Week 6 Monday
Scripture: 9 Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing:
Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to
destroy?” 10 And when He had looked around at them all. He said to the man,
“Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.
Observation 1: The Pharisees are ruled by laws. Jesus is ruled by
love and relationship. Jesus is trying to teach them that it does no good to
keep the law if doing so leads you to doing evil. It is wrong to see others
hurting and not lift a finger to help them because you feel you must follow the
laws of the Sabbath. We know that Jesus believes in doing good and following
God’s laws, but I think He is trying to show us here that love and relationships
are more important than judging others about the laws they have broken. The
Pharisees will never reach others for Christ with a list of things they should
and should not do. Instead we need to be lights of love for others to see the
love and forgiveness of Jesus our Lord and Savior. I believe that there are
times when we need to talk to others about sin and becoming more like Jesus, but
I believe that it should be done in love. NOT in an “I am better than you”
Pharisee way, but in an “I love you” Jesus way.
Application 1: I want to be more like Jesus every day. I want to
see life and people through His eyes. I want others to see Jesus in me. I do not
want to bog others down with rules, but lift them up with love and
understanding. If God places in on my heart and gives me the opening to talk to
them about other things then I am willing to follow His lead.
Prayer: Lord, You know my thoughts, needs and hearts desires. You
know that though I try there are times when I fail miserably. Forgive me for
these times and help even my failure to be used for Your glory. Use me Lord to
show others your amazing love and forgiveness. Help me to be understanding of
others differences and not get so caught up in the rules that I cannot see
others needs. ~Amen
Week 6 Tuesday
Scripture: 20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples,
and said: “Blessed are you poor, for yours if the kingdom of God, 21 Blessed are
you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for
you shall laugh. 22 Blessed are you when ment hate you, and when they exclude
you, and revile you and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake.
23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in
heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.”
I wrote these verses and read them over and over, but did not
feel like I was getting the true meaning. I thought about them throughtout the
day yesterday and then sat back down in front of them this morning. I still was
getting nothing. I went to the Good Morning Girls blog and read what they wrote
so that I could get some meaning from this. Here is what they
wrote:
In
1660 Thomas Watson wrote an exposition on the Beatitudes. It is so good that I
am going to be drawing from it in this post. You can read the whole thing hereif you want.
After
healing a number of people, Jesus goes up on a mountain and begins to preach his
famous“Sermon on the Mount.” He starts with the beatitudes which are a
collection of truths for those who want to truly be blessed or “happy”. I want
to focus on the very first one because from it spring the
rest.
“Blessed
are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Luke
6:20
What does he mean by “poor?” Is he referring to those who are without material
possessions or who have a hard time paying their bills? There certainly is truth
in the fact that those who belong to Jesus are the richest in the world, despite
any current financial hardships, for they will one day lack for nothing. But the
“poor”Jesus addresses here are the “poor in spirit” (Matthew 5). It “signifies
those who are brought to the sense of their sins, and seeing no goodness in
themselves, despair in themselves and sue wholly to the mercy of God in
Christ.”(Thomas Watson) Someone who is poor in spirit has a broken and contrite
heart (Psalm 51:17). They are humbled by their sin and know that they approach
the living God with absolutely nothing to offer but their own filth and
unrighteousness.
The reason we must all be “poor in spirit” is because:
1.
“Until we are poor in spirit—we are not capable of receiving
grace”
(Watson)
Someone who is full of himself is not able to be filled with Christ. “God first empties
a man of himself, before he pours in the precious wine of his grace.” (Thomas
Watson)
2.
“Until we are poor in spirit—Christ is never precious”
(Watson)
The person who see the dirt that covers him will view the garment of Christ’s
righteousness as desirable (Zech. 3:4). But if you think your works are good and
beautiful on their own then what Christ offers will seem neither necessary or
precious.
3.
“Until we are poor in spirit—we cannot go to heaven”
(Watson)
The kingdom of God belongs to those who are poor in spirit. The Kingdom is for those
who have nothing, know it, and receive what is promised by faith
alone.
“Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling”
I don’t know about you, but I have a major problem here. I can never be poor in
spirit on my own. I am by nature proud, self reliant, forgetful, stubborn and
rebellious. Even as one who has been saved through the death of Christ I easily
revert back to my old nasty habits or self righteousness. But just as my
salvation was wholly of God so is everything else pertaining to my spiritual
life. Where I fail, Christ succeeds for me. Where I am proud, Christ is humble.
And the best part of all is that when I run in the wrong direction Christ
pursues me and lovingly brings me back.
As Francis Thompson wrote, Jesus, “The Hound of Heaven” pursues those who are his
with an“unhurrying chase, unperturbed pace, deliberate speed, and majestic
urgency”.
We must pray that God would make us aware of where we have filled our lives with
“self” instead of Christ. We must pray that God would make us poor in Spirit and
fill us “with the graces of his Spirit.” He is faithful, he will hear our
prayers. He will change our hearts.
The Beatitudes: an exposition of Matthew 5: 1-12 (Kindle ed.)
The Beatitudes: an exposition of Matthew 5:1-12 (Paperback ed.)
The Beatitudes: an exposition of Matthew 5:1-12 (free to read online)
Week 6 Wednesday
Scripture: 35 But love you enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for
nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the
Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36 Therefore be merciful,
just as your Father also is merciful.
Observation 1: When we do things for other or love them and
expect something in return then we are almost always
disappointed.
Observation2: When we do things for others and love others
because it is what Jesus would do and expect nothing in return then we will
show others who Jesus is. Then Jesus will produce amazing fruit from this and
we will be greatly blessed by the interaction. This kind of giving is faith in
action and makes us children of the Most High God.
Observation 3: To be like Jesus we must love those who seem
unlovable, unthankful and evil because it is what Jesus does for us each and
every day!
Application: I want to be like Jesus, just like him. I try and
fail miserably each day, but the grace of God forgives me and every day I start
anew. It is hard sometimes to love those so different from ourselves, but we
know that Jesus would not stop until they knew about Him and we should not
either.
Prayer: Lord, help me to be a light to all those around me. Help
me to love my enemies and show them who You are. Teach me to be just like You,
so that I can show others who You are. ~Amen
Week 6 Thursday
Scripture: 37 Judge no and you shall not be judged.
Condemn not and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and
you shall be forgiven.
Observation 1: We read verses 37-42 and probably could have done
to write down all of them they are do good.
Observation 2: We are not to judge, condemn, or withhold
forgiveness from others. When we stood before Jesus this is what we deserved,
but instead He showed great love and mercy and He forgave us. How can we do any
less for others when we are just as dirty and sinful as they
are?
Application: Judgmental, unforgiving and condemning behaviors are
not characteristics of our wonderful Jesus. If we want to be like Him then we
have to let these characteristics go.
Prayer: Father, please forgive me when I judge or condemn others,
and open my heart to forgive those who have hurt me. Work in me, Father, and
give me a heart of mercy and forgiveness. Just as you had when I stood before
you with a sinful heart and asked you to cleanse me. Just as you have with me
each and every day.
Week 6 Friday
Scripture: 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart
brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings
forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. 49 But he
who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a
foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell.
And the ruin of that house was great.
Observation 1: Verse 45 for me is a little hard. At first glance
you say, “Why? Seems pretty simple.” A good heart produces good and an evil
heart produces evil. But are you good or evil? I would of course say that I have
a good heart, but do I really? I do not really think so. Left to my own devices
I can be judgmental, unforgiving, unkind at times, moody and the list goes on.
Without a heart of Jesus I produce evil, but with a heart of Jesus I can produce
good. And with this heart of Jesus, when I slip, He can use it for His glory and
still produce good.
Observation 2: Verse 49 is a very sad verse for me. In Romans
1:18-20 Paul tells us that everyone is “aware” of God and without excuse. He put
it in each one of us. When we go through this life ignoring that part of us we
are headed for destruction. When we ignore God each day, do not spend time with
Him in His word and in prayer then we are letting satan work and he will destroy
us spiritually. Open your heart to God, follow His calling, let Him into your
life, and search for Him! Then you will be the house that was built on the solid
foundation (God) that the flood (satan and life’s trials) could not
shake!
Prayer: Father, help me to always keep You at the center of my
life so satan can have NO hold on me. I want You to be my foundation, Lord! Keep
my heart pure and clean Lord, working for You and doing good.
