Mt23

There are two words that describe people who Jesus rebuked: Greedy, Self-indulgent.  Do you know anyone like that?

A person who is greedy is anyone who continues to have a desire for more.  They are never content with what they have and they are always striving to have even more.  They are never satisfied!  I think greedy would describe most Americans.

A person who is self-indulgent is anyone who's primary concern is with their own personal well being and comfort.  They are always looking to enjoy pleasure and comfort.  Generally they are negative about life and complain anytime things aren't exactly as they want.  I think self-indulgent would describe most Americans as well.

So what about me?  How do I deal with my own greed and self-indulgence?  By letting go of me and choosing to focus on what God wants.  I purpose to let giving be a major part of my finances and I purpose to make serving others a major activity in my life.

How is your giving and serving?

Mt22

We should give to God what is rightfully His...ourselves!  Jesus said, "Render to Ceasar the things that are Ceasar's and to God the things that are God's".  His illustration was that of a Roman coin which bore Ceasar's image.  We know from the beginning that "we" all were made in the image of God.  Give to God what in His!

Jesus followed this statement with the greatest commandment.  "You shall love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might."  What more do you have?  Isn't it just another way of saying the same thing?

I don't know why I continue to want to only give Jesus a "portion" of what is His.  It is like my sons when they are stingy sharing a bite of something that I purchased for them.  Without me they would have nothing AND they want me to feel honored when they give me a BITE!  Something is broken.

Whatever it is, it is broken in me.

Mt21

Is it alarming that people who are most convinced that they understand, are often the ones who get it the least? Have you ever questioned what you think you get?

Rarely did Jesus encounter someone who really "got it."  Generally, almost everyone missed what was so clear.  Those closest to Jesus, the disciples, and those who studied the most, the pharisees, often were the ones who missed it the biggest!  Why should we think we are any different?

Today my prayer is to listen more diligently to the things I have heard!  To look more closely at the things I have seen!  And to be less confident with the things I am convinced of.  What a bummer to be so close and to miss all God has for us.

Mt20

God's ways are absolutely NOT fair! Thank Him today for His undeserved mercy toward all of us. If we got what we deserved, we would be unable to have relationship with Him.  

In the parable of the workers, those who worked longer complained about not receiving more than those who only worked an hour.  They believed they "deserved" more because they had worked more.  Doesn't that seem fair?

Because they had a selfish heart, they quickly forgot they had agreed to work for what they were paid.  Their pay was just and fair.  Whenever the owner was generous toward those who had worked less, they immediately lost the gratitude they should have had and began to despise the owner.

The parable is about God's generosity toward all who will believe in him.  No one deserves His love and mercy, nor can we earn it by doing good works.  It is all about God.

Delight in His love and mercy toward you.  We do not deserve it.

Mt19

If gaining salvation truly required selling all your possessions and giving them away, would you "purchase" salvation? If not, you don't understand the value of what you have been given.  Losing everything to gain Christ would be the greatest investment of your life!

Most christians I know only want salvation if it is free.  They aren't willing to do much because they have it, and they certainly would not have given much to get it.  What a tragedy to love this world so much.

Isn't it true that we live for and pursue what we love and value?  Isn't it true that we would gladly sacrifice what we have to gain something of greater value that we don't have?  If you apply these truths to your faith, what value do you actually place on that?

My hunch is that the value of our faith is actually quite low.  Make a self evaluation today and see what weighs in the balance.  How does you life value your salvation?

Mt18

There is no greater gift than forgiveness! Once you have received it from God, you can give it to others.  If you can't forgive others, you don't understand how much you have been forgiven.

Mt17

How do you think God feels about you?  Would He say, "This is My beloved child, I take delight in them!"?  If you know Jesus, God delights in you...period.

God's ability to delight in us is rooted solely in Jesus.  His righteousness has been given to us as a cover, a thorough cleaning and a complete makeover of sorts.  We could have never earned it, nor can we ever lose it.  It is the gift of God.  In essence, it is God's delight in Jesus transferred to us.

