Matthew 7 Today

Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.

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Matthew 7:1-29
A Simple Guide for Behavior
1"Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults--unless, of course, you want the same treatment. 2That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. 3It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. 4Do you have the nerve to say, "Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt? 5It's this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.
6"Don't be flip with the sacred. Banter and silliness give no honor to God. Don't reduce holy mysteries to slogans. In trying to be relevant, you're only being cute and inviting sacrilege.
7"Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. 8This isn't a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we're in. 9If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? 10If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? 11As bad as you are, you wouldn't think of such a thing. You're at least decent to your own children. So don't you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?
12"Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God's Law and Prophets and this is what you get.
Being and Doing
13"Don't look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don't fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. 14The way to life--to God!-is vigorous and requires total attention.
15"Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don't be impressed with charisma; look for character. 21"Knowing the correct password--saying "Master, Master,' for instance--isn't going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience--doing what my Father wills. 22I can see it now--at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, "Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.' 23And do you know what I am going to say? "You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don't impress me one bit. You're out of here.'
24"These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. 25Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit--but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.
26"But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. 27When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards."
28When Jesus concluded his address, the crowd burst into applause. They had never heard teaching like this. 29It was apparent that he was living everything he was saying--quite a contrast to their religion teachers! This was the best teaching they had ever heard.

Copyright Statement: THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary LanguageThis edition issued by contractual arrangement with NavPress, a division of The Navigators, U.S.A.Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language Copyright © 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.


~ Lena’s Journalin’
The BEST teaching anyone anywhere will ever hear is the true teaching of a life changed and being changed and one that is always subjected to the change of the word of God. It is a life of effect. Effected by the change of the word of God. God is real to others who see me because I believe Him enough to do what He says. I honor Him enough to not buck against His words. They are truth enough for me to apply to my life.
I live the word, the word lives in Me. I prove the word by applying it to my life. That’s how the word becomes powerful in the earth.
Meditating to meditate is ineffective. Meditating with intent to do and become the word is very effective. We must decide, and if we decide NOT to comply, be transformed by a certain part of the word, we should never blame God for the places we have found ourselves in.
We also should feel sad that hypocrisy has not been erased from the Body of the Lord by the demonstration of truth in action through our own lives. We must be careful to practice what we preach, careful enough to repent of the hypocrisy.
The word of God is a two edged sword and will cut the roots out of our own lives even while we preach it, and if we are not willing for that to happen, we may suffer.
We may not have known all we “bargained” for when we believed in and received the salvation of the Lord Jesus. BUT that does not matter much. We have His word to show us the rest of the way. We’ve been rescued out of condemnation. This IS the way and we must walk in it. There are only two choices. Light and Darkness, or we could also say it as Death and Life. Even if we’re not happy with all of the “requirements”, do we choose life or death? Even if it’s not exactly what we thought, so what, choose life and live it before people, so they can also know the way.
The gray is a very dangerous place to live in. We think our freedoms lie in more than two choices. We see many, many offers, we must categorize them into the two because there are only two, and everything that is not light is darkness. Really. The enemy sugar coats death and darkness, tries to explain it away. There is no explanation, Light is light, Dark is dark. Put it in the right perspective, narrow it down or God will narrow it down for you in the end, and for any of us on earth right now, that’s very soon. We each have an appointed time to die, how do we know when that will be? Do we? Notta one. So why do we mess around acting like we have several choices outside of His word and will? We can choose all we want, but a word of wisdom: we need to choose Him, choose Life! Or else we will very soon regret, painfully regret, being found eternally- los, and most of all, not rescuing anyone else by our life lived for and with Him, when all it took was a choice.

Daily Repetitive Verses:

Isaiah 58:12 – in multiple translations….
The Amplified Bible
And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of [buildings that have laid waste for] many generations; and you shall be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
The Holy Bible, New International Version®
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language
You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You'll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again.
The New King James Version
Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
GOD'S WORD
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the foundations of past generations. You will be called the Rebuilder of Broken Walls and the Restorer of Streets Where People Live.
New Life Bible
And your cities which were destroyed long ago will be built again. You will set up the stones of the bases of the old buildings. You will be called the one who builds again the broken walls, and who makes the streets on which people live like new.