The Harvest Is Plentiful!

This morning I am reading Matthew chapter nine.  What an amazing chapter full of miracles and significance.  I love how Matthew just gives the basics sometimes, and understates what we know to be really significant events, for that is often how the Lord works, in hidden or low-key ways, not much for fanfare, or publicity.  

In this chapter Jesus starts by healing and forgiving a paralyzed man (see Mark 2 or  Luke 5 for the expanded version), then calls Matthew the tax collector, releases revelation about being sent to sinners, releases revelation about the need for new wine skins, heals the woman with a flow of blood, raises the dead girl, heals two blind men, heals a man who was mute and demonically oppressed, and finally ends with the following verses which sets up Matthew 10, where Jesus sends out the twelve.  Here are the verses - Matthew 9:35-38 NIV:

[35] "Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. [36] When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. [37] Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. [38] Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Wow, I am tired just thinking about all of these events, each of which if they happened in our close circle of friends of in our churches would be life changing!  I love that Matthew just globs a whole bunch of towns and villages and healing "every disease and sickness"  into a single sentence!  Sometimes we read such a sentence and just skim over it without recognizing the true impact of what was recorded.  Imagine if the Lord went to each and every congregation in your area, preaching about the kingdom and healing EVERY DISEASE AND SICKNESS, demonstrating that this New Kingdom did exist and was real and present!!!  Wow!  What an incredible impact He would have, certainly worth more than two lines.  However, I think this should help us to understand the immensity of the ministry of Jesus, what was life changing for a whole region was just a couple of lines in the overall story of His ministry!

He came to release healing, miracles, signs and wonders, defeat the enemy, and change the world's view of the Father!  The world has never been the same, and in light of the 2000+ years of impact, these few months of ministry, recorded here by Matthew, are indeed small.  

I am reminded of a scholarly two volume book called "Miracles, The credibility of the New Testament Accounts" by Craig S. Keener, that looks at miracles over roughly the last two generations.  His books are 884 pages long and he has nearly 300 pages of bibliographical sources and indexes.  He writes about the church around the world, alive and well and experiencing miracles, healings, raising of the dead, casting out of demons, all of which we find in this single chapter form Matthew.  His point, in short, is that not only are these accounts from likes of Matthew's Gospel believable, that these same signs and wonders are still happening in the church today!  

As amazing as Dr. Keener's recounting of these thousands of miracles and experiences of God are, he is only scratching the surface of the real move of God that is happening all around us. In spite of this unbelievable continuance of Jesus' ministry on the earth today, there remains a large portion of the worldwide population that has yet to be impacted by the touch of the Lord, by His healing, deliverance, or restoration.  The need is greater than ever before, and we are invited into the ministry field that is all around us.  We don't need to go overseas, the need is right in our own towns, villages and neighborhoods. The harvest remains plentiful and there are still not enough workers in the fields!  

Help us Lord!

Amen and Amen!

Splendid and Majestic

Yesterday early morning I had a dream where I heard two words from the Lord - Splendid and Majestic, and I am aware that I tried to remember those words the rest of the night.  However, I forgot about that dream until I was at church in worship.  I looked it up in Google and the first reference that came up was Psalm 111, specifically the Berean Translation.  Here are the verses:

"1Hallelujah!a

I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart

in the council of the upright and in the assembly.

2Great are the works of the LORD;

they are pondered by all who delight in them.

3Splendid and majestic is His work;

His righteousness endures forever.

4He has caused His wonders to be remembered;

the LORD is gracious and compassionate.

5He provides food for those who fear Him;

He remembers His covenant forever.

6He has shown His people the power of His works

by giving them the inheritance of the nations.

7The works of His hands are truth and justice;

all His precepts are trustworthy.

8They are upheld forever and ever,

enacted in truth and uprightness.

9He has sent redemption to His people;

He has ordained His covenant forever;

holy and awesome is His name.

10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;

all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding.

His praise endures forever!"

(from https://biblehub.com/bsb/psalms/111.htm )

Lately we have been focused on the fear of the Lord at church, and that phrase should be understood (at least in my opinion) as understanding how much greater, how much more powerful, how much more magnificent, how much more Holy is God compared to us. 

The Psalmist calls this "fear of the Lord" the beginning of wisdom and I think that is clearly the truth.  If we believe that there is order in the world, rules and design that can be understood, and that God is the creator of this all, then understanding God, or having a right perspective of how much greater He is than man, is a good place to start.  This really was the starting point of science, trying to discover order of the world through observation and study.

