Dear Ones,
Hope you had a good weekend! The temperatures have warmed up and so good to catch up and walk outside again with our friends on the trail. This morning I did food prep and made a dessert and soon going to Aldi’s and my exercise class. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Jesus Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. If we could practice all that Jesus taught there, our lives and the world would be radically changed. When our kids were young, I had a friend in our church who was like a mentor to me and like a grandma to our kids. She and I decided to memorize that portion of scripture and we would go berry picking and other places and recite those verses together.
   One thing we discovered was that the kingdom of God was so opposite of that of the world. God’s way is like upside -down from man’s, for to be great in God’s kingdom we must be a servant to all, the last will be first and He must increase and we must decrease, etc. The world’s way is to seek the best places, to be first, to be right etc.
   So, when we pray, “Thy kingdom come and His will be done”, if we really mean what we say, we will demonstrate His kingdom in our own lives in obedience, being humble, gentle, showing mercy and all those things that belong to His kingdom. Wow! It also means loving imperfect people and that is often a big challenge. Love is more than a feeling, it is also an action for His love will flow out of our lives to others as we experience His unconditional love for us. As it says in I John 3:18 (Amplified), “Little children (believers, dear ones), let us not love [merely in theory] with word or with tongue [giving lip service to compassion], but in action and in truth [in practice and in sincerity, because practical acts of love are more than words].”
   How do we live out the Sermon on the Mount? We have to have open hearts to the Lord, and let the Holy Spirit have His way in our lives. He wants to help us die to self and live for Him. Each time we choose Him rather than self, His kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven. By how we live our lives should be a demonstration to the world whose kingdom we belong to.
Challenge for today: Ask the Lord to help you put the Beatitudes into practice in your life (Matt. 5:2-12)
Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy