Yesterday, I bought a new Message Bible. It is really nice. It is small and red; I really like it – that is why I bought it. Anyway, I am going to read it straight through. Piece by piece, sometimes and other times just sit and read for hours, like a book.
PLEASE, if you have never read the Sermon on the Mount from the Message, please do so – today! I will publish it sometime here, at least the Beatitudes. It is so rich and full of great teaching, real stuff that will really get on the inside of you and mess with your heart! I am going to spend a lot of time right there in Matthew 5-8 over the next few months. Here is some of the stuff that hit me while I was reading this morning.
"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are--no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.
"You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.
"You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'carefull,' you find yourselves cared for.
"You're blessed when you get your inside world--your mind and heart--put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
"You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.
"You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom.”
- Jesus; The Beatitudes; Matthew 5:3-10 (The Message Bible)
“You have had the vision [of where and what you should be in life before God] but you are not there yet, by any means. It is when we are in the valley, where we prove whether we will be the choice ones, that most of us turn back …. We have seen what we are not, and what God wants us to be, but are we willing to have the vision ‘batter’d to shape and use’ by God?” – My Utmost for His Highest; Oswald Chambers; October 4 Reading.
"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.” – Jesus; Matt 6:6 (The Message Bible)
"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” – Jesus; Matt 6:34 (The Message Bible)
No comments:
Post a Comment