In this psalm the author draws his audience's attention back to interactions the Jews had with God, as they experienced His faithful and miraculous provision, their redemption from slavery in Egypt, the wonder of the Old Covenant, etc. and in so doing actually speaks prophetically in verse nine of what was accomplished through Christ Jesus, redemption and an everlasting covenant!

While this knowledge, this understanding, this "fear of the Lord" is the beginning of wisdom, I would conjecture that it, in our recognition of Holy Spirit, should also be our guide in expanding our wisdom.  Jesus said, "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you." (John 16:13-14 NIV).  What better guide than the Holy Spirit, and how much more should we pay attention to He who understands all things?

I am reminded of something Paul said when reflecting on the revelation of scripture compared the revelation of Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit in his letter  2 Corinthians 3:7-11,17-18 NIV:

[7] "Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, [8] will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? [9] If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! [10] For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. [11] And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!"

[17] "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. [18] And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

Our contemplation of Christ, of His splendid majesty, will bring about our transformation!

Oh Lord, hasten to release greater revelation that transforms our hearts and minds!  Help us to become more like You! 

Amen and Amen!

Love Your Enemies/Sinners?

The theme I have been thinking about this past week has been the enemies of Israel, and how we as people of the New Covenant, and Kingdom should understand them.  This is one of those studies that is complex and requires a more thorough understanding and grasp of scripture than I have.  However a few things are apparent to my untrained mind. As I have read and reflected it seems that often God uses the "enemy" nations as places or agents of discipline for His people.  It is interesting to note that God also seemed  to care about these nations as He often warned them prophetically.   Other times they were even used to provide protection and even blessing for His people. 

For example Abraham went to Egypt during a famine (Gen 12:10).  Israel went to Egypt during a famine (Gen 47:47).  Even though it ended up being a slavery situation, Israel came out with the riches of Egypt (Ex 12:35-36), having multiplied and ultimately prospered. We also see that Joseph took Jesus and Mary to Egypt to escape the threat of King Herod (Matt 2:13).  Rather than always being considered an enemy, we find that ultimately Egypt is prophetically called "my people" in Isaiah 19:23-25 NIV:

[23] "In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. [24] In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. [25] The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance. ”

In these passages we see God's plans for Assyria as well, even though the nation was considered an enemy of Israel.   It was warned a few times in the Old Testament (Jonah and Nahum) and while there are different kings over time, much like Israel, some good some bad, ultimately God's heart appears for them.  In the verses above there is a clear prophetic destiny of Assyria as "my handiwork".

Babylon appears often as an enemy nation, and the Jews were sent into exile there.  It is an interesting study in that Daniel was written in Babylon, Ezra and Nehemiah are written about the restoration of the Jews to Jerusalem from Babylon and went with riches provided by the people of Babylon (Ezra 1:6-7).  In the book of the prophet Jeremiah God spoke to His people and told them to pray for prosperity while in Babylon. Here are those verses - Jeremiah 29:4-7 NIV:

[4] "This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: [5] “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. [6] Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. [7] Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

I find that there are those who often would prefer to gravitate to the black and white ideas where enemies are enemies, and those verses where God calls for the destruction of enemies, but to do so one must ignore much of the scriptural record, for there is more to scripture than just the Old Testament and prophecies about destruction of enemies.  God doesn't think or act like humans (Is 55:8-9) and His perspective is clearly more complex.  If God really hated these nations, one would think He wouldn't send prophets to warn them, or speak about prophetic destiny as His people.  He wouldn't give them a chance to repent like He did through Jonah.  In fact Jonah was angry after Nineveh repented, he wanted God to destroy them, not relent because of their changed heart (Jonah 4:1-2). 

