Aaron Hufty

Boxing Day

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 6:1-8, 16-18 (day two)

So when you ^[a]give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Vs. 2a

Happy Boxing Day! This second day of Christmas tradition dates back to the Middle Ages. In more recent times it has been associated with aristocracy presenting gifts, or boxes, filled with food or other things to their servants who had worked hard the day before to make sure Christmas Day was properly celebrated. Before that churches and other charitable institutions had collection boxes for the poor and needy which would be distributed on December 26.

Thinking about Boxing Day with regards to these verses, I realized this is a picture of the Christ child. He did not come with fanfare. He, for a time, was weak and helpless, not mighty and authoritarian. His beginning was quiet and humble. And he came for the poor. Those who were broken, and those who were in need. Regardless of your station in life, he came for you. Happy Boxing Day.

YES

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 5:33-48 (day two) But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil. Vs 37

I am not a good poker player. That should probably bring comfort for you to know one of your pastors doesn’t gamble well. It’s the bluffing. I can’t do it. Put another way, I am not the guy you want to walk into a car dealer with to try and purchase a new vehicle. Too often, I tell them exactly how much we have to spend, and what our old car is worth, and I always feel they are telling me the best price they can give. As far as bartering, I am deficient. The older I get, the more I recognize not everyone operates with this mindset. My assumption is that if I am telling the truth why would I think the other person is lying?

Regardless of how I fare transactionally, this is the path the Jesus set for us as we deal with others. Frankly, we cannot be accountable for what other people say, but we are responsible for our words. Frankly, it’s so much easier to keep up with the truth than a lie. Know what you believe, and say it. Don’t try to be or say anything other than what you know.

Keeping the Law

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 5:17-32 (day two)

I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. vs. 17b

How many times have you heard a non-believer say that religion is a series of ‘thou shalt nots’? In doing so they have boiled the entirety of scripture into a sound bite of impossible standards of living. Jesus highlights a few of the commandments, and even takes them to their extreme with how we should treat one another. In the final analysis, it’s true, we can’t keep up our end of the bargain, so what are we missing? We are missing the work of a perfect savior. He and he alone can perfectly keep the law, and it is on him that we are to rely when we cannot. It is through the lens of his atonement which makes these conversations possible, or we would be constantly fretting about how poorly we measured up to the law today. We live, not free from the law, but wholly justified by his perfection. Walk in that light today.

Shine

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 5:13-16 (day two)

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. vs. 16

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” C.S. Lewis

Think of someone in your life who simply radiates the love of Jesus. Do they have a glow about them? If you are thinking of someone like I am, they certainly do. What amazes me is how clearly they understand the source of all hope and joy. They see that it is not anything about themselves, but everything about who Jesus is, and what he has done in their lives. When our lives become more about Jesus, and less about self we become a beacon, a lighthouse, a way point to a world that cannot comprehend light.

If you think about it more, it is a sad reality that you don’t know more people who radiate Jesus love. It makes the ones who do shine brighter, but our prayer should be that we fill the world with his love, so we all can shine.

He Taught Them

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 5:1-12 (day two)

He opened His mouth and began to teach…vs. 2a

Maybe it’s the teacher in me, but I love this verse. It doesn’t say He opened his mouth and lectured, scolded, or berated them. He taught them. This image of Jesus as teacher is powerful. Have you ever apprenticed under a master? Sat at the feet of someone who is at the top of their game? It is humbling, and exhilarating at the same time. There is a teaching strategy called ‘Whole-Part-Whole’ that can be effective. You begin introducing the topic in its complete state. This gives you an idea of how it all comes together, but there is no way a student can understand the ‘how’ at this point, but it provides context. You then break the topic down into its constituent parts to show how they relate to each other before you finally put them back together. This time with a more complete understanding.

Jesus is employing this teaching technique. He begins with this beautiful description of how the Kingdom of God operates. There is no way to fully grasp this in light of who we, as fallen people, are. He continues to break down the constituent parts of the law, and further compounds the issue. We cannot accomplish anything…without Christ. Once we put his atoning grace as a part of our equation, we can see more clearly how we are to live. Are you applying Jesus to your daily life equation?

