Lessons from the King: Murder in the Heart

The Incubator of Anger

Imagine working in a lab, placing a petri dish inside an incubator. The controlled environment accelerates bacterial growth, allowing it to multiply rapidly. Now, think about our world—it’s like a giant anger incubator. A recent APM Research Lab study found that 9 out of 10 Americans could name a news event that made them angry. Nearly half were extremely angry, a number more than double those who expressed pride in their circumstances. Social media fights, political arguments, injustice, and personal struggles—our environment is primed for anger to grow.

This is the kingdom of this world—marked by anger, broken relationships, violence, and destruction. But Jesus calls us to something different: “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” (Matthew 4:17, NLT). To follow Jesus is to break free from this incubator of anger and to work toward peace in a world desperate for it.

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The Kingdom’s Call to Righteousness

Too often, we equate being a good person with following a set of moral rules. But true Kingdom citizenship is not about legalistic rule-following—it starts with dependence on Jesus and grows as we follow His teachings. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explains what it means to live as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. Last week, we saw that righteousness makes us salt and light. This week, Jesus takes us deeper—showing that true righteousness is not just about avoiding wrongdoing but about having a heart transformed by God’s love.

To illustrate this, Jesus presents six case studies—examples of how to rightly obey God’s law. Today, we examine the first: anger.

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The Heart of the Issue

 Matthew 5:21-22

“You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment!” (NLT)

The religious leaders taught that righteousness meant avoiding the physical act of murder. But Jesus goes deeper—He reveals that anger, insults, and contempt are just as sinful because they destroy relationships and devalue human life.

We see this in the story of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:6-7). God warns Cain about his anger, telling him that “sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” Cain ignored the warning, allowing his anger to fester and turn into murder. Jesus warns us of the same danger—anger left unchecked leads to destruction.

So how do we subdue sin before it controls us? One step is to change our thinking. “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves… You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.”(Philippians 2:3-5, NLT)

But Jesus also gives us another step—seeking reconciliation.

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The Priority of Reconciliation

Matthew 5:23-24

“If you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.” (NLT)

Jesus teaches that worship is meaningless if we are holding grudges or causing division. In His time, a trip to the temple could take days, yet Jesus instructs His followers to prioritize reconciliation before offering a sacrifice.

Cain should have reconciled with Abel. Instead, he let his anger fester, leading to murder. We must learn from his mistake. Our relationship with God is directly tied to our relationships with others. Imagine a father watching his children fight. No matter how much they say, “I love you, Dad,” their words are empty if they refuse to love each other. In the same way, our worship is hollow if we harbor resentment toward others. Is there someone in your life you need to reconcile with? Don’t delay—Jesus calls us to seek peace immediately.

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The Urgency of Making Things Right

Matthew 5:25-26

“When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge… and you surely won’t be free again until you have paid the last penny.” (NLT)

Unresolved conflict has consequences. In Jesus’ time, failing to settle a legal dispute could lead to imprisonment. Jesus uses this as an illustration—unresolved anger puts us at risk of judgment. Not reconciling with those we’ve hurt is as dangerous as ignoring a legal dispute before trial. We must seek peace while we still have the opportunity.

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Living as Kingdom People

True righteousness is not just about avoiding murder—it is about dealing with anger, bitterness, and contempt in our hearts. We must recognize when sin is crouching at our door and subdue it before it controls us. How? Through reconciliation. When we have wronged someone, our responsibility is to make things right.

Jesus calls us to a righteousness that surpasses legalism. He calls us to be peacemakers.

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A Challenge for Reflection

Ask God: Is there someone I need to reconcile with? If so, take action. Apologize. Repair the damage. Do your part to live as God’s holy people.

May we be a people who reflect the heart of Jesus, rejecting anger and seeking peace. In doing so, we truly become Kingdom citizens who represent our King well.

The Power of Story

“Tolkien, like C. S. Lewis, believed that through story the real world becomes a more magical place, full of meaning. We see its pattern and colour in a fresh way. The recovery of a true view of things applies both to individual things like hills and stones, and to the cosmic—the depths of space and time itself.”

~ Colin Duriez, The J. R. R. Tolkien Handbook: A Concise Guide to His Life, Writings, and World of Middle-Earth

Stories hold immense power in our lives. They can help us see clearly when the challenges of life cloud our vision. They have a way of bypassing the barriers of our minds and speaking directly to our hearts, revealing truths we might otherwise ignore.

Consider the story of King David, a man after God’s own heart and an ancestor of Jesus. Despite his faith and legacy, David was deeply flawed. He committed adultery with Bathsheba and, to cover his sin, orchestrated the murder of her husband, Uriah—a loyal warrior and one of David’s elite “Mighty Men.”