In our present day, we can tend to equate "sin" and "sinners" with these Old Testament enemies, and can embrace Jonah's mindset, but this is just not accurate portrayal of how we should act or think.  Jesus said He was sent to these very people - Luke 5:31-32 NIV:  "Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. [32] I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Secondly in the New Testament, it is clear that all nations are meant to be blessed and invited into the Kingdom of God (Mark 13:10;  Matt 28:19; Luke 24:47).  Jesus specifically talked about His Father's attitude towards all nations, good and bad, even those considered enemies. This is what Jesus said in Matthew 5:43-48 NIV:

[43] “You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' [44] But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, [45] that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. [46] If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? [47] And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? [48] Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Clearly the call is not to call down judgment on sinners or even enemies, but rather to love and pray for them.  Again God's perspective is so much wider than we commonly understand.  If the early Church took those words of Jesus to heart, they would have been praying for a certain individual named Saul who was leading the persecution against them.  Paul (formerly Saul) had a very interesting perspective about his life as a "sinner" that he shared in 1 Timothy 1:15-17 NIV: 

[15] "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners---of whom I am the worst. [16] But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. [17] Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen."

Oh, that we as the church would learn to walk in love for all!  Oh, that we would pray for all that don't know the Lord, even those that persecute us, rather than calling down judgment upon them!  Oh, that we would open wide our arms and invite them into relationship!  Oh, that we would be good representatives as children of our Father in Heaven! Oh, that we would understand that our salvation and redemption brings Glory to the Lord, for we were and are sinners,  and yet are given the gift of eternal life through Jesus! 

Oh lord, help us all!

Violence and the Kingdom of Heaven

The last few days I have been reflecting on the following verses  trying to understand them better.  Matthew 11:12-19 NIV:

[12] "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it. [13] For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. [14] And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. [15] Whoever has ears, let them hear. 

[16] “To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: [17] “ 'We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.' 

[18] For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' [19] The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”

These are such an interesting few verses, and I think somewhat troubling, as we don't think of the Kingdom of Heaven and violence together.  I studied the original Greek and it is talking about violence, and taking things by force.  I was letting these words bounce around a bit, and it seems to me the following is true.

1) From the time of John the Baptist, indicates the season they were in, and his primary message was one of preparation for the Messiah, and the repentance for sins.  Both of these were jarring to the senses and status quo that had developed over the last 300 years of prophetic silence.  The Jewish world would never be the same

2) Jesus came into this scene and started to perform miracles, signs and wonders, as noted in some of the previous verses, clearly demonstrating a Messianic ministry, as prophesied by Isaiah.  This too was a radical change to the status quo, their understanding of how God was working in their days. Their sense of God's ways was being completely rewritten.

3) Lastly, Jesus came to destroy the works of the evil one (1 John 3:8), and the miracles, healings, and deliverances were clearly doing that very thing.  In the spiritual realm He was violently confronting and destroying those things that stole life, liberty and freedom, and kept people shackled and chained, the very works of the enemy.  The world was completely changed!

All of these represent a radical shift in the status quo, and in the understanding of God!  It might not seem violent, but it was absolutely destroying centuries of thought and ideations.  

The other bit that was interesting in these verses was that Jesus indicated that people didn't receive Him because He didn't act the way they wanted.  One wonders how much of that is still true today?  Do we reject the things of God because we don't like the ways He does things?  We want a God that dances to our tunes, not the other way around.  They called John demonized because he was zealous for God and lived a fasted lifestyle.  They called Jesus a drunkard and glutton because He clearly both ate and drank, and hung out with sinners.  They wanted someone who followed their rules and fit into their preconceived notions of decorum and didn't push them out of their comfort.  

Finally, the idea of the Kingdom of Heaven advancing through the violence of violent men, aggressive in confronting the works of the evil one, rescuing and redeeming people from the kingdom of darkness, seems an interesting image, sometimes even at odds with the picture in our mind of a peaceful and gentle Gospel of love. However, in the spiritual realm this is exactly what is happening!  The Lord, in His love for us, has made a way through His power released by the Holy Spirit to set us free from all that binds us!  The rescue of a soul from the kingdom of darkness, from the power of sin and death is a mighty victory!  Any time we choose to embrace God's plan, to lay down our own life and daily take up our cross is a mighty victory!  Anytime someone is healed, delivered, restored, or even repentant is a great victory!  

Let us celebrate the Kingdom of Heaven advancing violently against the kingdom of darkness!  Let us embrace our God who is unlike us, and yet become one of us to set us free, to restore and heal us!  Let us proclaim this victory in our daily lives as we embrace His will, purpose and plan for our lives!  Let us love one another as He loved us!

Amen and Amen!

"Go" When Belief Becomes Faith

This morning I was reading the following verses - John 4:45-53 NIV:

[45] "When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, for they also had been there. 

[46] Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. [47] When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death. 

