Actual Reality
Jeremiah 16-18/Matthew 5-7
How to get the most out of Hungry Bible
OT
17:5-10 This is what the LORD says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans and turn their hearts away from the LORD. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, on the salty flats where no one lives. But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit. The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I know! I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.”
NT
5:20 “But I warn you–unless you obey God better than the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees do, you can’t enter the Kingdom of Heaven at all!”
:3 “God blesses those who bless themselves realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them.”
OT Flash Points
“The Lord says…”
The heart is most deceitful & desperately wicked
Who even knows how bad it is?
But I know!
I give all people their due rewards for their actions (not measured with man’s ruler)
NT Flash Points
Happiness is letting God’s nature come through your life
Don’t base your happiness on people’s response to actions & attitudes
“You’ve heard… but I say”
Perspective
Is God’s plan for bringing you back to life good enough for you?