June 19, 2022
“And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.” Matthew 5:30
Jesus is ever at work to preserve life. Every person is a unique creation loved by God with an enormous love that is beyond our comprehension. Think about your loved ones and the often-funny things about them that you love. There must be no doubt that our Creator has a spectacular sense of humor. Bear in mind that, as our Savior has given us His holy word and sent His Spirit to guide us toward heaven, He is interceding for each of us as our great high Priest. It is His intention to preserve us alive (Deuteronomy 6:24) as the unique personalities that He created.
In the above statement taken from the first sermon given by Jesus, known as the “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus is good-naturedly encouraging the listeners to endeavor to live in such as way as to separate themselves from their old bad habits and sins, and to cast them out of their life. In other parts of Scripture He makes it plain that He stands ready to help everyone who desires to break free from the bondage of sin. Do not forget, beloved, that there are multitudes of heavenly agents ready for His service (Daniel 7:10, Matthew 26:53, Luke 2:13).
He has fearfully and wonderfully made our bodies (Psalm 139:14) to carry our brains around! God’s way is to enter our thinking and re-shape it to be in alignment with His own. His love is a love that transforms—transforms us for heavenly citizenship!
The adversary whispers that humor must be off-color or sinful to be humorous and entertaining. This is one of the devil’s many strategies to deceive the whole world (Revelation 12:9); he specializes in propagating lies. The basic idea is the only way to have fun is to be sinful. What a terrible misrepresentation! Sadly, countless professed Christians fill their lives with entertainment and habits that are out of alignment with the divine counsel of our loving Lord.
Let us briefly look at the thunderous personalities of two brothers: James and John. Jesus lovingly (and in good humor) called them the sons of thunder (Mark 3:17). With strong personalities, and perhaps quite hot-tempered, they had early sought high positions in God’s kingdom (Mark 10:37). Fast-forward to their transformed, sanctified personalities. Their love for Jesus transcended their desire for position. By the end of their lives, the “positions” for which they are remembered have far greater value than any they could have imagined: James became the first of the twelve apostles to be martyred and the only apostle whose martyrdom is recorded in God’s word (see Acts 12:2). John, the youngest of the apostles, lived the longest and received the Apocalypse directly from Jesus. This “revealing” included understanding the time of the end (Daniel 8:17) and of the previously sealed little book of Daniel (Daniel 12:4, Revelation 10:7-11).
Beloved, do not believe the devil’s lie that your personality, in order to delight others, must cultivate off-color and sinful ways of thinking. Your God-given personality is far greater than that! When the Holy Spirit reveals to you a way of thinking that causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you! You will be aided and helped by the powers of heaven!
My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:2