Matthew 12-20

For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.  The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil tings out of the evil stored up in him.  But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken.  For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.  Matthew 12:34-37

That is a tough pill to swallow....but I believe it with my whole heart!

This is the seed sown along the path.  The one who receives the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hearts the word and at once receives it with joy.  But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time.  When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.  The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.  But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it.  He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.  
Matthew 13:20-23...The Parable of the Sower

I think that I have been the one on the rocky soil for most of my life.  My heart was open to the word and I embraced it but it only lasted a short time b/c I didn't have strong enough roots.  When tough times rolled in I didn't have a solid foundation to guide all of my decisions.  I hope that I am moving closer to the healthy soil.  My knowledge of scripture is helping my foundation. 


Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand.  What does into a man's mouth does not make him unclean but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him unclean."   
Matthew 15:10-11

This next part is from when Jesus predicts his death and tells the disciples.  
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.  "Never Lord!"  he said.  "This shall never happen to you!"  Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan!  You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."  "If anyone would come after me, he would deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  for whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it."  Matthew 16:22-23, 24-25

I remember when our preacher taught on this part of Matthew.  It was a very powerful sermon.  What if Peter would have talked Jesus out of being crucified?  What would that mean for so many eternal lives?  How happy Satan would have been.  

The verse Matthew 17:20-21:  I have had this verse underlined in my bible for awhile.  It is one of the few verses I have been able to memorize.  I went to my final ultrasound when I lost the pregnancy with the twins with this verse written on my hand.   I know it well.....but reading the whole story a few days ago brought some new perspective to the verse.  Basically a women brought her very ill and possessed son to Jesus and asked him to heal him.  She told Jesus that she had asked others to heal him and nobody had been able to.  His reply:
"O unbelieving an perverse generation, how long shall I stay with you?  How long shall I put up with you?  Bring the boy here to me." 
He then healed the boy.  The disciples came to Jesus and asked why they could not heal him and Jesus answered,
 If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here to there" and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you.     Matthew 17:20

Reading the whole story made me think about the times that I don't make faith based decisions.  I don't trust what God is leading me into.  I let my emotions, fears, and sinful nature decide for me.  I am one of those people that has little faith.  

For where two or three come together in y name, there am I with them.  Matthew 18:20

I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.  Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?  Matthew 18:32-33

There is only One who is good.  If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.  Matthew 19:20

The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.  
Matthew 20:28