Day 8: 7-Weeks in Heaven Bible Challenge
We made it to week 2 of our challenge!! Praise God for getting us this far! If you don’t know, I am going live every day of this challenge and last week was wonderful. I will admit it is kind of tiring, but God is meeting us where we are and our group and conversation is getting more and more robust. Please join us on TikTok at 9:00pm EST if you get the opportunity.
We are starting this week off with a bang. Chapters 5 and 6 of Matthew are the Sermon on the Mount and a huge undertaking to study in just one day. I am writing this the morning of Day 9 and we did not have enough time to get into the whole chapters, but had a beautiful discussion on the Beatitudes, Matthew 5:3-12. The consensus was that we are going to have to come back and do an in depth study of the Sermon on the Mount after we finish the study because there is just too much goodness to squeeze into one hour.
These chapters are some of the most quoted words of Jesus around the world. I know there are atheists, agnostics, Jews, Muslims, and everything in between who know at least a few verses from Jesus longest recorded sermon. They may not know where it comes from, but they are as familiar with it as they are their favorite cliche.
As I was reading Jesus’ words, it seemed that these were more ways to position your heart in response to your fellow man and God. It is almost like the portion of the Sermon before The Lord’s Prayer in 6:5-14 is how to relate to men and the portion after the Lord’s Prayer is how to relate to God. That is so interesting because that is the same way the Ten Commandments are set up, but in reverse. The first four commandments are how to relate to God and the last six are how to relate to man. God is telling us that our hearts need to be in the right place before we do anything that relates to Him or His creation.
As you read through these chapters again for the first time, what verses grab your attention more than they have before? For me, it’s Chapter 6 verses 9-34. Lately, I’ve been wanting more: a bigger house, better car, more money in the bank, the ability to take vacations and buy what I want. But I’ve also been telling God that I want more so I can do more for the people around me. And I wonder if that is true or if I just want more for the sake of wanting more? I’m asking the Holy Spirit to search my heart and remove any selfish or vain ambition and to truly let the “bless me so I can be a blessing” thought be true and genuine as I present my request for more to God. I don’t just want treasures on earth, but also and more so, treasures in Heaven waiting for me with a “well done good and faithful servant.”
It’s almost like that is the whole point.
I love you,
