Tag Archives: Sermon on the Mount

May21

Break Out Your Light Sword!

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Break Out Your Light Sword!

Good morning my dear blogging friends!

I am going to be taking a blogging break for the month of June. I have a son graduating this year and with the looming open house plus work, yard, house, conferences….not to mention that I am trying to write a book, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed and I don’t want my messages to turn sour!  So in the interest of my sanity….  J I am taking a break.  Since I didn’t post yesterday I have a two-fold post today….a new gourd that will be available in our etsy store (see picture below) and the next installment of our memorization of the sermon on the mount.  First the memory verse:

Review: Matthew 5:1-14

Learn: Matthew 5:15-16

“Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Last week we talked about how salty we are….or are not. And the verse went on to say that we are to be the light of the world.  Today we continue that thought as Jesus describes how to go about that. He says that we are not to hide it but put it where everyone can see it so that people will see the Father reflected in you.

The sermon that I listened to this past Sunday was exactly about that remarkably enough! It was called Break out your Light Sword. A story was told of a little boy who explored all of the dark places of his house with absolute bravery.  What made this boy so brave?  He was carrying a big, bright flashlight; his light sword. As he traveled through those dark places he shined that light around so that he could see his path and have total assurance of where he was.

As long as he had his light sword he felt safe!

In this same way we can travel into dark places, shining out light with the assurance that we are safe in the arms of our Savior. Without the light there is much to fear for the truth is:

  • Darkness has been trying to snuff out the darkness since the beginning.

  • Darkness has a voice…it will entice you with empty promises.

  • Darkness has a color….it is black like the soul of who it represents; Satan

  • When it is dark, men commit evil deeds. Just watch the news for evidence of this.

  • Darkness is always trying to hide. It does not want to be discovered for what it really is and what it really does.

  • Darkness blinds people so they cannot see. This particular point is very deceptive. Darkness can present itself as something desirable, something that you want. It can be hard to see the truth when the desire is in your heart.

We live in a fallen and decaying world, evil exists all around us in the things we see, the things we do and the people we meet. Discovering truth can be difficult as the enemy tries to steal your soul. He carries with him demonic hosts to do his bidding, our days are full of satanic warfare! But we are not to crawl under a basket to hide our light, although we may want to at times so that evil will not find us, we are to face it head on and conquer it with our light swords! We can command darkness to flee in the mighty name of Jesus, and it MUST flee! 

So have no fear. Pick up your light sword, march out into the darkness and fight!

We must be on our guard all of the time to not allow darkness to seep into our lives, and it can be deceptive. Here are some attributes of evil:

  • It’s sneaky (Gen. 3)

  • It destroys (John 10:10)

  • It doesn’t care (Luke 22)

Evil seeks to control you, to own you, and to lead you away from the light. Don’t let it! Keep your light shining!

  1. Pray

  2. Speak to the darkness in your life in Jesus’ name

  3. Read the Word of God for strength

  4. Be Prepared!

My Prayer: Lord I pray that you bring to light all of the dark places in my life that I need to fight.  I want to be a light for you, a light to the world which is so very dark. Help me to refine those places in my life so that when people look at me they see you in my reflection.  In Jesus’ Mighty Name!!

Reflect His Light!

Lisa

~ Thank you so much for allowing me this break!  This would be a great time to practice for the whole month the verses that we have learned up to now. By the time July comes you will be ready for the next set!  Hiding God’s word in your heart is a great way to repel the darkness too! This break will only be for me on Monday’s and Tuesday’s. Wed-Friday will continue with the rest of the beautiful life contributors as always and I pray that they will fill you up with beauty!  God bless you all!

Fruits of the Spirit birdhouse

gourds 003

 

This is a birdhouse made from a gourd. It is woodburned and some light colors have been added with ink dyes for accent. It is about 12” in height, 8” wide and the hole is approximately 1 1/2 “ in diameter. The roof has been fashioned with metal pieces that have a verdigris finish. An outdoor poly coating has been applied so that it can be used inside and out.  A beautiful addition to any garden!  For more pictures and info, go to our etsy store here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/151793859/fruits-of-the-spirit-birdhouse

May14

I don’t want to be Paprika!

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I don’t want to be Paprika!

