Sermon on the Mount

Oh, my time with God was goooood this morning.
I want to share with you a bit of my heart. I know most of this blog in the past has just been boring trip updates for various mission trips. While that's fine, I feel like God is teaching me stuff along this road and I'm ripping you off by not sharing. It's your journey too in a way, if you have committed to pray or have given. So I should be sharing with you what God is doing if it's in my heart or in the physical world.
Among many things God has been teaching me to TRUST him. That means letting go of things I think help hold me together and trust Him to do a better job. As I cleaned out my closet yesterday I had a hard time letting go of some really cute pieces. I haven't worn them because they don't fit right or I don't have anything to go with it and I kept thinking if I let this go I have room to get something I like better and fits better. Then I read my Bible this morning. In Matthew 6, when Jesus talks about how we shouldn't worry about what we're going to wear, because God makes the flowers beautiful. The way the Message puts it, basically I felt like it was directly attacking the fashion world. The expensive clothes and shoes and even if we bargain shop, we have ALOT so we can be fashionable. So I see a contrast: Jesus says don't worry about what you are wearing and he says be generous. I'll let you make the connection.

Then I found another contrast, a lifestyle our society certainly doesn't propel remember the school yard rhyme "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" Will, Jesus kinda says the opposite. When he's talking about persecution he says in essence, bring it on, because it it'll only make you closer to God and if you die, you get to be with God, so there's not loss there. Then when talking about loving and hating your enemies he says what you say kills. Sounds to me like the rhyme should instead say "Sticks and stones will save me but your words will destroy me"

It's frustrating to see how backwards we have it sometimes. I was so encouraged because I left like most of what I read today was affirming to me, I'm on the right path. I'm doing what I need to do. I'm sacrificing my desires so I can have a pure and righteous heart. Sometimes it hurts and it's hard and I'm scared of failure but I want Jesus. Plain and simple.