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By Mike Noland…

2 Timothy 4:7

The Akron marathon is tomorrow, and as a distance runner, I have to train, rain or shine and even when the snow comes. Running is an individual sport, in which you train for endurance, technique and strength. And although I have those around me (fellow runners, friends, family) encouraging me along the way to keep me going and making me want to succeed, it is still up to myself as an individual how much I put into the sport.

Our walk with Christ is very similar. We have to “train” ourselves to become closer to God. We have to work at it and want our relationship to grow stronger with Him; and in those times when we need God the most, all of that training will be worth it. And while our relationship with our Heavenly Father is something we have to work with on our own, we shouldn’t forget that we do have a “team” with us. The brothers and sisters in Christ that God has placed in our path are there for a reason! They can guide us closer to Him and encourage us to grow.

Like  running, or any sport you do, your walk with Christ is something that you (we all) need to consistently work on. Today, keep in mind that when it comes to your relationship with Christ, you will get how much you put into it. This will help us keep a steady balance to “stay on the chair!”

We all wanna be loved and accepted. No one likes to feel like the outsider or the outcast. Too often though I talk to students who think and feel exactly that! Not just students either. People in general.

As Christians, why don’t we claim these verses a little more often? Why do we take for granted the power of Jesus that is within us and the fact that He thinks we are the bomb!?

The opening verse of this chapter should make us jump up and down! Condemnation is a big word that basically means “unapproved of”. He completely approves of us exactly like we are and His power runs through us and gives us power over sin…if we choose to use it.

Am I saying that this is the key to perfection? Um, that would be a big no! We will never achieve that, but with His power we can rid ourselves of sin a little more each day.

Its sin and satan that give us that “I’m just an outcast” feeling. But its Jesus that says “You are mine and you are awesome!” Who would you rather run with? This is what people are looking for in life when you really get down to it! So let’s share it and change this world for Him.

Have you ever seen a scar on someone’s knee or elbow and asked them what happened? Sure, some people may not remember, but for the most part people will tell you the whole story behind the scar. Occasionally people will even go on to tell you stories about other scars. Some scars will be from falling off a bike or tripping during hide and seek, but sometimes scars aren’t quite that innocent. There are some scars we want to hide because we are ashamed of how we got them; maybe you snuck out one night with some friends and things went wrong or maybe you were going just a little too fast around that curve at the end of your road.

Regardless of how you got the scars and regardless of if you are ashamed of them or proud of them, every one of us has them. See, the funny thing about scars is that some can be invisible, making them easy to hide; scars from our past, things we don’t want to remember. We cover up these scars sometimes though. It is human nature to shy away from pain and so when life gives us scars, we try desperately to cover them up. We don’t want to be seen as weak or vulnerable so we use our smiles as make up to hide things we have gone through. Sometimes we hide things so well that they are muffled even to ourselves. We hide things for so long that we end up forgetting about them and when a turn of events causes those things to be re-discovered, it hits us like a ton of bricks and we don’t always know how to handle it. Here’s an idea: Give it to God.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He *will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.* But when you are tempted,he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

When that ton of bricks hits you, stand firm and trust the God will help you through.

On a different side of things, some of the scars we try to hide never actually leave, like those left from losing a friend or family member. Keeping in mind that death is not the only way to lose someone. A friend may move away, a family member may hold a grudge from a fight that was 3 years ago or maybe you simply lost touch. No matter what the situation, death or otherwise, we have all lost people and losing someone is one of the biggest, most painful ways to get a scar. They are also the most important not to hide from others. The reality is that we ALL lose people in life, but we may not always realize it. Losing someone can make you feel all alone and helpless. Letting your scars show could help someone see that they’re not, in fact, alone but that there is someone who understands to some capacity what they are going through. For all you know, letting your guard down, letting even just one of those scars show could be someone’s saving grace.

Again, 1 Corinthians 10:13 says that God will never put you through more than you can handle. Those scars you have, the ones you try so hard to hide; maybe God gave you those scars specifically to show off. He knew you could handle it, whatever it may have been and maybe your story of being strong enough to overcome is exactly what it takes to help someone else uncover their scars and come to terms with them.

Fake trees are just that; fake. They can fool you from a distance, even up close! Until you touch it. Just like fake people. The comparison Jesus makes here is awesome! Especially in verse 20. Someone who is a real follower of Christ; a real weirdo, is going to show it by more then just their mouth. They are going to back it up with what they do for the kingdom and their motives will be pure.

Verses 21-23 are very sad to me. I hate to think that someone I know may be just a fake tree walking around fooling everyone, but not fooling God. Coming to church and talking the talk doesn’t cut it for God. He wants you to walk the walk. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you’ll “get right with God when I’m older”. What if you don’t get older? We aren’t promised tomorrow, so live for Him today!

I hope that as we’ve taken a brief look at the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus showed you something amazing and challenged you to make a change in your life in someway. I know He did for me.

Let me give you one last challenge. Don’t let this be the end of your daily Bible study. Only by staying in God’s word DAILY will you be ready to face a world that is ready to knock you off the chair. See ya here tomorrow, I hope.

OK so how much drama would be avoided if you could get everyone in your high school (and youth department for that matter) to read and REALLY understand these first 5 verses? At the same time though, don’t you dare start thinking in your head “Yeah this one guy/girl I know should read this!!”; because if that is where your mind went, go read it again and insert yourself in there!

You see we have to take care of our own spiritual well being before we can even think about helping someone else. Its like the old saying goes, if you’re pointing a finger at someone there are always three more pointing back at you! (if you don’t understand that saying, then point at something and look at your hand)

The other 9 verses show us not only the best way to ask God for something, but also the fact that He already knows what you need not what you want. Notice the difference. Why do you think there is a difference?

I would love some feedback from you guys on this blog entry. What are your thoughts here? What has God shown you this far in the Sermon on the Mount?

Worry is a problem for everyone. We’ve talked about this before (on this blog actually!), but Jesus really gets down to it in this passage. Its really the overall theme of this section. We get so wrapped up the everyday things that don’t really matter, don’t we? It’s so easy to do if we aren’t thinking about it. Again I come back to Yoda; “You must unlearn what you have learned.”

If you’re a worry wart, and I know a lot of you are, then maybe you need to read this passage once a week or more for a while. When we learn to let go and when it really clicks in our heads that He is in control no matter what, suddenly our problems in life don’t seem so bad. I’m not saying they will go away and everything will be great all the time. In fact Jesus said at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount that life was going to be hard at times and how we should handle it. But the worrying will go away and you will really see that He was running His plan the whole time! Will you let Him? THEN STOP WORRYING! :-)

The first few verses continue with the theme from yesterday about our heart and our actions. If you are doing good deeds just so others can see you and say what an awesome christian you are, God doesn’t honor that. Giving should be about giving…period! Not about the pat on the back we might get from others.

Jesus then teaches us how to pray. He begins, again, by addressing our motive and our heart when we do pray and then gives us a sample prayer. Notice where He starts and where He ends. He begins with honoring God and putting Him in His proper place. Its the idea of “He is first, I am second.”

Verses 14-15 are heavy. Very heavy. Yet are still, when you really break it down, dealing with the internal battle that each of us fight every day! Forgiveness is a huge part of that! And more importantly, its not an option. We must forgive.

You can hide your true feelings from the world and do good things “seemingly” for God, but if you are really loosing the battle on the inside, you can’t hide it from God. The amazing things about God is that He doesn’t want you to hide it from Him. He wants you to take it to Him and let Him handle it. I pray that the Holy Spirit would speak to you right now and you would do that if you need to. If you don’t, I promise you’ll fall of the chair sooner or later.