Month: October 2022

Matthew 7:24 – “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (NIV)

I remember the very first sermon I preached many years ago.  The title was: “Is Your Faith Practical?”  It was a modern take on a sermon written a couple hundred years prior by John Wesley.  I am, after all, a disciple of Wesleyan theology!  The sermon written by Wesley, like much of his teachings, was about moving from mere head knowledge to actually living out our faith day by day.  The teachings of Wesley are a large part of why I initially decided to become a Methodist.  I’m not implying that other denominations do not emphasize putting faith into practice, but from the denomination that I came from, the teachings of Wesley were new and exciting.   

When we think of the word ‘practical’, we often think in terms of convenience.  The word, however, literally means to be functional, and to be put into use.  Wesley was not the first to teach that we must put our faith into practice.  Indeed, Jesus taught this lesson over two thousand years ago.  Jesus not only taught us to put our faith into practice, but he also taught us the consequence of not putting our faith into practice.  

Faith is not something we store away just so we can go to heaven when we die.  Faith is where we draw our strength for living life day by day.  Faith is our source of strength when the storms of life toss us about.  Jesus taught us that when those storms come – and they will – our faith will enable us to survive the storms.  However, if we claim to have faith in Jesus, but fail to put his words into practice (verse 24), then we will never be able to withstand the storms of life.

Let us strive to put the words of Jesus, and all of the teachings of the Bible, into practice.  Let us build our spiritual house upon a solid foundation, so that when the storms come, we will be left standing. 

Posted by Ramón Torres

Matthew 7:1 – “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. (NIV)

Around ten years ago I read the book UnChristian by David Kinaman and Gabe Lyons.  The book took a critical look at how the unchurched people in America view Christianity.  Using research provided by the Barna Institute, the authors stated that there are approximately 100 million unchurched people in the United States.  Of those 100 million people, 87% perceive Christians to be judgmental.  If those numbers are even close to being correct, that suggests that 87 million people in our country perceive us to be judgmental.  We can argue that their perceptions are wrong, but their perception is their reality, and to reach the unchurched with the message of Jesus Christ, we must somehow break through that perception barrier.

I don’t think that being judgmental is a new phenomenon among religious people.  Two thousand years ago, Jesus cautioned his followers against being judgmental.  Too make his point, Jesus used customary rabbinical exaggeration: “How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?”  Of course, no one actually was walking around with a plank in their eye, but the point is clear – it is easier for us to notice the sins of others than it is to notice our own.  I don’t believe that Jesus would have us overlook or ignore the sins of others, but we would better serve others, and the kingdom of God, if we first addressed our own sin.

Today, let us refrain from being judgmental.  Let us instead focus on removing the planks from our own eyes so that we will be better able to help one another remove the splinter from their own. 

Posted by Ramón Torres

Matthew 6:19 – “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²² “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.  (NIV) 

Not a day goes by that the economy, the stock market, the strength of the US dollar against the euro, is not in the news.  Every day we look curiously and cautiously at the gas prices.  For years now, people have lived in fear of ‘loosing it all’.  Indeed, many people have ‘lost it all.’  Or have they?  What, exactly, have they lost?

In today’s passage, Jesus makes it clear that money, and the things that money can buy, must not dominate our lives.  If they do dominate out lives, then we will live life never satisfied, never full, and always hungry for more.  Jesus never condemns money.  He never condemns having money or using money.  He does, however, condemn treasuring money, and he condemns loving the things that money can buy more than we love God.  Consider verse twenty-one: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Each of us will give our greatest effort and energy to what we really love.  If the things that money can buy are what we treasure, then that’s where our energies and priorities will be.  Likewise, if the things of God are what we treasure, then that’s where our energies and priorities will be. 

The desire for material possessions robs us of the joy and peace that comes from trusting God for everything.  The desire for material possession, if left unchecked, will move us from serving God to serving money.  Life is more than what we can purchase.  Jesus tells us: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” (Matthew 6:25)  Life – abundant life – is more than food and clothing!  It’s more than houses, cars, retirement plans and vacations.  None of these things are bad in and of themselves, but they are bad when they come before God.  Jesus tells us to watch our priorities by telling us: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33).

Today, let us seek God’s kingdom and righteousness! 

Posted by Ramón Torres