But He judged me

Chapter 7. Judging people. I don't know about you but this is something that I have struggled with for a very long time. There's just something in me that says well they did it to me so why can't I do it to them.

I think verse 3 explains it best. Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye when there is a plank in your own?

Now I've never had a plank of wood in my eye but I've seen plenty of planks of wood in my life to know that it should be pretty obvious if you had one in your eye. But here's the truth. We don't like looking in our own eyes because we won't like what we see. It's much easier to pick up on other peoples' issues than it is our own. Because a plank is more painful.

What I'm trying to say is don't go around judging people for something small when in your life there is an elephant in a tornado in yours. Embrace your mistakes and learn from them. Then get out your magnifying glass and get to work on some peoples specks.

Don't worry

Chapter 6 of Matthew was my reading for today.  I was sitting here thinking of all the things that are going on in my life. There are a lot of unanswered questions and a little bit of hurt to be honest. But this is not the time or place for that.

I love when I am completely clueless about what is going on in my life that somehow God shows me something that I haven't been seeing. He seems to just bring things to light that I have never seen but in the midst of a need, there it is.

Verse 6 says to go pray in secret and that you will be rewarded. My prayer life is something that has really changed over the past year. I have realized that if I claim that Jesus is my best friend, then we need to talk to each other. I am completely reverent when I pray but at the same time it's like a conversation. I say hello and say what I need to say and He listens. And then I listen so I can hear what He has to say. Our times together are so enjoyable and just help everything make sense.

If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. I think that explains itself.

The next part is sometimes really hard for me. But it says to not store our treasures on earth where it can be destroyed. Now I'm human. And I'm not sure about you but I worry about money ALOT. Sometimes it's all I can think about. Why do I not have a better paying job? Why do I not get more hours? Why can I not just worry about the things I want?

There's a problem with all of those questions. And it's the word I. On my own, I am nothing. But then I look around me and see all the things I do have. I do have a job. I have a car to get to that job. I may not have much money but I have what I need. I have a place to live. I have friends and family that support me and love me even with how messed up I am. I'm losing weight which is an awesome feeling to see my clothes get looser.

But more than that, I have a Savoir. I am made in His image. He knows what I need and already has a way to fix it. I takes me as I am and is beginning to show me that I don't have to have the most money in the world. And I don't have all the things that I want because I have everything that I need.

So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today. And He holds it all, so just don't worry.

The first hillside revival

Have you ever been on a mountain? The hike is long and hard. But the view from the top is fantastic.
I love the outdoors. I always have. When given the choice, I'll choose outside every time. I can't tell you how many family vacations where my family and I have hiked to get to a waterfall or see a beautiful view.

That's why I find it so fitting that Jesus' first sermon is on the side of a mountain. Jesus was living in a time of no technology. There where no microphones, no screens and no air conditioning. Anyone who would have wanted to hear him would have to walk there. And then they would have stood in order to hear a great teacher. It would have been a full day ordeal.

Verse 1 stands out to me. One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountain and sat down . His disciples gathered around him, and he began to teach them. He didn't tell them where He was going, what He was doing or that He was going to preach. He went and they followed.

A group from my church just recently came back from a mission trip to Haiti. When sharing about the trip one girl said the thing that stood out the most to her was how the people worshiped God. Their church services would last at least four hours. When is the last time that you went to church and stopped looking at your watch every five minutes. When was the last time that you were so in tune with the Holy Spirit that you didn't care how full your Sunday restaurant was going to be.

People in a Haiti, a country that is still recovering from an earthquake and worshiping in a non air conditioned building are experiencing the power of God in more ways than we are.

When will we realize that the only thing in life we need is to sit at the feet of the teacher and listen? When we get there, we'll be going in the right direction.

So you wanna play with magic?

The fourth chapter of Matthew is one chapter of the Bible that has always caused me to question a couple of things. That's why it's taken me so long to respond to it. I had to think long and hard before writing a response.

This is what I've come up with. The fourth chapter is necessary in order for Jesus to be who He says He is.

Let me explain. Chapter four starts out with Jesus leaving after His baptism by John. The spirit has descended like a dove to Jesus and He just leaves. We don't see John's reaction but I'm pretty sure he was pretty confused. The Savior of the world has just been baptized and leaves? Really?

The important part of chapter 3 is that the spirit came to Jesus. Without the spirit, what happened in chapter 4 would not be accurate.

Jesus is tempted with three completely different things. The first of which is food. I personally have never been on a 40 day fast, but it know that on the ones I have been a part of, even looking at food can cause extreme pain or you get to the point where the look of food makes you physically sick.

Jesus is asked if He's hungry, why not just turn some stones into bread. Jesus is perfectly capable of this. He's God after all. But that's not what this part of the story is about. In this part Jesus he is fully human. But He has a little something on His side. He has the Holy Spirit. That's why His response is 'People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Next Jesus is asked to jump from a high building in Jerusalem because there is no way He can be hurt because angels will help Him. Jesus then says 'You must not test The Lord your God.'" This is very important. Here Jesus claims His lordship. He knows who He is and why He is here.

