"But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" – Matthew 5:44 When Jesus said these words, He was not just correcting a teaching. He was confronting a mindset. Over and over in the Sermon on the Mount, He started with the phrase, “You have heard that it was said,” because He was pushing back on the way Scripture had been twisted by the religious leaders of the day. In t...  Read More

"You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" – Matthew 5:43-44 Abraham Lincoln was once criticized during the Civil War for being too kind to his enemies. One advisor told him, “Mr. President, you should destroy your enemies.” Lincoln paused and then replied, “Do I not destroy my enem...  Read More

"Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." – Matthew 5:42 When Jesus talked about generosity, He didn’t put a cap on it. He didn’t say to give only when it’s convenient or comfortable. He simply said to give. And what He’s pointing to is more than a one-time act. It’s a mindset. It’s a way of life rooted in the belief that everything we have come...  Read More

"Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." – Matthew 5:42 Generosity is not about guilt. It is not about giving to anyone who asks, without thought or discernment. Jesus was not calling you to be naive or irresponsible. He was calling you to be compassionate. His words in this verse point to a posture of the heart, not just a reaction to every re...  Read More

"And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two." – Matthew 5:41 In first-century Israel, the law allowed a Roman soldier to force a Jewish civilian to carry his gear for one mile. It was legal oppression, pure and simple. The Jews resented this rule deeply, and understandably so. Most young Jewish boys even measured out the exact distance from their home so they could drop the soldier’s...  Read More

"And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well." - Matthew 5:40 This verse would have shocked the original audience. In Jesus’ day, a person’s outer cloak was untouchable. It was their right, protected by Mosaic Law. If someone sued you and took everything, they could not take your coat. It was essential for survival and was often used as a blanket at night. Givi...  Read More

“But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” - Matthew 5:39 Most of us know how it feels to be insulted. Maybe someone undercut your reputation, spread lies behind your back, or disrespected you to your face. In those moments, your first instinct is rarely calm and grace. You want to clap back. You want to prove your...  Read More

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” - Matthew 5:14 It is easy to celebrate the moment someone becomes a Christian. That moment of salvation is real, powerful, and life-changing. But the Christian life was never meant to stop at a moment. Jesus did not just invite people to make a decision. He called them to live in a new direction. There is a massive difference...  Read More

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude.” - Colossians 2:6-7 When something feels slow, it can be tempting to call it stuck. That is the challenge with spiritual growth. It rarely shows up in flashy ways. We want visible progress, fast outcomes, and...  Read More

“We proclaim him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. I labor for this, striving with his strength that works powerfully in me.” - Colossians 1:28-29 Paul’s words here are not just the expression of a passionate preacher, but of a man consumed by a mission. He was not simply trying to deliver sermons. He was striving to present people as...  Read More

“God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” - Colossians 1:27 When Paul writes that Christ is in you, he is revealing something that had never been clearly understood before. For generations, the presence of God was confined to places. It was in the burning bush, the tabernacle, the holy of holies in the temple. Even...  Read More

“He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” - Colossians 1:18-20 Every church bu...  Read More