A Year of Grace

Matthew 6:19 – “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

²² “Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. ²³ But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (NLT)

Recently, television shows that depict the lives of compulsive hoarders have become popular.  The reasons for compulsive hoarding are many: fear of throwing something away that may be useful in the future; emotional attachment to things; and even perfectionism have been listed as possible reasons.  In reality, we all are hoarders on some level.  We all accumulate a certain amount of ‘stuff’.  Our attics or basements often contain boxes filled with items we never think about, yet we save them for years.  We like our stuff, and we hang onto it!

If we are honest with ourselves, what we hang onto will not make much of a difference when our lives are over.  My wife, Lisa, and I used to attend estate auctions, trying to find a bargain or two. Many of those estate auctions were held by children whose parents had passed away.  It was sad to see what appeared to be the sum of someone’s life auctioned off for a fraction of the value that the owner had placed on their ‘stuff’.

I don’t think that Jesus objects to our possessing objects of sentimental value, but I do think we should all ask ourselves: what do we value most?  Consider verse twenty-one: “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”  Jesus did not say, where the desire of your heart is, there will be your treasure.  Many Christians would say that they desire the things of God, but their treasures tell a different story.  Our hearts (emotions) trick us into believing that some things are of great importance to us, but in reality they are not.  Our treasures do not follow our hearts, our hearts follow our treasure.

So, what are we to make of this verse?  We must understand that as Christians we must discipline ourselves – for that is what a disciple does!  We must discipline ourselves so that we treasure the things of God: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  These are the things of God that we should treasure, for these are the very things that the Spirit of God can and should produce in our lives (Galatians 5:22-23).  If we treasure these things, then our hearts will desire the things of God.  If these are not the things that we treasure, then as Jesus says in verse twenty-three above, the light we have is actually darkness.

Today, let us discipline ourselves to treasure the things of God, and we will notice that our hearts will desire these very things! 

Posted by Ramón Torres

Matthew 6:7 – “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. ⁸ Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! ⁹ Pray like this:

Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
¹⁰ May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today the food we need,
¹² and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
¹³ And don’t let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.

¹⁴ “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (NLT)

Keep it simple – that’s what Jesus teaches us about prayer.  While this prayer seems simple enough, we should note that these simple words contain powerful petitions.  Consider asking that God’s will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.  We have often prayed this, but we should consider what we are asking!  In heaven there is no sin, no anger, no grudges held, no prejudices.  When we pray this simple prayer, we are asking that our lives be radically changed!  When we pray for God’s will here on earth, we are in essence asking that we have the strength to lay every selfish desire that we have aside, and instead humbly serve others.  We might worry about a worship service going a few minutes over an hour, yet will we be quick to leave worship in heaven?  We put conditions on our love for others, but no such conditions exist in heaven.  What radical words this simple prayer contains. 

Verse fourteen presents a huge challenge for many – if we refuse to forgive others, then God will not forgive us.  However, if we are truly seeking to live kingdom life now, then we will forgive.  If we refuse to forgive, then whenever we pray the Lord’s Prayer, and ask for God’s kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven, we are either lying or ignorant of what we ask!

God’s kingdom now is radical, and God wants us to live radical lives now.  Today, let’s live radically.  Today, let us allow someone to see the difference that God can make in the world by seeing the difference that God has made in us!

Posted by Ramón Torres

Psalm 30:1 – I will exalt you, Lord, for you rescued me.
You refused to let my enemies triumph over me.
² O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you restored my health.
³ You brought me up from the grave, O Lord.
You kept me from falling into the pit of death.

⁴ Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones!
Praise his holy name.
⁵ For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime!
Weeping may last through the night,
but joy comes with the morning.

⁶ When I was prosperous, I said,
“Nothing can stop me now!”
⁷ Your favor, O Lord, made me as secure as a mountain.
Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered.

⁸ I cried out to you, O Lord.
I begged the Lord for mercy, saying,
⁹ “What will you gain if I die,
if I sink into the grave?
Can my dust praise you?
Can it tell of your faithfulness?
¹⁰ Hear me, Lord, and have mercy on me.
Help me, O Lord.”

¹¹ You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.
You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,
¹² that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!

In this passage we can find parallels between David’s prayer and our relationship with God.  Verse one leads us to believe that David had been in distress, nearly overwhelmed by his enemies.  I doubt that any of us have been out battling Philistines, but I believe that we can relate to this feeling! There are times in our lives when it seems as if the world is closing in on us.  We are told in verses two and three that when David cried out to God, God rescued him. When we are faithful and cry out to God, God is there.  We may not recognize it at first, but like David in verse four, we can come to a place where can praise God for bringing us through our trials.  

