Hillside Thoughts for Friday – Day 274 of the year 2021 – October 1
Matthew 5:28 “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
———————————————-
The teaching continued with a comparison between the law of the Pharisees and the living law of Jesus. In this comparison, Jesus used an example from the big 10 handed down to Moses. Infidelity, the unfaithfulness of love, an act of betrayal. The disciples look at each other with a calm assurance, “Not much of that going on here.” But Jesus goes further and points to the attitude of betrayal. To look with a wrong motive is now out of bounds. Jesus was explaining to us hillside dwellers that betrayal is more than an outward act.
Quite a few of the multitude take a dramatic breath. They are shocked. It is easy to say I have not betrayed anyone. Nevertheless, Jesus was saying a simple and seemingly uncontrollable desire brings with it guilt. Jesus was making us all guilty before God. If the constraining law was only the outward act there would be puffed up chests and egos. The inward was a betrayer.
This view into the intent of God had little to do with outward acts. My outward righteousness is not enough. My ability to do the right thing at the right time in the right place was not enough. I need God’s righteousness in my life. It is provided by Him for me. The law should drive us to Jesus.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Saturday – Day 275 of the year 2021 – October 2
Matthew 5:29-30 “If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”
———————————————-
Most of the time a simple understanding is best. Yet here it sounds like crazy talk. Plucking my eye out, or cutting off a hand is ridiculous. Loosing an eye over saying “wow” after seeing a beautiful woman is bizarre. Jesus that would not help much, I still would have my other eye. If I steal from someone with my right hand and in guilt, I run it through my table saw is pretty radical, nevertheless I can learn to steal with my left. So, what was Jesus getting at?
The most important idea here as spoke to the Hillside Sitters was the Kingdom. The Kingdom is more important than my body. What the Rabbi was simply saying was that my greatest desire should be my place along His side. My greatest goal, my greatest desire, should be Kingdom. And this Kingdom, because of this scale of greatness in my life, may well require great sacrifices.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Sunday – Day 276 of the year 2021 – October 3
Matthew 5:31-32 “Now it was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away is to give her a certificate of divorce’; but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”
————————————-
Now the issue of Jesus and divorce is a very interesting issue, and it is one that is very relevant for today because of the high incidence of divorce. Back in the day of Jesus, a woman really did not have many rights. If her husband wanted to divorce, he could divorce her, but she could not divorce him. Divorce became all about the woman. The husband could beat his wife with a stick as long as the stick was no thicker than his thumb. Divorce took nothing more than a few words on piece of paper and it was done. The Pharisees and scribes were twisting God’s intent to allow for easy divorce. There was no protection for the innocent partner.
I am not looking for a medal or anything else, but I am married; a marriage has which has lasted over 50 years. We have had hard times, unloving times. We have had great times, loving times. It is an attitude of perseverance, forgiveness and love which carries us along. I need to do better.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Monday – Day 277 of the year 2021 – October 4
Matthew 5:33-37 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
———————————————–
A long time ago a little boy named Larry thought it was OK to tell someone a lie if he had his fingers crossed. This did not work for real big lies, but for the small run of the mill daily lies it was a sufficient way to protect yourself. Today, I hear my friends start a sentence with, “honestly” and go on to make their point as if all that went before was not as truthful.
In the time of Jesus there was a similar convention. At that time swearing an oath or a promise, if you did not use God’s name, it did not really count. If they swore ‘by heaven’, ‘by earth’, ‘by Jerusalem’ or ‘by the head’ and then broke their oath, they felt no guilt, because such oaths did not use the name of God.
Lies are lies. Just saying, “cross my heart and hope to die”, does not get a free pass. The fulfillment of the law tells us we should not need to swear oaths at all. Everything they say should be true, honest and straightforward. By the way, a lie is a lie even if you attach God’s name to it.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Tuesday – Day 278 of the year 2021 – October 5
Matthew 5:38-42
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”
————————————————————–
Is Jesus suggesting that I must allow the evil in this world to triumph? Am I to assume the role of victim in any encounter with someone who would do me harm? Is all that I own subject to anyone who wants to borrow it? This teaching of Jesus is tough. I don’t want my cheek slapped. I don’t want to give my shirt away. I don’t want to go the extra mile. I don’t want to lend my favorite fishing pole to a clutz. There must be something more here than a radical reaction to offence.
