Luke 1 & 2

Mary's confidence in verse 38 is one I wish I could have more of.When Gabriel told her of her upcoming pregnancy and that God had found favor with her..her comment was " May it be to me as you have said"...she had faith, she believed that it would be as he said. Many times our faith withers, imagine if we had a Gabriel on our shoulders (so to speak)and we had such faith right away to believe what was said and not question or worry! , verse 45 "Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished".. FAITH!!!
I like the side note/story in my bible regarding Luke 2, verse 46, where Mary and Jospeh had traveled for a whole day before realizing that their son, Jesus was not with them..They had left him behind. Sometimes we do the same thing...we move ahead with our own plans without waiting on God. It isn't that he leaves us on purpose but that we are in such a hurry to move on that we don't take the time to stop and listen to his word or his will~ Any many times when we do this we later realize that we need to go back and re-trace our steps, that our way (without him) is not or did not work as we may have planned!! Our goal in our mind, might lie clearly ahead of us, it might be exactly what we've always wanted, but we need to realize that we can't go at it any faster than God wants us to or he might not be there with us! Are you rushing through life on your own plans or are you waiting on God's wisdom and peace for you? I know I must learn to be more patient and re-reading this section and putting in this blog has made me step back and think about learning to slow down and Listen for God's instructions! I encourage all of us to do the same!

Matthew continues...

Matthew 13 has stood out with 2 different spots for me...One is verse 37-"The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man". I have never related this verse to the saying "oh he's (or she's) a bad seed...it just has never hit me until now, I know next time I hear it, I will pray for that person and remember this verse! Verse 40 &41 say " at the end of the age the Son of Man will send out angels and they will weed out everything that causes sin and all who do evil"...this is where the "bad seed" fits in.
Matthew 13 also spoke to me about "Hidden Treasures"...Salvation is a treasure, it can not be purchased, nothing will buy it and no one can earn it. This statement makes me think of those who say "Why yes, I'm going to Heaven, I've been a GOOD person." That is their belief that they are earning their way there. Salvation is only granted as a free gift, a treasure- the Treasure of life and truth!

Matthew 4 through 9

YAY!! I got to read some today and am so thankful for God's word! Just going to hit on a few verses and things that stood out to me today... Matthew 4 was a lot about Jesus rejecting the devil-it gave us verses that are so simple yet that say everything... for example: " Do not put the Lord your God to the test"... do you do this? I'm sure I do! "Worship the Lord your God and serve him only"... are you serving him only? I'm sure I'm not... I feel daily like I'm serving my children, my husband, my friends, my employer, etc, etc... but GOD should be first on that list and many times He is not. I am learning and being reminded daily that HE must come first! The next chapter that stood out to me was Matthew 6, v 27- "DO NOT WORRY- Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" I have to say I'm usually pretty good about not worrying and trying to put it in God's hands- but we know there are always times when worry just creeps in, AND that is where verse 34 comes in handy " therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own! Amen to that!
Reading further on into Matthew the overall point that stood out to me was that so many had great faith and were immediately healed by Jesus. (v 21 & 22) for example. He also mentions that we as His followers should conduct ourselves as citizens of God's kingdom. Is what you are doing today and the way you are acting here on Earth worthy of you entering God's kingdom when your time is called? Are we acting as citizens here on earth? I pray that if not, we learn to work on this and become more like Him! I know I am being convicted of not putting him First on a daily basis and I know that doing that would make me a much better "citizen in his eyes"..
I know I'm still behind on my reading, but I am blessed that I got to do some catching up today and that I am motivated to keep reading and learning from His word! Thank you all for your patience and God Bless as you go through the rest of this week we are given!

Matthew (and me)....

I hear it calling my name every day... and not trying to make excuses but I've just had a lot going on... First of all I've had plugged ears going on 3 weeks now (not completely but they may as well be), they do not hurt just very, very annoying hearing muffled voices and sounds all the time! On top of it I've had a head cold that will not stop...in addition I've now given that head cold/congestion to 2 of my children, on top of that my mother fell on ice and broke her ankle in 3 places (she is still in hospital recovering), I have taken on an indefinite sub job 5 days a week since this 30 day challenge began! All this to say I REALLY am missing my reading, and trying VERY hard to get back on track and keep you updated! If you are following me, I thank you first of all and I apologize also that I'm so far behind- but please pray that things slow down (just a bit) and our family starts to feel better so that I can continue on this journey of getting through the gospels and learning from it most of all! I will update again very soon!

Mark 11, v 24-25

Yes I am behind in my reading, but catching up today and finding verses that I have not heard for a while but am reading now and reflecting on them. This one is what I would consider a common verse but one definitely worth repeating and remembering: "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, BELIEVE that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." We all know that forgiveness is not easy sometimes, but to know that is what God tells us to do makes that forgiveness worth doing! I myself had held a grudge against someone for 20 years for the way they treated me back in school...well let me tell you that just a few months ago I confronted them and this person did not think it was a big deal, they joked about it and said "well we were young back then".... I just had to tell her how I felt, and know that I have now forgiven her for her actions and it feels good to not have that grudge in my heart against her any longer. Is there hurt still? YES, but is it worth not forgiving her and being left out of God's wishes for us? NO!

Mark 4, Verses 18-20

I am actually right in the middle of my "assigned" reading for today and had to stop and just retype what I just read because I feel that it touches so many people today in this world, even in this state and more specifically in this small town of ours.... And I quote " Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, HEAR the word, ACCEPT it, and PRODUCE a crop- thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."..... Are you "hearing" the word today? Are you relating to it... or are you just like others, letting worries and desires make your crops unfruitful?!

The day before.....

It is the day before I am to begin this journey of reading through the Gospels in 30 days! First and foremost let me give you honesty: I AM NERVOUS... nervous because I feel like this is a "school project" and as most of you probably know I have the privilege of teaching on a day to day basis and not having to do much "learning" anymore (although we all could stand to do this too)...anyway, so my nerves are kicking into overdrive! I ask for your prayers as I not only read through these chapters the next month, but that I understand them, that I "LEARN" from them...that God guides me and directs my thoughts! I am encouraged that I will be the recipient of much needed knowledge and wisdom, and hope that if you are also one that is joining in this journey to read through the Gospels, that you will comment and share your insight with me as well! Peace to you all in the next 30 days and beyond!!