Wisdom from the Source (Read Matthew 7:1-12) Reflection on the passage Many of us have someone in our extended family or church who has the gift of the wise one-liners - wisdom for life that you can remember. Sometimes it is an old saying they are passing down like "any job worth doing is worth doing well." Or it is their own original piece of lived wisdom that they gift us with. This week's section of Sermon on the Mount includes some very famous sayings of Jesus. But they are more than just the wise sayings of a teacher - they are challenging words that point us to the way of true life and to the One who can give us what we need to walk in goodness (7:11). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus challenges us to the highest, truest levels of righteousness. But in our pursuit of righteousness, we can run into some pitfalls that Jesus warns us of here. First, is the danger of becoming self-righteous and judgmental of others rather than staying humble in heart. Jesus exhorts us not to judge others (7:1), for if we do we can expect to be judged by those same standards: "...with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (7:2). Along with judgmentalism is the danger of hypocrisy and pride. Jesus famously calls out the absurdity of confronting others for their sins, when we are guilty of even greater ones: "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" (7:5). When we come humbly before God each day, we can trust that the Holy Spirit will convict us with love and truth so that we can see the "planks" of sin in our lives that He wants to work on with us. Another pitfall is for us to lack discernment about whom we share the sacred things of God with. To Jesus' original audience "dogs" and "pigs" (7:6) would have been symbols of all that is wild, unclean, and vicious. Jesus warns: "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" (7:6). Though we are to share the radical love and forgiveness of Christ with the world, we still need to be careful and aware of the reality of the evil one and our own vulnerabilities. In the next few verses of this sermon is the antidote to these pitfalls. The problem comes when we try to be righteous in ourselves or save the world in our own strength. In this well-known verse Jesus tells us to seek God and His good gifts: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you..." (7:7). We can trust that God, far more than our earthly parents, knows just what we need to live whole and righteous lives (7:9-10). He wants to bless us with good gifts. Lastly, Jesus addresses our tendency to miss the heart of what righteousness is when we get lost in the details. His famous "golden rule" gives us a simple, go-to summary of living a godly life: "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets" (7:12). May we take Jesus' wisdom to heart and seek Him in everything. Focus verses for prayerful reflection Choose one of the saying of Jesus from this passage that most speaks to you today. Spend a few moments meditating on it and consenting to the Holy Spirit's work within you. Photo: Javon Swaby

Matthew 21:9b - ...the people all around him were shouting, "Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise God in highest heaven!" . . #verse #dailyverse #hope #bibleverse #bible #biblequotes

Happy National Pet Day! Congratulations to Bertie and her pup, Jaina Solo, for winning our Pet Spotlight Contest! Jaina Solo will be receiving a specialty gift basket filled with treats and toys for all their adventures, thanks to Robert Gardner Roofing!