Uriah’s loyalty makes David’s betrayal even more despicable. Uriah honored David, yet David stole his wife and arranged for his death. After these acts of treachery, David felt no apparent remorse. Life moved on: Bathsheba bore David a son, and the king continued his reign as if nothing had happened.

It wasn’t until the prophet Nathan confronted David that the king’s hardened heart finally broke. Nathan approached David not with accusations, but with a story.

“Your Majesty,” Nathan said, “I have a story to tell.”

David, perhaps eager for a moment of distraction, replied, “I love a good story. Let me hear it.”

Nathan told a tale of two men. One was rich, possessing vast herds and fields. The other was poor, owning just one cherished lamb, which he treated like family. When the rich man had guests, instead of taking from his own abundance, he stole the poor man’s lamb to serve at the feast.

David was enraged. “That man deserves to die!” he declared.

Then Nathan delivered the blow: “You are that man.”

Through this simple story, Nathan cut through David’s defenses. For more than a year, David had ignored his sin, going through the motions of worship without repentance. Nathan’s story bypassed David’s pride and opened his heart to conviction. It allowed him to see clearly again.

That is the power of story.

Stories have a unique ability to reveal spiritual realities, reconnect us with joy, rekindle love, and remind us of the beauty in God’s creation. They can expose hidden truths and inspire us to reflect, repent, and grow.

Ultimately, the greatest power of a story lies in its ability to point us to the greatest Story of all. Tolkien and Lewis understood this. To them, every great story echoes the Gospel—the True Story in which God enters His creation as a man, lives among us, dies for us, and rises again.

The Gospel is the ultimate narrative: God, the master Storyteller, crafting a tale of love, redemption, and triumph. It is the one story that is not only beautiful and meaningful but also True.

When used wisely, stories can lead us to the foot of the cross, the wonder of the empty tomb, and the hope of a Kingdom that is ever expanding.

That is the power of story.

* Though it wasn’t the point of this post, I think it is important to consider Bathsheba in this event of David’s life. We should ask questions like: How did she feel during this time? Did she even have a say in what happened? With Uriah, she was cherished, loved, and honored. With David, she became just another wife in his growing harem. She was a victim of David’s abuse of power.

Guarding Your Heart

Biblically, the heart isn’t just an organ that pumps blood through our bodies; the heart is the center of our being. The heart is the seat of emotions and thoughts. It is determines our motivations and desires. To be spiritually healthy requires taking care of our heart, just like being physically healthy requires taking care of our physical heart.

From our western perspective we often equate the heart with our emotions, but to the original readers of the Bible, the heart represented a person's true self. This is why it is important to keep our hearts healthy. As Erwin McManus wrote, "When your heart is sick, it can spread everywhere. Like cancer, despair in the human soul can cause all kinds of malfunctions" (Uprising; p. 133).

A sick heart makes life more difficult and it can overwhelm the joy and hope we have for life. A sick heart allows depression, anger, confusion, and fear to flourish, which prevents us from experiencing the life God wants us to enjoy. Proverbs 4:23 (NLT) says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Solomon taught that the condition of our hearts is essential, that an healthy heart is so important that we must do what we can to guard them.

However, in our busy lives we take our heart health for granted, neglecting the importance of guarding our hearts. If we are not intentional about what comes into our minds and heart then we will let the wrong things slip in. As cliché as it sounds, social media, movies, binge watching TV, and podcast put thoughts, ideas, and images into our heart that affect our motivations and imaginations. When we do not guard our hearts, by maintaining standards on what comes in, our hearts get damaged or become sick.

So, how do we guard our hearts? 

We guard our hearts by faith. The most basic way we demonstrate our faith in God is through prayer. Through prayer we trust God with our worries and to work out our problems for good. Sometimes, all we need is to verbally confess our problems, struggles, sin to gain a proper perspective on things. Other times, we need God's supernatural intervention. Praying helps guard our hearts.

We guard our hearts by thinking good thoughts. When we put garbage into our hearts, our hearts will be consumed by that garbage. Our media consumption matters! We need to be vigilant with what we are fueling our thoughts with. It is not possible to concentrate on the things of God if our minds and hearts are filled with junk. It is essential to take note of what we are putting in our hearts and then make the appropriate changes.

We guard our hearts by surrounding ourselves with positive influences. Spending time with people who uplift and encourage us is important to maintaining joy and hope in our lives. Mature faithful Christians also help us grow spiritually, which it turns helps guard our hearts. Like everything else we need to be intentional in choosing our friends, not just settling for anyone who comes into our lives.

We guard our hearts by obeying God's commands. The Bible is full of instructions on how to live a healthy and righteous life. The foundation of these commands is loving God and loving our neighbor. When we follow these commands, we protect our hearts from the dangers of sin and temptation, because we set the desire of our heart to love our Heavenly Father and honor Him.

