January 5th: Genesis 10-11, Psalm 11-14 and Matthew 7

If you’re a morning person, go ahead and skip down a paragraph or two.  I’m serious.  This introduction is just going to be me complaining, which I suppose after reading three more Psalms is actually a good thing.

I have to go to work today.  Shocking, I know, that whole Monday thing. But it’s my first day back after starting this project.  I got up at six to stick with the plan.  Not a fan of the getting up early thing, especially after sleeping till 10 AM for two weeks.  Something about the genealogies before eight… I think Moses looks down from heaven laughing at all the New Year resoluters every January.  Nonetheless, the almost-thirty-me must have more will power than the thirteen-year-old-me.

I’m sure more distractions are in store. 

Today, I completed of the Sermon on the Mount (it’ll pull a Terminator in Luke 7).  The beginning of this sermon is an interesting set up for the end.  At the tail end, Jesus says this:

“Not everyone that says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

Like a chapter earlier, we were all warm and fuzzy and blessed-are-thes and then boom this elbow drop.  The crazy scary thing is that Jesus doesn’t say, “on that day a small handful of crazy overzealous thought-they-were-saved-but-were-really-just-nuts-Bible-thumpers will say, ‘Lord Lord.’”  No! He says, “many.”  Wouldn’t it make sense that these people were praying that they were actually seeking the will of the Father in heaven?  How did they miss the train and more importantly, how do I keep from being in this group?

This is one of those times I wish I could have been Peter or John and pulled Jesus aside for a quick definition.  “Jesus, hey, great sermon.  You should get that transcribed.  Filled in all the blanks in the bulletin.  Except for that last one… What was that about workers of lawlessness?”