In verse six, David admits that there was a time when he believed that he had achieved his success on his own.  He felt good about what he had accomplished.  He forgot the one who gave him life, and gave him the gifts to achieve success.  Here is a danger we must watch out for – thinking that we are self made.  God is the one who gives us our abilities.  When we are successful, we can be satisfied with our hard work, but we must not forget the one who has given us our abilities to work hard.  David recognizes in verse seven that it was God who gave him success, but he also admits that he felt secure as a mountain!  In other words, he lost his focus on God and felt it was all his own doing that brought him his success. 

Then in verse seven, David admits that he was shattered when God turned away.  I believe it was David who turned away, having found satisfaction in himself and not in the Lord.  How often we find it difficult to keep nurturing our relationship with God when all is well.  We forget who it is that has guided us along the path that brought us success.  James tells us:  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights (James 1:17 NIV).  Our successes in life, and what we have achieved, are gifts from God.  When we lose focus on the giver, we sometimes lose the gifts! 

In verses eight through ten, David recognizes his mistake, and cries out once again to God.  Having returned to God, David says that his mourning has turned into joyful dancing.  God wants us to dance!  God wants us to enjoy life, and even to enjoy our successes in life, but God wants us to maintain focus on the one who has made our success possible. 

Today and every day, let us be quick to praise God (verse 12), so that we will never lose focus on the giver of all good and perfect gifts!   

Posted by Ramón Torres

It’s almost here!  A new year full of possibility and opportunity.  Twelve months.  Fifty-two weeks.  Three hundred and sixty five days.  Eight thousand, seven hundred and sixty hours.  Well, you get the picture.  We have a strange relationship with each new year.  We all feel compelled to make some changes in our lives, which is not a bad thing, yet we are often held back by our failures from the past.  Sometimes we make a resolution to change, but since we failed at making significant changes in the past, we figure there is no use in trying again.

If this depicts your struggle with resolutions, I would ask you to reflect upon the following Scripture verse: “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.” (Philippians 3:13) It’s important to note that Paul does not simply say to look forward to achieving the goal, but to first forget the past.  To press forward, we must let go of the things from the past that hold us back from moving forward.  That does not mean that we cannot learn from the past, but we should not dwell on the past.  We cannot let the past paralyze us with guilt or fear.  

Jesus said: “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)  When we focus on our past, we begin to believe that what we have been is what we will always be.  The Bible promises us that with God the opposite is true!  Indeed, consider 2 Corinthians 5:17 – “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

I would encourage you to make resolutions that would glorify God.  That could mean reading your Bible more, but it could mean many things: improving a relationship; furthering your education; taking control of health issues; and the list could go on and on.  My point is this, as Christians we should always seek to glorify God.  Indeed, we are told in 1 Corinthians 10:31 – “whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

So, make plans to improve yourself, and look forward to it!

Happy New Year!

Posted by Ramón Torres

I love this time of year!  There is nothing about the month of December that I don’t like.  I enjoy all of the Christmas preparations.  I love giving presents.  I love spending extra time with family and friends.  However, while it is certainly, “the most wonderful time of the year,” the truth is that with all the extra things that happen, it can also be the busiest time of the year.  Even though we have our catchphrases like, “Jesus is the reason for the season,” and “Keep Christ in Christmas,” the busyness of the season creeps into our lives.  We love Christmastime, but sometimes we lose focus. 

There is a story in the Gospel of Mark of the apostles doing many great things.  They return to Jesus and report to him of the great things being done (Mark 6:30).  The busyness of the Apostles was certainly a good thing.  They had driven out demons, and healed many sick people (Mark 6:13).  What I find interesting is the response that Jesus gives to the Apostles for their work: “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” (Mark 6:31)   

During this busy time of year, packed with one thing after another to do, one place after another to go, we would do well to spend some time with Jesus in a quiet place.  The rest would do us all some good.  Whatever wonderful things are happening in your lives this December, take some time to rest.  Let’s not get so wrapped up in celebrating the birth of Jesus on the 25^th that we forget to celebrate the presence of Jesus this day.  Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him (Psalm 37:7). 

Merry Christmas!

Posted by Ramón Torres

1 Corinthians 9:19 – Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. ²⁰ When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. ²¹ When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.

²² When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. ²³ I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.

²⁴ Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! ²⁵ All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. ²⁶ So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. ²⁷ I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. (NLT)

If we claim to be a Christian, then we need to recognize that we are a witness.  We may be a good witness, we may be a bad witness, but we are a witness!  We need to be aware of this fact because our challenge is to reach out and make connections to the unchurched in our culture, and we must do this without becoming influenced by the culture. 

