The 7 Day Experiment is an opportunity to connect with God through daily devotion by reading the Bible, journaling and blogging. Our goal for this experiment is for each of us to hear from God in His way.
Ch6 1:-6 praying and giving has to be about me and God – not about me and whoever else might be in the room. If I’m not doing it for God then don’t bother. v. 9 I need to start my prayers with praise to Him. Acknowledging who He is and that will help get my heart where it needs to be with the rest of my prayers v19 Love the antiJohnson county verse about not laying treasures up here on earth because they don’t last. Hard to keep that in mind when I just look around me. I can’t serve God and ___________. Everything else has to go on the altar. Love the whole last half of the chapter – how free it is. To just seek God first and know he will take care of the rest. What a promise. I feel the stress falling away.
Ch 7 God is a good God who wants to give us things, but we need to ask. We also have to do things His Way though. Knowing what to do and being able to tell people what to do is not the same thing as doing it. We need to live our lives and “know Him” in order to be that house built on the solid rock.
Matt 7 I realized here that when we see something wrong in someone else's life, it's a great time to search our own heart for that possible 'plank' and to take care of it first. If we remember to search our own hearts when this happens it can be another way for God to reveal things in our lives He wants to change.
We have not because we ask not....continually starting a new 40 days of prayer has helped me a lot in this area...before I didn't seek God on a continual basis, now that I do He's showing me things and helping me change without me doing it in my own strength!
(1) ENCOURAGEMENT TO ALL -- Guys, I'm not only reading the Bible and posting, but I'm also reading every word you are writing on the blog. I am both blessed, and encouraged, and challenged, and so proud of you. Keep up the good work! And read other's entries. It's AWESOME!
(1) KEVIN & GOD'S VOICE -- Kevin, I saw you wondering yesterday about if/when God would speak to you. My thought is that God is ALREADY speaking to you, bro! God spoke to you on Day 1 about pleasing Him with your life ("That is what I want God to say to me when I go to heaven. Wow!!!!!"). God spoke to you on Day 2 about keeping your eye on what's most important ("Need to keep in mind that heaven is the greatest reward.") You're ALREADY hearing from God. That's God's voice to you. That's one of the ways God speaks to us.
(2) BIBLE DIVORCE LAWS -- Ok, here's a crash course on how God adjusted the divorce laws through history (because man was unable to keep His perfect standard of "No divorce is allowed, under any circumstances, ever.").
- Phase 1: Creation (Gen 2) -- No divorce allowed. ("Tim's Strictness Rating" = 10 out of 10.)
- Phase 2: Moses (Deut 24 & Lev 20) -- Divorce allowed for any legitimate moral failing. Adultery is dealt with separately through capital punishment. ("Tim's Strictness Rating" = 5 out of 10.)
- Phase 3: Jesus (Matt 5 & 19) -- Divorce allowed only for adultery. ("Tim's Strictness Rating" = 9 out of 10.)
- Phase 4: Paul (1 Cor 7) -- Divorce allowed only if they leave you, which includes adultery. ("Tim's Strictness Rating" = 7.5 out of 10.)
If someone reads through those 6 chapters (Gen 2, Lev 20, Deut 24, Matt 5, Matt 19, 1 Cor 7) using my outline as a guide, would you tell me if it helped?
Matthew 6:34: one of my favorites, I learned this one from Kanakuk a few years ago.."therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Just wish I could NOT worry about some things. Seriously, where do you draw the line?? If you let your kids go and play at a friends house, and you know they are constantly making bad choices, how do you not worry that something may happen to them? Am I supposed to think, "well, if he does something dumb, he may die." And NOT WORRY??? Or how to you not worry about if Kevin will get laid off? I'm not saying I worry about these things CONSTANTLY, but I do worry... and the Bible tells me not to. Tough.
Miracles: sure wish I could have seen them take place!
