17. July 2008 by Bernice Davis.

Hello: 

Today, we learn about prayer.  This is so one of my favorite subjects.  I have not always loved prayer.  At certain times in my life, I have considered it a burden.   Now, that I look back over the years, I think it was mainly because my view of prayer was off.  In my earlier years, my prayers were filled with selfish wants and desires, and often times I waited until I was desperately in trouble before I entered into prayer.    At times, I even believed that there was no benefit in praying for often I felt God did not answer my prayers or should I say do what I wanted him to do.   Since then, I have come to cherish and even look forward to my prayer time.  I have learned that it is my fellowship with God.  It is how I strengthen my relationship with him and how I grow and in the things of God.   I can pray for hours never asking God for even one thing, just worshiping him, singing before him, thinking about his word, and just laying still in his presence.    

I remember on last year I took a short three day trip to Jamaica.  My husband had to go their on some family business and I went along with him just to do nothing but lay on the beach and be still before God.  I purposely planned to meet God there daily and devote those three days to just loving and appreciating him.   I was so excited about how the three days went for God made me feel safe and secure.  He affirmed and encouraged my heart so through prayer and mediation that when it was time to leave, I got so emotional that I just burst into tears.  I wanted more time with God just me and him alone.  I was not ready to return back to my business and my responsibilities.    It was beautiful.   I’m not saying that I don’t ask God for things when I pray, I’m simply saying that it is no longer my focal point.  I don’t use prayer solely as a tool for acquiring things.   

In today’s lesson, we will discover the origin of the famous “Lord’s prayer.”  Most of us learned it as kids growing up in Sunday School and if not, we certainly are no strangers to it because of its popularity.   

Our text for today is:  Matthew 6:5 ”And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 ”This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ 14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.  

In our text Jesus is referring to the customs of the people who would stand in the synagogues and stand on the street corners and would take pride in how long they could pray and would find gratification in people seeing them and be marveled at their prayers designed not for God but to be admired by man.  Jesus called them hypocrites.    It is interesting to note that the Greek word used for hypocrite is the same word we use today for “actor”; someone who pretends to be something that they are not.  

Jesus also condemned babbling in our prayers; just saying stuff to be saying it.  Jesus then says a powerful statement.  Our heavenly father already knows what we have need of and he teaches us how to pray.

Tomorrow, we will begin a study on “the Lord’s prayer” and talk about each line.  This is amazing and worth spending the time on for after all, this is how Jesus teaches us to pray.   

God Bless.  Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily. 

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16. July 2008 by Bernice Davis.

Hello: 

Our text for today is found in the 6^th chapter of Matthew.  Can you believe that we are finally out of the 5^th chapter?

Matthew 6: 1 Take heed that ye do not your alms  before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not  sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

These next few verses that we’re about to get into are some of my favorite topics.  They deal with the subject of giving, praying and fasting.   The first issue is giving.    This really is simple yet many of us have problems with it.  For those of you that have been following the Matthew study from the beginning you’ll remember that earlier we talked about the heart and Jesus is concerned about our motives.  In all actuality, it really doesn’t count if it doesn’t come from the heart.    

Today our teaching deals with our motives when we give.   If we give with our intent that we want people to know what we gave then the text says we have our reward.  What is the reward, you may say.  It is whatever satisfaction you got when you realized that people noticed you gave.  That’s it, that’s all you get from your giving if that was your motive.  Was it worth it?  

Jesus teaches to do it not for the glory of men but as unto the Lord.  Now, check this out.  Jesus also promises us that if we give in secret then God will reward us openly.   This is so powerful to me, though we gave and no one knew that we were giving or what we gave the text teaches that God will reward us in such a way that everyone will know that we are blessed of God. 

God’s way is Perfect and rewarding.    It’s amazing and so life changing. Tomorrow, we’ll pick up our study with prayer.  God Bless. Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily. 

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15. July 2008 by Bernice Davis.

Hello:    Wow!!!!!!   Got a major response from yesterday’s devotional.  I guess we all got a lot of enemies.  Some felt really reprimanded and convicted by God’s word and others were concerned about the extent of the goodness and kindness to show towards our enemy. Let me see if I can clarify your concerns by giving you a personal example of what happened to me. A few years back I was wrongfully sued.  I had a contract, I abided by the contract and at the end right before the project was to be finished the other party demanded things outside of the contract and refused to finish the project unless I agreed to his terms. I refused, got some help and finished the project on my own.  

