The New Testament in 90 Days - Day 3

June 28
Matthew chapters 7-9

I am tired.  It's 5am and I've been getting up early to do this.  But I've also noticed in the past couple of days that I seem to be handling the world a bit better.  It's true what they say, the more time one spends in the Word, the better our hearts are prepared to face whatever comes our way.

Judge Not.  While the Sermon on the Mount has some very good things to say in general, it's mostly directed at God's children.  "You have heard . . " meaning the Law says and has been interpreted to mean this.  He was talking to the Jews, and now He's talking to all of us who are His.

My kitten likes to play on the computer, and he feels neglected when I am on it, so he'll sit his arse down on the keyboard and type silly things.  But he's just a cat.  He has no authority to make anything I type meaningful.

This is how Jesus preached.  He referred to the "cat's arses" who took the Law and interpreted it down the centuries.  Sometimes they got it right, mostly they just made life a series of nonsensical but very pedantic rules.

Now, I love puzzles, and the rabbis who had done this over the years were kind of the same.  They loved to dig in and figure out exactly what God meant.  Except they weren't the puzzle-makers.  Along the way, they seem to have lost the cover to the box and decided to fit the pieces in by whittling them down into tiny bits.  It's still a document with your social security number on it, but it's been shredded to bits so no one knows what was on it exactly.

Jesus spoke with authority.  Like he was God or someone!  Well duh!  The people knew and believed, at least for the moment, and the scribes and Pharisees were confused.  He made it seem all so simple.

The miraculous.  Jesus then proceeded to put His money where is mouth was.  He healed the sick, he raised the dead, he cast out demons.  There's so much there for discussion!  But The way He did it - He told them their faith made them well, that their sins were forgiven, that He honored their belief.

That's what God the Authority sounds like.  Not "you can't travel more than one mile on the Sabbath" or "Dancing is a sin".  Oh, I believe in resting on Sundays, absolutely, and I love to dance, but not when I'm supposed to be working.  But where is my heart?  Is it immersed in the Word, believing every minute that God is healing, loving, that my sins are forgiven?  That's tougher than not dancing.

The narrow way.  I read yesterday on another website about how the narrow way becomes wide when we follow it continually.  Not that it gets added to, but our focus becomes to full of God and the journey He has set that the narrow way is all we see.  I almost have no words for this - it's something that is lacking in a lot of Christians, but it's also the desire of my heart.  I'd love to put all the nonsense of life away and focus only on the Lord.

I'm working on it.