Ch. 7: God wants us to have things... we just need to ask and do things His way. Talk about the yolk being lifted, if I could just rely more on His strength and not my own. Sing with me now... "the wise man built his house upon the rock...."
7:1-3 -- I wonder if I (or anyone) realizes what it would be like to actually be subjected the same rigorous standards we judge others by. One of my fears is that I have this plank I can't see in MY eye, but I'm judging someone else's speck in their eye.
8:26 -- If I thought the boat was going down, would I have reacted the same as the 12 (who were totally forgetting God's PROMISE that they would make it to the other side)? Does this mean that I have "little faith?" Dear Lord, please give me "big faith!!!" (Lord, does that mean I have to go through a nightmare/storm to show I have "big faith?")
9:28 -- Lord, do I (PERSONALLY) believe you are able to do miracles in people today? (I think I do, but it's easy to doubt...)
I read to 8:28-34 before God said, "Are you listening? Do you hear what I'm telling you??"
So I began to think that surely the people of Gergesenes had at some point wished-hoped-prayed that something or someone would come and remove the demon guys from the tomb. These guys surely had to be interferring with daily life. They were a physically hinderance everytime someone went to or by the tomb. They were an emotiionally barrier, keeping a peaceful heart from the passerby(who can really be peaceful around a demon?). They had to be a spiritual barrier because maybe some walked past and thought, hmm, maybe I'll join in, being a demon might be fun-no rules, I get to do what I want.
Then Jesus arrives and sends the demons away. At this point it seems like a ticker tape parade should be in order for Jesus. Wow-he cleaned up the street of the bad guys. The ultimate crime fighter!! But no-the people of Gergesenes BEG Jesus to leave their region! They are angry He has destroyed their swine. But really they are angry He has changed their environment and that will force them to change.
Where does that leave me? Thinking of the times I've asked God to change me-so He does. And I, full of my self, don't like the change. I had grown comfortable in my ways. By not wrapping my head and heart around what He's done for me means I'm standing at the edge of the cliff looking at my dead pigs, each marked in bright purple Sharpie a name like jealousy, anger, gossip,.. and feeling sad they each died and begging (by not following) Jesus to leave so I can carry those swine with me.
All God wants from me is for me to stand behind Him while He pushes the oinkers over the cliff and then--for me to LEAVE them there!! Really-why would I want to go haul a dead rotten pig up a hill when I'm already standing next the Holy One?
Begging for Jesus to leave has got to be the dumbest thing I could do. Even if I don't beg, but don't change my ways--how different is that?
My prayer is to follow Him and leave the pigs behind.
I've only had time to read chapter 6 right now, so I want to blog about it while it's fresh in my mind. I'll do chapter 7 and 8 later tonight.
I LOVE the section on prayer! There is nothing more un-nerving to me than when someone prays and it goes on and on and on with mind-numbing repetition! I'm a short-prayer kind of gal. God knows what I'm praying about before I even begin to pray so I figure there no sense in drawing it out. I love that God's word says don't babble, don't prolong it and try to use big, fancy words to impress other people. God already knows what we need so our words mean squat... it's the very act of coming to Him in thankfulness and humility that is of importance. We don't need to talk His ears off to be heard.
The section on Forgiveness convicts my heart every time I read it. I struggle here, not with forgiving those that apologize and want to be forgiven... but with offering up forgiveness to those that have stomped me into the ground with no remorse nor even acknowledgment of what they've done. My heart hardens quickly and this is one of my greatest battles.
I LOVE the "don't worry about your life" section (vs. 25-34)! It's a reminder that God knows what I need on every level... and He will meet those needs whether they are emotional, mental, spiritual or physical.
And one of my favorite "do this and I'll do that" verses is: "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and ALL these things will be given to you as well." It's a reminder to me that God needs to be first in my life always.
