The Way Matt Sees It

ONE CHURCH UNDER GOD… There are approximately 41,000 Christian denominations in the world ( http://christianity.about.com/od/denominations/p/christiantoday.htm ).   There are multiple Popes, Patriarchs, and Christian leaders as well.   That is a lot .   At least we have a lot of options. “ I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought .”  (1 Corinthians 1:10) “ Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble .” ( 1 Peter 3:8) “ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace .” (Ephesians 4:3) Oh no!   We definitely didn’t get this one right.   The Church is supposed to be united, but that’s not really what we see when we look at Christianity today. ...

J esus replied, “ The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The  Lord  our God is the one and only  Lord .   And you must love the  Lord  your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’   The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’   No other commandment is greater than these .” –Jesus (Mark 12:29-31, NLT) Jesus says the Greatest Commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:29-30).  This is the core of Christianity.  This is what defines us.  If we were to strip everything away, all the traditions, all the denominations, all the dissensions…this is what we would have.  So how do we do it? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ HEART | Compassion Loving God with our heart means loving Him with all of who we are.   It means asking...

If you know me, you know that I’m a huge Lord of the Rings buff.  LOTR isn’t just a movie trilogy; it’s a way of life.  Listening to LOTR music warms my heart in a way that no other musical score can.  I love it. THE BLAME GAME If you aren’t familiar with LOTR, there is a character named Gollum who has been obsessed with The One Ring for centuries.   Since he first possessed it, The Ring has consumed his entire being, to the point where he is physically deformed.   The main characters, Frodo and Sam, run into Gollum, and use him as a guide to the land of Mordor (to destroy The Ring). Throughout their adventure, Gollum plots on how he can take The Ring from Frodo.   Several times he actually tries to murder Frodo and Sam!   One time in particular, however, Gollum blames his actions on The Ring, which he calls the Precious . “It was the Precious – the Precious made us do it.” -Gollum, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (200...

Jesus says that if we seek, we will find (Matthew 7:7).   Everyone in the world is seeking something.   The question is: what are you seeking?   “WHY?” PEOPLE These people seek excuses.   And they always find them.   There’s always an excuse for everything.   And that’s the thing.   If we are looking for excuses, we can always find one.   When God first calls Moses to lead the people out of Egypt, Moses makes excuses like he isn’t a good public speaker, the people won’t believe him, etc. (Exodus 3:11-4:14).   Moses was afraid to leave the comfort of his home to follow God into the unknown. “WHY NOT?” PEOPLE These people seek opportunities.   And opportunities usually present themselves as problems.   But if we are seeking opportunities, they will come our way.   One of the best examples of a “Why Not?” person in the Bible is the Ethiopian eunuch.   When the Ethiopian learned about being baptized, he bas...