Monday,
Day 5: Matthew 5
There is so much in Matthew 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 church talked 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 Beatitudes, 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:
We are frequently warned about scams.
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:
We are frequently warned about scams.
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 my Cambodian friends who helped someone because the person claimed to be a Christian – but the reality is there was a hefty pay-off for helping that was promised. All they had to do was give the person the money needed up front, and as soon as the immediate problem was resolved, they were to be handsomely rewarded. BEWARE! Anything too good to be true is! (Except Salvation through Jesus Christ). They lost their money and a nice Rolex watch in the process of trying to help.
Another scam happened to my Cambodian friends who helped someone because the person claimed to be a Christian – but the reality is there was a hefty pay-off for helping that was promised. All they had to do was give the person the money needed up front, and as soon as the immediate problem was resolved, they were to be handsomely rewarded. BEWARE! Anything too good to be true is! (Except Salvation through Jesus Christ). They lost their money and a nice Rolex watch in the process of trying to help.
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 . . . an effort
to get my I D.
Another one that is fairly recent is calling people acting like they are the Court system – telling you 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.
Another one that is fairly recent is calling people acting like they are the Court system – telling you 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.
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