Matthew 6 The word that kept coming back to me in this chapter was "motives." What are my motives for. . .doing good deeds, the prayers I say, the treasures I am storing up? When I ask that question honestly, I am convicted of sometimes doing "good things for the bad reasons." I am putting myself in front instead of God.
Matthew 7 Verses 17-18 hit me between the eyes. It says the everyone bears fruit, not just the good people. The difference is what type of fruit is it; good or bad? If I am not producing good fruit, then I am producing bad fruit. There is no middle ground here. I can say all the proper "churchy answers" on Sunday, but the proof in is the fruit for the rest of the week.
Matthew 8 I must be careful to not be so quick to judge the people of the Bible that appear to have little or no faith in what Jesus was trying to teach them. I have the advantage of knowing how the story ends (the storm, the resurrection, 2nd coming)and still don't have the right response sometimes. Here the disciples are in the middle of storm and they ask Jesus to help them out. I am afraid I know what my response would have been if I was on the boat that night. I don't give God enough credit that He will be able to help me through the storms I am in the middle of right now.
Yeah I dig reading everyone's blogging before I write mine. I am late nighting it, but nice to be caught up.
I have this weird thing...when I read God's Love Letter to me, He constantly gives me what I like to call "T-shirt ideas".
Here are the 2 I got during this reading: 1. Front says, "DO YOU KNOW HIM?" Back says, "THE scariest words that will ever be spoken in the universe: "Depart from Me, I never knew you." Matthew 7:23
2. Front: MARVEL (in the marvel comics font) Back: What people do when the experience the power of Jesus. Matthew 8:27
It's like this weird habit I cannot control. I have never made a t-shirt, but I have had tons of ideas over the years scattered amongst many journals. It is like God's pleasure to give me these silly one liners...maybe one day I'll understand.
Giving, Prayer, Forgiveness, Fasting, Wealth, Stress, Judging...that about covers it...any questions? Then God says Hey I want to give good to my kids...just commune with Me and it's all yours...fitting for the 7 day experiment.
So I had to ask again. Lord please give me Sabian as my adopted son. I do not want to be his step dad. Even though You had a cool step dad Joseph. I want to be Sabian's adopted father. It has been my dream for so long. Will You grant me this request? NIX.(in Jesus Christ) Amen.
Can you imagine dining with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven? Bizarre.
What is more bizarre is all the stuff the disciples saw and they get stoked because Jesus changed the weather. Funny. Lepers healed. Cool. Demons cast out. Cool. Paralyzed unparalyzed. Cool. Every kind of sickness and disease HEALED. Cool.
Weather changed. NO WAY DUDE. YOU ARE DA BOMB!!! What's UP JC! You it man. Knuckles. What it is. What is was. What it will be. YO. JC kicks it. Huh.
Funny.
SO I do not get the peeps of Gadarenes either. NICE analogy about leaving the pigs behind. I am totally using that at a later date. Thanks Lori. :)
7 minutes til midnight.....here we go CHAPTER 6: So giving to the needy and others know about it and God is not pleased, but do it is secret and God is pleased? Am I getting to literal with this verse? I think it means give to the needy from your heart and don't make a big deal out of it. Is giving and writing it off as a tax deduction making a big deal out of it?
PRAYER: Again don't be a show-off....I do try to speak well and I find I lose my place....need to just throw it out since God already knows what I am going to say.
MONEY: Still worry about money...I keep control of this area....such much risk....house, cars, family....I know, I know, you don't have to say it. M&G has given their testimonial on this several times...the proof is there, so why can't I let it go?
WORRY:
I still worry and stay up late thinking, but I don't fret about it nearly as much....hey, it's an improvement!
CHAPTER 7: To judge or not to judge.....I still do it and I can count many times where my judgement was proven wrong. I do find myself judging others, but I catch myself much earlier now than before....I guess I am growing!
NARROW VS WIDE GATE: ok, starting to look at the meaning more. I get the narrow gate and that is where I want to pass. I was on target, but no bullseye.