~Amen
Scripture: 9 Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing:
Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to
destroy?” 10 And when He had looked around at them all. He said to the man,
“Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.
Observation 1: The Pharisees are ruled by laws. Jesus is ruled by
love and relationship. Jesus is trying to teach them that it does no good to
keep the law if doing so leads you to doing evil. It is wrong to see others
hurting and not lift a finger to help them because you feel you must follow the
laws of the Sabbath. We know that Jesus believes in doing good and following
God’s laws, but I think He is trying to show us here that love and relationships
are more important than judging others about the laws they have broken. The
Pharisees will never reach others for Christ with a list of things they should
and should not do. Instead we need to be lights of love for others to see the
love and forgiveness of Jesus our Lord and Savior. I believe that there are
times when we need to talk to others about sin and becoming more like Jesus, but
I believe that it should be done in love. NOT in an “I am better than you”
Pharisee way, but in an “I love you” Jesus way.
Application 1: I want to be more like Jesus every day. I want to
see life and people through His eyes. I want others to see Jesus in me. I do not
want to bog others down with rules, but lift them up with love and
understanding. If God places in on my heart and gives me the opening to talk to
them about other things then I am willing to follow His lead.
Prayer: Lord, You know my thoughts, needs and hearts desires. You
know that though I try there are times when I fail miserably. Forgive me for
these times and help even my failure to be used for Your glory. Use me Lord to
show others your amazing love and forgiveness. Help me to be understanding of
others differences and not get so caught up in the rules that I cannot see
others needs. ~Amen
Week 6 Tuesday
Scripture: 20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples,
and said: “Blessed are you poor, for yours if the kingdom of God, 21 Blessed are
you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for
you shall laugh. 22 Blessed are you when ment hate you, and when they exclude
you, and revile you and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake.
23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in
heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.”
I wrote these verses and read them over and over, but did not
feel like I was getting the true meaning. I thought about them throughtout the
day yesterday and then sat back down in front of them this morning. I still was
getting nothing. I went to the Good Morning Girls blog and read what they wrote
so that I could get some meaning from this. Here is what they
wrote:
In
1660 Thomas Watson wrote an exposition on the Beatitudes. It is so good that I
am going to be drawing from it in this post. You can read the whole thing hereif you want.
After
healing a number of people, Jesus goes up on a mountain and begins to preach his
famous“Sermon on the Mount.” He starts with the beatitudes which are a
collection of truths for those who want to truly be blessed or “happy”. I want
to focus on the very first one because from it spring the
rest.
“Blessed
are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Luke
6:20
What does he mean by “poor?” Is he referring to those who are without material
possessions or who have a hard time paying their bills? There certainly is truth
in the fact that those who belong to Jesus are the richest in the world, despite
any current financial hardships, for they will one day lack for nothing. But the
“poor”Jesus addresses here are the “poor in spirit” (Matthew 5). It “signifies
those who are brought to the sense of their sins, and seeing no goodness in
themselves, despair in themselves and sue wholly to the mercy of God in
Christ.”(Thomas Watson) Someone who is poor in spirit has a broken and contrite
heart (Psalm 51:17). They are humbled by their sin and know that they approach
the living God with absolutely nothing to offer but their own filth and
unrighteousness.
The reason we must all be “poor in spirit” is because:
1.
“Until we are poor in spirit—we are not capable of receiving
grace”
(Watson)
Someone who is full of himself is not able to be filled with Christ. “God first empties
a man of himself, before he pours in the precious wine of his grace.” (Thomas
Watson)
2.
“Until we are poor in spirit—Christ is never precious”
(Watson)
The person who see the dirt that covers him will view the garment of Christ’s
righteousness as desirable (Zech. 3:4). But if you think your works are good and
beautiful on their own then what Christ offers will seem neither necessary or
precious.
3.
“Until we are poor in spirit—we cannot go to heaven”
(Watson)
The kingdom of God belongs to those who are poor in spirit. The Kingdom is for those
who have nothing, know it, and receive what is promised by faith
alone.
“Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling”
I don’t know about you, but I have a major problem here. I can never be poor in
spirit on my own. I am by nature proud, self reliant, forgetful, stubborn and
rebellious. Even as one who has been saved through the death of Christ I easily
revert back to my old nasty habits or self righteousness. But just as my
salvation was wholly of God so is everything else pertaining to my spiritual
life. Where I fail, Christ succeeds for me. Where I am proud, Christ is humble.
