who can pray the loudest and fastest. How can you hear the Lord if you continue to make noise?

For an in – depth discussion of hypocrisy, see http://blog.adw.org/2012/02/what-does-jesus-mean-by-hypocrisy-its-deeper-than-you-think/  The term hypocrite came from a Greek word referring to an actor on a stage who would change his character to fit the role he was playing. Jesus was warning us that God is not interested in displays but in the attitude of our hearts. Later in the 18^th chapter of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells the story of two men who went to the temple to pray. (Luke 18:10 – 14) The one man was a Pharisee, who “took his stand ostentatiously and prayed thus before and with himself: God, I thank You that I am not like the rest of men – extortioners, swindlers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I gain.” The poor tax collector stood off in a corner and didn’t even lift his eyes toward heaven but kept striking his breast, saying, “O God, be merciful to me, the especially wicked sinner that I am!” How surprised some of Jesus’ hearers must have been when Jesus advised them that it was the tax collector who went home in right standing with God, rather than the Pharisee. You can imagine that some of the poorer people listening to Jesus were probably elbowing their neighbors and saying, “See! I always knew there was something wrong with those Pharisees!”

If you want to chat with a friend, you don’t stand in front of him and start proclaiming things as loudly and as rapidly as you can. If you did something like that, your friend would correctly think you were crazy. Conversations involve two people and each one takes turns listening and speaking. But many times, our praying seems to be much more like that of the Pharisee than that of the tax collector. Mother Teresa is quoted as having said, “God speaks in the silence of the heart, and we listen. And then we speak from the fullness of our heart, and God listens. And this listening and this speaking is what prayer is meant to be.”

PRAYER: Father God, please forgive us for our arrogant prayers! We have tried to impress you, when you know us better than we know ourselves. Lord, forgive us for our presumption. Help us to approach you, knowing that you love us and want to share your heart with us. And give us hearts and minds that are open and ready to receive what you want to tell us. In Jesus’ precious Name. Amen.

Matthew 6:1- 4 “Take care not to do your good deeds publicly or before men, in order to be seen by them; otherwise, you will have no reward with and from your Father Who is in heaven. Thus, whenever you give to the poor, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites in the synagogues and in the streets like to do, that they may be recognized and honored and praised by men. Truly I tell you, they have their reward in full already. But when you give to charity, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your deeds of charity may be in secret; and your Father Who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

It was our first Sunday at Wesley Methodist Cathedral in Kumasi in 1988, and we were really impressed! Not only did they have a main sermon, but they also had a “mini – sermon” before the main one. How spiritual! And then we learned enough Twi to realize that the “mini – sermon” consisted of “Owura Yeboah ama cedi mpem mienu. Owura Manu ama cedi mpem miensa.” (Mr. Yeboah has given two thousand cedis. Mr. Manu has given three thousand cedis.) This wasn’t a sermon; this was the announcement of the amounts people had donated to the church! Then we attended a number of traditional funerals, only to hear the same kinds of announcements! Somehow, in the clash of traditional Christianity and the local culture, Jesus’ injunctions had gotten lost in the shuffle. Even today, donations at public events are still announced with great fanfare. Were there to be no such announcements, those attending would feel that the organizers were ungrateful. Our answer to this problem has been to either make the donation anonymously or to donate before or after the event, so that we avoid becoming part of the announcements.

Let’s look at Jesus’ teaching. Evidently, the very rich who wished to make gifts to the synagogue had no problems advertising their charity; in fact, they actually had trumpeters leading the way through the streets and right into the synagogues to make sure that EVERYBODY knew just how warm – hearted and generous they were! Of course, these were also the same people who were refusing to support their aged parents (Mark 7:11) and who were even tithing their spices – the first actual bean counters! No wonder that Jesus commended a poor widow who crept into the temple un – noticed to put in two of the smallest coins possible. Jesus pointed out that this lady was giving everything she had to God, literally while the rich were giving out of abundance, leaving plenty for themselves.

“But,” you argue, “what about reporting charitable giving to the IRS?” There is nothing wrong with reporting charitable giving to the IRS. The IRS is not going to pat you on the back, nor is the IRS going to announce your name publicly as a big donor. As missionaries we must account for the monies entrusted to us, including our donations; however, these reports are filed quietly. But there are also little things – school fees for pastors’ children, money for medicines and feeding for hospital patients. Small amounts can make a big difference when one is very poor.

God keeps His books, and His accounting is perfect. Jesus taught that even if someone gave a cup of cold water to someone because that person was a disciple of Jesus, that there would be a reward. (Matthew 10:42) But the law of the Kingdom of God is to give freely and quietly, never worrying about how much public acclaim you will get in the process.  

