Matthew 19 The Pharisees try to set another test up for Jesus.  Their question this time involves divorce.  Jesus makes it clear to them that divorce is not God's desire, for He designed marriage to be two people, a man and a woman, united to become one flesh.  God, Himself joins a man and a woman in marriage.  Yet, because of sin,  a certificate of divorce was "permitted".  

Even the disciples were stunned by this truth.  They asked Jesus if it was even wise to marry at all!
Jesus answered that the life of celibacy is not one that is easy to accept.

The disciples were also stunned when Jesus made a statement about the difficulty for " a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven."  The teachings and values of their world were so far from God's Word, that the disciples were constantly challenged by what Jesus said.

But, they also learned that when they followed Jesus and gave up everything else, the rewards were great!  The rich young man could not give up his riches.  But, the disciples had given up everything to follow Jesus.  They would one day judge "the twelve tribes of Israel" Jesus told them.  They would have eternal life. As the old song says, "It will be worth it all when we see Jesus!"

The most encouraging words from this passage are found in verse 26,  Jesus said, " With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."   It is hard for the rich to give up their riches.  It is hard for the unhappily married to stay married.  It is hard to give up family and home.. It is hard to follow Jesus.  We are called to lay down our lives and take up our crosses and follow Him.  We must willingly take His yoke.. His love-lined yoke.. and abide in Him. This is the only path to life. He alone has the Words of life and the springs of living water.

Father, all things are possible with You.  We seek You and we yield to You, praying that Your will be done.  Help us, Lord...  Take our lives and let them be.. consecrated all to Thee!  Amen.

Matthew 18    When the disciples ask Jesus "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
Jesus, the King, tells His disciples what true greatness really is...

True greatness is having the humility of a child.
True greatness is receiving a child as if he were Christ, Himself.
True greatness is sacrificing everything that is a stumbling block for others or for yourself.
True greatness is understanding that God's will is to save the lost and keep any from perishing.
True greatness is having mercy.. lovingly confronting the sinner, praying for the lost, and forgiving those who are unable to pay back what they owe you.

Heaven sets the standard for forgiveness. Jesus tells the parable of the king who forgave a great debt for his slave. But, when that slave refuses to forgive a small debt from his fellow slave, the king becomes angry and throws the man in prison.  God has forgiven us our great debts - everything that we owe and can never repay.  Yet, we cannot even forgive a petty debt from our brother or sister.

We bind or loosen on earth.. God has given us that ability. We condemn or forgive.  We offer judgement or mercy.  The thing that we must not forget is that what we do here on earth will be done to us in heaven.  "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy." Ephesians 4:32 "And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you."  And James 2:13 "For judgement will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgement." 

Merciful Father, God and King, I come to honor Your name and to worship You today, with praise and thanksgiving. You have given me life through Christ Jesus. You have given me fountains of Living Water by Your Spirit who fills me.  Thank You!  Praise the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me!  Teach me, lead me, fill me and transform me as I surrender myself to You.  I am Your child and I want to be a faithful servant. Your will be done, Lord. To the glory and honor and praise of Your great Name. In the name of  Jesus Christ I pray, amen.

Matthew 17  What was the purpose of the transfiguration ?   Why did Jesus only take 3 of His disciples up on the mountain with Him?  And why did Moses and Elijah appear?   I only have questions and no answers from this passage...

Peter, James, and John saw Jesus in His glorified body.  John would once again see Him many years later on the island of Patmos,  the same shining face and the same white garments. The three also heard and understood the voice of the Father proclaiming, " This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him."  You would think that from that moment on these three men would never doubt... or deny Jesus again. But, we know that Peter had a struggle with doubt when Jesus was arrested by the Romans.  John seems to stand firmly until the end and James died early as a martyr.  Three different results from the same vision...

The ability of Moses and Elijah to appear on earth is fascinating.  We know that John writes in Revelation 11 about the "two witnesses" who will come in the last days to prophecy.  Some think that it will again be Moses and Elijah.

This "vision" ties the event on the mountain to the end times written in Revelation.  Jesus said in Matthew 16:28 "Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."  Perhaps, He was speaking about John, who would see the full Revelation as he was on that island of Patmos in exile.

I am reminded that the Kingdom of God has come through Jesus Christ and that the full revelation is only a breath away.  As we listen to the news or read the paper, we see that wars and rumors of wars are everywhere.  Evil is filling the hearts of young men in every nation.  Satan and his army are attacking and we must take up the Heavenly armor!

The Truth is that Jesus Christ has all authority over heaven and earth!
It is His Righteousness alone that is acceptable to the Father.
It is the death and resurrection of Jesus that has brought us to peace with our God.
It is His salvation that overcomes!
We must take up our shield of faith.. not the puny faith that cannot accomplish anything.. but the faith that moves mountains and believes that "nothing shall be impossible"!
We also take up the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.. we abide in it by hearing what God says and then doing what He commands!