The culture in which we live remains resolute in their ability to accomplish much. Many things they do better than the church. You can build a car without being a Christian. The world can if it wanted to feed the hungry and provide healthcare. But there is one thing the world around you cannot do. That thing is the offer of grace.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Wednesday – Day 279 of the year 2021 – October 6
Matthew 5:43-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
——————————————————-
Imagine for a moment what our world would be like if just the Christians stopped fighting. Think for a moment where every Christian on your block would reveal themselves by caring for the less fortunate. What would happen if two billion redeemed by the blood Christians, conformed to God’s intent? Would it be a wonderful blessing to begin to do what Jesus asked us to do by showing unconditional love, unbounded kindness, and unlimited grace to all.
If we belong to God, the God of grace, there is a mandate for us to become a people of grace. That is how we can imitate God.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Thursday – Day 280 of the year 2021 – October 7
Matthew 6:1,2 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before me to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. So, when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”
————————————————————
Much of the teaching on that sunny hillside was about living because of righteousness. Righteousness was not the result of doing right things, but a state of being before God. The message was that being righteous caused action. Jesus did not say our actions are the gateway to become right before God. He was telling these hillside sitters their actions should be driven by being a child of God. Our actions and attitudes must demonstrate who we are. Doing good things is good. Practicing being good is good. Showing love to the unlovely is good. Practicing righteousness is a part of spiritual life.
For Jesus, the motive is more important than the action. If I are do things to be something, I miss the point. I am something, a child of God, that state of being is the motivation of my acts. If I do things to be right before God, I miss the order. Whether it is to be seen by men, or to be seen by our culture, or to conform to community standards, they profit me nothing. Jesus was simply saying be something before you do something.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Thursday – Day 281 of the year 2021 – October 8
Matthew 6:5-6 “And when you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they will be seen by people. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But as for you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”
————————————————-
All good sermons follow a logical sequence where on idea, thought or point leads to the next. This hillside teaching of Jesus was never meant to be a comprehensive understanding of method for being right with God. It does not provide a list of rules and regulations for salvation.
Prayer is a good thing. We are to pray in both the spirit of God and in the truth of God. Jesus here contrasts the spiritual with the carnal. Those who pray to be seen and those who pray to be heard. One prayed for the spotlight and the other prayed for illumination of God’s intent. Again, the theme continues the with the mandate of the spiritual over the physical. Pretense over intent. Show over go. Acceptance by man and acceptance by God. Your choice.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Saturday – Day 282 of the year 2021 – October 9
Matthew 6:7-8 “And when you are praying, do not use thoughtless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”
————————————————————————-
Most of the time the shortest prayers have the most prayer in them. They are to the point. They are not filled with repetitious addressees to whom the prayer is made. “I thank you Lord, because Lord, you are Lord of all and Lord can you, Lord, help me out…. Lord?” Quality of prayer is much more honest than vast quantities of platitudes, clichés, and highly evolved formulas. Truth, not length is the message here. God is not deaf or forgetful, neither does he delight in the number of words spoken. It is sheer deceit to go on and on and on and on. When you pray, be simple, make your request known not because God needs to know but because you need to ask.
Prayer is a spiritual and intellectual approach of the mind of man to the mind of God. We are not here to add to God’s knowledge or even dictating divine will. Prayer is simple confession, praise and petition. Nothing else is needed.
When you pray, pray and let it just be that.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Sunday – Day 283 of the year 2021 – October 10
Matthew 6:7-8 “And when you are praying, do not use thoughtless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”
___________________________
A Roman philosopher Seneca ridiculed the pagans of his day because of their prayer style. He wrote “they wore out the god’s with their prayers.” Jesus was warning his followers not to follow the same pattern. Senseless babbling and heaping great words together with repetitious phrases do not win us an audience with God. Prayer is not about some magic formula of specific words in a specific order. Prayer is not about fancy speech. It seems humorous that directly after this admonition, Jesus provides a pattern prayer. A prayer that has been translated in almost every language in the world. A prayer that has been repeated and again in millions of churches, and from the lips of billions of Christians.