In Philippians 4:6-9, the apostle Paul gives us a practical guide to guarding our hearts. He said that we are not be anxious about nothing but instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell our requests to God. When we do this, the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Paul also taught about the importance of focusing our thoughts on what is true, worthy of respect, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, or praiseworthy. He wrote that we are to imitate him and put into practice the lessons that he taught. When we do this, we can be confident that the God of peace will be with us.

But what does it mean to focus our thoughts on these things? To focus our thoughts means that we intentionally choose to dwell on positive and uplifting thoughts, rather than negative and discouraging ones. It means being mindful of the media we consume, the conversations we engage in, and the company we keep.

In a world that is filled with negativity and sin, it can be easy to become consumed by those things. Our society is constantly bombarded with bad news, social media drama, and toxic relationships. If we want to guard our hearts, maintain our emotional and mental health, and continue in our discipleship, we must learn to filter out the bad and focus on the good.

We can focus on the good by practicing gratitude. When we intentionally focus on the good things in our lives and thank God for them, it shifts our perspective and helps us to see the world in a more positive light. It also helps to cultivate a sense of contentment and joy, even in the midst of difficult circumstances.

Another way to guard our hearts is by cultivating healthy relationships. We should surround ourselves with other Christians who encourage us, challenge us to grow, and bring out the best in us. This requires us to be intentional about the company we keep and to set boundaries with people who are toxic and draining.

It is also crucial to be mindful of the media we consume. This includes everything from the books we read to the TV shows we watch to the music we listen to. If we are filling our minds with messages of hate, violence, sex, or despair, it will inevitably affect our hearts and our emotional well-being. Instead, we should seek out media that uplifts us, inspires us, and leads us to worship to worship God.

Finally, we need to be intentional about our spiritual lives. This means prioritizing prayer, worship, and Bible study. When we are connected to God and grounded in our faith, it helps us to maintain perspective and stay focused on what truly matters. It also gives us the strength and resilience to face whatever challenges come our way.

If we want to guard our hearts and maintain our emotional and mental health, we must be intentional about what we think, what we say, and what we do. We must focus on what is true, worthy of respect, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, or praiseworthy, and we must actively seek out these things in our lives. By doing so, we can cultivate a sense of peace, joy, and contentment that will sustain us through even the toughest of times.

A Change of Heart and Mind

The apostle Paul wrote:

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4; CSB)

In this passage, we discover two crucial parts of discipleship. In order to follow Jesus and experience the transforming working of the Holy Spirit, we must start with our minds.

Colossians 3 begins by reminding us that we have been raised with Christ, and therefore, we need to seek the things above. This is very similar to what Jesus taught during the Sermon on the Mount: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” (Matthew 6:33; CSB)

This means that the first crucial part of discipleship is to have a transformation of our values. We can’t continue to chase after the things the world values: pleasure, success, money, and recognition and follow Jesus. Disciples are to value the things of Heaven.

Our values change because our identity has changed. We are now citizens and ambassadors of God’s kingdom. To be ambassadors of the Kingdom of God means that we represent Him in the world, and we can only do that if we value God and His kingdom above all else.

Colossians 3 continues in verse 2 by saying that we need to set our minds on the things above. To set our minds on the things above isn’t about trying to imagine pearly gates and streets of gold, but meditating on heavenly things.

This brings us to the second crucial part of discipleship, and that is, we need to have a change of mind. Having a change of mind means what we think about and believe needs to be in line with God’s will and word. Rather than having opinions and thoughts that are shaped by politics, social media, and partisan news networks, our minds are influenced by the Bible, prayer, and other Christians.

The passage goes on to remind us that we have died to ourselves and that our lives are hidden with God through Jesus. The lives we live are not our lives, but they belong to God. We may be able to see a change of heart and a change of behavior, but these changes are only the beginning of the transformation that Jesus has promised to us. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are no longer slaves to sin but instead, we are made new in him.

This happens because our old selves, with their sinful desires and selfish pursuits, are crucified with Christ, and we are raised to new life. This new life is characterized by a desire to please God by demonstrating His character in this world through the way we live.

Finally, Colossians 3:4 teaches us that when Jesus returns, we will also appear with him in glory. This is a reminder of the hope that we have because of Jesus’ death and resurrection. We know that this life is not all there is, and that one day Jesus will return and make everything right, and that God will come and dwell with His people.

This hope should inspire us to live our lives with purpose and intentionality. We are to seek to live our lives in a way that honors God and reflects His love to those around us. In this way, we show that we value the things of heaven over the things of the world.

