My Journal Notes Today

Before you read today's blog just go read Matthew 4-6. I know that may not be where you are in your Bible reading, and you may have already read your Bible today, but what harm is there in reading a few extra chapters? Maybe while you are reading highlight some verses that stand out to you, and verses that you feel are a particular message to you today, maybe journal some commands, principles, promises...

Did you read it?

WOW! Right!

Jesus covered a lot. I have 3 pages of notes in my journal today. I wanted you to read it for yourself before I shared my thoughts so that you could record your own thoughts first. The Bible never means anything different than what it means, it is just that sometimes different passages stick out to different people at different times. Now we can compare notes...

A timeless principle:
Matt. 4:4 "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDETH OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD."

This verse is always a good one for me as I have mentioned before, I am a food lover. I am daily working on craving God over food. But what stuck out to me even more today was the word "every"... every word out of the mouth of God. I wanted to let that one sink in a bit.

And then I read on... there is so much meat in this passage! I remember feeling this same way last time I read through the gospels... how I felt like I was overflowing with so much truth, instruction, guidance... that I could not retain it all. But as I read it now I almost quote many parts of it on my own. That's exciting!

A command to keep:
Matthew 4:10 Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.
Matthew 4:17 Repent
Matthew 4:19 Follow me
Matthew 5:13 Be the salt of the earth (paraphrased)
Matthew 5:14 Be the light of the world (paraphrased)
Matthew 5:15 Let your light so shine!
Matthew 6:19 Lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven

A promise:
Matthew 4:19 I will make you fishers of men

In the Beatitudes of Matthew 5:3-12 there are promises. The one that spoke to me today is 3:6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled (the promise).

Jesus teaches on so many things in this passage that is called "The Sermon on the Mount"... anger, adultery, divorse, oaths, loving your enemy, giving alms, prayer... just to name a few.

Matthew 5:48 says, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect." Whenever I read the word "perfect" in the Bible I have to go down and read the study notes, because I know I cannot be perfect especially if the example of perfect is God the Father! So this is what I took form those notes. "Perfect - complete... possessing complete love... embrace those that love you as well as those who hate you..."

I didn't quite understand verse 22 of chapter 6 either. "The light of the body is the eye, if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." Study notes, "if thine eye be single...devotion to one purpose... fixed vision or goal."That helped! Now I get it.

God's message to me today:
Matthew 5:6 (found above)
Matthew 6:8 "...for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him." I love this truth! I need to be reminded of this almost daily or even hourly!
Matthew 6:19-21, 24-34 are Key verses for me. They convict and encourage me every time I read them or hear them. "Treasures in Heaven" and "Trusting the Master".

In my Bible I have started to draw little hearts by the verses that pertain to the heart. So there is now a heart by Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there will your HEART be also."

So, there is a sneak peek into my daily note taking habits. I am sure they are not all inclusive. I have no doubt I have left out some promises, commands and principles, but this is the message I got today. It always helps me to remember, apply and be accountable when I blog it.

Loud and Clear!

Today's message came in loud and clear, and was completely convicting.

I am through Mark, and am now reading through Luke - 3 chapters at a time.

Today I read Luke 4-6 which begins with Jesus being led by the Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days being tempted of the devil and having nothing to eat. When I read verse 4 today I was completely convicted! I missed a few days in the word last week, but I ate three times each day at least, and I thought about food a lot more than that.

Forgive me for not being very eloquent right now. I am just being very real, and expressing where I am at right now. I just don't want to take all day perfecting this blog.

Anyway, I began to think more about the verse on my subtitle Job 23:12 "I have desired the words of His mouth more than my necessary food." I know this is not true of me, but it is a prayer of mine, and I can see God working in me as He opens my eyes to the truth about me. When I read about Jesus not eating for 40 days and then the words of Christ... "It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." followed by the reference to Deuteronomy 8:3 "And He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did they fathers know: that He might make thee know that man doth not live be bread only, but by every word that doth proceed out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live."...

I know I am not there yet, but I will continue to pray that God will work in me and bring me to a place that His word is more important to me than food in a very literal way. That I would replace my thoughts of food throughout the day with thoughts of scriptures, that my cravings would be more and more satisfied by Bible verses rather than snacks, and that my thirsting would be quenched by the "milk of the Word." (1 Peter 2:2)

I need to get my priorities right. I am thankful that I can see and feel God working in me. I am working on becoming more of a "Wordy" than a "Foody".