Day 33: New

 

^{Ok, so the trick here is to not focus on my ugly feet - but on my super cute new St. Patty's Pedicure!  Yes, my nails are green with gold flakes :-D}

^{Every once in a while we deserve new, we deserve pampering, we deserve a fresh start.  Jesus promised to make us new in the eyes of God; through his sacrifice we were given a fresh start and are promised to be pampered with the love and presence of God in this world and in heaven when we pass on.}  

^{What do we have to do to receive these blessings?  We have to open our hearts and minds.  We have to be selfless - we have to live our lives for someone other than ourselves.  It's not good enough to say you're a Christian or to say that you accept Jesus as your Savior - you have to act on it, you have to live your life like it.  Being human, it's impossible for us to do that perfectly - but that doesn't mean that you don't have to try.  It is not just the thought that counts.  Jesus told more than one parable telling us this very directly:}

^{Matthew 7}

The Tree and Its Fruit

¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. ¹⁶ You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. ¹⁹ So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

True Disciples

²¹ “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. ²² On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ ²³ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

Building on a Solid Foundation

²⁴ “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. ²⁵ Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. ²⁶ But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. ²⁷ When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”