Jesus taught that we couldn’t have it both ways; either we would get our appreciation from men here on earth, or we would wait until heaven for God to recognize us. In Matthew 25: 31 – 40, Jesus describes the scene at the end of the world when He will come in glory and will reward those who helped the hungry, the thirsty, strangers, the sick, prisoners, and those needing clothing. “And the King will reply to them, Truly I tell you, in so far as you did it for one of the least of these My brethren, you did it for Me.” We do not earn our way into heaven by our charitable donations. We give out of gratitude and compassion because God has already given His Son Jesus to die for our sins and to give us eternal life.

PRAYER: Father God, please help us to give freely as you do, for you send sunshine and rain on the just and on the unjust. Please let our hearts break with the things that break Your heart! And please, Father, help us to give with Heaven on our minds and gratitude in our hearts for your great gift of salvation. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Matthew 5: 43 – 48 “You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, to show that you are the children of your Father Who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the wicked and on the good, and makes the rain fall upon the upright and the wrongdoers [alike]. For if you love those who love you, what reward can you have? Do not even the tax collectors do that? And if you greet only your brethren, what more than others are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles [the heathen] do that? You, therefore, must be perfect, [growing into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity], as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Romans 12:21 “Do not let yourself be overcome by evil, but overcome (master) evil with good.”

In the last few weeks, the American people have witnessed examples of pettiness, unforgiveness, and political gamesmanship. Political leaders from one party have refused to shake hands with those from another party. In one highly publicized incident, the Speaker of the House tore up her copy of the President’s State of the Union address. None of these acts have made anyone look bigger or wiser or stronger or more virtuous! Many Americans have been appalled and embarrassed by such behavior from those who are supposed to be setting examples.

This behavior is not new; on the contrary, it is as old as the human race. Jesus knew all about being offended and holding grudges. And as Jesus was standing on that hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee, teaching the crowds, he was focusing in on the ultra- religious people who had come to hear him. There are two groups that Jesus specifically mentions and some explanation is in order. In those days, the Romans employed Jews as tax collectors. Most of the tax collectors collected far more than they were supposed to, victimizing the poor but becoming very rich in the process. The religious people scorned the tax collectors because they viewed tax collectors as pawns of a godless Roman government and violators of scriptural injunctions against demanding exorbitant rates of interest. At the same time, the religious people also scorned the Gentiles.

Gentiles were non – Jews who did not practice the Jewish religion. Ultra – religious Jews saved particular scorn for Samaritans. When Israel and Judah were carried off into captivity by the Babylonians and Assyrians, the conquerors settled other groups of people in the land so that the land would not become over – run with wild animals or become unproductive. When these settlers were attacked by lions, the Assyrians sent Jewish priests to teach them about the one true God.  Unfortunately, these people continued to serve their idols while also worshiping the God of the Jews. 2 Kings 17:24 – 41) Proud practicing Jews viewed Samaritans as a mongrel people whose worship was substandard and surely unacceptable to God.

As Jesus began his teaching, there were probably a number of Pharisees and Sadducees who were waiting for acclamation of their outstanding behavior. But what was this? Jesus was daring to compare these superior beings to TAX COLLECTORS and GENTILES!!! Say what? How dare he? The nerve of that man! And moreover, Jesus was saying that their attitudes were no better than those of these social outcasts! It’s possible that some of the humble people on that hillside were taking quiet pleasure in watching these proud religious leaders being taken down a few pegs. But Jesus wasn’t trying to attack any particular group; his concern was for all of his hearers.

What about us? How many of us are very careful to be polite and kind to those whom we love and cold and aloof to those with whom we have differences? Certainly, this kind of behavior would not meet with Jesus’ approval.  1 Corinthians 13:5 states in part that “love pays no attention to a suffered wrong.” (NKJV Amplified)  

We do not have to agree with someone else’s political views, but we do have an obligation to be kind and courteous. There is a story told of a fictional Protestant missionary in South America who was unhappy about having to work with the local Catholics/. “But Lord,” the missionary complained, “I don’t believe the same way the Catholics do. Why should I have to work with them?” “I don’t believe the same way you do either,” replied the Lord, “but I still work with you.”

PRAYER: Father God, our hearts are hard! We treasure up hurts and take revenge, even on fellow believers. Please take away our hard stony hearts and give us Your Heart of love and forgiveness. Help us to remember that you have given us everything, even when we have not deserved anything. Help us to love as you love and to pray for our persecutors. For as we pray, your Love will change our hearts. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.