Prayer is about our confidence in the receiver of our petitions to care and respond with grace. Our words do not need to be eloquent or lengthy. Prayer is to be simple, heartfelt, and genuine.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Monday – Day 284 of the year 2021 – October 11
Matthew 6:9-13 “This then is how you should pray: Our Father in Heaven, hollowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
———————————————————
There is a very special girl in my life and she happens to be my granddaughter. She likes things her way. Everything must be exactly like she expects. When she comes to our home, and we sit down to eat we always stop and give thanks. One evening after our ritual, this pious, sweet thing looked at me and said, “WE DID IT WRONG.”
I asked her what she meant? “You did it wrong” she replied.
Thinking to myself and questioning my motive, my method, my words in our prayer, I knew I was not guilty of any prayer rules. I asked, “What did I do wrong” emphasizing personal responsibility.
“WE HAVE TO HOLD HANDS” she said. Yes, we had created a custom of prayer around the table to hold hands, to make prayer a family thing.
There have been times I have looked upward and thought, “Lord you are doing it wrong.” A 71year old pointing to God and telling HIM, the eternal God who made me and keeps me that He is wrong. And it strikes me that every time I think that way, I am saying I want to lead.” I am saying in defiance “My kingdom come, my will be done, in heaven as it is on earth. I am doing it wrong.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Tuesday – Day 285 of the year 2021 – October 12
Matthew 6:9-13 “This then is how you should pray: Our Father in Heaven, hollowed be your name, your kingdom come, you will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.
——————————————————–
I have nothing that will not be taken from me when I die. God is only dispenser of everything, both earthly and spiritual. I have no merit for good from his hand. That what I do receive is a gift. A gift of which I am glad. Glad enough for today. Glad for the daily support. What really is interesting here is we are not enjoined to ask for tomorrow.
It simply says, “give us today.” The Hebrews of the time of Jesus simply put it this way: ancient Jews was and is excellent: “Lord, the necessities of thy people Israel are many, and their knowledge small, so that they know not how to disclose their necessities: Let it be thy good pleasure to give to every man, what sufficient for food!” this part of the pattern prayer of Jesus was about dependence. It left the determination of what was best and suitable to God. We must ask only that which is essential to our support, God having promised neither luxuries nor extras.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Wednesday – Day 286 of the year 2021 – October 13
Matthew 6:9-13 “This then is how you should pray: Our Father in Heaven, hollowed be your name, your kingdom come, you will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
——————————————————-
On our own scales, we label small sins, medium-small sins, medium sins, medium-large sins, large sins, extra-large sins, and supersized sins. If we see someone with small to medium sins, we identify with them and rationalize that he is a pretty good person. He’s easily forgivable and engaged morally. He’s just a little bit off from Jesus. It won’t be hard for God to get a hold of him. Then we see someone with medium to large sins, and we get more nervous. We really must pray for the individual. His life is going downhill fast. God is going to have to get her attention the hard way. She really needs to work on fixing herself so she can get closer to God. When we come across a supersize sinner, someone who commits the big sins, we just shake our heads in hyper-pious pity.
Nowhere in the Bible, however, do we find God distinguishing between levels of sin. God doesn’t share our rating system. To him, all sin is equally evil, and all sinners are equally lovable. Obviously, sins have different consequences: some can get you incarcerated, or your face punched in, while others won’t even be noticed. But God just calls sin, sin. And we all need forgiveness.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Thursday – Day 287 of the year 2021 – October 14
Matthew 6:9-13 “This then is how you should pray: Our Father in Heaven, hollowed be your name, your kingdom come, you will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.”
—————————————————–
Jesus considers three things: character, conscience, and conduct. When we establish an equilibrium between these three things of “Who am I”, “Why I do”, and “What I do”, then we will be have a balanced life. When we set our lives in order before God, we have a new character, the “Who am I”. The “Who I am”, for me is a Child of God. Once my character has been set, then my motive, my “why I do”, becomes clear. My “Why I do”, my motivation in life is to conform to God’s will. My why must conform to my who. Then, my character defines my conscience, then and only then can I do. Actions speak louder than words, but both must conform to the who and the why. The “What I do” must align with the “Why I do.” Seeing ourselves as children of God, conforming to His image, and results in doing. Only when all three are in line, we have all the pieces in place to live valiantly, peacefully, joyously and lovingly in the Kingdom of heaven. We can have our bread, we can forgive, we can resist temptation and we can be delivered. That is enough.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Friday – Day 288 of the year 2021 – October 15
Matthew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, you Father will not forgive your sins.”