Paul, the great evangelist, was faced with this very same challenge, as well.  Paul was willing to make great changes in his daily life in an effort to find some common ground with those who did not know Jesus.  Consider what this must have meant.  When he was with Jews he kept all of the Jewish laws, he ate their foods, he dressed in what was customary, he observed all of their religious rituals.  When he was with the Gentiles, he ate their foods, dressed as was their custom.  Imagine how challenging this was for a man who grew up doing everything he could do in an effort to not be like the Gentiles!

Notice what Paul says in verse twenty-two: “When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ.”  Paul was not writing about their lack of physical strength, he was writing about their lack of spiritual understanding.  Yet Paul, the great Christian theologian, spoke to them on their level, becoming weak like those that he sought to reach. 

This passage offers us some insight on how to reach the unchurched.  We cannot put demands upon the unchurched and expect them to come running to the Church, or to Jesus!  Like Jesus, and like Paul, we must meet the people where they are.  We don’t have to condone all behaviors, but we do not need to condemn or belittle anyone, either.  We can’t expect the weak (as Paul used the term) to understand the need for salvation, so it would probably be best if we didn’t walk up to them and ask them if they were saved!  With all people, our challenge is to find some common ground, for common ground is where all productive communication begins. 

Today, let us seek some common ground with someone who does not know Jesus.  Let’s not condemn, but rather let’s share what we know about love and grace. 

Posted by Ramón Torres

1 Corinthians 8:1 – Now regarding your question about food that has been offered to idols. Yes, we know that “we all have knowledge” about this issue. But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church. ² Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. ³ But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes.

⁴ So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. ⁵ There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many lords. ⁶ But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we live for him. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom God made everything and through whom we have been given life.

⁷ However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated. ⁸ It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we eat. We don’t lose anything if we don’t eat it, and we don’t gain anything if we do.

⁹ But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble. ¹⁰ For if others see you—with your “superior knowledge”—eating in the temple of an idol, won’t they be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been offered to an idol? ¹¹ So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer for whom Christ died will be destroyed. ¹² And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ. ¹³ So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live—for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble. (NLT) 

Take a verse out of its context and you can make the Bible say about anything you want!  Consider the following: “I will never eat meat again as long as I live.” This is a direct quote from the Bible, so eating meat must be a bad thing, right?  Not at all, but we have much to learn from this passage. 

Many people in the Corinthian Church were converts from various pagan religions.  The pagans, like the Jews, would bring an animal to their priest to be sacrificed.  Following the sacrifice, the pagan priests (Jewish priests, as well) would then be free to either use the meat to feed their families, or to sell it in the marketplace.  This is how many of the priests made a living.  In Corinth, the recently pagan Christians were troubled: was it wrong to be eating meat bought in the market that was once part of a pagan ritual?

Paul reassures them that the meat was just meat.  The gods that the meat had been offered to were not gods at all, so they were free to eat the meat.  Paul then states in verse nine: “But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble.”  Paul was not saying that Christians need to give up meat, but he was saying that if it caused someone to stumble in their Christian journey, then he would gladly give meat up forever! 

Are there behaviors that are perfectly fine in and of themselves, but may cause someone to stumble?  Will a glass of wine with a meal cause a weaker Christian, who is prone to alcoholism, stumble?  Will listening to certain types of music, without regard to the lyrics, cause another to think that glorifying such behavior is what Christians are about?  We do not need to live life fearfully analyzing our every move, but as Christians we should be sensitive to how our actions may be understood by others. 

Remembering that we are, indeed, our brothers and sisters keeper, today let us strive to be a little more mindful of how our actions may be perceived. 

Posted by Ramón Torres

1 Corinthians 6:12 – You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. ¹³ You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. ¹⁴ And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead.

¹⁵ Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! ¹⁶ And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.” ¹⁷ But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.

¹⁸ Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. ¹⁹ Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, ²⁰ for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. (NLT)

Have you ever known someone who professes to be a Christian, yet their life tells a different story?  Such was the case with a number of the Christians who lived in Corinth.  Some of them claimed that since they were saved through their faith, then they could live as they desired. (Surely, we don’t have Christians like that anymore!)  Their argument was that since they were free in Christ, they could do anything.  Paul responds in verse twelve, and even quotes their argument: “even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.” 

Paul uses the word slave many times in his letters, even calling himself a slave of Jesus (Romans 1:1).  In Romans, Paul makes the argument that everyone is a slave to something, it is our fallen/sinful human nature.  We are either slaves to sin, or a slave of God.  Romans 6:16 – “Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.” His argument in this passage with the Corinthians was that they had become a slave to sexual sins.