MATTHEW 8: I don't get people sometimes. In today's word when I see the sun shining or a strange looking creature on Animal Planet, I think to myself how anyone can not believe there is a God. The world, creatures and us just didn't appear, people!!! Getting back to the story, how can anyone be more ticked at Jesus than amazed at what he did for the 2 demon-possessed guys? You would think it would be a no-brainer to believe in Jesus, but no...these guys got mad because the pigs jumped of a cliff and died.
My prayer is to hear God and doing the things that are pleasing to Him.
Chapter 7 is packed with great stuff and stuff that hits home in my heart. Vs. 7 is one of my favorites ("Ask and it will be given, Seek and you will find, Knock and the door will be opened.") I remember looking up those words in Greek and Ask, Seek and Knock are all written in the active form meaning to constantly and continually take these actions. It's not a one-time asking or a once in a blue moon seeking... but a continual conversation with God. I LOVE that!
This chapter reminds me to constantly access my own heart. I'm not outwardly judgmental of others, but am I secretly tearing anyone down? In everything, am I treating others the way I would like to be treated? (and the reverse of this doesn't work... I've tried it.) Am I producing good fruit? Am I doing the will of my Father? Am I not only hearing His Word but also putting it into practice?
My prayer is to remember to ask, seek and knock consistently, and continually and live for God first in everything.
Chapter 8... we're back in story mode. I don't understand vs. 11-12. After Jesus says the Centurion has great faith, He then goes on a two-verse rant that I don't understand. How is it applicable to the Centurion's faith? What the heck is He talking about?
LOVE when the two demon possessed men come up to Jesus in vs. 29 and say, "what do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come to torture us before the appointed time?" It's a great acknowledgment that Satan knows his days are numbered and he knows he loses in the end. He pulls out all the stops to wage war against us, but that's because he is desperate. I LOVE it! I LOVE that Satan knows he sucks and he's a loser!!! I can picture Jesus smirking a bit, and maybe with a gleam in His eye, nodding and thinking, "torture....you have no idea boys... no idea!" I can't wait until the day when Satan is cast into an eternal lake of fire, dead and gone forever.... no mercy for him! Whenever satan starts messing with my world I smile, call him the four-letter words I think are worthy of his title, (I won't write them here as not to offend anyone).... then I tell him, "appointed time dude... appointed time... tick tock tick tock.... you're days are numbered 'cuz Jesus rocks!!!
Who says we can't harass the harasser back?! He's a piece of (bleep) and deserves to be treated as such. I have zero respect and refuse to pay him respect with nice words... I use the ugliest descriptive terms I can think of for him.... and you know what... it feels great!!!! :)
The biggest thing a I get out of Chapter 6 is doing things for the right reasons whether it is giving, prayer, fasting or really anything. I think many times people do things in front of others for the sake of showing others that they do it. Are people who announce these things with trumpets (6:2) doing it for God or other worldly reasons. It is something I need to constantly asking myself, am I doing this for God?
The treasures on earth part (6:18) is something we deal constantly anywhere but is magnified I think where we live. You could easily look around and get caught up in what other people have. 2 things from this. 1 - We are incredibly blessed with what we have and 2 - it is all just stuff. No one can serve two masters (6:24) and where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (6:21)
Judging others in chapter 7 is a interesting one. It is easy not judge people openly and in front of others but it is inside that matters and God knows your inside. Taking care of the plank in your eye (in the inside, our thoughts and our heart) (7:5) is what really matters to God regardless of what others see.
v 7:13 is a constant battle. The wide gate is so easy to take sometimes and many times we enter because so even though we know the narrow gate is the right path but much it is a much harder route with harder decisions. To take the narrow gate many times we must rely on God's strength and direction.
