Ponderize Scripture: Matt 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
Monday 12/28
Matt 6:1-34, vs. 1-4 "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them...[to get the] glory of men." What motivates me to do good, to show love to God and my fellowman or to get praise, power, acknowledgement from men? "That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly." I don't know what "reward thee openly" means but maybe I should take away that the Lord loves us and will stand by us. v. 6"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret;" I feel like this is a very intimate setting. Being alone must help one to be humble, open, honest with God. v.19-21 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth...but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven...For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." This really makes me want to self-evaluate my life. Do I want temporal things which don't last or spiritual things which do last? I will receive my reward for what I choose. Oh how I want to choose godliness. I feel so much like Nephi in being weak and vulnerable to sin, failure. The Lord can lift us up and make those weak things strong. v.33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness." The things of God need to come first always, in daily life, in monthly life, in yearly life, in mortality. What can I do to better put the Lord first in my life? v.34 "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." I think of this as the 'Thou Shalt Not Worry' scripture. Things will work out. There is enough to do without worrying. Worrying is expending energy over things that may or may not happen in the future. Why is it so easy to worry? How can I put my trust in God that things work out?
Tuesday 12/29
Matt 7:1-14, v.3 "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?" I should look inward at overcoming my weaknesses before looking for other's weaknesses because my weakness may distort my view of their weaknesses and what I perceive as their weakness may not even be true. I love Elder Uchtdorf's bumper stick, "Don't judge me because I sin differently than you." The JST says to not exercise unrighteous judgement. Judgement has its place. v.7 "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" This invitation has always been there. Why do I often not accept that invitation? Why do I often try to figure everything out myself? The Lord is there waiting to bless. Prayer, fasting, priesthood blessings, counsel from family and special mentors are all good ways to ask for help.
Wednesday 12/30
Matt 7:15-29 v. "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." I love the simplicity of discerning truth from error. Moroni 7:13 "...that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God." If something doesn't follow this formula then it should be questioned. This goes for people, activities, feelings, thoughts etc... v. JST 23 "And then will I say, Ye never knew me" This is profound. Christ doesn't depart from us, but we draw away from Christ. Coming unto Christ helps one to come to know Christ. How can Christ mediate for us during the day of judgement if we don't know who he is and what he has done for us. I think the key is feeling the Atonement working in our lives brings us closer to him than anything else. What can I do daily to feel the Atonement in my life? More fervent prayers, more consistent and searching scripture study, more selfless acts of service, continual striving to improve. Oh how the Atonement is true, real, active, powerful, saving, redemptive, empowering, ennobling, strengthening, hopeful...
Thursday 12/31
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf Be Not Afraid, Only Believe "Satan, our adversary, wants us to fail. He spreads lies as part of his effort to destroy our belief." Any sort of doubt or fear comes from the adversary. These stop our progress in this life; it causes a failure to act. "Why would anyone walk through life satisfied with the light from the candle of their own understanding when, by reaching out to our Heavenly Father, they could experience the bright sun of spiritual knowledge that would expand their minds with wisdom and fill their souls with joy?" I love this question. Looking to God opens up the way. This brings me so much hope and desire to look to God! "Those who hold fast to faith are far more impressive than those who give in to doubt when mysterious questions or concerns arise." What do I do when doubts arise? Am I frozen with fear and lean on my own wisdom or do I immediately command Satan to depart and seek the Lord for answers? "Be not afraid, only believe." I just feel so much power in this. Things will work out!
Friday 1/1
Luke 7:18-23, v. 22 "...tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached." This is both physical and spiritual. Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the World! He redeems, strengthens, saves, enables all those who come unto him whether it be physical maladies or spiritual deficiencies. I really like the line..."to the poor the gospel is preached." Those being the humble, truthseekers, meek. Am I poor in spirit? Do I realize that I need a power greater than my own, that there is one who loves me more than I love myself and will guide my life better than I can. The message here is to come to Christ, not to yourself.
Luke 7:36-50, v.47 "to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little." Very interesting principle. If one were to reverse the saying, to whom loveth little, the same little is forgiven, it makes easy sense. Love is a selfless act. The Atonement, which makes forgiveness possible was the ultimate selfless act. This shows the power of love/charity. It seems like this is the ultimate motivation for living righteously and changing my heart and my way of life. Love of self, for a spouse or child or friend or sibling or parent or the Lord causes deep changes in one's life because forgiveness from God is the end state of change. It happens as one's heart is changed. Goal: pray for charity everyday to increase my desires to act for the right reasons.
Saturday 1/2
Luke 11:14-26, v.17 "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth...If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand?" This is a good way to determine whether something is of God or not, does it go against the doctrine of the gospel or not? The same is true of families, communities, wards, organizations, businesses, etc... Unity is key. A good way to judge if something is good or not is to look at the past and see if the present and future are in line with what was done in the past. See also below Matt 12:35.
Mark 3:20-30, JST v. 22-23 "...All sins which men have committed, when they repent, shall be forgiven them; for I came to preach repentance unto the sons of men. And blasphemies, wherewith soever they shall blaspheme, shall be forgiven them that come unto me, and do the works which they see me do." I love this. It is simple and straightforward, Christ is here to save us if we will repent (change) and follow him.
Matt 12:22-37 v.35-36 "A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." Good communication is vital to the success and well-being of all people. Key is to think before speaking. How can I improve my communication? 2-second rule?
Sunday 1/3
Parable of the Sower (way side, stony places, thorns, good ground)
Matt 13:1-23, wayside-v.19 "heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart"
stony- v.21 "dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended."
thorns-v.22 "heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful"
good-v.23 "heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold..."
Mark 4:1-20, way side-v.15 "where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts"
stony-v.16 "when they heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have not root in themselves, and so endure but for a time; afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
thorns-v.18 "such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful."
good-v.20 "such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred."
Luke 8:4-15, wayside-v.12 "they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved."
stony-v.13 "when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away."
thorns-v.14 "when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection."
good-v.15 "in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience."
Wayside-Beware of the Adversary that causes confusion. When a person doesn't understand something particularly about the gospel, Satan try to put thoughts in our hearts to prevent understanding.
Stony-Talking about the gospel can invite the Holy Ghost but if there is no action in applying it in our lives then when hard things happen then we don't look to the gospel or the Lord for help and think it is the cause of our troubles.
Thorns-When the gospel becomes second-place in our lives (wealth, lusts, pleasures). What is keeping me from looking to God first?
Good-receiving means seeking, seeking to understand, understanding means to apply and the results come in varying degrees as are needed, but they always come and show progression and are good.
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