Don't forget!

This is something that I really should do everyday, but I forget to... Therefore, I forget the lessons that I have learned from ABBA.

"Be very careful never to forget what you have seen God doing for you...." (Duet. 4:9)
-->He has been writing this verse on my heart the past few weeks, and so I need to obey it. He says to be "very careful" not to forget what you have learned. Logically, this makes sense. I mean, real wisdom is learning something, remembering it, sharing it, and most importantly, living it.

So, I am going to start sharing...I am going to write out what I learn, how I am going to apply it to my life, thoughts, quotes, etc. Mainly, I want to do this because I want to remember the stuff that I learn. Also, I want it to encourage you (if anyone reads this) to dig into His Word, apply it, and live it. We are all on this crazy journey together...We are all learning together, failing together, and landing in grace together. I apologize if it is hard to follow at times... Sometimes, my heart and mind get something, but I don't know how to put it into words yet... :)

Tonight, I read from Matthew 5:1-8ish. This is what grabbed my attention:

When Jesus saw His ministry drawing huge crowds, He climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to Him, the committed climbed with Him... Arriving at a quiet place, He sat down and taught His climbing companions.
THOUGHTS:
--I imagine Jesus for real having the followers about the size of Joel Osteen's church (football stadium, whatevs) at the beginning of this verse. They are all legit stoked to see what this Jesus guy can do FOR them. They have seen Him heal the blind, etc, and they are wanting something out of it. But then, as Jesus always does when the crowds get huge, He weeds them out. This time, He takes them to a top of a hill to see who is willing to climb the rough terrain with Him. After they get to the top, those are the people that are really wanting to follow Him. Then, He weeds them out again. He definitely isn't an advocate for the Prosperity Gospel.

He says (these are the ones that really stick out to me):
1.) You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God.
--aka, you're blessed when you are about to go crazy b/c life is throwing you too much. You are stressed and broken down... In the midst of brokenness, there is God to hold you and be glorified in your mess.
2.)You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
--This hits home... I have experienced this verse. When I lost my precious Grandpa, I felt like I lost the single most important person in my life...During that storm, I felt ABBA holding me more than I have ever felt Him before.
3.)You're blessed when you get your inside world--your mind and heart--put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
--The past few months, I have seen this. I have been working some huge planks out of my eyes, and as I have, I see God more and people's planks begin to look like specks. You see with grace. You start to see how God is working in people, through people. Also, you start to see what God sees which is rough. I have started to see how religion gets in the way of Him, how "Christians" give less to help those in need than unbelievers, how churches will spend millions on a new church while other churches can't even afford to feed the families in their church. I certainly have been doing some major thinking on those facts.