"And everyone 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. A massive storm swept through Northern California a few years back, tearing down trees that had stood for centuries. One by one, the giant redwoods and pines came crashing to the ground. All except one. There was a single tree that stood tall after the storm passed. It...  Read More

“But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’ Anything more than this is from the evil one.” – Matthew 5:37 Have you ever clicked “I agree” on something without reading the fine print? We all have. That fine print is where people tend to hide the real terms, the stuff that might change your mind if you actually read it. The Pharisees had spiritual fine print behind everything they said....  Read More

“But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person” – Matthew 15:18 Most people think lying is just a mouth issue. But according to Jesus, it’s actually a heart issue. Your words are just the overflow. If truth is going to come out of you, it has to start inside you. Psalm 15 describes a righteous person as someone who acknowledges the truth in their heart and doesn’t...  Read More

"I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak" – Matthew 12:36 When I was a kid, if you talked back or said something you shouldn’t, you’d get your mouth washed out with soap. It sounds crazy now, but back then, it was how adults taught us something important. Your words matter. I still remember a time I got caught lying to my teacher. It didn’t ju...  Read More

"If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." – Matthew 5:29 Jesus didn’t tell us to cope with sin. He told us to cut it off. He wasn’t telling you to literally rip your eye out or chop your hand off. That’s not the point. He was using strong language to make somet...  Read More

“But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” – Matthew 5:28 I want to let you in on a little secret today. You don’t need to be married to start guarding your marriage. That’s right, you don’t need to be in a crisis to start defending your integrity. If sin works from the inside out, then you’d better build your def...  Read More

“But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” – Matthew 5:28 Sin never feels like a big deal at first. You think it’s just a glance. Just a thought. Just a moment. But before you know it, you’re ten steps down a path you never meant to take, asking yourself, “How did I get here?” Jesus already told us the answer. Adu...  Read More

“But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” – Matthew 5:28 Most of the time, the real battles we face never make it out into the open. They’re not waged in front of people. They happen in our heads, in our hearts, in those quiet moments when no one is watching. That’s exactly what Jesus is getting at when He talks ...  Read More

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” – Matthew 5:27-28 When we think of adultery, most of us picture an obvious and dramatic act. Something physical. A secret affair. A betrayal played out behind someone’s back. But Jesus doesn’t start with th...  Read More

“So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.” – Matthew 5:23-24 It’s easy to assume that bitterness only affects the person you’re bitter toward. That somehow, your cold shoulder or u...  Read More

“Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you’re on the way with him to the court” – Matthew 5:25 Jesus had a way of taking big spiritual truths and laying them out in real, practical terms. In His teaching in Matthew 5, He paints a picture of someone being taken to court over an unpaid debt. If you owed someone money and didn’t pay it back, you were thrown in prison. And from there, y...  Read More

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:9 God isn’t far from you. He never moves away. But He also doesn’t force closeness when your heart is cluttered with things that don’t belong. He wants intimacy with you. He wants you to walk with Him, hear His voice, and feel His presence. But He’s not going to compete w...  Read More