Cathy
ReplyDeleteCh6 1:-6 praying and giving has to be about me and God – not about me and whoever else might be in the room. If I’m not doing it for God then don’t bother.
v. 9 I need to start my prayers with praise to Him. Acknowledging who He is and that will help get my heart where it needs to be with the rest of my prayers
v19 Love the antiJohnson county verse about not laying treasures up here on earth because they don’t last. Hard to keep that in mind when I just look around me. I can’t serve God and ___________. Everything else has to go on the altar. Love the whole last half of the chapter – how free it is. To just seek God first and know he will take care of the rest. What a promise. I feel the stress falling away.
Ch 7 God is a good God who wants to give us things, but we need to ask. We also have to do things His Way though. Knowing what to do and being able to tell people what to do is not the same thing as doing it. We need to live our lives and “know Him” in order to be that house built on the solid rock.
Matt 7
ReplyDeleteI realized here that when we see something wrong in someone else's life, it's a great time to search our own heart for that possible 'plank' and to take care of it first. If we remember to search our own hearts when this happens it can be another way for God to reveal things in our lives He wants to change.
We have not because we ask not....continually starting a new 40 days of prayer has helped me a lot in this area...before I didn't seek God on a continual basis, now that I do He's showing me things and helping me change without me doing it in my own strength!
****** GENERAL SM GRP LDR OBSERVATIONS *******
ReplyDelete(1) ENCOURAGEMENT TO ALL -- Guys, I'm not only reading the Bible and posting, but I'm also reading every word you are writing on the blog. I am both blessed, and encouraged, and challenged, and so proud of you. Keep up the good work! And read other's entries. It's AWESOME!
(1) KEVIN & GOD'S VOICE -- Kevin, I saw you wondering yesterday about if/when God would speak to you. My thought is that God is ALREADY speaking to you, bro! God spoke to you on Day 1 about pleasing Him with your life ("That is what I want God to say to me when I go to heaven. Wow!!!!!"). God spoke to you on Day 2 about keeping your eye on what's most important ("Need to keep in mind that heaven is the greatest reward.") You're ALREADY hearing from God. That's God's voice to you. That's one of the ways God speaks to us.
(2) BIBLE DIVORCE LAWS -- Ok, here's a crash course on how God adjusted the divorce laws through history (because man was unable to keep His perfect standard of "No divorce is allowed, under any circumstances, ever.").
- Phase 1: Creation (Gen 2) -- No divorce allowed. ("Tim's Strictness Rating" = 10 out of 10.)
- Phase 2: Moses (Deut 24 & Lev 20) -- Divorce allowed for any legitimate moral failing. Adultery is dealt with separately through capital punishment. ("Tim's Strictness Rating" = 5 out of 10.)
- Phase 3: Jesus (Matt 5 & 19) -- Divorce allowed only for adultery. ("Tim's Strictness Rating" = 9 out of 10.)
- Phase 4: Paul (1 Cor 7) -- Divorce allowed only if they leave you, which includes adultery. ("Tim's Strictness Rating" = 7.5 out of 10.)
If someone reads through those 6 chapters (Gen 2, Lev 20, Deut 24, Matt 5, Matt 19, 1 Cor 7) using my outline as a guide, would you tell me if it helped?
Matthew 6:34: one of my favorites, I learned this one from Kanakuk a few years ago.."therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Just wish I could NOT worry about some things. Seriously, where do you draw the line?? If you let your kids go and play at a friends house, and you know they are constantly making bad choices, how do you not worry that something may happen to them? Am I supposed to think, "well, if he does something dumb, he may die." And NOT WORRY??? Or how to you not worry about if Kevin will get laid off? I'm not saying I worry about these things CONSTANTLY, but I do worry... and the Bible tells me not to. Tough.
ReplyDeleteMiracles: sure wish I could have seen them take place!
Ch. 7: God wants us to have things... we just need to ask and do things His way. Talk about the yolk being lifted, if I could just rely more on His strength and not my own.
Sing with me now... "the wise man built his house upon the rock...."
