Woven

I don't know about you, but I could spend another day in John. There are so many of Jesus' stories in that one book. John, the beloved disciple, closed out his Gospel narrative by proclaiming that if all of the stories of Jesus were written into books the world itself wouldn't be able to hold them all.

Yes, John. I believe you.

Today, I want to shift to Matthew. Take a look at the first chapter of Matthew. Just let your finger move along the Old Testament names. Celebrate the fact that you know some of their stories. Rejoice that you definitely know more than you did at the start of the summer. I think all of us have a little more Old Testament knowledge and understanding now.

I want you to camp in Matthew 5 through 7. It's a lot of reading. Every bit of it is "red letter" reading. This is what we call the Sermon on the Mount. Now, if Jesus put together a sermon, I want to hear it. Can you even imagine?

Here's what sets my heart on fire about these passages..... Nearly every phrase is opposed to anything that is natural within human nature. Nothing about Jesus' teaching in these 3 chapters could be characterized as normal human behavior.

In your journal, I challenge you to simply begin writing out the difficult nature of Jesus' commands. Reflect on what His odd message could mean.

Now, I need to remind you that I am not a Biblical scholar. The only thing I have to back up any of my statements is the reality that I beg the Spirit to reveal Truth to me as I read scripture. I have read and I walk away from my study of this sermon with the reality that Jesus came to obliterate the status quo, the expected path, the simplistic and traditional understanding. He turned the religious world upside down!

Sisters, I believe He's still doing that today. In my heart of hearts, I believe God (in Jesus) is still giving us the same option He gave in the Garden; choose the tree of life and don't get bogged down in the good vs. evil trap. In Christ, we see a devotion to God and His life even in the midst of all sorts of good vs. evil questions. Could it be that those are the wrong questions?

I'm sharing a video with you today. Goodness I pray you've been watching The Chosen. There are 16 episodes out right now and every one is a MUST SEE. I adore the way the writer has developed the characters of the chosen disciples. Who knows if it's all written exactly right, but it doesn't rewrite scripture. It simply gives plausible possibilities.

The disciples are completely different. Their differences cause them to fuss and quarrel often. I've noticed that Jesus never gets into the quarrels. He doesn't weigh in on who's right and who's wrong. He chooses life. He chooses to be about His Father's business.

I've also noticed that Jesus doesn't repeatedly weigh in on how the Romans are getting wrong or how the Pharisees are misrepresenting God. He chooses life. He chooses to live freely in the love and mission of His Father.

So, this episode that I'm going to share is the culmination of Season 2 of The Chosen. We will only see parts of the episode along with narration from two Jewish elders. Their commentary provides priceless background. Their reaction to this possibility of how Jesus wrote the beginning part of the Sermon on the Mount (Beatitudes) is emotional. I pray you enjoy it.

Then, use your journal to write your very own prayer today. In light of what you've read and seen, ask Jesus to live through you in such a way that you get to be a map that points many, many people to The Father.