070811

(James Dobson) Faith requires  us to depend on God to keep His promises, even when proof is not provided. It is continuiing to believe even when the evidence points in the opposite direction

(Mark Twain) Life is just  one damn thing after another

(Dobson) When our faith is anchored on the unchanging, everlasting God, whose promises never fail and whose love is all encompassing, our joy and hope can be steady as the sunrise even when the happenings around us are transitioning from wonderful to tragic

(Source unknown)  Hope: of all the forces that make for a better world, none is so powerful as hope. With hope, one can think, one can work, one can dream. If you have hope, you have everything

(A. Rogers) Every kick has a kickback. The devil has no happy old people

(Rogers) As dangerous as hardening of the arteries is to the heart, hardening of attitudes is even more dangerous

(Rogers) Joy in the heart should show in your face. Joy is to be sought, seen, and shared. Joy is the miracle medicine

Adrian Rogers tells the story of seeing a bumper sticker that said,"Smile if you love Jesus" "  He purposely pulled up beside the driver of the car and said she had the look on her face as though she was having a gall bladder attack. He thought to himself, " She should taje that sticker off her bumper and put it on her dashboard"

(Source unknown)  Better to be a " has been" than a " never was"

Selected paraphrases form Mt. 5t of The Message:

V. 11: What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable
v. 18: Long after the stars have burned out and the earth wears out, God's law will be alive and working
v. 22"The simple moral fact is that words kill
v. 29: Your heart can be corrupted even quicker than your body
v. 33: You can't use legal cover to mask a moral failure
Another way of stating , " You have heard it was said, but I say unto you": Here's another old saying that deserves a second look
v. 48: In a word, what I'm saying is, grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you

Ray Stedman summarizes Mr 5:1-12 as the beatitudes and Mt 5:13-16 as the similitudes

( Ray Stedman) On Mt chpts 5-7: The presentation of the king and the laws of the kingdom...This is one of the most penetrating and incisive messages ever set before human beings, and it approaches us on the level of our ordinary, physical lives

(Charles Stanley) Jesus made it clear that God is not after outward complaince but inward change

( Charles Stanley) On Mt 5:44: Loving the unlovable means forgiving the offender,seeking to underststand before seeking to be understood, and speaking with noncombative yet truthful words

Adrian Rogers  called Mt 5:41 the principle, the practice, and the power for walking the miracle mile-doing more than is required in contrast to the Pharisees who practiced minimum morality and a loveless legalsim