Often when I read the Gospels, I too quickly identify with the disciples who were continually blowing it.  It gives me comfort to know that they were not so different than me.  The focus of the Gospels is not the disciples though!  The focus of the Gospels is Jesus!  Jesus did what He did so I could have what He has!

In a sentence, Jesus did for me what I could have never done for myself so that I could have the delight of God fully resting on me through Him.  God actually delights in me!  Not because of me, but because of Jesus.

It is true.

Mt16

Why are we so quick to forget the great things that God has done in our lives?  Don't forget that God's faithfulness will outlast your lifetime.

I continue to find friends in the disciples.  In fact, I really can identify with them.  It seems as though they understood very little about what was going on right in front of their eyes!  Occasionally they had an insight or two, but generally they missed everything!

In this chapter, Jesus wants to make an illustration about hypocrisy.  The disciples got distracted by the illustration (yeast of the pharisees) and missed the whole point.  Not only did they miss the illustration, they forgot that Jesus could produce bread out of anything.  

Like them, I desire to live for Jesus.  Also like them, I get so easily distracted by the everyday happenings of this life.  My prayer is that I will learn to listen to the lessons Jesus is seeking to teach me.

Listen today.

Mt15

Don't follow your heart! If you do, you will be pursuing evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, immoralities, thefts, lies and blasphemies according to Jesus.

Whoever came up with the phrase "follow your heart" definitely wasn't a bible student.  Jesus clearly teaches that the path the heart will lead us down would be the one directly apposed to Him!  Our hearts are not following God.  They are full of all kinds of evil and will lead us away from God.

Isn't it true that generally whatever is popular in culture is apposed to God?  How many movies and sitcoms are built around the pursuit of "someone's" heart.  It is as though Satan, being aware of Jesus' words, would have us to believe the direct opposite of what is true!

People are NOT basically good.  Our hearts are the factories of evil.  We desperately need the Spirit in our lives to guide us toward God and away from our own wicked hearts.  If you hear your heart speak today...do the opposite!  Most likely that would be the best choice.

Mt14

Do you ever get away by yourself and just spend time alone with God?  Jesus made a habit of spending time alone with His Father.  If that was His practice, it certainly should be ours as well.

As you read the bible and pray every day, seek to make it "time well spent with God".  Far too often bible reading and prayer become routine or habit, rather than quality time with God.  Enter every chapter thinking, "God is speaking to me and I need to hear from Him".

One practice that is alway helpful is to pray before you begin to read.  Prepare your heart to hear from God.  Ready your will to intentionally obey whatever He says.  Become the kind of person who desperately wants to hear from God and spend time with Him every day.

It will change your life.

Mt13

Two enemies of your faith are the "worries of this world and the seduction of wealth".  In this chapter Jesus gives several parables or stories about the kingdom of God.  When He had finished He asked a critical question of His disciples.  He said, "Have you understood all of these things?"  The said, "yes".

Do you think they really understood?  Absolutely not!  In fact, I believe if they were being honest in that moment they would have said something like, "We have no idea what you are talking about!"  They were being more honest when they came with their questions.  They wanted to have Jesus "explain" what He meant with these parables.

I believe it was their pride that blinded them from continuing to ask for explanation.  How would the Bible be different if the disciples would have made a habit of simply asking more questions of Jesus.  Rather than pretending they were totally getting it, wouldn't life had been better for all of us if they had been honest with Jesus?

Don't let your pride keep you from asking questions about things you actually don't understand.  Everyone wants to know the answer!  Be humble enough to ask.  Take the risk of looking stupid.  Don't give in to pride.

Mt12

Have you committed the "unpardonable sin"!  Jesus said that there is a sin that will never be forgiven!  What is that sin?

I have been asked this question many times by many different people.  In fact, when I was a boy, I lived in the fear that I might have committed it!  I heard several sermons on the subject and, in every case, the teacher was seeking to scare the literal Hell out of all of us. I am saddened by the poor understanding of scripture and the poor method of teaching it.

Let me assure you.  If you desire to be saved, you can be.  Jesus died for sinners and there is no sin that is outside of his ability to forgive.  If there were a particular sin that is unforgivable, much of the scripture about Jesus death on the cross would be wrong. The bible teaches in multiple places that all sin can be forgiven.

