TODAY IN THE WORD

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Matthew 2:1-12
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TODAY IN THE WORD
On Christmas Eve, 1818, the church organist in the little town of Oberndorf, Bavaria, made the alarming discovery that the organ was broken. The organist, Franz Gruber, was distraught. The town was snowbound, and no one in Oberndorf could fix the organ. Gruber asked church vicar Joseph Mohr to compose a song that the congregation could sing without the organ. Early on Christmas Day, Mohr handed his new poem to Gruber, who composed a melody. At the Christmas service, the congregation sang the song--and loved it!

What Mohr gave Gruber and what the two of them gave future generations has become a treasured Christmas gift around the world: the beautiful carol ""Silent Night.""

The Magi also presented treasured gifts to Jesus at the time of His birth, lavishly brought as an act of worship. They bore testimony to the Magi's understanding of Christ's uniqueness.

From the mysterious east, these men stepped into the Christmas narrative for a short time and then disappeared. We don't really know how many there were or the identity of their homeland. But clearly, they were looking for a coming King. When they saw the star of Bethlehem, they knew that their expectation had been fulfilled.

Much like the pillar of fire that guided the Israelites, the star ""went ahead of them"" (v. 9) until it had led the Magi to Jesus. The irony of Matthew 2 is that these foreigners arrived in Jerusalem after a long quest to announce to the leaders of Israel that their own King had been born!

The indifference of the nation is stunning. The chief priests and teachers of the law knew exactly what the Magi were talking about, but apparently they made no effort to search out the truth for themselves. Even the wicked King Herod was more curious than those who should have been at the head of the line in Bethlehem, worshiping their Messiah.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Christmas is such a highlight on our calendars that the day after--perhaps the entire week after--is often depressing as post-holiday letdown sets in.

But the joy and celebration don't have to end so abruptly. Since our goal for December is to finish well, we want to suggest ideas you can use between now and December 31 to make each day special.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Matthew 2:13-23; Luke 2:21-24
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TODAY IN THE WORD
The story is told of a great military commander who sat by an evening fire with several of his officers to discuss the day's battle. He asked the officers, ""Who did the best today on the field of battle?"" One by one, the men told of soldiers who had fought bravely and risked their lives for their comrades.

The commander heard them out, then said, ""No, I fear you are all mistaken."" He told of a soldier who, just as he raised his arm to strike an enemy, heard the trumpet sound retreat. Instantly, he dropped his arm without striking and retreated, an act the commander called ""perfect and ready obedience to the will of his general.""

Today's reading demonstrates that Joseph and Mary obeyed God in the same spirit of promptness and submission. The story of Jesus' circumcision and Mary's purification in Luke 2 precedes the family's flight into Egypt, possibly by a number of months. But both accounts reveal Jesus' parents' perfect and ready obedience to the will and direction of God.

Apparently, Jesus was circumcised in Bethlehem on the eighth day after His birth, in obedience to the Law (Lev. 12:3). Then, in accordance with the Law, Mary remained ceremonially ""unclean"" for an additional thirty-three days. At the end of that time, she and Joseph traveled to Jerusalem to present the prescribed sacrifice (Lev. 12:. Since the couple offered doves or pigeons rather than a lamb, we know that they were poor.

Joseph's obedience to the angelic warnings was much more dramatic than his obedience to the Law. Fleeing to Egypt must have been the last thing on his mind. But he and Mary did exactly that, just because God said to!

We know that more happened here in God's plan than merely the holy family's avoiding danger. Matthew tells us that the flight fulfilled God's prophetic word (Matt. 2:15; Hosea 11:1). By identifying Jesus with Israel, God was validating His Son's identity as Israel's Messiah and calling the nation to identify with Him.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Here's a second way you can make good use of these ""in between"" days so as to finish 1996 well.

If you're like most people, you probably didn't have enough time to visit with everyone during the holidays. Why not invite some of those people over for an informal time of fellowship this weekend? You might even enjoy one another's company more without the pressure of the Christmas rush.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Luke 2:25-38
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TODAY IN THE WORD
In 1854, British ships were allowed to dock at the port of Nagasaki, Japan; but contact with foreigners was strictly forbidden. In fact, the Japanese army watched the ships closely to enforce that policy.

