TheCross Blog

  Character Building "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. Now everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." ( Matthew 7:24-27 ) The above text presents every person in one of two classes: wise or foolish builders. In it, Jesus is encouraging those who had heard His teachings in the Sermon on the Mount to apply them in their lives -- not to be "forgetful hearers" ( Jas. 1:22 ). Each of us is to be involved in that building process by applying the principles of Scripture to our thoughts and conduct, conforming to the will of God in a...

The Blessings of Prayer   One of the greatest blessings a child of God has is prayer, the right to communicate with God. Anyone who is striving to do the will of the Lord will have an active prayer life. Give Yourself to Prayer In several New Testament passages the Christian is urged to give time, to prayer. In Luke 18, Jesus taught a parable to demonstrate that people "always ought to pray and not lose heart" ( Luke 18:1 ). The apostle Paul, in 1 Timothy 2:8 , encouraged men in every place to pray. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Christians are commanded to "Pray without ceasing." To "pray without ceasing" is not to have some incessant babbling on your lips but to have the attitude of mind to regularly and frequently pray. It means to have a willingness to talk to God -- to share burdens, to confess sins and to pray for strength and courage. Many Neglect to Pray Even though many commands and encouragements to pray are contained in Scri...

You Shall Be Perfect  ( Matt. 5:48 ). "Therefore you shall be perfect just as your Father in heaven is perfect" ( Matt. 5:48 ). At first glance, this is a difficult passage. It seems to be calling us to do or be what seems impossible. "Nobody is perfect," is what we say. It is true that all responsible people commit sin. Romans 3:23 states that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That is why Jesus died for all men to give them the opportunity to have their sin removed ( Heb. 2:9 ; 2 Cor. 5:14 ). It is also why the gospel needs to be preached "to every creature" ( Mark 16:16 ). Even after one obeys the gospel, he still commits sin and needs forgiveness ( 1 John 1:7–10 ). If Matthew 5:48 were telling us that we must live sinlessly perfect lives or that we must be as perfect as God, then we obviously have some real problems. When we seek to determine the meaning of any Biblical text, especially one that seems ...

"Tell me what you are busy about, and I will tell you what you are" What You Really Are The above quotation, when applied to our lives, rings true. How we spend our time and what we allow to occupy our attention tells others what we really are and that may be dramatically different from what we claim to be. Professing to be Christians does not mean that we are living as the children of God should. Unless we conform our thoughts and actions to the word of God and the example set by His Son and be busy about the Father's business, others will know and the Father will know that even though we claim to be dedicated to the Lord, our affections lie elsewhere. What are you "busy about?" Is it your job? Does it take all of your energy and most of your time? Is your main interest in life the amassing of "things?" Do you use all spare moments in some recreational pursuit? If any of these apply, you need to take stock and channel ...

Be Perfect, As Your Heavenly Father Is Perfect Matt. 5:21-48 Matt. 5:21-48  is a part of the Sermon on the mount that has always bothered me. It’s not what Jesus taught that’s a problem for me, but how it has been perceived. I grew up learning that in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus was giving us a guide for holy living . But I no longer believe that was entirely the case. I believe in Matt. 5:21-48  He was expanding on His statement in  Matt. 5:20  that  “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” For all their faults, the Pharisees and teachers of the law were men who devoted their lives to keeping even the smallest details of the Law. They thought by doing this they were earning a righteousness that would gain them admittance to God’s kingdom.  But Jesus said that even as obsessive as they were about the Law, they had fallen hopelessly short...