Some Corinthians claimed that since sexual relations were a natural human function, then any sexual relations were justified.  They compared the naturalness of sexual activity to that of the natural act of eating.  If our bodies were made to eat food, then it was justified to eat food, therefore they claimed they were justified to have sexual relations as they desired.  Paul responds with the following: “You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies.”

Paul goes on to share that sexual relations were for a higher purpose than procreation, or even recreation.  The Word of God maintains that sexual relations are a gift from God to bring us into a close spiritual relationship with another.  He writes: “Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! ¹⁶ And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.” ¹⁷ But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.”

Just as we have a spiritual relationship with God through Jesus, sexual relations allow us to nurture a deeper, spiritual relationship with another.  Therefore, we cannot engage in sexual activity casually.  In this passage he mentions ‘with a prostitute’, for that was the argument that the Corinthians were using.  We can substitute ‘anyone other than one’s spouse’ to receive the full meaning of the text.

Sexual relations are not inherently bad, indeed, God commands us to have sexual relations! (Genesis 1:28).  Just as any gift from God can be misused, sexual relations are wrong when engaged in casually.  Paul tells us to run from sexual sin, for no other sin affects us as sexual sin does.

We should celebrate the gifts God has given, but let us use all those gifts in the manner in which God intended them to be used.  We were made to glorify God in all things, today, let us glorify God in all we do and say.

Posted by Ramón Torres

Psalm 136:1 – Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
² Give thanks to the God of gods.
His faithful love endures forever.
³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His faithful love endures forever.

⁴ Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles.
His faithful love endures forever.
⁵ Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully.
His faithful love endures forever.
⁶ Give thanks to him who placed the earth among the waters.
His faithful love endures forever.
⁷ Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights—
His faithful love endures forever.
⁸ the sun to rule the day,
His faithful love endures forever.
⁹ and the moon and stars to rule the night.
His faithful love endures forever. (NLT)

This week we celebrate Thanksgiving, a national holiday.  In our country, as in others, the original thanksgiving observances were harvest festivals.  Many pilgrims of Plymouth Colony had already succumbed to disease and starvation.  Indeed, the colony lost 45 of the 102 settlers during their first winter.  Given the circumstance, I imagine that the feeling of thankfulness and gratitude must have been felt deeply by those of Plymouth Colony, for without a harvest many more would most likely have starved.  Very few of us, if any, have or ever will know of extreme hunger, much less starvation.  Living with plenty has a way of moving us away from a spirit of thankfulness, and we begin to take things for granted.

It is good for a nation to pause and give thanks.  Even though our nation experienced rising inflation this year, we still live with plenty.  While it is good for a nation to give thanks, as Christians we should seek to live thankfully every day.  Indeed, in his letter to the church in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul told them to be careful in how they lived.  He then told them: “And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20). 

Like those Christians in Ephesus long ago, we should be careful in how we live.  Let us start our days by giving thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever! 

Posted by Ramón Torres

Matthew 5:13 – “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. (NLT)

Today’s passage is part of Jesus’ most famous sermon – his Sermon on the Mount.  When we think of the Sermon on the Mount, we often think of the Beatitudes.  The Sermon on the Mount is much more, and this short passage is quite powerful.  Essentially, this passage is telling us that we should be making difference in the world.  

Jesus tells us something quite profound about ourselves, but first let’s consider what Jesus said in John 8:12 “I am the light of the world.” I think we can all say Amen to what Jesus says in that verse, but now consider what Jesus tells us in verse fourteen above: “You are the light of the world.”  How can Jesus be the Light of the World and you and I also be the light of the world?  We go back to John 8:12 and look at the entire verse:  “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

We can easily affirm that Jesus is the Light of the world, but as followers of Jesus we have Jesus’ light within us.  We do not receive that light to keep to ourselves, and this is what Jesus shares in the Matthew 5:16.  We have received the Light for the very purpose of letting other people see Jesus in us.  In essence, Jesus is telling us that Christians should be seen and heard.  Our presence should be noticed by the world.  We should be making a difference.  Our good deeds should be seen by all people – not just by a few of the people who know us, but by all!

I find this challenging, and it is a challenge that I know I cannot live up to on my own power.  It is the very presence of Jesus within us that makes this possible.  I often ask church members this question: “How much Jesus do you really want?”

Today, let’s seek the very presence of Jesus in our lives, so that others may know something of Jesus.  You may very well be the only way someone may come to know Jesus.  Challenging?  Of course, but Jesus has called us to be Light, so let’s shine!

Posted by Ramón Torres