Well, after a blogging hiatus of a few months, I’m back. I took a break to finish my book, The Journey:  A Traveling Companion Through the New Testament. It’s now being printed! Launch date to be announced soon. 

For the next few Thursdays, I’ll pick an entry and reproduce it here. You might want to read the scripture first, then the blog. Or just the scripture. Or just the blog. Anyway, here goes. This one is based on Matthew 7, Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount wrap-up. It’s full of golden rules. 

The Golden Rule is found in Matthew 7:12. “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.” But here are some more rules that are pretty golden too. Do not judge lest you be judged. Be proactive. Ask. Seek. Knock. Beware of false prophets. Build your house upon the rock. 

Jesus is relentless in spurring us on to greatness. (Notice that trend?) And he’s so practical. Think about it.

Don’t judge lest you be judged. (If we look inward to deal with our own messes  before criticizing, we won’t have the inclination, much less the time, to criticize others.)

Ask. Seek. Knock. (If we think like a parent, we’ll realize God wants to give us good gifts.)

Beware of false prophets. (If we look at the fruit of a person’s life, we can figure out who the posers are.)

Build your house upon the rock. (If we build our lives on solid principles, we’ll most likely be more stable.)

Some people are rule-followers; some hate rules, but God knows we need clarity. Take judging others for example. Admittedly, it feels good to judge sometimes. (I can’t believe I just wrote that!) But that’s my point. God needed to make things crystal clear so there’s no wiggle room for rationalizing.

Later in the book of Matthew, Jesus was asked what the greatest rule was. He replied that it’s to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Then he added this. “And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matt. 22:36-40

I suppose if we had no other rules, this guidance could stand alone. And if we seriously and consistently obeyed it, the world would be changed.