The Better Way

~~~ Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9 ~~~ Psalm 147 ~~~ Matthew 5:17-19 ~~~

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.

The laws were necessary for many different reasons
such as better health or community orderliness.
but with Jesus comes so much more

Sometimes laws continue to be kept on the books
 because it is the way things have always been done.
In all institutions rules and laws eventually are changed...
people change...circumstances change.

Jesus came to show us a better way.
He came to bring us something more
 than keeping all of the old laws.

Jesus brought us the beauty of love.
Jesus brought us the freedom of forgiveness.
Jesus brought us the gift of mercy.

Jesus gives us wisdom straight from the heart of God.

 ...what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, 
is to us whenever we call upon him?

If we want to grow in holiness we must draw
from the depths of what Jesus teaches us.

You can perform all of the rituals.
You can keep all of the laws to the letter.
You can do all of these things, but
if you do not have love, forgiveness, and mercy
you are failing miserably
in the way of the Lord.

There is no God as great as our God.
No other god can compare
 to his goodness and faithfulness.

No one could make the law more than
 it was written to be except Jesus.
Jesus found the meaning within the written words
 that no one would have suspected existed.

Jesus peeled open the laws
 and gave us food for our life.

Blessed to have Jesus on our side.

~~~Peace~~~

Graffiti Letters

~~~2 Corinthians 3:4-11 ~~~ Psalm 99 ~~~  Matthew 5:17-19 ~~~

...our qualification comes from God,

...qualified us as ministers of a new covenant,

not of letter but of spirit;

for the letter brings death, but the Spirit gives life.

Graffiti is typically considered something negative,

but is it always?

Graffiti is defined as writings or drawings

 that have been scribbled, drawn, or painted illicitly

 on a wall or other surface, often in a public place.

Defacing another's property without

 permission is considered a crime.

A crime using painted letters.

The letters standing alone by themselves 

appear to hold no meaning.

Graffiti, while considered to be vandalism,

may represent a greater message.

Graffiti is often an expression of a social or political issue.

...for the letter brings death, but the Spirit gives life.

The letters of graffiti hold meaning

 only within the spirit in which they were created.

The ones who can decipher the letters are the ones 

who also know the spirit in which they were written.

Gangs may use specific graffiti

 to claim their particular territory.

The early disciples with Paul drew on the spirit 

of what had been passed on to them.

It was the spirit of Jesus that ultimately

 gives new meaning to the letters of the law.

Graffiti is growing into an art form all its own.

Some may see it as art while others see it only as vandalism.

Some saw only the exact letters of the law,

while Jesus delved into the true Spirit of the law.

...not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter

will pass from the law,

until all things have taken place.

Jesus was not content with the mere letters.

Jesus was the one who brought forth the Spirit.

Without Jesus fulling the laws they remain trapped

 within the letters themselves.

The death and crucifixion of Jesus 

completed all the things that had to take place.

His death and resurrection is the complete fulfillment 

of every letter of the law.

Ancient forms of graffiti, left behind by our ancestors,

provide us with valuable information about 

who they were as a people.

The letters of the laws of the Old Testament

reveal to us much about who Jesus was 

and who he would become for us.

I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.

May our God of fulfillment

Bless you beyond what you can see.

His grace runs very deep within your soul.

~~~ Peace ~~~

Coupling Law and Love

~~~ Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9 ~~~ Psalm 147 ~~~ Matthew 5:17-19 ~~~

“However, take care and be earnestly on your guard
not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen,
nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live,
but teach them to your children and to your children’s children.”

Jesus did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it.
IF Jesus had come to abolish the law
 there would be no need for the Old Testament.
IF abolishing the law was the intent of God
 then everything previously spoken and promised by him
would fall into a giant sink hole.

But, we see Jesus coming to reroute our trip plan.
He did not eliminate the laws given to Moses.
He added to them...emphasizing great love over fear of God's wrath.

It right for us to teach our children and our
grandchildren these Ten laws of God. 

Laws sustain our society and provide a framework for order. 

Jesus came for something far greater than sustaining order.

...whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.

 ...whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.

Jesus urges us to keep the commandments given to Moses.
He goes so far as to say if you obey them
 and teach them to your children
you will be rewarded.

The elders of the time really had less to fear
 from Jesus than they thought.

He wanted them to see more,
to be more than they he witnessed.
If we do no more than follow the letter
 of the law we are doomed.
Following the law is to be coupled
with the greatest commandment of love.

Jesus did not come to push us
 into the sink hole of the old ways.
Jesus came to instruct us to be faithful
to teaching our children the many wonders of God.

Blessings in keeping and teaching the law
 from the vantage point of love.

~~~ Peace ~~~