Then Jesus is taken to a mountain and told this can all be His. Here's the great thing: satan is offering something to Jesus that He already has. He is God. Who holds everything in the palm of His hand. Satan likes to think it's his but it's not.  It is a part of Jesus' birthright.

So just remember. You have the power of the Holy Spirit within you. Don't be afraid to use it. If you are in Christ you have been called to be a soldier for Him. You've been given the tools. Just don't be afraid to use them.

You want to do what now?

Chapter 3 of Matthew starts out with a sermon. Now being a pastor's daughter, I have heard plenty of those in my life time. I can probably count on one hand the number of Sunday morning services that I have missed. I say that not to be prideful or boast in what I have done, but to commend the people in my life who have made me realize how important God is.

Now back to Matthew. John the Baptist starts to preach in the wilderness. The book of Matthew doesn't tell us anything about the origin of John but we know from latter gospels that he was a  cousin of Jesus. They would have grown up together and imagine how cool that would have been.

The first encounter that we have with John the Baptist is as a young man dressed in camel wool, a scraggly beard and eats locust and honey for food. I personally don't have any children yet. But if my son came in dressed like that I would think that there was something wrong or he was going through some sort of crisis.

John talks about all of things that he knows about Jesus, the coming Messiah. This would have been quite a lot considering that John was a son a priest and every Jewish male would study the Torah in order to be better equipped for being a man in Jewish culture.

John would have grown up reading the prophecies of a Messiah that would save his people. I personally think that is why John spoke with such conviction and passion that was unparalleled in his day. I wonder if he remembered leaping with joy while in his mother's womb as an unborn child, unable to contain his excitement.

Then comes what is my favorite part of the story. Jesus shows up at the Jordan River. And John's immediate response is surrender. But the Jesus does what His father would do in the same situation. He gets John up and says that is not why I have come. It is I who needs to be baptized. It is I who will take on the job of a servant. It is I that will die the most embarrassing way a person can die. That's always been the plan. I just haven't told anyone about it yet.

Jesus knew what was coming. He knew that His life would fulfill all of the prophecies from the Old Testament. And yet He came know the cost. And it all started in the Jordan river.

"And a voice from heaven said, "This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.""
Matthew 3:17  

The escape of a lifetime

In Matthew chapter 2, we read about the beautiful story of Jesus' birth. People from far and wide like shepherds and kings came to see the child.

But here's where the story gets interesting. Joseph had a dream. Now we don't know why Joseph was spoken to in dreams and why Mary was spoken to in person. What we do know is this is the way that God choose to get his attention. He's told that Jesus is in trouble and that they need to flee in order to save Jesus life.

Now I don't know if you have ever traveled with a small child anywhere but I have.  There are tons of things that you have to bring, you have to make sure all their favorite toys are there and even some not so favorite toys because you never know with a child.

Here's the thing, there were no cars. A crazy thought I know. The distance between Israel and Egypt is 433 miles. This is not smooth terrain by any stretch of the imagination. It is hard, hot, sandy region that would have to be traveled by foot or donkey.

Now imagine trying to take your 2 year old child on a journey like that. If I had been Joseph, I would have just turned over and gone back to sleep. We'll leave in the morning when I have time to get everything that we need. I have a carpentry job that will help provide for us for the next 2 months. I'll go after I finish that. But that's not what Joseph did. He got Mary and Jesus up that night, got on the donkey and left.

They were headed to the land of Egypt, a land where their ancestors had been slaves. But that was just to be in the fulfillment of the prophecy from the Old Testament. "Out of Egypt I will call my son."  We don't know at what exact age all of this happened. We don't know when this family came back to Israel. But we do know if that God kept his promise to protect them.

The question is this. If God called you, would you be willing to drop everything and go. It doesn't matter if it's taking up a shift at work, or sharing the gospel with someone. It could be something as simple as paying for the person behind you in the drive thru.

Or it could be something much more difficult. It could be cutting off a relationship that is harmful to you. It could be moving to a place where you know no one. It could be going to a public school for the first time and that scares you to death.

No matter what God is calling you to do, just be willing to listen, hear his voice, and he will take care of the rest.

4 Names that changed the world

Names can help determine who you are, who you will become and who you will be. Names are thought of by our parents for months before it is ever decided upon.  It is what we are know by and most of the time it the name that we live with til we die.

So imagine being told by a being clothed in white, shining brighter than the sun, that you were going to have a child and that you couldn't choose the name. That his name had been chosen since the beginning of the world and that it would mean different things to different people. It's only a bump in the road that you will find yourself pregnant without ever being with someone.

Then Mary, a girl not yet a women, says I am the Lord's servant, may what you say come true. See this is where Mary and I are different. I would have had a ton of questions that would have taken days to answer. And Gabriel probably would have asked God, Really? Her? But in His sovereignty, He knew that Mary would trust Him and be okay with what was asked of her.

