Clever Free Methodist

  We are human and prone to mistakes, misunderstandings, and other influences towards our fallen nature that keep us from being absolutely perfect. There are those times where we may find exceptional achievement, but most times we fall short in some way.   Perfection, however, is not an illusion. It is something that we can strive for in our spiritual lives. Jesus challenges a rich man with such a goal. Matthew 19:21 , “Jesus answered, ‘If you want to be perfect , go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’”   Why would Jesus give this man what appears to be a nearly impossible task? It would seem impossible if we didn’t understand the word “perfect.” The word is not implying that we should be continually living without fault. This form of perfection relates to love .   Jesus is literally addressing the unconditional love of agape. In other words, Jesus is saying that we must strive to love as God does which includes exp

  We find a very uncomfortable statement made by Jesus to Peter in  Luke 22:31 , that reads,  “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat.”  What is more intriguing is that Jesus doesn’t stop it or prevent it from happening, but rather prays that Peter’s faith would not fail during the sifting. It is a prayer for our faith as well! What is this sifting? The word used for “sift” means  “inward agitation to try one's faith to the verge of overthrow”  or can have a figurative interpretation to mean “to riddle.” One of the greatest acts of “sifting” by Satan is his use of doubt in God or to question God. One of the earliest examples is from  Genesis 3:1  when Satan tried to get Eve to doubt God when he questioned,  “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” Satan’s tactics were no different with Jesus during Christ’s 40-days in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). Satan will always try to trick us into accepting his offers on t