One day a New Testament fell overboard from a British ship and was found floating in the harbor by the Japanese commander assigned to watch the ship. When he learned that it was the sacred book of the Christians, he decided to learn its contents. Somehow he acquired a translation, read it with deep interest, and with the help of a missionary put his faith in Jesus Christ.

God will never leave Himself without a witness to His Word and His great deeds. That is clearly evident in today's text. Simeon and Anna were not among the elite of Israel. But since the chief priests and the teachers of the law refused to praise and glorify God for the gift of the Messiah, God raised up two faithful witnesses.

When Simeon arrived, Joseph and Mary were in the process of completing Mary's purification in the temple. Gazing at the Christ-child, he praised God for His faithfulness in allowing him to behold the Savior of both Jews and Gentiles (vv. 28-32). Simeon's blessing and prophecy of Jesus' work of redemption caused Mary and Joseph to look on with amazement. Mary especially took to heart Simeon's prophecy concerning the price she would pay to see her son fulfill His destiny to redeem a lost world (v. 35).

The content of Anna's blessing and praise is not recorded, but her intention is clear. Her faith and devotion made her a witness to other faithful Israelites who were looking for God's redemption.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
On Thursday, we talked about the importance of expressing appreciation to special people.

As you and your family work on thank-you notes for the gifts you have received, go through your Christmas cards to see if they suggest the name of someone who could use a word of greeting and encouragement from you.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Kings 11:1-13, 41-43
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TODAY IN THE WORD
In 1533, shortly after Atahualpa had taken the throne of the Inca Empire in Peru, Francisco Pizarro and his Spanish army landed in the South American nation. Atahualpa refused to recognize King Charles I as his overlord. The Spaniards imprisoned Atahualpa, then extorted a fortune in gold and silver from him as he tried to buy his freedom. Legend has it that Atahualpa filled a room once with gold and twice with silver in an attempt to win his release. But it was all in vain. The Spaniards executed Atahualpa in the central plaza of Cajamarca.

King Solomon was not in danger from foreign conquerors, but from another problem that would prove to be just as harmful. David's most famous son was the supreme ruler of all he surveyed, perhaps the wealthiest person who ever lived. But a potential conqueror was lurking in the shadows of Solomon's life--and unfortunately, he became its prisoner.

Solomon presents us with another case of a great Israelite king whose heart was carried away by an illicit love. But Solomon's sin was of a different character than that of his father David (v. 4).

For David's heinous adultery with Bathsheba, he suffered judgment, as we saw on December 21. But at the heart of David's sin was neither coldness nor indifference toward God, nor a temptation to worship other gods. However, today's text is explicit that Solomon's downfall began when he deliberately went against God's command (v. 2).

Can this be the same king to whom God gave a special gift of wisdom? Solomon's prayer for wisdom (1 Kings 3:2-15) is stunning in its sincerity, and his prayer at the dedication of the temple (1 Kings 8:22-53) is an outstanding example of worship. Nevertheless, Solomon allowed his heart to be turned away from following the Lord, angering God and endangering his nation.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
In Solomon's life, the warning signs were all there. He should have known better. Yet despite his wisdom, Solomon made sinful choices that let his heart grow cold.

That's one lesson we can learn from Solomon: our hearts must be continually surrendered and obedient before God if we are to think and act in ways that please Him.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Philippians 3:7-14
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TODAY IN THE WORD
As a young preacher, the late G. Campbell Morgan--known in the English world as the ""prince of expositors""--had a crisis of faith.

So he locked all of his books but his Bible in a cupboard, telling himself, ""I must know beyond doubt if this is God's Word."" As Morgan devoted himself to the study of the Bible, God answered His servant's doubts. The result of Morgan's study was renewed faith and an unshakable confidence in Scripture. ""The Bible found me!"" Morgan would say later. He never looked back again.

The apostle Paul would be able to identify with the kind of crisis Morgan experienced. Paul was not a young preacher, but a young rabbi. However, as we learned earlier this month, Paul had to put everything else aside in order to know the reality about Christ. And just as the Bible ""found"" G. Campbell Morgan, Paul said that it was Jesus Christ who ""took hold"" of him (v. 12).

Our study on this next-to-the-last day of 1996 is not about Paul. We already know that he finished well. Our interest today is in helping you finish your race for 1996 victoriously.

Paul offers us a good pattern to follow in today's text. Although he is writing from intensely personal experience, at the heart of these verses is a universally applicable attitude that we must adopt if we want to finish well this year.

