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 Matthew
5-7
The Blessings
1-12 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the side of a
mountain and sat down. Blessings Jesus? disciples gathered around
him, and he taught them: God blesses those people who depend only
on him. They belong to the kingdom of heaven! God blesses those
people who grieve. They will find comfort! God blesses those people
who are humble. The earth will belong to them! God blesses those
people who want to obey him more than to eat or drink. They will
be given what they want! God blesses those people who are merciful.
They will be treated with mercy! God blesses those people whose
hearts are pure. They will see him! God blesses those people who
make peace. They will be called his children! God blesses those
people who are treated badly for doing right. They belong to the
kingdom of heaven. God will bless you when people insult you, mistreat
you, and tell all kinds of evil lies about you because of me. Be
happy and excited! You will have a great reward in heaven. People
did these same things to the prophets who lived long ago.
Salt
and Light
13-16 You are like salt for everyone on earth. But if salt no
longer tastes like salt, how can it make food salty? All it is good
for is to be thrown out and walked on. You are like light for the
whole world. A city built on top of a hill cannot be hidden, and
no one would light a lamp and put it under a clay pot. A lamp is
placed on a lampstand, where it can give light to everyone in the
house. Make your light shine, so that others will see the good that
you do and will praise your Father in heaven.
Treasures
19-21 Don?t store up treasures on earth! Moths and rust can
destroy them, and thieves can break in and steal them. Instead,
store up your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy
them, and thieves cannot break in and steal them. Your heart will
always be where your treasure is.
Judging
Others
7:1-5 Don?t condemn others, and God won?t condemn you. God will
be as hard on you as you are on others! He will treat you exactly
as you treat them. You can see the speck in your friend?s eye, but
you don?t notice the log in your own eye. How can you say, ?My friend,
let me take the speck out of your eye,? when you don?t see the log
in your own eye? You?re nothing but show-offs! First, take the log
out of your own eye. Then you can see how to take the speck out
of your friend?s eye. Don?t give to dogs what belongs to God. They
will only turn and attack you. Don?t throw pearls down in front
of pigs. They will trample all over them.
 Revenge
5:38-48 You know that you have been taught, ?An eye for an eye
and a tooth for a tooth.? But I tell you not to try to get even
with a person who has done something to you. When someone slaps
your right cheek, turn and let that person slap your other cheek.
If someone sues you for your shirt, give up your coat as well. If
a soldier forces you to carry his pack one mile, carry it two miles.
When people ask you for something, give it to them. When they want
to borrow money, lend it to them. Love You have heard people say,
?Love your neighbors and hate your enemies.? But I tell you to love
your enemies and pray for anyone who mistreats you. Then you will
be acting like your Father in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both
good and bad people. And he sends rain for the ones who do right
and for the ones who do wrong. If you love only those people who
love you, will God reward you for that? Even tax collectors love
their friends. If you greet only your friends, what?s so great about
that? Don?t even unbelievers do that? But you must always act like
your Father in heaven.
Prayer
6:5 When you pray, don?t be like those show-offs who love to
stand up and pray in the meeting places and on the street corners.
They do this just to look good. I can assure you that they already
have their reward. When you pray, go into a room alone and close
the door. Pray to your Father in private. He knows what is done
in private, and he will reward you. When you pray, don?t talk on
and on as people do who don?t know God. They think God likes to
hear long prayers. Don?t be like them. Your Father knows what you
need before you ask. You should pray like this:
Our Father in heaven, help us to honor your name. Come and set up
your kingdom, so that everyone on earth will obey you, as you are
obeyed in heaven. Give us our food for today. Forgive us for doing
wrong, as we forgive others. Keep us from being tempted and protect
us from evil. If you forgive others for the wrongs they do to you,
your Father in heaven will forgive you. But if you don?t forgive
others, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Worry
6:25-34 I tell you not to worry about your life. Don?t worry
about having something to eat, drink, or wear. Isn?t life more than
food or clothing? Look at the birds in the sky! They don?t plant
or harvest. They don?t even store grain in barns. Yet your Father
in heaven takes care of them. Aren?t you worth more than birds?
Can worry make you live longer? Why worry about clothes? Look how
the wild flowers grow. They don?t work hard to make their clothes.
But I tell you that Solomon with all his wealth wasn?t as well clothed
as one of them. God gives such beauty to everything that grows in
the fields, even though it is here today and thrown into a fire
tomorrow. He will surely do even more for you! Why do you have such
little faith? Don?t worry and ask yourselves, ?Will we have anything
to eat? Will we have anything to drink? Will we have any clothes
to wear?? Only people who don?t know God are always worrying about
such things. Your Father in heaven knows that you need all of these.
But more than anything else, put God?s work first and do what he
wants. Then the other things will be yours as well. Don?t worry
about tomorrow. It will take care of itself. You have enough to
worry about today.
The
Narrow Gate
7:13-14 Go in through the narrow gate. The gate to destruction
is wide, and the road that leads there is easy to follow. A lot
of people go through that gate. But the gate to life is very narrow.
The road that leads there is so hard to follow that only a few people
find it.
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