Friday, August 30, 2013

Mathew 7

Mathew 7:1-6
Do Not Judge Others
1 "Do not judge others. and you will not be judged.
2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
3 "And why worry about a speech in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own?
4 How can you think of saying to your friend, 'Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,' when you can't see past the log in your own eye?
5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye.
6 "Don't waste what is Holy on people who are unholy (don't give the scared to dogs). Don't throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you."

My Thoughts: There must be a difference between judging someone and being able to tell genuinely whether they are 'Holy" or not. Judgment implies a criticism or a stance with regard to a person whereas a accepting someone for who they are -even if it's evil- has no judgment and is also not blinded by opinion. Of course that still doesn't make it that easy to discern between the two...

Mathew 7:8-11
Effective Prayer
7 "Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
9 "Your parents -if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them as stone instead?
10 Or f they as you for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not!
11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him."

My Thoughts: It's hard for me to think of asking God for anything. I could see praying for others, but specifically asking God for tangible things for yourself seems kind of like a crummy thing to do. It's an interesting notion that God would be pleased to bestow all kinds of earthly wonders on a person since He is the father and we are His children, but I am also reminded that He does not always grant people what they want and instead gives them what they NEED. Like a child wants always recess and no lesson, but the teacher sees to it that they receive the lesson anyway so they can have that knowledge to utilize later in life.

Mathew 7:12
The Golden Rule
12 "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets."

My Thoughts: Again the number 12. The next section must go downhill again. It opens up nicely enough, God wants you to accept all people and God will provide for you when you ask Him. Then a singled-out, simple quote of the most significant importance -the peak of Wisdom.

Mathew 7:13-14
The Narrow Gate
13 "You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to Hell (the road that leads to destruction) is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.
14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it."

My Thoughts: Sure enough, the bad news. It's hard to find Heaven. You have to reach it like a salmon who fights against the current and slowly makes its way upstream to give life. I wonder if the original text used the term "highway" to Hell or if that's a modern updated translation. The narrowness of the road definitely becomes more and more apparent the further you wander down it. You come to realize that God isn't on "sides" like people are -polar left and polar right. He is the side. He sets the record and you follow along to the Truth, which can set you aside and apart from others who find themselves away from it. Sway like a stream to God's truth, not a waterfall that just falls off the edge.

Mathew 7:15-20
The Tree and Its Fruit
15 "Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.
16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.
18 A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit.
19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.
20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so can you identify people by their actions."

My Thoughts: Strange. One of the things I love about the Bible is it says it's not as much about your actions so much as your soul and your faith. Because often people will "act good" but in reality be "bad". Actions can be deceptive while intentions -easily discerned by God- can be seen clearly.

Mathew 7:21-23
True Disciples
21 "Not everyone who calls out to me, 'Lord, Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in Heaven will enter.
22 On judgment day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord! We prophesized in Your name and cast out demons in Your name and performed many miracles in Your name.'
23 But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God's laws.'"

My Thoughts: Children usually get these things right because their souls are far more sincere and less tainted. Children will reach out to God, and talk to Him, and treat Him like a living person because they don't necessarily need to SEE everything. They use their imaginations well enough. Adults usually don't because that part has died and been forgotten. Instead they treat God like a concept and means to an end.

Mathew 7:24-29
Building on a Solid Foundation
24 "Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.
25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against the house, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock.
26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn't obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand.
27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against the house, it will collapse with a mighty crash."
28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at His teaching,
29 for he taught with real authority -quite unlike their teachers of religious law."

My Thoughts: It seems like what God wants to achieve more than anything with these lessons is preparing people to handle life's pains when they come. When people are on their own and don't have wisdom to draw on, they wind of being torn apart and only come back together if they find God and their Soul.

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