November 15

The Meaning Behind the Image

That image is a visual sermon of Matthew 6. It is not decorative. It is accusatory.

The lone man represents the devout person Jesus is addressing. Not pagans. Not outsiders. A religious man who believes he is seeking God. He is turned away from the viewer because this passage is not about public reputation. It is about who a man is when no one is watching. His posture is low because Matthew 6 leaves no one standing tall. When Jesus says, “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them” ~Matthew 6:1, pride has no place to stand.

The fire in the foreground represents exposure. In Scripture, fire reveals and tests. “Our God is a consuming fire” ~Hebrews 12:29. This is not the fire of comfort. It is the fire of truth. It brings hidden motives into the open. Performance religion survives in shadows. It cannot survive heat and light.

The scrolls and religious objects near the fire represent outward devotion. Scripture, prayer, sacrifice, all the right forms. Yet they lie near the flames because form alone does not save. Jesus is clear that visible obedience means nothing when the heart is bent toward applause. “They have their reward” ~Matthew 6:2. Earth’s praise burns fast and leaves nothing behind.

The cross in the distance represents true authority. It stands unmoving and unadvertised. It is not center stage for the performer because the flesh avoids it. The cross calls for death to self, not display before men. “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself” ~Matthew 16:24. That is why it stands apart.

The idol imagery represents mammon. Not just money, but the entire system of trust, security, and identity apart from God. Jesus does not soften this. “No man can serve two masters” ~Matthew 6:24. The image shows both within sight because divided hearts always keep both options visible. One claims the mouth. The other rules the life.

The storm-filled sky represents the judgment of God. Not chaos, but certainty. The light breaking through is not sentimental hope. It is the searching gaze of the Father who sees in secret. “Thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” ~Matthew 6:4. That promise comforts the sincere and terrifies the hypocrite.

The entire scene asks one question without words. Who are you really living for when no one is watching?

That is why the man is alone. No crowd. No audience. No applause. Just God, truth, and the heart laid bare.

Matthew 6 does that. It strips religion down to allegiance. And it leaves every person choosing who will rule.

Holiness in a World on Fire

Hebrews 12:14-29

Hebrews is not being helpful when it tells you to “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). It is not making a suggestion. It is making the terms of spiritual survival clear to you in a world that is shaking apart. God is not inviting us to a casual faith. He is inviting us to a holy pursuit. Peace and holiness are not garnishes or side dishes. They are evidence. Evidence that you belong to the kingdom that will still be standing when everything else collapses.

Imagine walking into a house that looks structurally sound but has termites eating it from the inside. On the outside everything seems fine, but inside the decay is spreading. That is how sin works. That is why verse 15 warns us to “make sure that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble.” A little root can split a concrete foundation if you let it. A little sin can break a whole life if you excuse it. Scripture calls it a root because it grows underground before it rises in public. God says deal with it early. Dig it out before it rips your heart apart.

The writer then points to Esau and says do not be like him. Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of stew. In today’s vernacular he sold the eternal for the temporary. The holy for the convenient. The blessing of God for the appetite of the moment. Hebrews says he later begged for repentance with tears, yet found no chance to reverse what he had done. God is telling us that some decisions have permanent consequences. Today’s compromise can become tomorrow’s regret. Jesus said it this way, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul” (Mark 8:36).

Hebrews then shifts scenes. It takes us from the kitchen with Esau to the mountain with God. Israel trembled at Mount Sinai. The mountain burned with fire, and the voice of God thundered so powerfully that even Moses said, “I tremble with fear” (Hebrews 12:21). The scene was a reminder that God is not a soft pillow to stroke and pat. He is a consuming fire. Yet the writer says we have not come to Sinai, we have come to Mount Zion. We come to the presence of Jesus, the mediator of a better covenant. His blood speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. Abel’s blood cried out for justice, but Jesus’ blood cries for mercy. Abel’s blood spoke from the ground, but Jesus’ blood speaks from heaven.

Mercy does not cancel reverence, it deepens it. Verse 25 says, “See that you do not refuse him who is speaking.” If the people who ignored God at Sinai faced God’s judgment, how much more serious is it to ignore the Lord who now speaks through His Son? When God shakes the earth things that can be shaken fall away. When God shakes a life whatever is built on the world collapses and whatever is built on His Word stands firm. This world is shaking right now. Morality is shaking. Culture is shaking. Institutions are shaking. But God says, “We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken” (Hebrews 12:28).

What does God expect from us today? He tells us plainly. “Let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe” (Hebrews 12:28). Not casual worship. Not convenience driven worship. Worship that flows from a heart that remembers who God is. Worship that honors Him as holy. Worship that reflects a life set apart. God is love, but verse 29 reminds us that “our God is a consuming fire.” His fire purifies His people and judges all that stands against Him.

Right now He is shaking everything so the only things left standing are the things built on His truth. The question is simple. Are you standing on the unshakable kingdom or on the sinking sand of the world? If something in your life is falling apart make sure you are losing what is temporary while holding on to what is eternal. God shakes what is fragile in order to reveal what is firm.

Run after peace. Run after holiness. Deal with sin at the root. Listen to the God who speaks. Stand firm in the kingdom that cannot be shaken. And remember with godly fear and trembling that the God who saved you is the same God who will refine you.

He is a consuming fire, and He is worthy of your awe.

Ezekiel 31:1-32:32
Hebrews 12:14-29
Psalm 113:1-114:8
Proverbs 27:18-20

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