Later, I learned that this man had filed a lien against my property demanding amounts that were not owed to him at all and subsequently took me to court.  I was furious.  He was such a thorn in the flesh.   There were so many lies, so much deceit and I had trusted this man so.     Everytime I thought about it, I would get so angry, it consumed so much of my thought life and he was going on with his life not being bothered at all.   He became my enemy.  He was out to harm me and take something away from me that he had no right to.  

I prayed that God would remove the anger but the case just dragged on and on.  We went to mediation and received a judgment to dismiss the case and I thought it was over.  When we recieved the mediation papers from the opposing counsel the decison  to dismiss was reflected but with stimpulations that were in favor of my opponent.   I was livid.  It seemed like the case would never end.   

One day I heard that the man fell desperately ill and all I wanted to do was pray for him.  I immediately went to the hospital where he was and when he saw me, I think I almost made him have a heart attack.   He was astonished to see me.  I asked him if I could pray with him.   Standing there holding my enemy’s hand and looking into his eyes and praying just made all the hate disappear.   It didn’t seem to matter anymore.  At that point, he had lost the control he had over me because I wanted nothing but the best for him and I meant it.  I chose to make him a part of my prayer life and intercede for his welfare.  I desperately wanted God to heal him even though I knew it meant we would return to the battle fields.   I wanted God to raise him up from his sick bed and show forth his glory in this situation. 

I stop pursuing the case.  I was done with it.  I had done nothing wrong and I wasn’t going to commit any more energy to revisiting these past emotions of hate, anger and betrayal.  A few months ago, I got a document from my attorney that the case had been dropped and the lien on my property had been removed.  YES!!!!!!!!!!!   The word works!!!!!!!!   It absolutely does. Jesus is not asking you to go find your enemies and do something nice for them but when you do encounter them and when they do attack you, he is teaching to repay their evil with good. 

Okay, look around you.  You may be at work.  The person next to you who has done everything they can to get you fired or has bad mouthed you or attempted to assasinate your character, or the relative that may be envious and jealous of you and constantly causes you distress, or the friend that seems to hate you for no reason and constantly does things to make your life and your relationships difficult, etc  and the anger you have for them is consuming your thought life. 

 Let it go. Do something nice for them.   Be kind.  The bible says it’s like heaping coals of fire on their head.  God will deal with their conscious.   My friends let me tell you that God has a way of handling our enemies that’s far superior to anything we could have done.   Reacting shows that they have the power.  Being kind shows that you’re in control.   

Okay, I hope this helps.   We will return to our study on tomorrow.   God Bless!!!! 

Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily. 

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14. July 2008 by Bernice Davis.

Hello: 

Welcome back from the weekend.  Our text for today is: 

Matthew 5: 43 ”You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.  

When the Lord speaks of loving our enemies, the Greek word used here is the word “agapao.”  The word means “to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, and to love dearly.” (Strong’s Concordance)   It is an unconditional love.   It is the type of love that is not earned but exists from the pureness of our hearts.  Most of our “love” relationships exists because they have been nurtured, worked on, and the love is reciprocated.   This word “agapao” is the same word used in scriptures to refer to the love that God has for totally “undeserving” sinners.  Remember, for such we were.  This is the same type of love that moved God to act on our behalf and send his son Jesus to die for us.   We did not earn it.  We did not fall in love with God first and then God said, okay, you’ve earn my love, enter into my kingdom.  No, actually, the scriptures teach that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.   Romans 5:8 “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (NIV)

Jesus teaches us that by showing such love to those that hate us we shall be recognized as the “children of God.”  The world will know that we are different; that there is something so unique about us.    You may ask how is it that we can develop such a love for our enemies, after all they are our enemies. 

The examples that we studied on last week showed Jesus giving us practical examples on how to start working on our hearts and attitudes toward people by “turning the other cheek”, “going the extra mile” , showing kindness towards people who have legitimately wronged us,  continuing to give though we have been abused,  not practicing revenge when we have been wronged, etc.   

One of the things that help me with my attitude towards my enemy is remembering how I use to be an enemy towards God.  In my earlier years, I was so sarcastic about the things of God though I was raised in a Christian home.  For a season, I even became an atheist and even attempted to try to prove that People weren’t really being faithful to God nor were they living the life they professed by constantly becoming a temptation for men that claimed they loved God.  