[48] “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” 

[49] The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 

[50] “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.” 

The man took Jesus at his word and departed. [51] While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. [52] When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.” 

[53] Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed."

I do like this story for a few reasons. First, the man was desperate enough to track Jesus down, and travel 20 miles to do so.  This was not as trivial an effort, as John makes it seem.  Secondly, Jesus seems to confront the man and challenge his beliefs, but the man just totally ignores the challenge and repeats his request.  His request is full of expectation and belief, but he wasn't there to talk about that, his son was sick and close to death!  

I am so appreciative of Jesus' understanding and dealing with the man and his concern.  He didn't chastise him, didn't question him, didn't require anything of him, these are all things that we can be told by religion  that are necessary, instead He tells the man His son will live.  That statement is enough for the man, and he "takes Jesus at his word" even though we don't really see evidence of Jesus healing from a distance previously!  In this case the son was 20 miles away.  In confirmation of his faith in Jesus the man departed.

I was just noticing something, Jesus healed the boy at 1pm, and a 20 mile journey was a whole day's journey, if by foot.  We don't know for sure that the man went to Jesus on foot, but if He did that meant he left very, very early, or even the day before.  Since a horse could make that journey in 5 hours, its possible that he left first thing in the morning, but then he should have been able to complete the trip back home that same day... so I think walking was his likely mode.  We don't know much else, but I can conjecture, that his trip to Jesus was as fast as he could go, and that his return trip was less so, for a peace had settled over him on Jesus proclamation.

There have been times where I knew the Lord was moving, where I had some promise, some faith-filled knowledge that the Lord was going to move, and I can say, peace does accompany that knowledge.  I usually don't know exactly how He is going to move, but the knowledge that He will and that He is good is enough.  I then spend the following days in excited anticipation and I am sure there was some of that in the man's heart, and the statement by his servants confirmed his belief, and his whole household was impacted.  

I was just looking back at John's recording of the story, and I wonder if the "Go" was doubly effective?  I wonder if Jesus was commanding the fever, and at the same time giving direction to the man?  If so, one would think that people felt the authority of that single word, for the command of Jesus is world changing!  

Finally, I was thinking again about Jesus and His willingness to be interrupted.  He was clearly teaching or ministering, for there seems to have been people around him when the man found him.  The Lord is never too busy for us, for our pleas, our prayers, our needs. He is about many things, but He is never bothered by us.  He might not respond the way we think (clearly in this case the man thought He would come with him) He should, but He will respond, sometimes in ways that completely change our experience of Him.  He is always the creator, and always creating and creative.  He does care about our concerns, our family members, our children, and our households.

Thank You Lord for Your word and attention!

Amen and Amen!

Does God Care About Sin? Part 2

On Sunday during worship I happened to be thinking about a recent reflection on sin, which was titled "Does God Care About Sin?" (Link to it here: https://amomentwithgod-srh.blogspot.com/2023/03/does-god-care-about-sin.html ) As I was thinking more about that I realized that I needed to spend some time considering the other side of that topic, the flip-side of that coin. 

I will start with a single verse from Paul's letter to the Romans 4:25 NIV:  "He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification."

One could say that God cared so much about sin, that Jesus came and died for the sins of all!  He gave the most valuable life of all time, as a sacrifice to take away our sins.  That is how much He cares about sin!  His death was an eternal event, paying forward for all the sins committed in the future, as well as the sins in the past,  once and for all paying the ultimate price.  

Peter wrote the following -  "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit." ( 1 Peter 3:18 NIV)  Originally it was sin that caused the separation between God and men and women, according to Genesis.  We were created to be in relationship with God, and our sin caused us to break that relationship, and Jesus in coming to earth and paying for even that sin, restored to us the opportunity to once more live in relationship with God.   

Continuing that theme, John writes that the following - "The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work." ( 1 John 3:8 NIV ).  One could say that ultimately the sin is the devil's work, and Jesus destroyed its affect on us.

According to the Old Testament model, sin was cleansed and forgiven through the shedding of blood.  The author of Hebrews wrote,  "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. ( Hebrews 9:22 NIV)  The following verses are a beautiful litany of how Jesus' blood cleanses us of our sin.

Ephesians 1:7 NIV:  "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace..."

Romans 5:9 NIV:  "Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!"

