We’re one week into our POWERful Bible journaling. How’s it going for you? Besides the reflections shared, I have benefited from the accountability. So thank you! I’ve also enjoyed reading the Book of Matthew with fresh eyes. Praying first has set my mind and heart in the right place. Awaiting that one verse that is going to pop off the page just for me has made the reading a little suspenseful. And of course, the reflection part is interesting. So let’s get started today with Matthew 7.
POWERful Bible Journaling: Matthew 7
P –I want to be effective for Your Kingdom. I want others to see You in me. I especially want this in my home. I want my children to know You and love You because they received You in their own home.
O –God is loving and merciful, but He is also just. There’s no getting by God. He will call us to give an account of how we made judgements in this life. And I am the only one who is so tired of people misquoting the Bible saying we aren’t supposed to judge? If we aren’t to judge, then how are we expected to go through life avoiding evil and seeking good? We have to make judgements daily–“Is this a good person, place or thing or a bad one?
God will examine our motives and the fruit we bore–back to being a fruit tree!
W —vs 20…Thus, you will know them by their fruit.
E –So there is some good news here. On those days when I feel a wreck, feel like I didn’t get anything done and feel tired, cranky and overwhelmed, I can still produce good fruit. s there a peace in my home? Are my children happy and my husband content even if the laundry is waiting to folded and the dishes done?
R –Lord, please help me to look for the fruit and not base how good or bad my day went on how I feel.
I think also, we sometimes confuse the fruit. We think the fruit is the outcome, the result. We measure ourselves as fruit bearers by what we have to show for our day. I was listening to my friend Sarah MacKenzie the other day in a podcast about Teaching from Rest. What she said totally changed my perspective.
“Accepting that we have to wake up everyday and get our marching orders from God and do the work He’s set before us and our faithfulness to that act of getting up and doing the work He’s put before us, that is where our success tied to.”
–Sarah MacKenzie, Teaching From Rest
Instead of looking back at the end of the day to see what I’ve accomplished, I need to ask myself at the beginning of the day and periodically throughout my day,
That’s where I’ll find the fruit, in the process of doing His work, not my results.
Now I’m considering this thinking of my children. This is going to be hard…Do I get frustrated with them because I don’t see the results of what I’ve asked them to do…even though they have faithfully tried to obey and do what they were told? Ouch. I’m missing the fruit of their actions looking for the fruit of their results.
Please share your POWERful reflections in the comments.
For more about Sarah, visit her site and download her Free Quickstart Guide to Great Conversations with Your Kids About Books.
maddalena70 says
P. God give me peace and quietness in order to speak your language and always be kind.
O. It is often hard to remever to treat others as you want to be treated by them, to use the language of kindness and love…to not be an hypocrite… I constantly need to keep it in mind!
W” Judge not that you be not judged…””Ask and it will be given to you.. Seek and you will find…. Knock and it will be opened to you.”
E. I’ve been dreaming of the moment in which I will not judge or use not the language of God since I was a little girl. in which I will treat others as I want be tested by them…in which I will finally live in Hos light and by His law.
R. God let me fully live in your light and truth… Let me build my house on the rock!!!
Jenny says
Oh yes! To build our house on the rock! But haven’t we already done that or are in the process of doing it since Peter is the rock?
Michelle says
P: Lord, help me to know that I have been forgiven. Then I will know better how to forgive others.
O: He wants us to love one another. I am like God because I really want my children to love each other. Or at least behave in a way that shows it.
W: 7:23 “I never knew you.” That verse breaks my heart.
E: I can offer to God my sufferings in reparation for my sins, the sins of my family and of the whole world and especially those in Purgatory.
R: Help me to never pass judgement in the spirit of arrogance, being forgetful of my own faults.
Jenny says
I struggled with feeling unforgiven for a time. I either read or heard somewhere that it’s a form of pride, thinking our sins too great for God to forgive. I also meditated on St Peter frequently during that time. I heard tradition tells it he had deep furrows in his cheeks from all the tears he cried after denying our Lord.
Michelle says
I found this today. So very helpful in every way. I love everything Popcak writes.
http://catholicexchange.com/secret-forgiving
Jenny says
Thank you Michelle.
Deb00 says
P- Lord I am soooo frustrated today! The kids haven’t done anything I have asked them to do and consequences don’t seem to make any difference. But wait, how enlightening, as I think of how our society, my family, my kids and I all do the same thing to You! Forgive me for the times I haven’t followed your commands, done as u asked when u were tugging at my heart or have been indifferent.
O- God warns us that those will come who will profess to speak the truth. The antichrist is a reality, maybe already lurking (Obama -no wait he’s too obvious-oops- couldn’t resist) will I be able to distinguish truth from lies???
W- Mt 7:15 Beware of false prophets who come to you in Sheeps clothing but underneath are ravenous wolves
E- I often worry that I could b lured into the beliefs of false prophets, sucked in by the attraction of their hidden lies. Do I know Christ well enough to distinguish between Him and a fake??
R- Lord I pray that thru study of our Faith, bible study and prayer I will never be misled but will know you well enough to not b persuaded by the antichrist
Jenny says
Such a great prayer, to never be misled. It can happen, we see all the time.
Sarah says
“Am I doing God’s will for me right now?”
I need to frame that and put it up in my kitchen.
This post is balm, Jenny. Thank you for writing it.
Jenny says
Oh thank you sweet Sarah for your kind words. You inspire my friend.