Mk1

Do we pursue Jesus to serve Him OR to be served by Him? Jesus is always popular when He is doing what we want Him to do for us, but how popular is He when He asks us to do things for Him?

Our culture is full of "conditional christians". That is the term I use for anyone who follows Jesus as long as it is good for them. Mostly they are looking to Jesus to meet their needs and to make their life easier. They get excited when Jesus teaches and acts in a manner that benefits them! They applaud Him in mass.

On the other hand, we see "true christians". These are the ones who have actually chosen to follow Jesus regardless of temporal reward. Don't get me wrong. Following Jesus is ALWAYS rewarded. Generally, the greatest rewards are not experienced until our life is finished. This is the pattern of scripture. This is the pattern of faith.

Do we follow Jesus for ourselves? Or are we following Jesus because He is who He says He is.

I believe. Therefore, I choose to follow. Period.

Mt28

Hear God's voice saying, "Good morning!" Respond like the first women who heard Him saying this, "They bowed down and worshiped Him."

In Matthew, Jesus' first resurrected words were, "Good morning!" Wouldn't it be awesome if every believer could invasion the voice of God each morning as they woke up. His second words were, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brothers…" 

All of us should wake up each day hearing the voice of Jesus. We should make our response to His voice an act of worship and obedience. Wouldn't it be awesome if every believer would make this the habit of their life? Wouldn't it be awesome if this was the pattern of our lives?

We are not prepared to fulfill the "Great Commission" of Matthew 28 until we have a pattern of hearing and obeying Jesus every morning. Get up and worship today.

Mt27

Being sorry is not the same as repentance! Judas was "filled with remorse" for what he had done, but he never repented! Instead, his sorrow drove him to more sin…suicide.

Paul taught the Corinthians, "Godly sorry brings repentance which leads to salvation with no regret, but worldly sorrow leads to death." Judas had betrayed innocent blood. His greed, pride and selfishness had driven him to commit an awful sin! He truly felt bad. Yet, his bad feelings, which were intended to bring repentance, led only to more sin! And death! Eternal death.

God has put a conscience in all of us to help us know when we have sinned. Sometimes we don't feel the weight or sorrow of the sin until after we have done it. The question is, "What do we do with the sorrow we feel"? Do we turn to God in repentance and faith or do we compound the sin with even more sin?

Don't be like Judas. When we sin, we should turn to God in repentance and faith. 

Mt26

Extravagance towards this world is wasteful. Extravagance towards God reflects true worship. What are we NOT doing for ourselves so that we can do more for God's kingdom. If we are being "wasteful", is it toward ourselves or God? Where we spend our treasure, reveals our hearts.

This chapter is packed with many events that capture our attention, but rarely do we ponder the life lesson in the first event mentioned in verses 1-16. It is the story of a woman who's life had been changed by Jesus. She gave Him a valuable gift in an extravagant way! The disciples were indignant! Jesus commended her act. Apparently, it was the final act of Jesus that put Judas over the top. He left from that event to cut the deal to betray Jesus!

Immediately after the disciples "talk" about how much they love Jesus and how loyal they will be even unto death. We all know how that worked out. Every one of them fled. Every one of them denied Jesus. They had the right words, but their actions betrayed them.

Once again, the side story is the story! The woman evidenced "true faith". She was the one who actually demonstrated that her faith was real. She was the one who was "doing for one of the least of these". It actually was Jesus in need. She gave her very best. Her gift was an act of worship.

Mt25

Are we being faithful with what God has entrusted to us? Are we giving anything to others because of Jesus?

The kingdom of heaven is about stewardship and generosity. We can't control the amount we have been given. We can control what we do with what we have been given. We have been given much and this chapter is about accounting! God will someday ask all of us to account for what we did with what we were given.

I want to be a faithful steward today. I want to invest my life in what matters. I want to be a generous man today. I want to give to any need that presents itself throughout the day. Who knows? Maybe today I will give a cup of water to "Jesus". Maybe today we will all give an account for what we were given.

Mt24

"Be alert, since you do not know what day your Lord is coming." Jesus is coming back. The table is set. Are we behaving in a way that would indicate that we are ready, waiting and wanting Him to return?

There is a television show, "caught on camera". I have never watched the show, but I believe it is about people doing stupid stuff that is caught on video. I can't imagine a show that people would actually watch if "being caught" meant doing acts of kindness! Why? Mostly because our secrets are not generally connected to righteousness, but rather to sinfulness.

Jesus said, "be alert", "be ready", I am coming back at a time that you least expect it! Faithfulness is reflected in the expectation that Jesus could return today. Do something today that would indicate we actually believe that. 

Live with expectation.

Mt23

Do we practice what we preach? If our kids turn out to be "just like us", will we be proud of who they become? Or, are we trying to teach them to become someone different than who we are?

The religious leaders of Jesus' day were masters at telling others what to do, while ignoring their own instruction. They followed carefully the letter of the law, but completely ignored the heart of God behind the law! With their words they honored God, but their lives were far from Him.

We all know people who are total hypocrites. We all struggle with hypocrisy from time to time. It is difficult to be the person we know we should be. We all want to do and be better. But what separates us from the average Pharisee? What makes our faith authentic and theirs fake? I would suggest two things; honesty and humility.

We need to encourage others and, at the same time, be honest about our own failures. We need to not take credit for any successes we experience, but rather, give glory to God. If it wasn't for Jesus, we would all be really messed up.