Matthew 20:26-28

Instead, whoever wants to become great amoung you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave--just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Matthew 20:26-28

This is a good reminder for me as I go through my days. I so often get irritated by the constant "Mom, can you do this?" "Erin, can you come here?" "Mom, I need this" in my day. A life lived for Christ is a life of service to others, and God has given me these precious people to serve.

Matthew 19:20-21

I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here to there" and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. Matthew 19:20-21

Some days getting the mountain of dirty dishes on the counter to move into the dishwasher seems impossible for me. Just like the disciples, my faith is often so small. But how I need faith just to get through my days: faith that God will take my feeble, stumbling efforts and use them to his glory.

Matthew 16:16

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Matthew 16:16

May we rejoice in that truth!

Matthew 12:34

"For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." Matthew 12:34

Ouch. I've read this verse many times before, but it's always a reality check for me. My words are the overflow of my heart. So when my words are angry, ugly, hurtful or profane, I cannot excuse them by blaming stress, fatigue or circumstances. My words reflect the condition of my heart. With God's grace, may they always be kind, loving and edifying.

Matthew 11:28

In my reading tonight, there was a great verse for the first day of homeschooling:

"Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

Amen and Amen!

Sermon on the Mount

My NT reading this evening was from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. Wow. Such a beautiful call to righteousness that I can never attain. My best isn't and never will be good enough. Thank you, Lord, for grace!

Genesis 6:8

I have begun a new Bible reading "plan"--which is not really a plan at all, but rather a goal. By reading four chapters a day, two from the OT and two from the NT, beginning in Genesis and Matthew, I should read the entire OT once and the NT twice in about a year. So far, so good.

I was reading about Noah tonight. 6:8 says, "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." I am wondering about Noah, and what inspired him to be so different from the culture he lived in. If it is so hard for me, with the revelation of Christ, God's written word, and the blessed fellowship of other believers to walk a righteous and blameless life, how did he stand alone against such total depravity? I wish I knew.