The answer to the "unpardonable sin" is a simple one.  The sin IS rejection of Jesus.  If someone refuses to get forgiveness from sin through trusting in Jesus, there is no forgiveness for that.  If one dies without faith in Christ, he will be utterly lost and condemned.

Let your fear subside.  Trust Jesus in faith.

Read it here.

Mt11

What do you do with doubt?  Does it push you away from or draw you closer to God?  I used to believe that doubt was the enemy of faith and that if I had any doubt, it was because I lacked faith.

Even John the Baptist doubted!  In one scene he is prophesying, "behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world", and in today's passage he says, "are you the one or should we look for someone else?"  John's doubt was not a lack of faith, it was the evidence of his desire for faith!

Everyone in the scripture who had great faith, including John, Abraham, Isaiah, Jeremiah, David, etc., had moments of doubt.  Sometimes it was because of their doubting that they did destructive things.  Often God would reenforce their need to have faith in Him in the midst of doubt!

I believe doubt is not the enemy of faith!  It might be what God uses to actually strengthen your faith.  Faith is not without reason.  God is not afraid of your questions.  Faith is required to know and love God, but it is not mindless, doubtless faith!

Ask away.

Read it here.

Mt10

Jesus promised that everything that is hidden will be exposed in due time!  If you are covering sin, it is only a matter of time until all is revealed.

Since this is true, why not come clean today?  The cancer of unconfessed sin will only destroy your joy and make your relationship with Jesus strained.  His desire is for you to confess and forsake your sin, not to harbor and hide it.  Consider the bugging of the Holy Spirit the incentive you need to step into the light!

The fear of men keeps us from truly being honest with men.  Especially when we have a sin that we are embarrassed about.  Jesus would have us to consider man's opinion way less and consider God's desires above everything.

Who will you listen to today?  What will you do?

Read it here.

Mt9

Be an answer to Jesus' prayer request today.  He said, pray for the Lord to send out workers in His harvest.

The stories in this chapter always amaze me.  There is a wide range of eclectic stories, all with the same theme...  When Jesus comes around, He changes everything!

My question to you is, "What change has Jesus brought to your life today?"

Read it here.

Mt8

"What kind of man is this? -even the wind and the sea obey Him!" - the disciples.  Jesus was no ordinary man, He was the creator of the wind and sea!

Why is it that generally we wait until we are desperate to cry out to God?  Sometimes, even in the midst of storms, we still don't cry out God!  Shouldn't we learn from the scriptures that Jesus deeply cares for us and that we should bring everything to Him?

I want to be a man of pray.  In the process of following Jesus, I would hope that every aspect of my life would be guided by Him.  When storms come, I want my first response to be to talk to Jesus about it.  I want Him to be my first conversation in trial and blessing.

He cares, about everything!

Read it here.

Mt7

Spiritual disciplines are not "events", they are lifestyles! We are to continually be praying, learning, and pursuing God.  

I know a lot of people who are disappointed in their relationship with God.  It is without exception that these people are the ones who have invested very little time into that relationship.  They neither know God or what His word teaches about life and living.  They want to use God for their own desires.

Have you discovered that the more you pursue God, the less you care about many things?  That has been the story for me.  It is not that I care less about life, it is that I care less about the insignificant things in life.  The things that really matter are the things that God cares about.

One primary way that we can evaluate our relationship with Jesus is to evaluate the things we care about.  When we are truly in love with someone, we care about what matters to them.  When we are truly serving someone, what they want is WHAT we give ourselves to.   

What does my life say that I truly care about?

Read it here.

Mt6

What would your secret life tell me about you?  Jesus said it is what we do in secret that exposes our hearts.

Often we do "righteous things" so that others will see us.  In fact, many only do righteous things WHEN others are looking.  And if others are not looking, they are quick to tell everyone what they did.  Do you know anyone like that?  Jesus says their reward is only what men will give them.  What can a man give that last?...NOTHING.

