"...When
you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has
something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be
reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.
“Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall
not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ But I say
to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or
by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of
the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair
white or black. Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than
this comes from the evil one...”
Jesus is teaching his disciples and here are three gems for us
in life.'
1.
The importance of worship-
When you take your
offering to the altar…when you take your gift! There is no ambiguity here as to what should take place in our
lives, not an if but an expectation, the word is when…! It is no something that another can do
for you, not a gift that someone else can procure …this speaks personally to you
and to me.
2 Corinthians 9:7
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Hebrews 13:15Let us continually offer up an offering of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
Romans 12:1
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
The importance of Reconciliation
Again the emphases is on you….you remember…why? Because it is
you the Holy Spirit of God speaks to…it is not someone else that he tells…it is
in your mind that he brings a recollection of where you are in the spiritual
life, it is he who is tasked with teaching you…not anyone else…"When the Holy
Ghost has come he will teach you , he will remind you he will lead you into all
the truth"I am sure I have offended people and forgotten, plum forgotten or I have though perhaps, they deserve that….they will get over it…after all, some people get offended at the mere sight of you! There is not a thing we can do about that or should…however there are some things that God does bring to our remembrance….!
Now suppose this employer goes to church and there has it come to mind that this (former) employee is upset with him—angry and offended at him—for firing him. Does this mean that God will not accept his worship until he goes and offers this guy a job? No, because he has not sinned against his employee by firing him for not doing the work he was hired to do.
Or suppose a mother disciplines a child in the car on the way to church and the child is upset with his mother. Will God refuse to accept her worship until the child is no longer angry with her? No, she has not sinned against him for disciplining his misbehavior.'
Paul says in Romans 12:18, "If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
Benson: “Because men are very apt to fall into rash anger, and to express their anger by contemptuous speeches and abusive names, fancying that there is no sin in these things, or but little, and that the compensation may easily be made for them by acts of devotion, Jesus declares that atonement is not to be made for these offences by any offerings, how costly soever, and therefore prescribes immediate repentance and reparation as the only remedies of them
The Importance of your word
James 5:12 Contemporary English Version (CEV)
12 My friends,
above all else, don’t take an oath. You must not swear by heaven or by earth or
by anything else. “Yes” or “No” is all you need to say.
A former archbishop of Canterbury arrived in New York. A journalist asked him, “Will you be visiting any of our nightclubs whilst you are here?” The archbishop mischievously replied, “Are there any night clubs here?” Next day a newspaper headline read: “Archbishop’s first question on arriving in New York: ‘Are there any night clubs here?’” How easy it is to misquote or misunderstand without a context!
If you are ever called on to testify in court, you will be asked, “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?” Are you violating Scripture to put yourself under such an oath? Our President and other elected officials must place their hand on a Bible and take the oath of office. Are they disobeying the very Bible that they swear upon?
“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’ You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’ You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering?
We all have to take the words we say much more seriously if we are to apply this lesson from the Lord! Give us grace Lord, to be serious about the words we say, the promises we make, the things we commit to. May we be known as people of our word!
Blessings
Seraph
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