“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder ‘ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’  But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘ You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.  Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,  leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”

Matthew 5:21‭-‬24

GETTING REAL! Jesus reminded His crowd of listeners of the 6th Commandment: “Don’t Murder”, (which most of us haven’t-and most of His crowd hadn’t). He then added something profound-If you’ve been or are angery enough to murder or if murdering someone’s even crossed your mind, YOU’RE GUILTY! For most of us that’s a big “Oops”! We’ve suddenly gone from pleaing “not guilty” to “guilty” in an instant because of what is in our hearts! But here’s the beautiful thing (actually 2 things). 1. Jesus is much more interested in our hearts-what motivates us, than He is our pasts! He says in the next verse to BE REAL WITH GOD-“if you come to the altar with your gift, and there remember your brother has something against you (or you with your brother) FIRST LEAVE YOUR GIFT AND GO BE RECONCILED WITH YOUR BROTHER, THEN return to offer your gift! Whatever cynist said “God only wants your offering or money”, hasn’t read this verse! REALITY? “GOD ONLY WANTS YOUR HEART”!!! 2nd beautiful thing? “God forgives sinners, EVEN MURDERERS” when they get real with Him! God’s not interested in sentancing you to a lifetime of misery, followed by an eternity in hell. He died to give you ABUNDANT LIFE (John 10:10) and didn’t create hell for humans (if we go there, its our choice). Get real with God today-let Him clean you!

Think about it!