And the best part of all is that when I run in the wrong direction Christ
pursues me and lovingly brings me back.
As Francis Thompson wrote, Jesus, “The Hound of Heaven” pursues those who are his
with an“unhurrying chase, unperturbed pace, deliberate speed, and majestic
urgency”.
We must pray that God would make us aware of where we have filled our lives with
“self” instead of Christ. We must pray that God would make us poor in Spirit and
fill us “with the graces of his Spirit.” He is faithful, he will hear our
prayers. He will change our hearts.
The Beatitudes: an exposition of Matthew 5: 1-12 (Kindle ed.)
The Beatitudes: an exposition of Matthew 5:1-12 (Paperback ed.)
The Beatitudes: an exposition of Matthew 5:1-12 (free to read online)
Week 6 Wednesday
Scripture: 35 But love you enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for
nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the
Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36 Therefore be merciful,
just as your Father also is merciful.
Observation 1: When we do things for other or love them and
expect something in return then we are almost always
disappointed.
Observation2: When we do things for others and love others
because it is what Jesus would do and expect nothing in return then we will
show others who Jesus is. Then Jesus will produce amazing fruit from this and
we will be greatly blessed by the interaction. This kind of giving is faith in
action and makes us children of the Most High God.
Observation 3: To be like Jesus we must love those who seem
unlovable, unthankful and evil because it is what Jesus does for us each and
every day!
Application: I want to be like Jesus, just like him. I try and
fail miserably each day, but the grace of God forgives me and every day I start
anew. It is hard sometimes to love those so different from ourselves, but we
know that Jesus would not stop until they knew about Him and we should not
either.
Prayer: Lord, help me to be a light to all those around me. Help
me to love my enemies and show them who You are. Teach me to be just like You,
so that I can show others who You are. ~Amen
Week 6 Thursday
Scripture: 37 Judge no and you shall not be judged.
Condemn not and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and
you shall be forgiven.
Observation 1: We read verses 37-42 and probably could have done
to write down all of them they are do good.
Observation 2: We are not to judge, condemn, or withhold
forgiveness from others. When we stood before Jesus this is what we deserved,
but instead He showed great love and mercy and He forgave us. How can we do any
less for others when we are just as dirty and sinful as they
are?
Application: Judgmental, unforgiving and condemning behaviors are
not characteristics of our wonderful Jesus. If we want to be like Him then we
have to let these characteristics go.
Prayer: Father, please forgive me when I judge or condemn others,
and open my heart to forgive those who have hurt me. Work in me, Father, and
give me a heart of mercy and forgiveness. Just as you had when I stood before
you with a sinful heart and asked you to cleanse me. Just as you have with me
each and every day.
Week 6 Friday
Scripture: 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart
brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings
forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. 49 But he
who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a
foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell.
And the ruin of that house was great.
Observation 1: Verse 45 for me is a little hard. At first glance
you say, “Why? Seems pretty simple.” A good heart produces good and an evil
heart produces evil. But are you good or evil? I would of course say that I have
a good heart, but do I really? I do not really think so. Left to my own devices
I can be judgmental, unforgiving, unkind at times, moody and the list goes on.
Without a heart of Jesus I produce evil, but with a heart of Jesus I can produce
good. And with this heart of Jesus, when I slip, He can use it for His glory and
still produce good.
Observation 2: Verse 49 is a very sad verse for me. In Romans
1:18-20 Paul tells us that everyone is “aware” of God and without excuse. He put
it in each one of us. When we go through this life ignoring that part of us we
are headed for destruction. When we ignore God each day, do not spend time with
Him in His word and in prayer then we are letting satan work and he will destroy
us spiritually. Open your heart to God, follow His calling, let Him into your
life, and search for Him! Then you will be the house that was built on the solid
foundation (God) that the flood (satan and life’s trials) could not
shake!
Prayer: Father, help me to always keep You at the center of my
life so satan can have NO hold on me. I want You to be my foundation, Lord! Keep
my heart pure and clean Lord, working for You and doing good.
~Amen