—————————————————
I am aware of the nutritional qualities of broccoli. My mom made us eat it. I never liked the flavor or the texture in my mouth. My preference is to not eat broccoli. When it was there on my plate, I would push it aside to not touch the other good stuff. I had a prejudice against broccoli when I was a kid. I could have well started my own campaign to eradicate all broccoli from everyone in my family’s life. Anyone who ate broccoli will feel my distain and scorn. To me in those young years, broccoli was a sin.
I have grown up a little. Broccoli is no longer a stain upon the plate of mankind. I forgive my mom for serving broccoli. My stay on the hilltop with Jesus changes things. I must forgive. I must accept. I must allow those who disagree with my choices to be loved. Even if they bring more broccoli in my life.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Saturday – Day 289 of the year 2021 – October 16
Matthew 6:16-18 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
————————————————–
So, what exactly is fasting? Fasting involves intentional abstinence from food, and possibly drink, for the sake of spiritual growth. Jesus in this statement, first assumes that fasting was being practiced and secondly, the outward affect was controllable. Both the hypocrites and the clean faced ones were fasting for spiritual purposes. Fasting is a good thing. Fasting for spiritual purposes is a better thing. Fasting for spiritual purposes and not letting anyone know was even better. The reward for fasting is dependent upon attitude. One group fasted to be seen of men. They wanted all to see the terrible effects of their pious, faithful, self-denial. The second clean faced group fasted as a private thing. Fasting was something between the seeker of spiritual growth and the provider of that growth.
So, if you offer me some food and I say I am not hungry, what I could be saying is, “Thank you for your offer, but right now my real hunger is for spiritual growth.”
#
Hillside Thoughts for Sunday – Day 290 of the year 2021 – October 17
Matthew 6:19-21 “”Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
—————————————————
God made me this way. Just like you, both of us are naturally thing oriented. We are strongly inclined to get things and keep them. Jobs, effort, and time are all invested in getting something you think you need. When I go for a walk around the block with my ever-loving wife, we point out a good-looking lawn, or the new home extension being built in our neighborhood. I think, “I could do that, I can get that.” I look on Amazon and tell myself, “I need that.” But do I really? Are all these things as necessary at the time of conception as when they come to fruition. I am a spiritual being living in an earthy existence, not an earthy being trying to live a spiritual life. My decisions to get things must be hedged, constrained, reduced, even eliminated. My treasure is not of Walmart or Best Buy. The things I treasure and are eternal are stored in a different place.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Monday – Day 291 of the year 2021 – October 18
Matthew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
————————————————–
“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”, I like the middle one: liberty. I am not a slave. I have never been a slave. I will never know what it is like to be a slave. In my culture we want to throw off anyone who would call themselves my master, only to immediately establish a new one of self. Controlled by selfish desires. Enslaved by every whim of the eye. We will always have a something driving us.
The problem arises when we try to follow two masters. I can’t have two masters. I cannot put all that I am into bi-polar attention. I choose my master. I have an ultimate person whom I am accountable to. I serve Him, knowing full well that master also loves me, cares for me, and wants the best for me.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Tuesday – Day 292 of the year 2021 – October 19
Matthew 6:25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”
————————————————-
Again, I am a spiritual being living in an earthly existence. Life must be more than food and clothing. Food is good, I love a well-prepared meal. I have my own perfected recipe for barbequing a beef tri-tip. Rubbed with special seasonings and fired to perfection, the preparation has become an art. Slicing that perfect creation and laying that first slice upon my tounge is a pleasure.
Nevertheless, food and drink and clothing cannot be the primary “energizer bunny” of my life. When they become more important than all else, we lose something. We lose the enjoyment of God. And God is vital to my spiritual being more than my earthly existence. The delicious slice of striated muscle of bovine, transformed into a picture of excellence is not what I need. I need more, and that more is the very presence of God in my life.