 

Review: Matthew 5:1-12

This week’s memory verses: Matthew 5:13-14 –

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

“You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”

Every Easter, our family makes deviled eggs from the morning hunt fodder. Cut andpaprika scoop, mash and mix….then the final stuffing of the egg carcass. The eggs are ready for the table…..but are they?  Some believe that to truly be a deviled egg, they need a light sprinkling of paprika on top.  Not me….does paprika even have a taste? I’ve never found that it made a difference one way or another. My mom thinks it looks pretty….and it does.  But personally, I think that paprika is a waste of money.  For me it has absolutely no value and I choose to leave it off all together.

I try to approach my relationship with God the same way. We are called to be the salt of the earth.  What does that mean exactly? I think it means our flavor should not blend in with that of the rest of the egg…I mean the world.  There are those who try to be like everyone else,  a chameleon in social situations so that they aren’t singled out or viewed as “different”. Personally I don’t think “different” is a bad thing. I’ve have spent much of my adult life running from the types of groups that encourage conformity, contrary to what I desired as a child.  When I was young, it was important to me to be like everyone else, now I see the wisdom in the inverse.

So, we are to give flavor to our world, to the little corner of our existence that we have been given by God to affect. Flavor to the relationships that we are privy to, flavor to the work day that we share with others, and flavor to our families who rely on our guidance. Just as salt brings out the flavor of food, so should we bring out the best in others, affect them positively by not conforming to the patterns of the world.

  • be compassionate
  • show love
  • listen instead of talk
  • put others before yourself
  • place value in the eternal, not the temporary

For if we are not salt and light….will we be thrown out to be trampled underfoot? Will we be considered of little value to God? I shudder to think!

Let’s not be paprika, instead be the salt that we are called to be!

Lord God, make me salty!  Help me to not conform to worldly values.  I don’t want to be of this world, I want to be of the next, and my desire is to point others to you and be your salt and light. Give me flavor so that I may accomplish your purpose. In Jesus’ name

Reflect His Light!

Lisa

Apr23

Use a Little Windex….

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Review week 1 & 2 memory  verses ~ Matthew 5:1-5

Week 3 Memory Verse:

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Matthew 5:6-8

 

 

            I recently watched the movie “The In-laws”. Not the old one but the remake from 2003 with Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks. In one of the scenes, Douglas takes Brooks, unwillingly with him to France to meet with a notorious arms dealer. As they are disembarking the plane, Brooks is looking around and panicking. He sees men with guns, bombs and rocket launchers. Michael Douglas, looking calm and cool as usual, comments on how Brooks “chooses” to see these things, all he sees is trees and flowers and beautiful women.  In other words Albert Brooks’ character is a glass half empty kind of guy.

      This spoke volumes to me as I memorized the last verse for this week:

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

 

            Do we see God in the things around us, in the people around us, or in the situations around us? Most I suspect would say that all they see is death, corruption, evil and horror. But is that because that is what they “choose” to see? Yes, there is evil in the world, and not a day goes by that the news doesn’t prove that. But what about the good and the Godly?  Do we see the beauty that is all around us? Do we take chances and  live this beautiful life that was given us, or do we spend all of our time preparing for the worst or organizing our daily routines in order to eliminate all possible sources of stress like Albert Brooks in the movie “The In-Laws”?

            By living the safe life, you may avoid some potential problems or stressors, but are you really living?  Are you experiencing all that God’s creation has to offer you?  I’m not just talking about literally smelling the roses, I am talking about getting down in the trenches with some of the less desirable of God’s creation.  Sometimes we have to do a bit of dusting off to see the beauty beneath the dirt. Those who may look “dirty” to us, could simply just need a bit of dusting off.  Possibly the muck in their lives has covered them and they can’t see beyond the tainted glass.  A little windex could help that situation.  Help them to see beauty, rub clean a little spot in their glass so the Son can shine through, and who knows, before long their vision can clear and they too can choose to see the beauty around them instead of the dirt.

            We can do this practically in our lives every day by saying something nice. Giving a complement to someone you don’t even know, or possibly someone you do who you wouldn’t normally give that complement to. Find the beauty in the bad situations around you and choose to reflect only on that, your perspective will change and the beauty of life will shine through. And when you change your heart to be pure – you will be blessed and you shall see God!

