Reflect on this teaching of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.
But I warn you—unless your righteousness is
better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the
Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!
You have heard that our ancestors were told,
'You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.' But I
say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you
call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And
if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.
So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the
altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something
against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to
that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.
When you are on the way to court with your
adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand
you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be
thrown into prison. And if that happens, you surely won't be free again until
you have paid the last penny. Matthew 5:20-26
Righteousness.
Right living before God in a way that pleases Him; making ethically right, morally
and virtuous choices. You would think that the teachers of the religious law
would be righteous people…but like us they were only human, not any more
righteous than we are. Jesus was teaching that we need to be more righteous
than they were. Are you? Am I? He warned that we must be more righteous than
those teachers or we’ll never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The only way to
enter the Kingdom of Heaven is to believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior.
…so that everyone who believes in him will
have eternal life. For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and
only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal
life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the
world through him. John 3:15-17
Believing is that righteousness.
I’ve been impressed for years with the idea
that when you offend someone, when you are angry with them, it is the same as
murdering them…murdering their character. Be care what you think, say and do.
Murder is breaking on of the Ten Commandments…and God has specifically said
that we MUST keep His commandments. It is repeated over and over throughout the
Bible.
Keep the commandments and keep your life; despising
them leads to death. Proverbs 19:16
Reconciliation is an important thing in
relationships…whether it is being reconciled with God by confessing your sin,
repenting and then rejoicing in His love and acceptance, or being reconciled
with another person when you have had some disagreement.
Court hasn’t really changed that much since
Jesus’ time. There are still costs to altercations—civil or criminal. Even if
you appeal the decision, you won’t be free until you have paid…time and money.
Even then you may not ever be really free. Your character has been blemished.
Teach that to your children and grandchildren.
Jesus warned His followers, including us,
that we need to focus our lives on living right—on pleasing God. Do you follow
His commandments? Some people would argue that we now live under grace, not
under the law. I think that God gave us the Ten Commandments to show us how to
live. The first four focus on loving God and the last six focus on the
relationship between people. Love God, love your neighbor as yourself.
Don't just pretend to love others. Really
love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Romans 12:9
Prayer
~ Lord, as You taught us through Paul… If I gave everything I have to the poor
and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love
others, I would have gained nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:3. Thank you for
stressing that I need to love others, as much as I love You.
Friday’s
Feast at the King’s Table
As usual every Friday is Feast Day—Feasting at the King’s Table. We can’t
live on just spiritual food …nor can we live on bread alone. We’ve got to have
some meat, veggies and fruit.
Are you fasting during Lent? What did you
“give up” in order to be respectful to Jesus who died for your sins? When I was
growing up I had a Catholic friend who would routinely “give up” desserts or
soda drinks for Lent, as well as eating only fish on Fridays. That wasn’t a
custom in my church, so I never really followed it, although if I was at her
house on Friday, I ate fish without commenting or complaining.
Shortly after
Jerry and I were married I fixed a tuna fish casserole for supper. He looked at
that and then turned to me and said, “I’ll eat this tonight, but don’t ever fix
this again.” No more tuna casserole at our house. We eat salmon, cod, occasionally tilapia, trout, halibut or the little sunfish that Jerry caught. We don’t do much tuna…ever... except in sushi, at sushi restaurants. His favorite fish is fried
catfish or fried carp. That is an Omaha specialty at the much loved Joe Tess’
Place. It is not something that I prefer, although I can do an air fry version
that is acceptable—especially on Friday during Lent. Here’s how I do my version
of air frying in a convection oven…without an air fryer. These are estimated
amounts as I didn’t really measure the ingredients…just toss together.
Air Frying Fish
About a pound
of fish, cut up in strips about 1½ inch wide
1 egg, well
beaten
½ cup flour
1 cup or so
panko breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp seasoning—I
used an Italian blend
½ tsp salt
and pepper – fresh ground
1 tbsp olive
oil
Finely grated
lemon peel, optional
Mix the
flour, breadcrumbs, seasonings, lemon peel and add the oil.
Dip the fish
in the egg, then in the seasoned mixture. If the mixture doesn’t stick well
then try dredging the fish in flour, then egg, then the mixture. Put on a rack
a couple of inches higher than a cookie sheet. I used a meat rack or a cookie
cooling rack, lightly greased. It just needs to be open all around the fish. Place on a cookie
sheet in a convection oven at 425 degrees for about 10-15 minutes until well
browned, depending on the thickness of the fish. You may need to carefully turn the fish if the air flow is not even enough. Enjoy with tartar sauce and
freshly squeezed lemon wedges.
©
2020 Text and painting by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
Unless
otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation,
copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of
Tyndale House
Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Follow And Like "Banquet With
The King" on Facebook. 👍
No comments:
Post a Comment