Matthew 5 WOW eeee read

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 5:1-48
Jesus Teaches the People 1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a hill and sat down. His followers came to him, 2and he began to teach them, saying:
3 "Those people who know they have great spiritual needs are happy, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
4 Those who are sad now are happy, because God will comfort them.
5 Those who are humble are happy, because the earth will belong to them.
6 Those who want to do right more than anything else are happy, because God will fully satisfy them.
7 Those who show mercy to others are happy, because God will show mercy to them.
8 Those who are pure in their thinking are happy, because they will be with God.
9 Those who work to bring peace are happy, because God will call them his children.
10 Those who are treated badly for doing good are happy, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. 11"People will insult you and hurt you. They will lie and say all kinds of evil things about you because you follow me. But when they do, you will be happy.
12Rejoice and be glad, because you have a great reward waiting for you in heaven. People did the same evil things to the prophets who lived before you. .You Are like Salt and Light 13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its salty taste, it cannot be made salty again. It is good for nothing, except to be thrown out and walked on. 14"You are the light that gives light to the world. A city that is built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15And people don't hide a light under a bowl. They put it on a lampstand so the light shines for all the people in the house. 16In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and will praise your Father in heaven. The Importance of the Law 17"Don't think that I have come to destroy the law of Moses or the teaching of the prophets. I have not come to destroy them but to bring about what they said. 18I tell you the truth, nothing will disappear from the law until heaven and earth are gone. Not even the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will be lost until everything has happened. 19Whoever refuses to obey any command and teaches other people not to obey that command will be the least important in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys the commands and teaches other people to obey them will be great in the kingdom of heaven. 20I tell you that if you are no more obedient than the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus Teaches About Anger 21"You have heard that it was said to our people long ago, 'You must not murder anyone.F14 Anyone who murders another will be judged.' 22But I tell you, if you are angry with a brother or sister, F15 you will be judged. If you say bad things to a brother or sister, you will be judged by the council. And if you call someone a fool, you will be in danger of the fire of hell. 23"So when you offer your gift to God at the altar, and you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24leave your gift there at the altar. Go and make peace with that person, and then come and offer your gift. 25"If your enemy is taking you to court, become friends quickly, before you go to court. Otherwise, your enemy might turn you over to the judge, and the judge might give you to a guard to put you in jail. 26I tell you the truth, you will not leave there until you have paid everything you owe.
Jesus Teaches About Sexual Sin 27"You have heard that it was said, 'You must not be guilty of adultery.' F16 28But I tell you that if anyone looks at a woman and wants to sin sexually with her, in his mind he has already done that sin with the woman. 29If your right eye causes you to sin, take it out and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell. 30If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. Jesus Teaches About Divorce 31"It was also said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a written divorce paper.' F17 32But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife forces her to be guilty of adultery. The only reason for a man to divorce his wife is if she has sexual relations with another man. And anyone who marries that divorced woman is guilty of adultery. Make Promises Carefully 33"You have heard that it was said to our people long ago, 'Don't break your promises, but keep the promises you make to the Lord.' F18 34But I tell you, never swear an oath. Don't swear an oath using the name of heaven, because heaven is God's throne. 35Don't swear an oath using the name of the earth, because the earth belongs to God. Don't swear an oath using the name of Jerusalem, because that is the city of the great King. 36Don't even swear by your own head, because you cannot make one hair on your head become white or black. 37Say only yes if you mean yes, and no if you mean no. If you say more than yes or no, it is from the Evil One. Don't Fight Back 38"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' F19 39But I tell you, don't stand up against an evil person. If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other cheek also. 40If someone wants to sue you in court and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. 41If someone forces you to go with him one mile, go with him two miles. 42If a person asks you for something, give it to him. Don't refuse to give to someone who wants to borrow from you. Love All People 43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighborF20 and hate your enemies.' 44But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you. 45If you do this, you will be true children of your Father in heaven. He causes the sun to rise on good people and on evil people, and he sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong. 46If you love only the people who love you, you will get no reward. Even the tax collectors do that. 47And if you are nice only to your friends, you are no better than other people. Even those who don't know God are nice to their friends. 48So you must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
FOOTNOTES:F14 You…anyone. - Quotation from Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17.F15 brother…sister - Although the Greek text reads "brother" here and throughout this book, Jesus' words were meant for the entire church, including men and women.F16 'You…adultery.' - Quotation from Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18.F17 'Anyone…divorce paper.' - Quotation from Deuteronomy 24:1.F18 'Don't…Lord.' - This refers to Leviticus 19:12; Numbers 30:2; Deuteronomy 23:21.F19 'An eye…tooth.' - Quotation from Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21.F20 'Love your neighbor' - Quotation from Leviticus 19:18.
Copyright Statement: New Century VersionThe Holy Bible, New Century Version®.Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

~ Lena’s Journalin’~
Jesus went and sat down (at the right hand of the Father) and His (true) followers come follow Him wherever He goes. He is now far above all principalities and powers and might’s, dominions and names.
Are we there also? Have we followed Him there? The Bible says we are seated with Him. Who is it that takes the seat offered? We do, no one else but us can make the decision to follow Him there and go sit down there. We can also stay here in the lower realm and fight all we fight all alone if we’d like. If we do that we’ve made a choice to be where He is not.
There’s a different perspective there, up there, compared to down here. It’s a kingdom view, rather than a “my world” view.
If/when we get a kingdom view, we’ll see everything differently. Our trials will be like specs of mere dust, because we’ll know the kingdom and the part we have to play while we are assigned here. How else can Jesus say, those who are used, persecuted etc are blessed? He sees the greater kingdom picture.
From the view, we see who we are inside of Him and what we’re here for by seeing ourselves inside of Him.
You are salt and light. In the KJV it says if the salt loses HIS savor. “His”, not “ITS”, but HIS. That means something personal, it is “salt” personified. I looked it up. The characteristic of salt is preservation, one of lasting concord, meaning a lasting agreement, a long lived commitment. Salt makes people thirsty, they season with it for extra flavor and thirst and appetite for more food comes. But if the salt, the man who makes people want more, stops being committed to what people saw in his life that led them to go somewhere and continue there, his life’s influence is of no significance for God’s eternal kingdom. We are the kingdom salt in the earth. We are THE light in someone’s darkness. If we live our faith to ourselves and keep our faith-walk privately hidden then we are not truly walking as lights for the kingdom of God.
Live out loud. Show faith outwardly. Do not hide the light, show it, mistakes, repentance and all. Be visible, continue until the end and beyond. We cannot merely say we believe, we must show our faith by what we do.
Do we have a revelation of hell’s fire? If we are wiling to sin and be separated from God here, we do not. How does one know when they’ll pass away and be done here? How does one know when their last opportunity is up? The time to get right, and be right is now! The Spirit of God knows the times and the hour and knows what we do not know. He is begging us to get right, make it right - Now. Leave the presence of God, the most awesome, peace-giving, awe-inspiring place in the whole universe and go make it right, for the time is now. You could walk out of your place of mental contemplation and your putting off of time and be killed in an instant, with no opportunities left. Why do you think people grieve? The opportunities are gone, they’re over.
People go to hell, which is a place that was never meant for people! Hell was meant for 1/3rd of the evil angles and the devil, that’s it, not people, but people who will not choose life go there everyday, willingly, they contemplate, put off, and die an eternal death.
Do we love God? Yes or no.
Do we love people as He does? Yes or no.
There’s NO in-between.
It is time to love people out of hell’s destination call, before it is too late.

Daily Repetitive Verses -
John 17:15 I'm not asking you to take them out of the world but to protect them from the evil one.