The secret to Paul's ability to run his race so well was his attitude toward Christ versus his attitude toward everything else. He had a single-minded desire to become increasingly like his Lord (v. 10). He was ready to turn loose all temporal goods and activities. They simply did not count for much in his life.

Degrees, titles, accomplishments or material things are not wrong in themselves. But if we want to grasp the eternal, we must release our grasp on the temporal.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
As you think about finishing 1996 well, consider preserving the memories you have made by writing them down. You can create a record of this special time by putting together a family Christmas journal. Write it down while the details are still fresh in your mind. Photos and other memorabilia can go into the journal as well, accompanied by captions or brief notes.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Philippians 4:4-9
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Back on December 8 we told you about efforts to raise part of the doomed ship, the Titanic. Late last summer a salvage crew was attempting to bring up a 21-ton section of the hull by using giant flotation balloons filled with lighter-than-water diesel fuel. The huge section was just seventy yards from the surface in rough seas when the lines broke. The hull section settled back to the ocean floor, more than two-and-a-half miles below the surface. The $5 million salvage operation has been abandoned until next summer at the earliest.

Perhaps your life seems a bit like that salvage operation on this last day of 1996. Sometimes it appears that just as we are about to get our lives together, a line snaps and things sink back. But no matter where this day finds you, there is help and encouragement for you in God's Word. Today's text will help you get some lines secured around your life that will not snap no matter how rough life gets.

There's plenty in this passage to help anyone to finish well--and also to begin 1997 on a strong note. Paul commends a spirit of rejoicing (v. 4), a habit of the heart that can help all of us to finish well.

Although we don't know what awaits us in the new year, we know the future is in the hands of Him who urges us to bring our every request to Him (v. 6). In light of His soon coming, much of what we worry about looks pretty small anyway.

Typically, Paul's teaching balances the negative with the positive. In place of the negative, worry, we need to fill our minds with the positive. Verse 8 provides a list, offering a lifetime's worth of mental and spiritual exercise that will keep our hearts focused on the Lord.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
One helpful way to finish this year is by making a checklist of spiritual habits and exercises to practice in 1997.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Matthew 4:12-22
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Pastor A. B. Simpson had a dream one night. He saw himself sitting in a large auditorium with other Christians. On the stage were people from around the world, silently wringing their hands in anguish.

The dream helped spur Simpson to act on his burning desire to reach the world for Christ. Unable to go to the mission field himself, Simpson worked tirelessly to recruit missionaries. In 1883, he founded a missionary-training college in New York which was attended by founders of the Sudan Interior Mission and Africa Inland Mission. Simpson also founded the Christian and Missionary Alliance, a great missionary-sending body.

Simpson's ministry, and that of every missions-minded believer before and since, reflects the heart of a Savior who came to give His life for a lost world (Matt. 20:28).

Following His baptism and wilderness temptation, Jesus established His ministry headquarters in the Galilean town of Capernaum. There He began proclaiming, ""Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near"" (Matt. 4:17).

Although He eventually gave the Great Commission to His disciples (Matt. 28:19-20), Jesus' own ministry was localized. He founded a ""missionary-training school"" with twelve students, including Peter, Andrew, James and John. Jesus' school had no buildings or textbooks, but He had a definite curriculum to teach. He wanted to impart to His students the gospel, and His very life.

Jesus taught His disciples on many occasions, including His last moments on earth (Acts 1). But he chose one special time early in His ministry to outline for the Twelve--and for us--what it means to be His disciple. That teaching in Matthew 5-7 has become known as the Sermon on the Mount, our subject of study for this month.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Welcome to 1997!

One of the great things about a new year is the chance it offers us to start fresh, to carry out a new commitment made to Christ or to renew one that's already established.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Matthew 4:23-5:2
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Dwight L. Moody's fame as an evangelist is well-documented. For more than 25 years, Moody preached to huge crowds on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. When it came to founding a school that would train others to follow in his footsteps, Moody enlisted the help of gifted individuals such as Emma Dryer and R.A. Torrey. In the century since, graduates of Moody Bible Institute have preached God's Word literally around the world!

Jesus also drew huge crowds wherever He went. Who wouldn't flock to Someone who could heal the sick! Jesus' ministry of compassion attracted large crowds from every corner of Israel and from the Gentile territory of the Decapolis (meaning ""ten cities,"" v. 25).