Here are my observations today:
ReplyDelete7:1-3 -- I wonder if I (or anyone) realizes what it would be like to actually be subjected the same rigorous standards we judge others by. One of my fears is that I have this plank I can't see in MY eye, but I'm judging someone else's speck in their eye.
8:26 -- If I thought the boat was going down, would I have reacted the same as the 12 (who were totally forgetting God's PROMISE that they would make it to the other side)? Does this mean that I have "little faith?" Dear Lord, please give me "big faith!!!" (Lord, does that mean I have to go through a nightmare/storm to show I have "big faith?")
9:28 -- Lord, do I (PERSONALLY) believe you are able to do miracles in people today? (I think I do, but it's easy to doubt...)
I read to 8:28-34 before God said, "Are you listening? Do you hear what I'm telling you??"
ReplyDeleteSo I began to think that surely the people of Gergesenes had at some point wished-hoped-prayed that something or someone would come and remove the demon guys from the tomb. These guys surely had to be interferring with daily life. They were a physically hinderance everytime someone went to or by the tomb. They were an emotiionally barrier, keeping a peaceful heart from the passerby(who can really be peaceful around a demon?). They had to be a spiritual barrier because maybe some walked past and thought, hmm, maybe I'll join in, being a demon might be fun-no rules, I get to do what I want.
Then Jesus arrives and sends the demons away. At this point it seems like a ticker tape parade should be in order for Jesus. Wow-he cleaned up the street of the bad guys. The ultimate crime fighter!! But no-the people of Gergesenes BEG Jesus to leave their region! They are angry He has destroyed their swine. But really they are angry He has changed their environment and that will force them to change.
Where does that leave me? Thinking of the times I've asked God to change me-so He does. And I, full of my self, don't like the change. I had grown comfortable in my ways. By not wrapping my head and heart around what He's done for me means I'm standing at the edge of the cliff looking at my dead pigs, each marked in bright purple Sharpie a name like jealousy, anger, gossip,.. and feeling sad they each died and begging (by not following) Jesus to leave so I can carry those swine with me.
All God wants from me is for me to stand behind Him while He pushes the oinkers over the cliff and then--for me to LEAVE them there!! Really-why would I want to go haul a dead rotten pig up a hill when I'm already standing next the Holy One?
Begging for Jesus to leave has got to be the dumbest thing I could do. Even if I don't beg, but don't change my ways--how different is that?
My prayer is to follow Him and leave the pigs behind.
I've only had time to read chapter 6 right now, so I want to blog about it while it's fresh in my mind. I'll do chapter 7 and 8 later tonight.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the section on prayer! There is nothing more un-nerving to me than when someone prays and it goes on and on and on with mind-numbing repetition! I'm a short-prayer kind of gal. God knows what I'm praying about before I even begin to pray so I figure there no sense in drawing it out. I love that God's word says don't babble, don't prolong it and try to use big, fancy words to impress other people. God already knows what we need so our words mean squat... it's the very act of coming to Him in thankfulness and humility that is of importance. We don't need to talk His ears off to be heard.
The section on Forgiveness convicts my heart every time I read it. I struggle here, not with forgiving those that apologize and want to be forgiven... but with offering up forgiveness to those that have stomped me into the ground with no remorse nor even acknowledgment of what they've done. My heart hardens quickly and this is one of my greatest battles.
I LOVE the "don't worry about your life" section (vs. 25-34)! It's a reminder that God knows what I need on every level... and He will meet those needs whether they are emotional, mental, spiritual or physical.
And one of my favorite "do this and I'll do that" verses is:
"Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and ALL these things will be given to you as well."
It's a reminder to me that God needs to be first in my life always.
Matthew 6
ReplyDeleteThe word that kept coming back to me in this chapter was "motives." What are my motives for. . .doing good deeds, the prayers I say, the treasures I am storing up? When I ask that question honestly, I am convicted of sometimes doing "good things for the bad reasons." I am putting myself in front instead of God.