But God, He saw fit (OHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!) to include me in his love and his mercy and once an enemy of the faith; I have now become a “defender of the faith.”    If God can do it for me, then surely I can extend love towards my enemy. 

Paul’s testimony is similar.  The apostle Paul was an enemy to the Christian faith.  He persecuted and killed hundreds maybe even thousands of Christians whether by his physical hand or by his command.  We all know the outcome,  once an enemy to the faith and he became a phenomenal man of God and was used to write the majority of the New Testament. 

Who knows what people will become, only God.  Who knows what our enemies will one day become and it could be as a result of us showing kindness and goodness which will cause them to seek after the God that makes us behave with such compassion though they have wronged us.    You may even find that those same enemies, God may used to be a blessing in your life.  

There are so many unanswered questions about the future and what God will do and will not do,  but what I do know is that the word works.  THE WORD WORKS!!!!!    Obeying it leads to both success and happiness.    God’s WAY WORKS!!!!     Oh, I love the word.

Okay, back to our text.   Jesus teaches that only showing love when someone deserves it does not set us apart in this world for that is what the pagans do.   Jesus commands us that there is no reward or no reason to be excited about loving someone that loves you for that is the way of the world.   Jesus teaches a higher standard of loving, and giving, and behaving; and it is so powerful.  If followed, it will cause us to experience phenomenal levels of love, forgiveness, and mercy.  If we are only kind to friends and love ones, how are we different than the world?     

Jesus teaches that even God rains on the just as well as the unjust.  God brings blessings to both the saved and the unsaved so we should follow. 

The verse ends with a command from Jesus to “be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect.”    The Greek word for perfect is the word “teleios” it means “brought to its end, finished, wanting nothing necessary to completeness, consummate human integrity,  full grown, adult, of full age, mature. (Stong’s Concordance)

“Yes!!!  It is a tall order, but as Christians, we are to strive for perfection. 

See you tomorrow. 

God Bless.  Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily. 

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11. July 2008 by Bernice Davis.

Hello: 

We’re still studying the following text: 

Matthew 5:38 ”You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.  

Today, we want to discuss the phrases “sue you and take your tunic, let them have your cloak as well” and if someone forces you to “go one mile then go with him two.”    In the ancient world, the tunic was the garment that was worn closest to the body.  It was like a long dress because most of the ancient world did not wear pants.  It was a prize position and if a person sued you it could be won in a law suit.  The cloak was actually protected by law, it could not be taken.   The cloak was like a big blanket draped over the tunic and at night used as a blanket for covering.   The way of travel and lodging was different in the ancient world than it is now and people were considered nomadic.  They traveled by foot and at night they took camp and the cloaks were used for covering.  It was a valuable item and the law protected it from being won in a lawsuit.     

The lawsuit in this case that Jesus mentioned might be a legitimate one, but the implication of the text is that the settlement may have been unfair.    If that is the case, then we should not seek revenge.  We should deal with evil with goodness and kindness.  Yes, it’s God’s way.   If the lawsuit in this situation is legitimate and we did wrong someone then we should offer a generous settlement for our injustice towards the offended.  

The apostle Paul writes that the very fact that lawsuits exists among believers already shows our defeat. (Remember Jesus is talking about believers suing each other)  

Paul writes  in 1 Corinthians 6: 4 “Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! 5 I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? 6 But instead, one brother goes to law against another–and this in front of unbelievers! 7 The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers. (NIV)  

YES!!!!!!!!!!  The hard truth is that believers are suppose to settle disputes among ourselves and not before the world (OUCH!!!!!)   Now of course the situation is different if we’re dealing with an unbeliever, they have not committed to obey the laws of God.   The next  example comes from the Roman law at that time.  A Roman solider could by law force one to carry something for them (usually their military baggage) but it could only be for a mile.  Jesus says even though they have the right by law to demand it and it is an unjust act then we are to repay evil with good.  Give them more than what they have the right to demand. 

The concept is that you are forcing me to go one mile with you and showing that you have power to “lord over” but I will show you that your authority does not dominate me by freely offering to go an extra mile.       

The last example deals with giving.  While on the surface, it appears that you are to give to everyone that asks of you, but the concept is that you are to still be generous to people that have taken advantage of you.  Don’t cut people off because they have abused you financially, continue to show love and kindness.       