1 John 1:7 NIV:  "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

Revelation 1:5 NIV: ... "and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,"

Jesus' most precious blood was poured out for our sins, and by His blood we are washed clean!  He bled and died for love of us!  He desired to set us free form the power of sin and death, and sacrificed Himself to do so!  Now through Him, and through His blood we are forgiven and restored to relationship, should we choose to accept His salvation, the greatest gift ever given.  

God cares greatly about our sins, so much so that He made the greatest sacrifice in eternity to set us free!  I am wholly unable to fully present the wonderfulness of what God did in paying for our sins, and cleansing us with Jesus' blood.  There are whole books written about the Precious Blood of Jesus, one quote I came across was penned by Frederick Faber in his book, "The Precious Blood: or the Price of Our Salvation"

"But who can estimate the wonderfulness of such a gift ? It is the Blood of God. It is not the giving to us of new hearts, or of immensely increased powers, or of the ability to work miracles and raise the dead. It is not the bestowing upon us of angelic natures. It is something of far greater price than all this would be. It is the Blood of God. It is the created life of the Uncreated. It is a human fountain opened as it were in the very centre of the Divine Nature. It is a finite thing, with a known origin and an ascertained date, of a price as infinite as the Divine Person who has assumed it. To us creatures the adorable majesty of the Undivided Trinity is an inexhaustible treasure-house of gifts. They are poured out upon us in the most lavish prodigality, and with the most affecting display of love. They are beautiful beyond compare; and they are endlessly diversified, yet endlessly adapted to the singularities of each heart and soul. Yet what gift do the Divine Persons give us, which has more of their own sweetness in it, than the Precious Blood ? It has in it that yearning and tenderness which belong to the power of the Father, that magnificent prodigality which marks the wisdom of the Son, and that refreshing fire which characterizes the love of the Holy Ghost. It is also a revelation to us of the character of God. Nothing on earth tells us so much of him, or tells it so plainly and so endearingly."

His blood is the price He was willing to pay for forgiveness of our sins, washing us clean that we might be restored to fellowship with Him. Upon His death on the Cross the veil in the Temple, that which separated the sinful from the Pure and Holy One was torn in two (Matt 27:51), and a way was made open!  

In closing, we have this great encouragement from the letter to the Hebrews 10:19-23 NIV:

[19] "Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, [20] by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, [21] and since we have a great priest over the house of God, [22] let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. [23] Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."

Amen and Amen!

Does God Care About Sin?

This morning, and recently, I have been reflecting on sin.  I assume that this is not the usual thing to reflect on for most, but the Lord has been peeling the onion, so to say, on this topic for several years.  I wrote a decently lengthy personal reflection on sin in my journal yesterday, and felt compelled to visit that topic once again this morning.  I am starting by reviewing the number of times that the word "sin" or "sinners"  or "sinned"  appears in the Gospels.  By  my count, in my NIV translation, sin is mentioned the following number of times:

Matthew:  17

Mark:  14

Luke:  32

John:  22

In a very quick review the majority of times this word appeared Jesus was either forgiving someone for their sins, which caused quite a stir among the Pharisees and Sadducees, or it was in the word "sinners" describing people who had been so labeled by others (tax collectors, women of ill repute, etc.).  Jesus rarely spoke about the subject, other than at His sermon on the mount (See Matthew 5 - 7 for the most extensive version).  At this sermon Jesus effectively changed the definition of sin, from the list of outward actions to include inner thoughts and attitudes.  I am sure that this must have been very troubling for the Pharisees and teachers of the Law who had a list of some 600+ laws, which defined what was sin, and what was not sin.  

Here are a couple of examples that Jesus gave during this sermon (in this sermon He doesn't use the word very often) - Matthew 5:21-22,27-28 NIV:

[21] “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' [22] But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, 'Raca,' is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell. 

[27] “You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' [28] But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

These are a few great examples of how the Lord greatly expanded their definitions of sin, and what was going to be judged - not just murder, but anger with another, calling someone a fool, or "raca" which means looking on another with contempt, and even looking at someone lustfully.  All of these would be under the same judgment as the actual act like murder or adultery. 

This great expansion of definition of sin seems to be rarely preached about (at least in my years of attending church).  It certainly would not be a popular sermon topic, especially if we are wanting to encourage our congregation.  The good news is that the Gospel is not a list of things we can't do, or a list of coming judgments, it is an invitation to relationship with the one who has paid the price for ALL our sins, the one who offers forgiveness, mercy, compassion and love to those that come with bowed head and bowed knee, expressing their need for a Lord, and savior, and asking forgiveness for sins.

