Paul McKenzie

Memory Verse, Tuesday, January 27, Matthew 5:2

"And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,"

Can you imagine? Seeing Christ Himself, speaking these words we so revere? This is what I long for, to hear Jesus, God the Son, speaking to me. Christ, the Savior of my soul, raising me up from the ground, where I will surely be.

Yet, it was His words that separated the saved from the lost. Everyone was amazed at the great works, which drew the crowds to Him. They were already to band together and follow Him. To lift Him up and make Him King! The Messiah, who would crush the Roman power and establish His Kingdom!

Until they listened, and found out that there was first a different message. Not the conquering of kings and nations through force, but conquering hearts through the love and mercy of God. A birth before a kingdom. A death before eternal life.

And when that was truly heard, "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him." (appropriately John 6:66)

I remember, all excited as a baby Christian, jumping headfirst into the waters of the Sermon on the Mount. And when I got up from it, I cried out to myself, "Yikes! I'm drowning!". And even now, when I hear someone say, "I live by the Sermon on the Mount", I know that they have never really read it.

All you need to do is read 5:48: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

And many "works-based" religions in the name of Christ base their faith on trying to make themselves perfect. When I looked at this, after a few months of living as a Christian I realized, "I will never be perfect like my Father which is in heaven."

And that is what this Sermon is about. Jesus shows us what "perfect" is. And there is none who can reach it. David knew it both spiritually and experientially. Paul knew it as well. He quoted David in Romans 3 saying "There is none that doeth good, no not one." That came from Psalms 14 and 53.

And do you know what began those two Psalms? "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God."

And many heard His words, and rejected Him. It culminated at the trial, where Pilate said "Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar". (John 19:15)

And now, I look at Psalm 51:5, which says: "Behold I was shapen in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me."

And reading that, I can begin to understand. And I cry out with Paul saying: "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:24)

And the Sermon on the Mount reveals how truly wretched we are. I hope that as we continue to progress in it, we can see just how wretched we are, and in dire need of deliverance, as He "opens his mouth" and teaches us.

Today if you hear His voice, harden not your heart.

*KJV used unless noted*

Memory Helps

"And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,"

A very simple verse. Take two fingers and touch your mouth as you recite this, and you'll remember that it is verse two. I always use a "five-fingered" hand to remember my chapters five, so I would first open my "five-fingered" hand, then take the two fingers and touch my mouth.

There are many other ways to remember, and some work better for you than others. But when the "left brain" stuff moves to the "right brain", the verse numbers kind of drop out and we can speak it much more fluently. That's always my goal: to make the Scriptures "come to life"!

Now, I use "Noah" as my "memory character for verses 2, so I simply replace myself with Noah, and put him and his ark on that "mat" to remind me that this is in Matthew 5:2.