Yes!!!!!  These are some hard teachings, but the principle is practice goodness and kindness towards evil till the point evil can no longer breathe or have life and showing that none of it has the power over us as believers.  It is actually reacting to situations that demonstrate we are not in control.   This in no way implies  that we are wimpy, afraid, or timid but it shows the opposite that we are Godly, strong, and confident in ourselves.   

In conclusion, justice is very important for all of us and God has established laws and government as a means to seek justice but the warning in these teachings is about seeking personal revenge.   

Yes, it hurts when we’ve been wronged, but don’t get even.  Yes, we’ve been attacked, we’ve been cheated, we’ve been forced to do things against our will and we’ve been taken advantage of financially.  Our answer to all of this is to continue to forgive, show kindness and generosity and leave everything else to God. 

Have a great weekend. 

See you on Monday. 

God Bless. 

Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily. 

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10. July 2008 by Bernice Davis.

Hello: 

We’re still studying the following text: 

Matthew 5:38 ”You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Yesterday, we talked about the meaning of the phrase “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”    Jesus opens up this passage by stating the existing law of retribution and retaliation.  Jesus says that I know that you have been taught the boundaries whereby you can expect compensation or whereby you can seek retribution, but Jesus teaches his hearers not to retaliate violently or seek revenge for those who have wronged you.  The phrase “do not resist an evil person” in its original Greek language means “by evil means” so a better translation would be to say “do not repay evil with evil.”    

Remember, context drives meanings.  It is clear in the scripture that we are not to seek personal revenge when we have been wronged.  Jesus actually takes it even further by saying be kind to those who have wronged you by giving them more than they demand.  Jesus teaches how a “righteous” person should exercise self discipline.   It is easy to go “tit for tat” with someone but it takes discipline to control your anger and your emotions when wronged.  

As Christians we  should not react to situations.  The word teaches that we have “weapons of warfare” that are not carnal (worldly) but mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds.   There is a popular phrase that says “I know who I am and whose I am.”  It speaks to believers knowing their identity in Christ.  From our lesson on “blessed are the poor in spirit” we learned that “poverty of spirit” means to empty ourselves of our self righteousness and realize that we are nothing and can do nothing outside of God.  It teaches that we must rely on God as our source for everything.  This principle is the first step in embracing the “abundant life” that God has for us.   

I brought this teaching back to our rememberance to say that if we realize that God is in control and not our enemies then we know that God will fight our battles and will work everything together for our good thus making it unnecessary to seek revenge on our enemies.    As a matter of fact, the scriptures teach us to pray for those who despitefully use us and to be kind to our enemies for it is like heaping coals of fire upon their head.   

The apostle Paul writes in Romans 12:17 “ Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (NIV)  

The first example that Jesus gives is concerning someone striking you on the right cheek.  He instructs to turn to them the left cheek also.   In the ancient world one of the greatest ways to insult someone is to strike them on the right cheek.  This offense was such a grievous insult that both Jewish and Roman law allowed prosecution for the act.    The concept is that though you think that you are insulting me by this action the offering of the other cheek is to show that you have no power to insult me.    For most of us viewing this site, this practice is not a part of our culture so we probably wanted be confronted with this custom but the principle still stands.  Our confidence in our relationship with God will cause insults to just “roll off our backs” and there is no need to retaliate or seek revenge.  One of my favorite scriptures is Psalm 119:165 “Great peace have they that love thy law and nothing shall offend thee.”   I love that psalm.     

Ohhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!  I’m getting so excited.  The word is just so powerful to me.  It is life changing and mind changing and can cause us to have strong minds and stable emotions.   Everything revolves around the mind for everything flows out of the mind.  God is after the mind/heart and so is the enemy.  The scriptures teach us that there must first be a “renewing of the mind.”        

I can’t explain it.  It’s simply God.  This word just has a way of transforming your thoughts and mind and making you become bold, powerful, influential, and a conqueror.  It’s soooooooooo worth the investment of our time to mediate daily and study it. 

Okay, we’ll pick up with the next statement from Jesus tomorrow.  God Bless. 

Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily. 

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9. July 2008 by Bernice Davis.

Hello: 

Our text for today is:  

Matthew 5:38 ”You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.    

Today, in our lesson, Jesus discussed the theology of retribution.    The principle involves providing equitable retaliation for a wrong act committed.   I think all of us have heard the phrase, an eye for an eye” and a “tooth for a tooth”. Most of us have taken it to mean that if someone does an injustice towards you then you have the right to retaliate.   Let’s look at the origin of this phrase in scripture.    It is first found in Exodus when Moses was giving the children of Israel laws on how to function as a community while they were in the wilderness.    