The passage of Colossians 3:1-4 serves as a significant reminder of the pivotal role our minds and hearts play in discipleship. Our ability to progress with Jesus depends on the transformation of our values and thoughts. Such a transformation empowers us with the strength to live the lives that God had intended for us from the very beginning.

A Repentant Heart

As a life long Christian, I know the right things to say.

For instance, when life becomes difficult I know that the right thing to say is, "I am trusting God an His timing." 

I may say that, but the reality is that I am full of worry. Rather than praying and doing the next right thing, I distract myself with scrolling through social media or watching YouTube videos. Then I wonder why God never showed up.

It is possible to say that right words while lacking the faith to believe those words. 

The prophet Isaiah made it clear that God wants to help us. His desire is to show us love and give us life.

Here is the kicker: God is waiting for us.

He is generous and desires to help, but we are not turning to Him for help. We are trying to make it on our own. If we would stop and turn to God the experience of our lives would be different.

What is the answer? 

How do we receive the love God has for us? 

King David in Psalm 51 gives us an insight on how we are to approach God:

David wrote this Psalm after Nathan the prophet confronted him about his sin against Uriah, stealing his wife Bathesheba and murdering him. For a year afterwards David pretended everything was fine, but in reality it wasn't. So when David thought about what he needed to do, in light of Nathan’s words, this is was came to his mind: Repentance.

At the heart of repentance is the denouncement of our actions and declaration of our loyalty to God. 

Repentance requires both.

This isn’t about coming to God through religious piety and tradition. Going through the motions of religion does not move God’s heart. 

What moves the heart of God?

Our heart is what moves God.

We can imitate the motions. 

We can fake the right words. 

What we can't fake is the genuine emotion, motivation, and intention of our heart. There needs to be a genuine sorrow for our evil and a genuine desire to be in a relationship with God for Him to act on our behalf.

God waits for us because He wants us to have a heart that desires Him above everything else in our lives. 

Until we approach the throne of God broken and repentant we will never realize the awesome love God has for us. 

This makes pride the biggest obstacle we have in experiencing the love of God.

When we are prideful we believe we change the circumstance of our lives by ourselves. We pursue happiness the way we think is best. We may say all the right things and go though the motions, but the intentions of our heart is on our plans. 

Our pride keeps us from experiencing God’s love.

I am  tired of mouthing the right things and ignoring God. 

My pride has kept me from admitting my weakness and my need for God’s wisdom and strength. 

I come before God with a humble spirit in search of His love. 

Will you do the same?

Protect Your Heart

 

Even in best of times it is possible to loose heart. 

Grief, tragedy, and hardships come into our lives and rob us of joy, peace, and hope. Things that make life worth living.

Stress, inconveniences, and busyness, like a drippy faucet, have a similar effect. Our lives don’t have to be crumbling down for us to lose heart.

In these days of uncertainty all of us are at risk of losing heart and living, to some degree, in despair. How can we prevent this from taking place?

Here are a few quick thoughts:

1. We need to monitor our thinking: Philippians 4:8 (NLT) “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” What we think about has a huge impact on our feelings about life. What determines our thoughts are the things we put into our minds. Our TV watching, internet surfing, and social media lurking all influence what we think about and how we think about them. Limits on time and type of media are crucial for a proper thinking. This is also why Scripture meditation is important. By meditating on the Bible we are putting into our hearts and minds true, noble, and good things.
2. We need to act on what we know: Philippians 4:9 (NLT) “Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” It is one thing to know that right thing to do, but it is another thing to do it. A word of caution here. We have to be intentional and realistic in what we do. Too often we try to compensate for our past failures and inaction by doing all these wonderful things, which adds to our load of stress, and when we fail to live up to expectations, our load of guilt. Small changes, when put together over time, have a big impact. So where do you start? Usually there are one or two things you know that you should be doing. That is where we start. Do the next right thing.
3. We need to confess our needs to God: 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT) “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” Giving God the things that are on our hearts is a way of letting them go. We need to be able to let them go so they don’t dominate our thoughts and emotions. It is important to remember that this takes time. Yes, it would be nice if all we had to do was to give our worries and cares to God once and that be the end of it. Often, because these thoughts and cares are imbedded in our hearts, it takes multiple times to truly handing them over to God for them to leave our hearts.
4. We need to worship: 1 Peter 3:15 (NLT) “Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” Worship is the best way to orient our lives back towards God. Remember, we are created in God’s image and for us to live that image out in our lives, our focus must be on Him. Whether it is through singing songs, journalling our gratitude, or praying from our hearts, worship shifts our perspective from ourselves to God. That shifts allows us to live with hope.

In this world, with all of its hardships and tragedies, we need to protect our hearts. We by living with hope, and hope comes from the intentional action of following Jesus.

Don’t lose heart and don’t despair. Turn your heart and mind towards God and let Him fill you with hope.