On the other hand, Jesus was encouraging His followers to do what they do for God!  He sees in secret and He rewards in eternity!  His eyes are always on our lives, seeing the good and the evil.  What role does His presence play in your life?  It should be everything.

Live your life for Christ!  He sees.  Even in secret!

Troy

Mt5

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. - Jesus

What do you hunger for?  What do you pursue?  It is your pursuits that define your desires and it is those things that tell you who you really are.  As you examine your desires, are you happy with what you find?

In this chapter Jesus is seeking to give His disciples true instruction on living.  Living, not for this world, but for the world that is to come.  It looks quite different.  It definitely is not "fitting in" or the norm.

Examine your heart today and make sure you are pursuing Jesus!

Read it here.

Mt4

When you are struggling with temptation, remember all the times that you have succumbed in the past and the results that followed... regret!

Jesus was tempted like us.  He never yielded, unlike us! I find this chapter one of the most interesting in the bible. Look more closely at the temptations:

1. After fasting 40 days, he became hungry!  Then Satan tempted him to use his power to turn stones into food.  I would have fallen on day 3, or 2!

2. Then Satan challenged whether or not God would actually protect Him from danger, and challenged Him to test God!  I often push that limit.

3. And finally Satan actually offered Him greater earthly power if He would worship him!  Satan offers that lie to us all. When we pursue this world it is worshiping Satan.

How will you be tempted today?  What will you do?

Say no today.

Read it here.

Mt3

 "Don't presume yourselves to be God's children if you don't live like it! The way you live indicates WHO'S child you are." -John the Baptist

I think I would have really liked John.  He seems to be my kind of guy.  Living in the wild,  eating crazy things, telling it like it is.  His office was outdoors and he did the majority of his work close to or actually in the river!  Now that is "live action" ministry.  

He also seemed to be put out by "posers".  When a crowd gathers, there is always those who what to be considered among the true followers who are actually just there to be seen and recognized.  They don't feel as though they have anything to confess, but they certainly want to hear the confession of others.  They consider themselves "good", but their hearts are consumed with deceit.  Self deceit is the worst kind.

It was this group that John boldly confronted.  He knew that Jesus was coming and he was preparing the hearts of God's people to receive Him.  Who is prepared?  Anyone who recognizes that they are a sinner and in desperate need of a Savior.  John himself knew of his own need.

Who are we today?

Read it here.

Mt2

King Herod was a evil man! When his rule was threatened by the birth of Jesus, he responded in murderous rage, killing every male child 2 and younger!  There was weeping and great mourning over the loss of innocent lives.....AND THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN!

Today, under "modern leadership", innocent lives are taken daily through abortion!  Technology has enabled us to see, almost at conception, when a child has been given, yet we are quick to call it something other than a child if we are inconvenienced by this new life. Rather than calling this "murderous rage", we call this choice!!!!!  Our country and the world should be weeping, mourning, and refusing to be consoled until it stops.

For 40 years this travesty has continued in our country, but at a far greater level. God help us. According to some Herod's evil likely killed as few as 20 babies (less than Sandy Hook) and most probably did not number in the hundreds.  In single counties in Iowa, according to actual records, over a thousand babies are aborted every year!  There should be weeping and mourning.

Value life today!  Don't call Herod's evil exceptional.  It would be common place in today's culture.

Read it here.

Mt1

Read the NT with me in 2013!  Let's do this together.  God help us learn and obey your truth!

Jesus came to be Immanuel. God WITH us.  Do you experience His presence in your life everyday?  He not only desires to be "with" you, His desire is to be "in" you.  Jesus came as a baby born of a virgin.  After He accomplished His work on earth, He sent the Holy Spirit to be "in" all who believe.

Joseph and Mary both had a visit from God.  He spoke to them through an angel.  Today God is still speaking to His people daily.  He does this primarily through His word as we read and study it.  He also speaks to us through His spirit.

Like Mary and Joseph, we need to be listening to God's voice, but more importantly we need to be obeying everything that He tells us to do.  Make 2013 a year of listening and obeying God!  Make it your best year yet.

Read it here.