Brand-marks

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 6:11-18 (day two)

From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus. vs. 17

Paul’s body literally told a story. Paul’s last defense of his book-long argument is his own willingness to endure the persecution, suffering, and pain associated with an uncompromising commitment to follow Jesus. Brand-marks is a term that is exactly what you think it is. As we mark livestock, it was common to ‘mark’ those in slavery with an identifiable brand on their flesh. Paul reminds the Galatians, and us there is often a physical cost to obedience.

And yet, he is willing to bear it. That testimony is astounding in itself. If Paul is willing to endure, and point to those lasting scars as a testimony to God’s greater truth, there must be something to it. Think back one chapter and frame it this way. Paul’s spirit also bears the brand-marks of Jesus. He has been set free to love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The physical marks cannot, themselves, produce that good. It must be Jesus.

What brand-marks have you endured? What have they produced in your spirit?

Be Kind

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 6:1-10 (day two)

So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. vs. 10

Keeping score can get exhausting. Who said what to whom? When was I last wronged or slighted? Was I treated fairly when…? Paul does not discount that fact that misunderstandings happen. He doesn’t deny that life is hard and so often unfair. He is aware, however, of the grace that he was given through Jesus, and that has changed his perspective on how to treat others. Remember when you were forgiven and you didn’t deserve it? There is such a feeling of relief not having to carry around that burden. That burden which impacts how we speak to, relate to, and treat others. Before that grace what was your reaction to misunderstandings? Harsh, bitter, ugly? Perhaps your defenses were so attuned to protecting yourself from further harm, that you became the one hurting others. Paul isn’t saying that doing good is easy, but it does take the pressure off of trying to remember who to be nice to and who not to. Remember when Jesus was kind to you? Pass it on.

Two Natures

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 5:16-26 (day two)

For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. vs. 17

This duality in our nature is nothing new to Paul. He speaks very directly about this to the believers in Rome (Romans 7:14-20). Knowing that the apostle Paul understood and struggled with this idea of wanting to do one thing, but doing another should help our understanding of the challenge we all face. We are in a spiritual battle. It is a daily conflict to choose the Spirit over the flesh. It is also why we are instructed by Jesus to take up the cross daily.

Make no mistake complacency in the faith leads to an erosion of our will. We all desire to live by the Spirit, but this desire requires surrender. If the evidence of the Spirit isn’t obvious, take a spiritual inventory and recalibrate. Don’t give up the fight.

Faith Through Love

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 5:1-15 (day two)

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love. vs. 6

Searching for meaning? At some level, conscious or otherwise, all of us are. We have picked apart Paul’s letter to the Galatian church for nearly three months, and have spoken over and over again about the how they let the Law become something greater than Christ. In a beautiful turn in this passage in chapter five, Paul reminds them of what the are called to do: Love and serve. It is also worth noting that this call is from the Law! He later quotes it in vs. 14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus calls us to this very statement when cornered by the Pharisees. To love and serve through faith is our new assignment. Not despite the law, not shackled by the law, but informed and set free by Christ’s fulfillment of the law.

Not Yet

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 4:21-31 (day two)

For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. vs 22

Hopefully you are familiar with the story of Abraham and his two sons. If you need a reminder, please read Genesis 21. Abraham was in a tough place. He had heard from the Lord, had been faithful to trust him in the past, and was promised a great legacy. The problem? Time. Abraham could not figure out how all these things could come about. His age was a factor, and his wife’s age was well past child-bearing time. The solution? Bring in a surrogate. This would accomplish the goal of bearing a child, but it wasn’t what God had instructed. It didn’t invalidate the promise, but it did have consequences. Refer back to the beginning of Galatians 4 when Paul reminds them that at the perfect time, Christ came. The same can be said for the birth of Isaac, or whatever God has purposed for your life. The Galatians moved from the truth of the Gospel backwards. They laid claim to the law, or the parts of the law they thought they understood. They, and we, have been called forward. To trust in the promise of God’s perfect timing. Not yet is a perfect answer.