How can you get victory over worry? Worry is something that many of us have experienced, some people are plagued by worries. Worry is nothing else but a form of fear, right?
Can birds give sermons? I just might as well let you in on it. Yes, birds can give sermons! How is that possible?
Do you have an evil eye? Or a good eye? That’s the question!
I’ve hesitated for some time to write about a Christian viewpoint of military service, war and pacifism, due to the fact that the subject is so controversial. God-seeking Christians don’t all agree on the issue. I decided, however, that this might be a good time to broach the subject since, after my previous two e-teachings, I succeeded in persuading some readers to see the contextual errors of the Anabaptist interpretation of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.
Christian pacifists are apt to cite Jesus’ words about loving our neighbors and enemies—both found in His most famous sermon—to support their convictions against military service and war. “How can one claim to love his neighbor or enemy and shoot bullets at him on a battlefield?” they ask. That straightforward reasoning has convinced many Christians that the military is no place for followers of Christ. Some groups and denominations even go so far as to teach that no one in military service can possibly be an authentic Christian because he so blatantly disregards Jesus’ most fundamental teaching.
So let’s begin by considering, within the context of all Scripture, the two commandments upon which Christian pacifism rests.
What did Jesus mean when He said your eye is the lamp of your body?
What are the treasures that Jesus said we should not lay up on this earth?
Why should you, as Jesus commanded, anoint your head and wash your face when you fast?
How do you cope with the death of someone whom you love very much?
In last month’s e-teaching, I challenged a premise—held by Anabaptist and other holiness groups—that Jesus established new moral standards during His Sermon on the Mount that were higher than those found in the Law of Moses. The basis of that Anabaptist premise is the assumption that Jesus’ six “You have heard…but I say to you” statements are each examples of Him quoting a standard found in the Law of Moses followed by “a new, higher standard” that was, from that moment on, binding on His followers.
Are you thinking about forever? We’re all probably less focused on eternity than we should be.