Exodus 21:22 ”If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. 23 But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise. 26 ”If a man hits a manservant or maidservant in the eye and destroys it, he must let the servant go free to compensate for the eye. 27 And if he knocks out the tooth of a manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free to compensate for the tooth.  

As you can see the context in which this was written deals with compensation for offending or committing a crime against someone.   Depending on the seriousness of the crime it demanded the same level of retaliation and had lower degrees of punishment for “less serious offenses.”   

Okay, each day we will discuss one of these issues and its origin and on Friday, we’ll put it all together. 

See you tomorrow.   

God Bless. 

Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily 

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8. July 2008 by Bernice Davis.

Hello: 

Our text for today is: Matthew 5:33 ”Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ 34 But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by

Our text today deals with the issue of integrity.   In the ancient world people would use oaths and vows in the name of God to validate a deal.  Even today, you find people saying “I swear before God” in order to express sincerity or truthfulness of whatever is being said.    

Jesus is admonishing his hearers that the name of the Lord is not to be used in vain.  God is the one that established the practice of giving oaths and vows and they could not be broken.    

There were various types of oaths and vows in the ancient world. The first being a Solemn promise- the promise of the truthfulness of your testimony.  This is where you would say I swear before God that I am telling the truth.  Next you had an actual vow- a solemn promise for the future.  An example would be I swear that I will pay you back in two weeks.  Then you had the invoking of God as witness.  An example of this would be “As God is my witness,” I promise that such and such happened.  Another example of oaths would be when you put yourself under a curse or penalty if whatever you say is not true.    In other words, you may say, let such and such happen to me if I don’t do what I said I would.   

While we know that in scripture, all oaths and vows are not forbidden, for we make them in certain situations as marriage, when we’re sworn into an office, etc.   What Jesus is condemning is the practice of the Pharisees and Sadducees using oaths and vows to deceive people and all the careless and carefree use of vows and oaths.     

 The religious leaders were using the practice of vowing to convince the people that what they were saying were true.    The religious leaders knew the importance of the name of God and what it meant to the Hebrew people.  Jesus taught that even if you were not using the name of God in your oaths, using the earth, or

A  person of integrity does not need  to say I swear, or I promise, or  As God is my witness, or If I don’t do it, then let such and such happen to me.   If you have a reputation for truth, you don’t need all these other words in order to convince people to believe you.   Your word is your bond.  Your yes, will mean yes, and your no will mean no.    Typically, people use oaths and vows when they have a reputation for lying.    

Our reputation should precede us.  We should be known for keeping our word.  The ancient leaders manipulated the sacred practice of vows and oaths for their personal gain and benefit.   

Jesus teaches that our communication should simply be yes or no.  If we agree to something then do it.  If we say no then mean it.    That is all we need. 

We live in a society where people think nothing about breaking their promise. Most of us are guilty of lying.   Have you ever been cornered by someone and they invite you to a birthday party, or wedding shower, etc.  At the time of the invitation, you have no intention of going but you say yes to simply avoid hurting someone’s feelings or just to avoid conflict.  We lie on government forms (taxes), we lie to our bosses.  You know, you’re suppose to be working and you’re on personal calls all day or hanging out on the internet, etc while making your boss believe  that you’re working.  How many of us have cancelled commitments because a better opportunity came along.   

The bible teaches that we are to pay our vows even if it hurt.  We are to do whatever to stick to our word.  Our word is our bond.   

I remember as a little girl, my daddy use to always tell me.  You have nothing if you don’t have your word.  I grew up in a small country town and we had a cotton farm.   My daddy never had a credit card in his life but got everything he needed on his word.  It was the type of town where everyone knew everyone and my dad had a reputation for being honest. 

My dad would go to the local stores and buy things and sign his name on a sheet of paper indicating that he would be back at a certain time to pay for what he had.  I remember when times were really hard; my dad would make us go without just to make sure he kept his word with his creditors.    He would do whatever he had to make sure he paid the bill when he said he would.    He would teach us that if you loose your word then you’ve lost everything.   

If he said he was going to do something, you could beat your life on it that he would.  When he said yes, he meant it.  When he said no, he meant it.   I am just thinking as I write this, how powerful he really was.  Everyone knew him as a man of honor and integrity.    He could even send us out to get something for him and all we would have to say is “my dad told us to pick this up and he will pay you when he comes to town” and the stores would let us have it.    

