Day 3 of my reading plan leading to Easter

Sunday I read Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3 and John 1. Yesterday I read Matthew 4. Today Chapter 5. That makes today Day 3.... I am immersing myself in Jesus' ministry for the first period of my '40 days' of preparation for his death on the cross...then as time gets close, will follow his daily journey through reading sequentially what the Bible discloses for those final days as Jesus' time on earth as 'fully God, fully human.'

There is so much in Chapter 5. 'Do not resist an evil person' leaps out to me - as does 'Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.' The reality is I do pray for those who misrepresent, malign and misunderstand me - but I am not truly persecuted, though sometimes I feel like it. Sunday's message at FAL was about the persecuted church - the truly persecuted. And in the light of that comparison, this is hard teaching.... Our Christian faith teaches forgiveness. Letting stuff go.

This chapter includes the Beattitudes, and a healthy 'be' attitude is the best kind.... We cannot always affect our circumstances, but we can affect our attitude. Lord, when I need an attitude adjustment, nudge me to praise. You inhabit the praises of your people.

Chapter 5 ends with an impossible directive: "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." I know I can't actually do it - but by His grace, I can press toward the mark - - and I'll get a lot further intentionally pressing forward than I will if I don't try.

Lord, help me be an intentional Christian today. I'm so grateful you impute righteousness to us, and that you see us through the filter of your Son!

Humor for today:

A young woman who was having no luck finding employment through all of the normal avenues decided to go door-to-door in a posh neighborhood and seek odd jobs. She bravely walked up to the door of the first home, knocked and asked the man who answered the door if there were any chores she could do to earn money.

The man replied, "Can you paint?"

"I sure can." She replied confidently.

"Well, then, you can paint my porch if we can agree on a price."

"How about $50 dollars," she replied, "Is that O K?"

"That'll be just fine. You'll find the paint in the garage."

He, of course, was ecstatic. He had been avoiding the project for a long time, and was getting tired of his wife bugging him about it. Now he had this drop dead gorgeous blond willing to do it for a mere $50.! He closed the door, feeling quite smug.

About an hour later, there was another knock on the door. It was the blond. "I'm all done," she reported, "I had lots of paint so I gave it two coats - and, by the way," she continued, "It's a Ferrari, not a porch."

HEAD'S UP:

I've been hearing about people falling victim to scams recently. About a month ago I received a call from a young man claiming to be my grandson. I asked him for his name, and he said scoldingly, "Grandma, you know my name...." I said, "Well, I still want to know your name." And he hung up. The reality is, I was forewarned about that one. I know someone who fell victim to it a year earlier. The young man who called her said, "Hi Grandma" and she responded with "Brian, is that you?" Then he had her hooked....told her his tall tale of trouble, and that he was going to be jailed in Canada if he didn't pay the fine immediately...and she went straight to Western Union and sent the requested money - - a couple thousand dollars, as I recall.... She truly thought she was helping her grandson.

Another scam happened to friends who helped someone in downtown Olympia because the person claimed to be a Christian - - but the reality is there was a hefty pay-off for helping that was promised. BEWARE! Anything too good to be true is! (Except Salvation through Jesus Christ). Just this morning I got an email telling me I had won a brand new BMW. I get email scams fairly often. Some even seem legit - -but I check them out.... I got an e-mail once that said my account at a certain bank had been compromised and they needed me to fill out the online form to get it cleared up. I went straight to the bank, and they were already aware of the scam....

Another one that is fairly recent is calling people acting like they are the Court system - that you are going to be arrested for failing to show up for your jury duty....and in the process of your being flustered they get your personal info from you - - and steal your identity, drain your accounts and leave you wondering how it happened.

We are told we are to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves....hopefully a word to the wise is sufficient.