The gospel chapter I read today was Matthew 7. To recap, Matthew 7 continues and finishes Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. I am so glad that this sermon of His was recorded for us to read. Just think--a sermon by Jesus! His sermons are never boring.
In Matthew 7 Jesus discourses on judging (ouch!), God giving gifts to his children, the narrow and wide gates, trees and their fruit, and in closing the story of the wise and foolish builders. Again, there are so many good lessons I can't just pick one! So before we use our daily SOAP, let me give you a "pre-shower" with the verses below!
"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." ~Matthew 7:1-2
Ouch. God hit waaaaaaaay too close to home for me on this one. And right off the bat, too! Do not judge. I don't know about you, but I find it way too easy to judge other people! By things they do or don't do, by the things they say that is different or that I don't like, it is way too easy to judge other people! So these verses really spoke to me, reminding me to not judge other people by their actions, looks, or words. What was it that God told the Old Testament prophet Samuel??
"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." ~1 Samuel 16:7
Moving along, we come to verse 12 in Matthew 7:
"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."
Remember the other day I was telling you how I thought I knew the "let you 'Yes' be 'Yes', and your 'No', 'No'" verse? Well, case in point again right here. I thought I knew Matthew 7:12, even though I didn't know the reference. It's the Golden Rule! Do to others what you would have them do to you. Beautiful idea. But then as I'm reading the actual verse today I realized that Matthew 7:12 is much more than the Golden Rule.
"So in everything"
Jesus isn't saying "for only the people you like", or "for only the people who will like you back" "do to others what you would have them do to you." He said, "So in everything" do the Golden Rule. For everywhere, everyone, everything "do to others what you would have them do to you..."
But Jesus doesn't stop there. Now that He's got us doing the Golden Rule for everywhere, everyone, and everything, He points out that this idea "sums up the Law and the Prophets." Do you know what the Law and the Prophets are? They were the Bible of Jesus' day. In that time, Israel divided their "Bible" into two sections: the Law (Genesis-Deuteronomy, written by Moses), and the Prophets (basically, the rest of the books). What is profound to me is that Jesus is saying that doing the Golden Rule for everywhere, everyone, and everything sums up the whole Bible.
Wow.
OK. Now onto our SOAP for today! Naturally, I couldn't just pick one verse for the scripture part. Soooo.....I chose five! Here goes!
Scripture:
"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; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."
"Which of you, if his son ask for bread, would give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" ~Matthew 7:7-11, italics added
Observation:
These verses kinda remind me of my SOAP of yesterday. God will give good gifts to those who love Him...all we have to do is ask!!! Isn't that amazing?? And just think, since "evil" human parents know how to give good gifts to their kids, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Application:
God will give me good gifts, gifts beyond my wildest imagination! If I dreamed up the most wild, fun, and crazy thing, God would surprise me with something even more wild, fun, and crazy! All I have to do is ask. Application? When I pray I can ask God for good things, and I can be certain that He will give them to me!
Prayer:
Dear God, thank You for being the awesome God that You are. Thank You for giving me another Sabbath, a whole day I can spend with You. Thank You for reminding me that You will give me good gifts, and all I have to do is ask. Amen.
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MANY good points here! I really appreciate how you tie in 1 Samuel 16:7. It really does go hand in hand with today's verse on judging!
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