I wonder of Jesus would have liked my tri-tip.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Wednesday – Day 293 of the year 2021 – October 20
Matthew 6:26 ”Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”
———————————————————
Birds don’t have a care. They go about their lives flying here and there seeking out the next morsel. They make nests of straw and sticks. But it is God who feeds them. They never fret about the possibility of a shortage of worms. They never store up great stockpiles of worms, keeping them in a special container against a day of worm shortages. If a worm is going to be there or not is not of concern. Tomorrow is always tomorrow. Life is provided a moment at a time. Am I not more valuable than a worm or even a bird? Why should I worry and stock up on toilet paper or bleach for the next shortage? The next may not come. And if it does, God will provide. I believe it and I will live life a bit more light in it.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Thursday – Day 294 of the year 2021 – October 21
“Matthew 6:26 “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”
————————————————————
God knows. Our heavenly father knows, HE cares, He loves, He wants the best for me. Yet in everyone’s life come doubts. Doubts are ok. Doubts are a part of living. Doubts of my own ability or even the ability of our government to control itself. I believe doubt comes to us wrapped up as a feeling. Doubts are not the ideal, but I can and do work through them. I can confront doubt like any other feeling. I can let my head, my intellect grasp a promise, a truth and the doubt slinks back into its black cave. Through acceptance of this truth, I let it push me to better understanding. At issue Jesus is teaching about here on the grassy hillside is the negative attitude spewing forth out of doubt. Anxiety, worry are simply symptoms that you are too close to the world and not close enough to God. He knows your needs. I must focus on the provision of God. I am too valuable to sow, reap and stow the cares of the world.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Friday – Day 295 of the year 2021 – October 22
Matthew 6:27 “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”
————————————————————-
As we looked at yesterday, worry about sowing, reaping and storage are because of your inability to see your worth. From the futility of anxious thoughts and cares, about the provisions of life are compared to birds. So here, from the futility of worry about things to worry about life itself. In the words of my grand-daughter, I am old. I don’t move as quickly as I used to thirty years ago. Sitting in the cool of the afternoon on the grassy hillside, now Jesus tells me, all the worry, anxiety, trouble, concern, and fear gets me nothing. I cannot add one single second to my life by worrying about it.
Sure, I can try and get exercise, eat better, eat my broccoli to lengthen my life. But worry, nada, zip, nothing. All the worry in the world will not negate the fact we will ultimately meet God. And all the worry in my lifelong struggle will not make things any better.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Saturday – Day 296 of the year 2021 – October 23
Matthew 6:28-30 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
——————————————–
The world has become bi-polar. Everything is poured into one of two buckets. Everything seems to be either good or bad. There is no middle ground which allows judgement. One bucket is much larger than the other. The smaller of the two is filled with the good, pure, lovely, heartwarming, and beautiful. But these wonderous things barely cover the bottom of the bucket. The sides of the bucket are rarely wet. The problem is that it is easy to give into negativity. It is hard to see the good in world. The hilltop lecture is telling me to be more cognizant of the beauty of life. God loves beauty. He created beauty. I may not as well dressed as Solomon or seen as beauty in your eyes. Yet, God delights in the adornment he supplies. I am a new creature born in beauty before God. It is filling my good bucket today. God supplies me with everything I need to do what God has for me today.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Sunday – Day 297 of the year 2021 – October 24
Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
———————————————
I have had many jobs in my life: agriculture laborer, guard, machinery cleaner, butcher, meatcutter, janitor, pastor, IT specialist, School CIO, computer trainer, and now writer. All involve both the physical and the mental. Each required a learning and unlearning, and relearning. Nevertheless, they were not the greatest things I have done. Sure, I provided a roof over my family, we were relatively comfortable, yet the greatest thing in my life was not survival. I did not carry the weight of the world on my back just to endure. I have discovered, now, late in life, that seeking more than existence, but seeking the Kingdom of God was my goal from the beginning. My job was to seek. God’s job was to provide. I can’t do God’s job for him. All the things I have endured, enjoyed, fretted about, had peace about, were just my way of seeking God.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Monday – Day 298 of the year 2021 – October 25
Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
————————————————-
Much like the Oliver Twist we state sheepishly to God, “please sir, I want some more.” We come, we petition, we stand in line with the expectations of another scoop of gruel. The portion allotted to me must get better. I look toward tomorrow in hope the scoop will be bigger. As I start my day with a cup of coffee in my cave like study, a portion is supplied, each with some pleasure, and some trouble. Not always in the same proportion. At issue on the side hill is along with the want of more, comes a specific want. “Tomorrow I want more of the good stuff and much less of the not so good.”