Matthew 7
Verses 17-18 hit me between the eyes. It says the everyone bears fruit, not just the good people. The difference is what type of fruit is it; good or bad? If I am not producing good fruit, then I am producing bad fruit. There is no middle ground here.
I can say all the proper "churchy answers" on Sunday, but the proof in is the fruit for the rest of the week.
Matthew 8
I must be careful to not be so quick to judge the people of the Bible that appear to have little or no faith in what Jesus was trying to teach them. I have the advantage of knowing how the story ends (the storm, the resurrection, 2nd coming)and still don't have the right response sometimes. Here the disciples are in the middle of storm and they ask Jesus to help them out. I am afraid I know what my response would have been if I was on the boat that night. I don't give God enough credit that He will be able to help me through the storms I am in the middle of right now.
Yeah I dig reading everyone's blogging before I write mine. I am late nighting it, but nice to be caught up.
ReplyDeleteI have this weird thing...when I read God's Love Letter to me, He constantly gives me what I like to call "T-shirt ideas".
Here are the 2 I got during this reading:
1.
Front says, "DO YOU KNOW HIM?"
Back says, "THE scariest words that will ever be spoken in the universe: "Depart from Me, I never knew you." Matthew 7:23
2.
Front: MARVEL (in the marvel comics font)
Back: What people do when the experience the power of Jesus. Matthew 8:27
It's like this weird habit I cannot control. I have never made a t-shirt, but I have had tons of ideas over the years scattered amongst many journals. It is like God's pleasure to give me these silly one liners...maybe one day I'll understand.
Giving, Prayer, Forgiveness, Fasting, Wealth, Stress, Judging...that about covers it...any questions? Then God says Hey I want to give good to my kids...just commune with Me and it's all yours...fitting for the 7 day experiment.
So I had to ask again. Lord please give me Sabian as my adopted son. I do not want to be his step dad. Even though You had a cool step dad Joseph. I want to be Sabian's adopted father. It has been my dream for so long. Will You grant me this request? NIX.(in Jesus Christ) Amen.
Can you imagine dining with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven? Bizarre.
What is more bizarre is all the stuff the disciples saw and they get stoked because Jesus changed the weather. Funny. Lepers healed. Cool. Demons cast out. Cool. Paralyzed unparalyzed. Cool. Every kind of sickness and disease HEALED. Cool.
Weather changed. NO WAY DUDE. YOU ARE DA BOMB!!! What's UP JC! You it man. Knuckles. What it is. What is was. What it will be. YO. JC kicks it. Huh.
Funny.
SO I do not get the peeps of Gadarenes either. NICE analogy about leaving the pigs behind. I am totally using that at a later date. Thanks Lori. :)
Hey Kevin what time zone is this blog in...Cali time? Irie mon! I wish it was 9:50 p.m. that would mean I had more time to snooze tonight...
ReplyDelete7 minutes til midnight.....here we go
ReplyDeleteCHAPTER 6:
So giving to the needy and others know about it and God is not pleased, but do it is secret and God is pleased? Am I getting to literal with this verse? I think it means give to the needy from your heart and don't make a big deal out of it. Is giving and writing it off as a tax deduction making a big deal out of it?
PRAYER:
Again don't be a show-off....I do try to speak well and I find I lose my place....need to just throw it out since God already knows what I am going to say.
MONEY:
Still worry about money...I keep control of this area....such much risk....house, cars, family....I know, I know, you don't have to say it. M&G has given their testimonial on this several times...the proof is there, so why can't I let it go?
WORRY:
I still worry and stay up late thinking, but I don't fret about it nearly as much....hey, it's an improvement!
CHAPTER 7:
To judge or not to judge.....I still do it and I can count many times where my judgement was proven wrong. I do find myself judging others, but I catch myself much earlier now than before....I guess I am growing!