But Jesus' priority in ministry was not to heal and work miracles. He had come to teach and preach the good news of the kingdom (v. 23), calling people to repentance and faith.

The background to the Sermon on the Mount reveals this contrast between the popular reaction to Jesus and the concern that was uppermost in His heart. Clearly, the crowds who followed Him were motivated by the healings.

Their needs were very real (v. 24), but these people had a deeper illness--one we all have. They were lost in sin, scattered like sheep without a shepherd (Matt. 9:36). Jesus felt deep compassion for them, and called together His disciples to equip them with what lost people need most of all: His words of life.

One issue we need to mention here is Jesus' offer of the kingdom to Israel (Matt. 4:17). This was a legitimate offer. Had the nation repented and received Jesus as Messiah, He would have established His kingdom at His first coming. Instead, the nation rejected Christ, and the fullness of His kingdom, as God no doubt had planned all along, awaits His Second Coming.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Many have claimed to keep the ethical principles of the Sermon on the Mount while rejecting the Lord of the Sermon.

But Jesus' teaching is not just an ethical path to follow to win God's favor, any more than a person can earn salvation by trying to keep the Ten Command-ments. Besides, no one can keep God's law perfectly. The Sermon on the Mount is for followers of Christ, those who have been saved by God's grace through faith alone (Eph. 2:8-9).

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Matthew 5:3-6
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Leonard Bernstein, the late conductor of the New York Philharmonic orchestra, was once asked to name the most difficult instrument to play. Without hesitation, he replied, ""The second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find someone who can play the second fiddle with enthusiasm--that's a problem. And if we have no second fiddle, we have no harmony.""

A spirit of genuine humility, or what Jesus called meekness in today's text (v. 5), has been a rare quality in every age. Most of us are taught from childhood that being ""second fiddle"" isn't quite good enough. The lesser place, the back seat, or the supporting role is not a sought-after position.

But in God's kingdom, humility is one of the spiritual qualities that leads to genuine blessedness or happiness. We call these early verses of Matthew 5, which list such traits, the Beatitudes (taken from the Latin word for ""blessed""). We will examine this famous passage this weekend as we consider Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. As we will discover, the values of Jesus' kingdom are radically opposed to the values of the world.

Humility is the proper response of those who recognize that they are ""poor in spirit"" (v. 3). Poverty of spirit is a prerequisite for God's blessing. What does this phrase mean? It refers to a heart-attitude of empty-handedness, of coming before the Lord without one plea. Even after we have experienced God's grace in salvation, being poor in spirit still suits us, for we can do nothing apart from Christ (John 15:5).

The second Beatitude, mourning, complements the first (v. 4). People who see their spiritual poverty are most inclined to mourn over their sins and failures. How much more blessed it is to experience ""godly sorrow"" (2 Cor. 7:10) over our sins and find forgiveness than to ignore them and feel eternal sorrow at God's judgment!
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Most of us enjoy our food. When we're hungry, no one has to tell us how to find the kitchen.

In verse 6 of today's text, Jesus borrows the physical imagery of food and drink to picture the way God wants us to approach our spiritual life. We have the Savior's guarantee that if we seek Him with a gnawing hunger and a burning thirst, we will be filled.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Matthew 5:7-9
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TODAY IN THE WORD
In his book, The Fall of Fortresses, Elmer Bendiner tells the story of an unusual flight he took as part of a B-17 bomber crew during World War II. On a raid over Germany, the plane was hit in the fuel tank by anti-aircraft fire. But despite a direct hit, the tank did not explode and the crew returned safely.

Later, eleven unexploded shells were taken from the fuel tank. They were sent to be defused, and it was discovered that all but one of the shells was empty. That one shell contained a small note written in Czech: ""This is all we can do for you now.""

No one knows if that anonymous, peace-loving Czech worker was motivated by the Beatitudes, but when he or she ""sowed"" blank shells, the bomber crew certainly ""harvested"" peace! This action was not only a small attempt to help end World War II, but it brought great personal peace to each man on that B-17 who might otherwise have perished.

This was also an act of mercy, another ""habit of the heart"" that should mark us as children of God and those who seek the happiness only He can give (v. 7).

The mercy Jesus is talking about flows from a pure heart (v. , one that is in right relationship with God. Spiritual purity is holiness, an absolute necessity for those who want to see God: ""Without holiness no one will see the Lord"" (Heb. 12:14).