Today is also be supplied with the grace and mercy for today. Enough of God’s provision to overcome the not so good. And not enough to carry over for tomorrow. For today it is enough.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Tuesday – Day 299 of the year 2021 – October 26
Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
—————————————————
Worry is an either-or proposition. I have come to a place in my life where a decision needs to be made. Once and for all, never brought up again, fact of life; there is no place in my life for worry. The central reality of the Kingdom of Heaven is true and therefore I must stop the worry. I must focus on God as the primary supplier of my life. The only solution to worry is kingship. He cares for me. He loves me. He wants the best for me. My life may well not be full of vast quantities of good things. But I am not going to worry about it.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Wednesday – Day 300 of the year 2021 – October 27
Matthew 7:1,2 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
——————————————————-
I can almost hear the whispers from the rest of the hill side sitters. “But I am a pretty good judge” or “I have nothing to be judged in my life.” Either way Jesus was saying the act of being critical was the beginning of the process of judgement. It is not about my ability to judge fairly and impartially but the very act of placing my intellect and experience in forefront and setting yourself in the place of the heavenly judge. It is not about your qualifications either. You may think you are qualified to judge by your current standing before God, nevertheless, there will come a time when you are not where we should be.
So, Jesus was saying don’t try. It is not your place, it is not your qualification, it is not your intellect, it is just not your job.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Thursday – Day 301 of the year 2021 – October 28
Matthew 7: 3-5 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
——————————————————–
Mirrors were not very good in the time of Jesus. Mostly they were nothing more than well-polished bronze or brass that were mostly dim and did not reveal much. Now we have magnifying mirrors and cell phones that take very detailed pictures for examination and inspection. But what has become even worse than self-examination it the propensity to examine everyone else. We have become critical of others so we can make ourselves feel better about who and what we are. The plank is an unwillingness to see ourselves. It is simply ridiculous for me to spend any time finding all the little things that are wrong with others while contently ignoring my own. Search me O God and reveal my weaknesses, sins and inconsistencies. Then and only then can I look to love and humbly try to help others with theirs.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Friday – Day 302 of the year 2021 – October 29
Matthew 7:6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
——————————————————-
To me, if given the choice, I would rather not have anger in my life. I do not like to be around angry people. I do not enjoy those who would vent in my face over the minutia of life. I choose not to allocate my energy, my time, my emotional capital dealing with anger. I have been angry. I have seen the long-term effects of my anger. Anger hurts me and everyone around me. I judge anger as being a negative and sinful emotion.
The followers of Jesus must judge their own actions. To be effective, choices must be made. You may call them opinions, or taste, or discernment, but it is still judgment. It is the rational, unemotional, preference of one act or person over another. We all make judgement calls on whom we will gather. I welcome, even take joy in constructive disagreement. But I must choose. I must choose for my own sake, those who are not angry to occupy the moments of my life I have left. Why? Because angry people make me angry. And you would like to see me angry, and neither would God.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Saturday – Day 303 of the year 2021 – October 30
Matthew 7:7,8 ““Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
—————————————————–
“Ask, seek, knock”, these words are all about need. I ask because I need. I seek because I need. I knock because I need. The very emptiness of my soul is characterized by a need to be given, found, and welcomed. It is not begging, cajoling, persuasion, effort to overcome reluctance. It is an acknowledgement of location of supply. My hope is built on nothing less than God’s supply. So, I ask with confidence and humility. So, I seek with care and application. So, I knock with sincerity and persistence. And my needs are met. PTL.
#
Hillside Thoughts for Sunday – Day 304 of the year 2021 – October 31
Matthew 7:13,14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
—————————————————-
The sermon is about over. Jesus is concluding. It is a place of determination. We have a choice. Each one of us on the grassy hillside listening and make application of the words of the Rabbi, must decide. Jesus sums it all up with a choice between two gates. A wide gate leading to destruction or a narrow gate that leads to life. And what strikes me the gate we choose is dependent upon the path we take in our present. We are all walkers. We are all on a journey toward a gate. There are only two gates at the end of our paths. The difficulty of the path determines the number of people taking it. It is best to take the road less traveled by. Only one of the two gates are worth the journey. God’s choice for us is to take the gate that is small. Narrow or wide is the ultimate choice.
#