NARROW VS WIDE GATE:
ok, starting to look at the meaning more. I get the narrow gate and that is where I want to pass. I was on target, but no bullseye.
MATTHEW 8:
I don't get people sometimes. In today's word when I see the sun shining or a strange looking creature on Animal Planet, I think to myself how anyone can not believe there is a God. The world, creatures and us just didn't appear, people!!! Getting back to the story, how can anyone be more ticked at Jesus than amazed at what he did for the 2 demon-possessed guys? You would think it would be a no-brainer to believe in Jesus, but no...these guys got mad because the pigs jumped of a cliff and died.
My prayer is to hear God and doing the things that are pleasing to Him.
Chapter 7 is packed with great stuff and stuff that hits home in my heart. Vs. 7 is one of my favorites ("Ask and it will be given, Seek and you will find, Knock and the door will be opened.") I remember looking up those words in Greek and Ask, Seek and Knock are all written in the active form meaning to constantly and continually take these actions. It's not a one-time asking or a once in a blue moon seeking... but a continual conversation with God. I LOVE that!
ReplyDeleteThis chapter reminds me to constantly access my own heart. I'm not outwardly judgmental of others, but am I secretly tearing anyone down? In everything, am I treating others the way I would like to be treated? (and the reverse of this doesn't work... I've tried it.) Am I producing good fruit? Am I doing the will of my Father? Am I not only hearing His Word but also putting it into practice?
My prayer is to remember to ask, seek and knock consistently, and continually and live for God first in everything.
Chapter 8... we're back in story mode. I don't understand vs. 11-12. After Jesus says the Centurion has great faith, He then goes on a two-verse rant that I don't understand. How is it applicable to the Centurion's faith? What the heck is He talking about?
ReplyDeleteLOVE when the two demon possessed men come up to Jesus in vs. 29 and say, "what do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come to torture us before the appointed time?" It's a great acknowledgment that Satan knows his days are numbered and he knows he loses in the end. He pulls out all the stops to wage war against us, but that's because he is desperate. I LOVE it! I LOVE that Satan knows he sucks and he's a loser!!! I can picture Jesus smirking a bit, and maybe with a gleam in His eye, nodding and thinking, "torture....you have no idea boys... no idea!" I can't wait until the day when Satan is cast into an eternal lake of fire, dead and gone forever.... no mercy for him! Whenever satan starts messing with my world I smile, call him the four-letter words I think are worthy of his title, (I won't write them here as not to offend anyone).... then I tell him, "appointed time dude... appointed time... tick tock tick tock.... you're days are numbered 'cuz Jesus rocks!!!
Who says we can't harass the harasser back?! He's a piece of (bleep) and deserves to be treated as such. I have zero respect and refuse to pay him respect with nice words... I use the ugliest descriptive terms I can think of for him.... and you know what... it feels great!!!! :)
The biggest thing a I get out of Chapter 6 is doing things for the right reasons whether it is giving, prayer, fasting or really anything. I think many times people do things in front of others for the sake of showing others that they do it. Are people who announce these things with trumpets (6:2) doing it for God or other worldly reasons. It is something I need to constantly asking myself, am I doing this for God?
ReplyDeleteThe treasures on earth part (6:18) is something we deal constantly anywhere but is magnified I think where we live. You could easily look around and get caught up in what other people have. 2 things from this. 1 - We are incredibly blessed with what we have and 2 - it is all just stuff. No one can serve two masters (6:24) and where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (6:21)
Judging others in chapter 7 is a interesting one. It is easy not judge people openly and in front of others but it is inside that matters and God knows your inside. Taking care of the plank in your eye (in the inside, our thoughts and our heart) (7:5) is what really matters to God regardless of what others see.
v 7:13 is a constant battle. The wide gate is so easy to take sometimes and many times we enter because so even though we know the narrow gate is the right path but much it is a much harder route with harder decisions. To take the narrow gate many times we must rely on God's strength and direction.