As the apostle James tells us in today's verse, the righteousness that Jesus wants to permeate the citizens of His kingdom grows best in the soil of peace. This does not mean, of course, that we can only grow spiritually when everything is calm. God sends trials our way to perfect us (James 1:2-4).

Jesus' idea of peace has several dimensions. We know He is pleased when we as believers live in unity with one another. We are also urged to pray for peace in society (1 Tim. 2:1-4) so that the gospel will not be hindered.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Today's illustration reminds us that there are many circumstances affecting peace that are beyond our control.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Matthew 5:10-12
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TODAY IN THE WORD
According to one report, the end of Germany's famous ""Red Baron,"" Manfred von Richthofen, came because he pursued an Allied airplane ""too long, too far, and too low into enemy territory.""

On April 21, 1918, von Richthofen, the celebrated World War I pilot who was responsible for shooting down 80 enemy aircraft, began chasing a British plane that was trying to escape the battle. As the Red Baron pursued his quarry behind Allied lines, gunfire from either machine-gun nests on the ground or another British pilot who had come to help killed von Richthofen.

Anyone deep in enemy territory in wartime can expect to get shot at and perhaps shot down. Since that is essentially the case with Christians living in the world (see John 17:15-16; Romans 12:2), we should not be surprised by persecution (Phil. 1:29). Persecution has been the constant companion of God's people since the days of the prophets.

For most of us, Jesus' final Beatitude seems out of place with the whole idea of being ""happy"" or ""blessed."" We can't imagine anything joyous about suffering. But this is clearly important to Jesus, since He spends far more time elaborating on the blessedness--and the certainty--of persecution than on any other Beatitude.

Persecution has not been the common experience of the majority of believers in the Western world, so we are on largely unfamiliar ground here. But when His people endure suffering and ill treatment for His name's sake, Jesus clearly describes the right response--rejoicing--as well as the future reward (Matt. 5:12).

The happiness Jesus promises is tied to suffering ""because of righteousness"" and ""because of me"" (vv. 10-11). The apostle Peter distinguished between suffering for our own wrongdoing and suffering for Christ (1 Peter 4:12ff.)
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Jesus guaranteed us we will have trouble in this world (John 16:33). It's simply bound to happen if we follow Him.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Matthew 5:13-16
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Father Maximilian Kolbe is remembered by Holocaust survivors as an extraordinary man whose imprisonment and brutal treatment by the Nazis did not dim the light of Christ in his eyes. Kolbe encouraged other prisoners to hope and to sing songs of praise. ""He made us see that our souls were not dead,"" recalled one prisoner. Kolbe's countenance was so serene and his eyes so penetrating that the Nazi guards would tell him, ""Look at the ground, not at us!"" Kolbe died after offering to take the place of a condemned prisoner.

The imagery of salt and light is so familiar and even comfortable to us that we can forget how radically our obedience to Jesus can set us apart from the world. Salt is most effective on meat that would otherwise spoil. Light is most needed when the darkness is the deepest.

Today's text draws a sharp line between the kingdom of heaven and the domain of Satan. The system that rules this world (see Eph. 6:12) produces nothing but decay and darkness. We as believers carry the antidote: the life and light of Christ.

The preservative properties of salt are well known. In a culture that had no other way to preserve meat, salt took on great importance. Jesus' comment about salt losing its saltiness (v. 13) reflects the fact that the salt used in His day was often laced with impurities, leaving a residue that was then used on roads and roofs to harden clay and prevent cracks.

The ""salt of the earth"" metaphor is followed up with a parallel image, ""light of the world"" (v. 14). The useless salt is compared to a light that is hidden under a bowl rather than allowed to shine (v. 15). Jesus' point is unmistakable: we as His disciples cannot preserve and enlighten a hurting world unless we follow Him in purity and obedience.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The start of the new year's first full work week is a perfect time to evaluate how well you're functioning as salt and light to those around you.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Matthew 5:17-18
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TODAY IN THE WORD
The Chicago Fire Department is finally abandoning its telegraph system. The system is so old that visiting Japanese fire officials thought they were being shown a museum piece when they viewed the telegraph on a tour of a Chicago fire station. But the telegraph has reliably linked Chicago's fire dispatchers with the city's fire stations for over a century. The system is being replaced by a multimillion-dollar computerized dispatching center.

