“Self-sufficiency is the enemy of salvation. If you are self-sufficient, you have no need of God. If you have no need of God, you do not seek Him. If you do not seek Him, you will not find Him.”
EXODUS 19-21
2“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
4“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.(20:2-6)MATTHEW 20:1-16
13“But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
16“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
JOURNAL
Commandments 1 and 2 set the foundation of the Bible. It is in these verses that all things take shape. God is to be our God and anytime something else takes his place we are ultimately broken and our sin is revealed. The parable that Jesus tells here in Matthew affirms this point further, if God is truly our God, we would be grateful for whatever he gives us regardless of what someone else receives.
These are some of those verses that I tend to nod in affirmation about but rarely do I let them truly sink into my soul. Most days I want an easy day...I want things to be light and sure and easy. Yes I want to be successful but I would like for that success to be easy success not tough success. I also want to know that I am special and that I am special in comparison, preferably without having to do a whole lot. If I really break it down...I tend to gravitate toward two extremes, selfishness or laziness.
And there it is...that's why these verses exist. I need a God, I need an authority other than myself. I need something more loving, honorable and higher than myself to guide me. Without this authority I would be completely overcome by the world. Yet with God I have reason to hope and believe that my own tendencies will not ultimately destroy me. Better yet I get the assurance that I can truly live a life of purpose and one that ultimately ends in joy and love.
These are some of those verses that I tend to nod in affirmation about but rarely do I let them truly sink into my soul. Most days I want an easy day...I want things to be light and sure and easy. Yes I want to be successful but I would like for that success to be easy success not tough success. I also want to know that I am special and that I am special in comparison, preferably without having to do a whole lot. If I really break it down...I tend to gravitate toward two extremes, selfishness or laziness.
And there it is...that's why these verses exist. I need a God, I need an authority other than myself. I need something more loving, honorable and higher than myself to guide me. Without this authority I would be completely overcome by the world. Yet with God I have reason to hope and believe that my own tendencies will not ultimately destroy me. Better yet I get the assurance that I can truly live a life of purpose and one that ultimately ends in joy and love.
1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
1 JOHN 5:1-5
No comments:
Post a Comment