His sermon {mentioned above) ends with stories and revelation about the Father, and the encouragement and invitation to pursue Him and His Kingdom. Here are a few verses from the end of His sermon - Matthew 7:7-11 NIV:

[7] “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. [8] For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. [9] “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? [10] Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? [11] If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

Going back to my original theme, the question should be what is sin? We hear sin mentioned quite often in our churches, and some churches spend much of their time preaching about sin and the need to live righteous (sin-free) lives.  The Greek word that is translated sin is the word hamartia and Strong's provides the following word helps - 

266 hamartía (a feminine noun derived from 1 /A "not" and 3313 /méros, "a part, share of") – properly, no-share ("no part of"); loss (forfeiture) because not hitting the target; sin (missing the mark).

266 /hamartía ("sin, forfeiture because missing the mark") is the brand of sin that emphasizes its self-originated (self-empowered) nature – i.e. it is not originated or empowered by God (i.e. not of faith, His inworked persuasion, cf. Ro 14:23).

If we think of this word in usage at an archery tournament, this would be those that did not win a prize.  They shot, maybe even well, but still missed the mark more that others.  A miss of 1 inch and a miss of three feet are still misses.  The word helps above are helpful in defining sin, and how it should be understood.  If we want write up a list, it must include all the possible definitions of Jesus' to be helpful, and with the perspective I laid out above.`

I am confident this idea and definition and working understanding of sin would not be welcome in many churches, as it is seen as too lenient, or too hard to police.  A few common threads in many online posts about sin, are that we must not grow soft in our presentation of what sin is; we must call sin, sin; we must call each other to obedience that we might avert judgment.  The problem with all of this is who has the actual full list of sins?  Jesus took the actual acts and added to them sins of intent and thought (looking lustfully at another), sins of anger; sins of judging others as contemptible, even sins of calling another names.    All of these fall easily in the definition of missing the mark, but they are hard to to completely define and it is difficult to list every possible iteration of said area. 

The whole idea of constantly focusing on "acts" or even the motives of sin, is that this won't actually help us with salvation, or even representing the Lord.  Going back to the archery analogy, if you aren't constantly aiming at the bullseye, you aren't going to be able to hit it.  Focusing on the areas where your arrows keep missing, will not help you hit the target.  We need to be focused on the Lord, focused on our relationship with Him, and in that relationship we will find the help we need to become more like Him.  Righteousness without relationship to the Lord is worthless in an eternal perspective. 

I have heard that our sin causes the Lord to withdraw from us, causes His presence to leave, as there is no sin, no darkness with the Lord at all (1 john 1:5).  While this seems logical, what we are saying is that sin has power over the presence of the Lord!  If not that, then we are saying that God's hatred of sin is greater than His love us.  Neither of those statements is true!  In fact, Jesus demonstrated the absolute fallaciousness of those lines of thinking, by coming to a sinful world, because of His love for us (John 3:16-17), and paying the price for all our sins.  He defeated sin, and restored relationship with the Father!  

I have this belief that God is not actually that concerned about sin.  That is a shocking statement to some I am sure, however, lets look at the facts.  

Jesus paid for all our sins on the cross. 1 Cor 15:3

He defeated sin on the cross. 1Cor 15:55-56

He has set us free from the Law.  Rom 8:2

He has hidden us in Him, where sin does not exist.  Col 3:3

He has given us His righteousness.  Rom 3:22

We have been redeemed.  Eph 1:7

If all of this is true, why would the Lord be concerned about that which He defeated, paid for and does not have any power over Him?  I think His main concern regarding sin is the pain we receive from it, and the pain we cause others through sin.  He desires so much more for us.   

So, rather than focusing on sin, and our misses, let us focus more on Jesus!  Let us stop looking at the list and start looking at Him.  Let us set our hearts to unite ourselves to Him, becoming like Him to the best of our ability.  Let us press onward, forgetting what is behind us, pursuing the One who loves and pursues us.  I am reminded of Paul's eloquent prayer and encouragement found in Philippians 3:7-14 NIV:

[7] "But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. [8] What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ [9] and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ---the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. [10] I want to know Christ---yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, [11] and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead." 

[12] "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. [13] Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Amen and Amen!