Matthew 5:2--26 ~ come to terms

Matthew 5:20-26

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny [quadrans worth about 1/64 of a denarius, which was a day's wage for a laborer] .

They love Jesus, but they don't love the church. The Pew Research Center published the 2010 report one-in-four members of the Millennial Generation - called because they were born after 1980 & come of age around the year 2000 (ages 18 to 29) - are unaffiliated with any particular faith. Millennial young adults pray as much and believe in heaven, hell, miracles and God as much as their elders. They are politically much more to the left, do not feel Hollywood will corrupt their morals, and have a different view of homosexuality as a sin.

Newsweek reported in 2009 church goers in America were fading away, but reading the article & the research it wasn't across the country a drop, but the Northeast American Catholics had declined sharply, probably over the sexual abuse scandal. It was a very sharp decline.

Woe is me. Media jump back. Let the bells toll. Proclaim the Catholic church has regaining some of the lost flock. Yes, and it really wasn't reported as news. What should the bells proclaim ~ forgiveness. Hey, I live in a church family, sure we are Protestant, but if foot dragging church members are seeking the comfort, joy, solace And Eternal Benefits of Communion, Public Worship and Church Community - praise God for our prodigal sons and like Father God, run to them.

And this Millennial Generation? I have a 21 year old experiencing all these things in college, I pray for him. What's new? Having read history of the church in England (we are Anglican Bible Believers - Church of England) I see the Light of Christ is always being proclaimed, for the last 2,000 years, as going out by the darkness. The Light still Shines.

The status quo of the bible is still constant. There is a Spiritual Battle between light and darkness, forces greater than us. We pray. We believe in the God of Love. I pray specifically for my sons they will want to be embraced by the Love of Almighty God, desire to know His Word and the letters He has written to them. Desire to love and lift up the body of Christ called the church.

We believe we are in a race, the Scriptures tell us. Yesterday we read, paraphrasing: we are far from perfect, but we press on for the glory of God. If we do not go out of our way in church, and believe "mission work" is in 3rd world countries, and do not love our fellow church family, we fail. Fail. If we are not loving to the adults in our church, why would their kids want to participate? The appearance of righteousness only brings obligation.

Obligation tells us not to murder. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5, there might be controversy, no. No Jesus says there will be trouble. He says if you are angry, you should feel free to discuss it with the offender. He says if you are accused of injustice to address it. Jesus is telling us to be mature enough to discuss the rifts in humanity, knowing He is in our midst. Jesus is not for stuffing our hurt, our sly ways He says we all have, and gritting our teeth to get along with each other.

This passage can be very bruising. You might have attempted to seek peace to an angry situation or heal verbal abuse, an apology was offered and the fire still rages or smolders. God is our judge, continue to picture the other person/ people with love. Remember they are loved by God as His child. Let the God of Love be included in controversy knowing He is the One. Take the higher road, be at peace. God Reigns.

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