Matthew 7, 365 DAYS OF LOVE#346-352

NOTES: ¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
During the sermon, Jason pointed out that quite often, the "broad road" is often one that does not look inherently bad, but are rather small habits that give way to destruction. Examples: Most people have never physically killed another person, but Jesus said to even be hateful towards another is to commit murder in your heart. Perhaps not everyone has committed a physical act of adultery, but Jesus says even looking at someone else lustfully is committing adultery in your heart. [Matt 5:21-30]

True and False Prophets

    ¹⁵ “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Sometimes, perhaps as an excuse for rationalizing sin, I hear the argument that just because someone is doing something sinful, one should not judge them because only God can see their heart. However, I think this passage perfectly addresses this argument: though we are saved purely by grace and are justified through faith in Christ, our fruit is a natural byproduct of the condition of our hearts. As Christians are made new in Christ and are no longer slaves to their old nature, producing "good fruit" is evidence of their transformation in Christ. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 

True and False Disciples

    ²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
I think this excerpt really brings into like what the "will of my Father" is. Though deeds such as casting out demons and miracles are often included in godly actions, the acts alone are not some sort of ticket into heaven. Rather, God looks at the heart. 

The Wise and Foolish Builders

    ²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

 ²⁸ When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹ because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Main point: building your house on rock takes more time and energy, and it is often easier and more tempting to use a sandy base. However, once rain and wind comes, only those built on rocky foundation will last through trials. 

ACT OF LOVE #346: Received complementary snacks (cheese/crackers, bag of mixed peanuts) for being stuck in the last row of the airplane. I knew my mom liked peanuts, so I gave them to her, and she really enjoyed it!

 #347: As I left Pittsburgh, I wrote a brief thank-you note to the hotel cleaning staff on the pad of paper that they gave us.

#348: Each time we went to the airport, I sat at our gate and watched all the luggage so my parents could go use the restroom and walk around/browse stores before our flight boarded.

 #349: At Rice: my host was helping organize a milk&cookies open studio for the freshman architecture class. I helped her and her friend carry cartons of milk from the Baker dining hall to the archi building.

#350: Resolved not to complain even after one of my connecting flights got delayed 1.5 hours, which caused us to miss our next flight and have a total delay of 6 hours. (We had to wait 4-5 hours for the next flight on Standby). Also, let a mother and her two children leave the plane before me so they could get to their flight more quickly.

#351: Carried both me and my parent's luggage up to our rooms after we arrived at home yesterday, even though I wasn't asked to.

#352: Wrote an encouragement on facebook group, "The Power of Prayer" encouraging people to continue praying and being persistent!