In wisdom beyond her years, Mary agreed to be a part of something that would change the world for the rest of its existence. Her saying yes made it possible for me to be righting this today. And for that I am forever grateful.

But Jesus and Mary aren't the main names I want to focus on today. There are 3 other women that have just as much of an important part in this story.

The first chapter of Matthew consists of the genealogy of Christ. This is listed twice for us in the gospels but this one in Matthew is the family tree from Joseph's side of the family. There are plenty of names that stand out on this list like Abraham, Isaac and David. But those are not the names I see most clearly when reading this chapter.

The first name that stands out to me is Tamar. She was married to a man named Er who was a son of Judah. Judah had 3 sons and Er was the oldest. Er died which left Tamar a widow. She then married to next of kin, which was what was done in those days if your spouse died. So she married Onan. He also died. So here was Tamar a twice widowed women who now only had one more option, to marry the youngest brother.  The problem was that he was not yet of age. What happens next is extremely sad, but happened often in the Bible. Judah went back on his word and did not allow Tamar to become the wife of his third son when the time came. So Tamar tricked Judah when he came into the city, where she became pregnant with two sons.

Tamar went through anguish and loss and out of desperation to try and get back at Judah did what she thought she needed to in order to survive.

The next name that shows up is Rahab. Now Rahab was a prostitute in the city of Jericho that helped to hide the Israelite spies when the king came looking for them. Everyone in town would have know who Rahab was. It was one of those things everyone living the city would have known, even if they didn't use her services. But God had been planning for this. He had made sure that everyone in the path of Israel heard of the things that God was doing. So when the time came, Rahab was willing to risk her life to help two men that she didn't even know.

The men hid on her roof as she sent the guards in the other direction. She then asked the men a favor. Rescue from the city before it was destroyed. The men of Israel agreed and Rahab and all of her family that were in the house the day that God provided for the kingdom of Jericho to be destroyed, her and everyone in her house were spared to complete God's promise. Then she happened to become the great grandmother to a certain man named David.

The next women who enters this story is one of my favorites. Her name was Ruth. Now Ruth was a Moabite woman who married a son of Naomi when her family came to escape famine in the land of Israel. She did not have the same God, the same beliefs, or the same future that her sister-in-law had. Her's was going in a direction that would lead straight to Jesus. Ruth's husband died as did the husband of Naomi and Naomi's other son. His wife went back to be with her family. But Ruth could not leave her mother-in-law.

Ruth said that where you go I will go and your God will be my God. I wonder if Ruth knew what she was saying when she said those words. Did she know that where she was going would lead her to be a part of the greatest story ever told? Though we will probably never know the answer to that question, I know that only God could have convinced her to leave the only home she had ever know to go to a place she had never been to marry a person named Boaz, the son of a prostitute. I'd like to think that had she know, she would have done the same thing.

And now we get to the 4th woman: Bathsheba. She was the wife of a man in the army of Israel. He was away at war and had no idea what was happening back at home. For some reason David, the king, was not out on the battlefield. We are never told why and it's another one of those questions that just may never get answered. David was on the roof of the palace when he saw a woman bathing. He asked his servants to find out who it was. They told him that her name was Bathsheba and that her husband was a soldier on the battle lines. David then had her brought to the palace where he slept with her. She became pregnant, and sent word to David.

David then brought her husband back from the war in order for him to sleep with his wife and then think that the baby was his and not the child of a king. He refused to when his fellow men were still in tents in the battle field to be intimate with his wife. He went back to the battlefield and was then killed. David brought Bathsheba to the castle and made her his wife. She later became the father of Solomon.

I say all of that to say this, if God can take a woman who is broken, a prostitute, a widow in a strange land and a women who had no choice in what she wanted to do, who's to say he can't use us? We are broken people who find the pleasures of the world to be what we desire most. We have lost ourselves in a land and we are no longer in control. But God takes the broken and makes them whole. He takes the things that enslave us and throws them as far as the east is from the west. He brings us out of a strange place and makes a sacrifice that we cannot pay. And He gives us a choice. The only question left now is what will you choose?

Thoughts when you can't see

Today for worship we tried something new.

 We were asked to give a brief testimony about what a specific song meant to us. My song was Blessed Assurance by Fanny Crosby.

 What has always impressed me about Fanny Crosby is that her songs always talk about how God lead her and the light of Christ was shining in the darkness.

 Here's the thing, Fanny Crosby was blind. She was talking about things that she had never seen before. She had the faith to trust and believe in something that she had never experienced. 

Just like Fanny was faced with being blind, there are things throw at us every single day. No matter the size of the problem, God's got this. The blessings that comes from faith in God can lead you through even the darkest of times in your life. 

When faced with these challenges, you have a choice. You can choose to let the darkness control you're life or you can find comfort in the dark with the eternal light.