I completed a series of posts on what wisdom is, where it comes from, and what a wise person looks like. If you haven’t read these posts, you can find them in the Wisdom post page. But how do we apply wisdom? The following Scripture passage is a song that almost everyone knows. … Continue reading
The Wise Person is Salt and Light
If you were to build a house in an earthquake or hurricane area, and you were advised to reinforce your house and build it on bedrock, would it be wise to ignore that advice? Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house … Continue reading (Matt 5:13-20)A Wise Person Seeks Peace and Reconciliation
Have you ever met an angry wise person? Why can’t an angry person be wise? I am writing a series of posts about being wise according to Jesus’s first sermon. In the last post, I explained how a wise person is salt and light in the world. This post will look at the second precept … Continue reading (Matt 5:21-24)
A Wise Person Appeals to Their Accuser
Have you met a wise thief or swindler? Do you know someone who cheated the government of owed taxes? Most foolish people think they are getting away with their sins, but they usually get caught. So, what does Jesus say to do with a thief when caught in their sinful scheme? Many people followed Jesus … Continue reading (Matt 5:25-26)
A Wise Person Controls Defiling Thoughts
A wise person can control defiling thoughts and does not lust, knowing that a lustful intent leads to adultery. Lustful thoughts can be any desire for something other than God’s best for you. In this post, you will learn the progression of lustful desires and how it leads to adultery between two married persons and … Continue reading (Matt 5:27-32)
Have you ever had to take the witness stand in a court of law or seen someone take the witness stand? You are supposed to put your hand on the Bible and swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth? I thought this was okay and would do what I was told. I … Continue reading (Matt 5:33-37)
Which is more natural to do when someone hurts you? Do you forgive and show love when someone attacks you? Or if someone hurts you, do you lash out in anger or with other forms of retaliation? Our self-centered, sinful nature directs our minds to pay someone back for hurting us. But, if you yield … Continue reading (Matt 5:38-39)
When you give more than is required to give, it makes the other person feel you genuinely care. When someone realizes you care, then they may reciprocate the feeling but don’t expect it. When you give extra, it often softens the heart of the other person. For example, if your boss asks you to work … Continue reading (Matt 5:40-41)
Wise People Give to Beggars and Borrowers
Jesus said that “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24). The next teaching in Jesus’s first sermon is difficult for many people, including myself. I am challenged to evaluate whether I value people as Jesus values … Continue reading (Matt 5:42)
Wise People Love Those Who Hate Them
Do you have an enemy or adversary? I personally can’t identify any one person as my opponent. Some people may name their in-laws or maybe a neighbor or co-worker. Dictionary.com (2023) says that an enemy is a person who feels hatred for, fosters harmful designs against or engages in antagonistic (unfriendly, hostile) activities against another. … Continue reading (Matt 5:43-45)
Wise People Do Not Seek Praise
Do you like to be praised and noticed for the things you do? If we were honest, we like to be appreciated and praised. The root cause is feeling insecure and needing praise to feel accepted and validated. Or, do you know someone who makes sure they let you know how great they are and … Continue reading (Matt 6:1-4)
Do you like to be accepted and validated? We all want to be recognized and valued by others. Why? Do you also desire to please your Heavenly Father and get His approval? In the last post, Jesus instructed us to be secretive about what we give and to whom, even your other hand should not … Continue reading (Matt 6:5-6)
The Wise Person Helps the Poor
The goal of my blog is to help you recognize unhealthy beliefs or non-biblical thinking that keep you from receiving God’s blessing in your life. The last two posts challenged me to evaluate how I think about the poor in my community. One struggling single mother in my church always seemed down on her luck. … Continue reading
The Wise Prioritize Riches
Do you have a goal to build up wealth to live a comfortable life or retire comfortably? But did you ever think about how temporary life is on Earth and how never-ending eternity is? Yet, we are so focused on our temporary physical comfort, that we forget about reality. We need to transform our temporary … Continue reading
Why the Wise People Are Not Anxious
In Jesus’s first sermon, He goes into great detail explaining why we should not be anxious. So why are we naturally anxious and worried? Jesus says it is because we don’t have enough faith. Remember, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Heb. 11:1). George Muller, the German … Continue reading
The Wise Person Carefully Judges
Jesus’s first sermon is broken up into three chapters, and it is tempting to make the chapter break into different sermons even though it is one sermon. In Matthew 7:1-6, Jesus warns us not to judge based on what He previously said. Read the previous posts on Jesus’s first sermon to refresh your memory. Passing … Continue reading
A Wise Person Knows When to Ask
Have you prayed and asked God for something but He did not grant your request? Many people become offended and angry at God for unanswered prayer. So why does God promise to give us what we ask? I wrote a series of posts on God’s promises and learned that most promises come with a condition. … Continue reading
How Does a Wise Person Treat Other People?
Have you heard about the Golden Rule? Where did you learn about the Golden Rule? Did you know that Jesus Christ is the original author? He said, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 7:12). First is the principle … Continue reading
How to Find and Stay on the Path of Life
What is the path of life? How do we get on the path of life? Jesus said in His first sermon, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14) For the gate is narrow and the … Continue reading
How the Wise Recognize False Teachers
Have you met a false prophet or teacher? Would you know a false prophet if you saw one? Jesus explains how to identify a false teacher in his first sermon. As I read through Jesus’s first sermon, I am tempted to think his sermon is a series of unrelated ideas. So how does Matthew 7:15 … Continue reading
Why Some Believers May Not Go to Heaven
Why doesn’t every believer go to Heaven? This is a tough question because the Bible is clear that everyone who believes will spend eternity with God in heaven (John 3:16, 1 Timothy 1:16, and 1 John 5:13). So why does Jesus say in His first sermon, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will … Continue reading
Conclusion of Jesus’s First Sermon – The Wise Obey.
I summarize Jesus’s instructions in His first sermon with links to the related post to learn more. … Continue reading
Hope for Complete Healing 