Scripture For The Day

Scripture For The Day  February 28, 2023  "Consider The Lilies"  Trust Him! Life can feel like a vicious cycle. Work, Accumulate, Struggle.  Too busy for this and too tired for that. There are times it can’t be helped. That’s just the busy world we live in. But too often we bring it on ourselves. Jesus continues with His sermon and gives us a picture of the sweet peace we can have through Him when we focus on the right kinds of things; focus on The Kingdom of God, focus on The Lord. Matthew 6: 25-34- “So, I tell you, don’t worry about the things you need to live- what you will eat, drink, or wear. Life is more important than food, and the body is more important than what you put on it.” Honestly, I’m not a big food person. I have certain things I like to eat, but it’s just food. I don’t get all the fascination for it and I’ve seen it become a distraction in more ways than one for what is more important. But we gotta eat. However; Jesus tells us there is more to life ...

Scripture For The Day   February 27, 2023  "Treasures In Heaven"  Jesus’ Sermon continues- Matthew 6:19-24 The amount of junk we accumulate over the years is insane. So much so that we even acquire storage sheds to hold the overfill. How crazy is that? Eventually, all that junk will just become a nest for vermin to make their home. Yuck. They destroy those precious items just to make things comfier for them.  What becomes one man’s junk can become another man’s or mouse’s treasure. Our focus can become so distracted by worldly things that we may forget to look up at times. Jesus tells us ‘do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.’ There is a show called “Salvage Kings”. This group of men is paid to go into buildings and houses to take whatever they want before the structure is demolished. They rip out boards and fixtures, etc. But then they also rifle through all the junk that was le...

Scripture For The Day    February 24, 2023  "Don't Scrunch Up Your Face in Agony"  Jesus teaches about fasting. Again, Jesus mentions the word hypocrite. As we continue with His Sermon we are in Matthew 6:16-18. When you fast, don’t make yourselves like the hypocrites that look so sad and forlorn. They scrunch their faces up in agony for the world to see that they are suffering because of their fasting. Look at them! Aren’t they spiritual? Not. Again, Jesus tells us the truth of the matter is, that is all the reward they will get. Why are we getting warnings about our behavior in this Sermon? Remember this sermon was not directed to unbelievers but to His followers. Jesus is teaching us and leading us to draw closer to Him. It’s not about losing salvation or being the best of the best. It’s about a relationship. It’s about a job that we have been given. The incentive? Rewards. You can be saved and remain a babe in Christ all your life. That’s your choice. The thi...

Scripture For The Day   February 23, 2023 Jesus teaches us about prayer. Matthew 6:5-15  When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites. They love to stand in the synagogues or the front of the church and even on street corners and pray loudly for everyone else to hear. They want people to see them and acknowledge how ‘holy’ they are.  And according to Jesus that is all the reward they will get. But when you pray, you should go into your room or your prayer closet and close the door. Then begin to pray to your Father in Heaven. He is there right with you in that private place. Nothing can be hidden from Him. So, no worries, you don’t have to be in the crowd for The Lord to hear you. There’s nothing wrong with praying out loud in church. It all goes back to the heart. You will be rewarded when your heart is right with Jesus.  Remember Jesus was addressing His disciples and His followers with His Sermon on the mount. He sets forth a challenge for us to live a life tha...

Scripture For The Day    February 22, 2023  "The Heart of The Matter"  We turn to Matthew 6 this morning as Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount continues. Today we study giving. “Take Heed- (Be Careful!) when you do alms (charity, something good) don’t do it for others to see. If you do that, Jesus says you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. Whoa! When you give to the poor don’t announce it for others to hear.  Don’t be a hypocrite, blowing your own trumpet for the people to hear all that you do in the name of The Lord. Don’t even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Hypocrites want to have all the praise and glory. They want to be recognized for all their hard work. They want to be praised for what they are doing. And according to Jesus, that praise from people will be all the reward they will be given. And frankly, that’s not good enough. People are fickle. They will turn on you in a heartbeat. Our giving needs to be done in priva...

Scripture For The Day   February 21, 2023  "Love God and Love People, Even Our Enemies"  Let’s continue with Jesus’ Sermon on the mount. Today we study about loving our enemies. Matthew 5:43-48 has Jesus telling us that ‘you have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’ Leviticus 19:18 tells us to love our neighbor but the idea that Jesus shared on loving our enemies was scandalous, to say the least. Everything He shared was contrary to what the religious leaders were teaching. Jesus reminds us that even unbelievers love some people. That’s the easy part. But Jesus tells us to go beyond that, as usual, He tells us to go above and beyond what the world does and love our enemies. We are all broken people and we need Jesus. That’s the bottom line and The Truth of the matter. None of us are perfect. We all struggle and though we are different and deal with various issues we are ba...

Scripture For The Day    February 18, 2023  "Walk That Extra Mile"  Jesus teaches about fighting back. Matthew 5:38-42. Our first response when an argument ensues is to fight back or at the very least, plan our retaliation. If we feel like someone has wronged us, our carnal side wants revenge. Jesus tells us in His Sermon that though we have heard in the olden days ‘an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth’, He has a different message, as usual. He says no to revenge, do not try to get the upper hand. In verse 39, He tells us to not resist an evil person but who hits us on the right cheek let him hit the left also. Wait!! What??? Now hold on a sec, let’s make sure we study this out before getting confused.  He’s not talking about letting yourself be the victim of abuse. We are never to become a punching bag physically or emotionally for someone else. He’s just saying to not let your heart be full of revenge. Vengeance belongs to The Lord. Instead of a hear...