We think they are just “little white lies” but Jesus condemns all acts of deceit.  Our yes should be yes and our no should be no.   

See you tomorrow. 

God Bless. 

Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.   

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7. July 2008 by Bernice Davis.

Hello: 

Welcome back from the weekend. 

Today, we pick back up our study in the book of Matthew. 

We will focus on a review today since it’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve visited the text. 

The book of Matthew was written to a Jewish audience.  All throughout our study, you will notice that I will be referencing Old Testament scripture to define the Jewish customs mentioned in Matthew.     Jesus used the Old Testament scripture when teaching for the New Testament had not been written yet.  To get a clear understanding of what Jesus and the disciples wrote, it is necessary to understand the Old Testament which is why I have sited historical data from that period.   

The book of Matthew opened with a genealogy tracing the lineage of Jesus through the line of David.   When you get a chance take a look at that genealogy, it reveals some fascinating facts as to the kind of people that were included in the lineage of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  It’s very encouraging. 

After the genealogy, it goes into the birth of Christ, Herod’s attempt to kill the baby Jesus, The family’s flight into Egypt, the return to their homeland, the ministry of John the Baptist, Jesus temptation in the wilderness, and the beginning of his earthly ministry. 

Jesus begins his teaching with the famous “Sermon on the mount.”   In this he unveils the true formula for happiness and what the attributes of a Christian should be.    You can review under the beatitudes section should you like.  It was some pretty powerful teachings from the heart of God.   

Then we went into a section dealing with our purpose in this earth and how much influence and power we really have.    

The section that we were in before we left was Jesus teaching on the law.  We discussed what is meant by the Mosaic Law and the statement that Jesus made concerning his fulfillment of the law.   We begin a study on the Ten Commandments. 

Jesus begins with “Thou shalt not kill” and we talked in detail about anger and its connection with this law. 

The next commandment that Jesus covered was “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”  W e talked in detail about the heart and its connection to this commandment.    Jesus went on to teach about divorce which is where we ended our study. 

The sermon on anger and adultery is already on the web and you can listen for free and the other series on marriage and divorce which came out of this chapter will be posted shortly for free also.   The sermons go into more detail than we covered in our daily devotionals. 

Okay, that’s it for our review.  Please review the daily devotionals, should you like to refresh your memory.  Tomorrow, we’ll continue our study in Matthew the 5^th Chapter. 

God Bless 

Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily 

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3. July 2008 by Bernice Davis.

Hello: 

Today, I was talking to a really close friend of mine about friendship.  We talked about real friends and how sometimes it is not always easy to hear truth and sometimes flatteries are more favorable.   I was saying to this friend how I appreciate the realness of our relationship and how we can say anything to each other even if it hurts; we are faithful to the friendship and faithful to telling each other the truth. 

So often, I hear people say that if I knew “such and such” I would not tell my friend.  I would let them find out on their own for fear that the friend would be upset and it would damage the relationship.     

During this holiday weekend, take time to reach out to your friends.  Many of us are blessed in this lifetime if we can claim one true friend and highly blessed if we have more than one.  I’m talking about those “die hard” friends.   The kind that are not seasonal, that will be there through thick and thin, good and bad, prosperity and poverty, etc.  We have many acquaintances but few friends.    

For some of us, we need to reconcile.   Be careful about throwing away people who had made mistakes and wronged you, or you think have wronged you; sometimes those can develop into some of the greatest friendships ever.  Be discerning. 

Today, I would like to leave you with this scripture: 

Proverbs 27:6 “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” (KJV)  

Another version reads:  Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.  (NIV)  

The Complete Jewish bible states:  Wounds from a friend are received as well-meant, but an enemy’s kisses are insincere.  I included the different versions so you can clearly see the meaning. 

The proverbial wisdom teaches us that “reproofs” from a friend, or pain or difficult sayings from a friend can be trusted or can be received for the good of a friend but the kiss of an enemy are insincere or deceitful.     

I have seen friendships destroyed because one friend told the other one something and the person being told thought that the friend was trying to destroy a relationship the friend was in or had alterior motives and in the end only to find out that the friend was right and was only looking out for their best interest. 

Have a great holiday weekend.   Make sure you check out the website on Monday, there will be  more “free classes” and sermons that you can listen to and we will return to our study on the book of Matthew.   

See you Monday.    God Bless. 

Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily 

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