Choose to brighten a spot in someone’s life today – everyday.

My Prayer:

Lord, I want to see you, every day and in every way. Reveal yourself to me today so that I can begin my journey to a pure heart!

Reflect His Light!

Lisa

 

Next Tuesday: Matthew 5:9-10

Filed under Devotional, Spiritual and tagged blessed are the hungry, blessed are the merciful, blessed are the pure in heart, blessed are the thirsty, bright spot, find beauty, give complements, give love, glass half full, , They shall see God | Leave a comment
Apr16

Glorious Mourning

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Memory Verses (week two of the Sermon on the Mount)

Week One:  1 “Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain. And when He sat down His disciples came to Him, 2 and He opened His mouth and taught them saying:” Matthew 5:1-2

This Week:     3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.  4  Blessed are those who mourn; for they shall be comforted. 5  Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.”  Matthew 5:3-5

 

I’m a crier. Ask anyone who knows me.

 I cry when I am happy. I cry when I am sad. I cry when I am mad. I cry at funerals and weddings, I even cry at church. I took my youngest son to see the final installment of the batman series: The Dark Knight Rises and I cried at the end. He looked at me like I had just grown a second head and laughed. “Are you really crying?” he said.

Let me explain, in case you have not seen the movie. Batman saved Gotham City from sure destruction by sacrificing himself, and based upon his actions, he was believed to be dead. His ever faithful butler Alfred “buried” him, his memory anyway, for there wasn’t a body. It was a very sad scene indeed…but this isn’t when I cried. It was when Alfred was sitting at a café in another place while on holiday, contemplating his lost charge and toasting his memory with sadness, when he looked over at another table and there was Bruce sitting with catwoman – happy and at peace.

They see each other and raise their glasses with a slight nod, and Alfred walks off with tears in his eyes and a smile on his face, content in the knowledge that his savior lives.

 I balled like a baby.

You see earlier in the movie, Alfred had told Bruce he always imagined that during his previous  7 year disappearance, he would be sitting in a café sipping a cordial and toasting him, and would see him sitting at another table with a woman, happy at last; that this would be the greatest comfort that he could ever have, knowing that Bruce was happy.

“Blessed are those who mourn; for they shall be comforted.”

Our Savior reminds us that He lives every day; by the actions of godly people around us, through His words on the pages of our bible and through His very presence in our lives.

Examples of Christ are all around us if we choose to see them, reminding us that our Savior lives, and our Savior loves – He will always be.

Remember I said that I cry on Sundays? Sometimes it will be a song or a message that just hits me a certain way, that shows me what my savior endured for me, and I can’t help but leak out my grief through my eyes. I know that my Savior lives, but I can’t dispel the grief that I feel every time I think about His sacrifice, or the happiness that coincides with that grief that He is reigning above and I will meet Him again one day; face to face.

I can’t help that I cry at the drip of a hat, and I can’t help but think that God gave me that for a purpose, one yet to be revealed to me… and my kids! For now, I will rejoice in my mourning because I know that it is what makes me like Jesus, and it is how He made me. Even Jesus cried - the Son of God; a crier!  When Lazarus died, the bible tells us that “He Wept!” It is a comfort to me to know that I am not alone, and that is what Jesus does - He shows us that we are not alone. So…

I mourn Him and He comforts me in the most precious ways.

When we read Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount, we are reminded that the worlds ways shouldn’t be our ways, if we are living as Jesus did we will not reflect what the world values, but completely the opposite.

The world teaches us that we have a right to be happy at any cost, but Jesus tells us that the blessed are those who mourn, those who do not see as the world sees, but as God sees, and mourns for it. It is our responsibility to see truths and act or react in kind.

Ask God to show you how and for whom you should morn, and let Him comfort you….

The comfort of a Father to His child when nothing is as it seems, or how it should be. The child looks to his father for strength and assurance; support and comfort. Our Father wants this of us and for us.

Look to your Father with mourning, and let Him comfort you with His strength.

Reflect His Light!

Lisa

Next Week: Matthew 5:6-8

~ How are you doing on your memory verses? Are you repeating them to yourselves daily? Knowing God’s words and being able to repeat them and hold them in your heart is a comfort in itself!