When lives and property are in jeopardy, every dot and dash of a fire department's Morse code message carries importance. That's even more true of the smallest strokes and portions of a Hebrew letter in the Word of God, which will never pass away.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus affirmed the complete inspiration and authority of the Old Testament as He explained the relationship of His kingdom to the Mosaic Law.

Matthew 5:17-20 holds an important key to our understanding of the Sermon on the Mount. In today's text, Jesus refuted the idea that He was teaching a rival system to the Law of Moses, which the Pharisees and their cohorts claimed to safeguard.

Instead, Jesus was absolutely faithful to the Law. He came in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy to keep the Law perfectly--something no mere human being couldever accomplish!

By their traditions, the Pharisees had twisted and even nullified the true meaning and intent of the Law. Jesus exposed the superficiality of their teachings and reaffirmed the truth that God is more interested in the condition of our hearts than in the ""correctness"" of our behavior.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
No one who understands God's law could claim to obey it fully. Without Jesus, this fact would leave us guilty before a holy God. Trying to keep God's commands on our own is a futile exercise that ends in condemnation (see James 2:10). But because of Jesus, we are justified freely by God's grace (Rom. 3:24).

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Matthew 5:19-20
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TODAY IN THE WORD
The Wall Street Journal reports that a debate is raging in the auto industry over the best way for workers to take breaks. Should all workers in a plant go on break at the same time, thereby shutting down the production line? Or should one worker at a time go on break, with ""tag"" workers replacing those on break? Analysts estimate that keeping the production line moving could add as much as $100 million to a large plant's annual profits.

An argument about how to take a coffee break sounds like the type of issue the Pharisees could have debated for weeks. These respected leaders of Israel prided themselves on their scrupulous obedience to the many regulations their ancestors had added to the Law of Moses.

But this prideful obedience was at the heart of the Pharisees' problem. They focused on external rules--what Jesus called the ""outside of the cup and dish"" (Luke 11:39). In so doing, they failed to keep their hearts (the inside of the cup) clean. In addition to transgressing the core of God's Law themselves, they had also led others astray (see Matt. 23:13).

The Pharisees' obedience to God extended only to matters that could be seen and measured and touched. But in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus set the record straight. Anyone who wants to enter His kingdom will need a righteousness that reaches all the way to the heart!

Jesus makes this contrast in an interesting way in today's verses. The person who fails to keep one of God's commands is not necessarily excluded from the kingdom, although his place in the kingdom will be less glorious than the one who ""practices and teaches these commands"" (v. 19).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
When it comes to practicing religion, many people like lists of rules to keep and actions to avoid.

That desire is not hard to understand. It's much easier to follow a list than to face the true condition of the heart before God. But even people who have experienced God's forgiveness and grace can fall into the trap of legalism themselves--or try to make other people conform.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Matthew 5:21-22
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TODAY IN THE WORD
How do top corporate executives relieve stress? A recent survey by a temporary-help agency yielded several surprising results. One way is by throwing plates against the wall! Other unusual methods for venting anger and frustration included singing opera while being kept on hold on the telephone, fiddling with children's ""Silly Putty"" during meetings, and playing hockey in the company parking lot.

Some of these stress-relieving techniques may bring a chuckle, but there's nothing funny about pent-up anger. Anger is a dangerous human reaction, as Jesus explains in today's verses. This is the first of six contrasts Jesus makes between the popular teaching of the day and the true intent of God's law.

The point here is not that all stress relief is bad. Plate-throwing and other activities may be destructive, but there's nothing wrong with exercising or taking a walk to let off steam. These, however, offer only temporary relief. Jesus went straight to the true core of the problem of anger--the human heart.

The Pharisees taught that murder is a violation of God's law. So far, so good, since ""do not murder"" is the sixth commandment. But these prideful men were unwilling to look inward and deal with hateful, murderous attitudes in their own hearts; the desire of many in this group to see Jesus put to death is proof of that! Their hearts, if not their outward actions, disobeyed God's law.

Jesus' teaching went beyond the act of murder to expose the anger of heart that causes a person to turn to violence. Before Cain murdered Abel, the Scripture records that ""Cain was very angry"" (Gen. 4:5). God challenged Cain's anger and warned him that sin was ready to take control of him (vv. 6-7).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Ephesians 4:26 is one of those familiar verses that is sometimes easier to quote than to practice.

But Jesus' warning, added to Paul's exhortation, makes it critical that we deal decisively with anger. That makes today a time for heart-searching.