May we also be alert and looking up.. for the coming of Christ is drawing nigh!

Father in heaven,  come and fill us anew, with the power of Your Spirit.  May we live and walk by Your Spirit to the glory of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Matthew 16  Jesus sat on the mountain side by the Sea of Galilee and healed multitudes of lame, crippled, blind, dumb, and needy people. He had fed 5000 with 5 loaves of bread and 4000 with seven loaves. Yet, the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Him and asked for a sign from heaven!

Jesus would not perform for them..  You can read the skies.. He told them, but You can't see the Truth of God's Kingdom!  Evil hearts veil and blind the eyes of those who will not surrender to God.
Worse yet, these unbelievers spread their lies like yeast spreads through the dough.

The disciples were just beginning to figure out Who Jesus really was.  Finally Peter came to the conclusion that Jesus is the "Christ, the Son of the living God."  But, he could not accept that He would die on a cross and be raised again. Jesus, the Supreme Example, would go on to say that
"anyone"  who wanted to follow Him, would have to follow Him to the cross.

The Kingdom of God won't be entered with spectacular miracles.. but with surrendered hearts.  Self-denial.  Willing self-sacrifice. Even to the point of death.  The salvation of one's soul is more valuable than anything that this life can offer.  The disciples were tested on this.. and we are too.  We are constantly challenged by our Lord to lay down our lives and take up our crosses and follow Him.
It is the narrow way that leads to life.
It is the pearl of great price.
It is the Truth of the gospel.
It is the only way to Heaven.


Father, help us!  We are weak, but You are strong.  Strengthen us by Your Spirit that we might live according to Your will. Protect us from the selfish desires of our flesh and from the lies of the evil one. Lead us and move us so that we might walk in the Truth and Righteousness of our Beloved Savior.  In His name we come. Amen.

Matthew 15  When the Pharisees criticized the disciples of Jesus for eating bread before going through the ritual of hand-washing,  Jesus pointed out to them their own transgression, one more serious than a ritual tradition... they deliberately disobeyed the commandment to "Honor your Father and Mother.. "  This reminds me of the lesson Jesus had taught on the Mount.. about the speck in your brother's eye and the plank in your own...

The Pharisees overlooked their sinful actions, excusing themselves in the name of their traditions, while nit-picking about the disciples.   Jesus didn't defend His disciples, but He used the situation to teach them Truth. The food that goes into ones mouth does not defile a man, Jesus explained,  but what comes out of the heart of man is what defiles him.

If the heart is evil, then what comes out of his mouth will be evil - leading to murder, adultery, theft, lies, and slander. The heart is man's problem, not what he eats or doesn't eat, nor what traditions of men that he does or doesn't do. The problem with the Pharisees was that their hearts were far from God.  Jesus called them "blind guides of the blind".  They did not belong to God the Father, and they would be rooted up and thrown into the fire, unless they repented.

Think about this in light of this weekend's tragic headlines... two mass killings- two out of control, evil hearted young men, who have completely lost touch with Truth.  They may never have heard the Word of God, or if they did, they rejected it and were filled with evil spirits.  Our country is sorrowing over these events, but the vast majority will never come to the Truth.. that Jesus alone can change hearts.   Traditions - medicine, laws, police, politicians, or schools, whatever - cannot change evil hearts.
Only Jesus can.

Father in heaven, You have given to us the riches of Jesus Christ. Riches of kindness and forbearance, patience and grace, wisdom and understanding... and we need to walk in Your Spirit and speak Your Truth to our world.  Help us to be bolder.  Help us to be faithful.  Lead us to share the Good News of the Kingdom. Open blind eyes and transform deceived souls, Lord.  May Your Kingdom come to our world today. Come Lord Jesus!  Amen.

Matthew 14  Three significant events are recorded here:

1 The death of John the Baptist.
2 The feeding of the 5000.
3 Jesus walking on the water and Peter getting out of the boat.

Jesus had little time to mourn the death of His beloved cousin John.  The multitude was relentless and came after Him.  Their needs were great and Jesus alone could meet their greatest needs.  They came for healing and received it.  They needed food, and He miraculously provided it.

Jesus sent the disciples away and then sent the crowd away.  He finally had time alone to go up into the mountain to pray.  He then walked upon the waters, in a stormy sea, to help His disciples.  The Truth of WHO Jesus is was manifested to His disciples in a way that was so undeniable!   Peter took a step of faith, walking on the water.. but his doubts followed him closely..  Isn't that just like us?

We take a small step of faith.. but allow doubts to almost sink us, too.  Hopefully we have learned to do what Peter did.. cry out "Lord, save me!".  Is our immediate response like that of Peter?   May we learn this Truth!  When Peter and Jesus got in the boat together... "the wind stopped".  And everyone in the boat "worshiped Him.."   It is often in the storms of life that we learn that Jesus is right there.. He may be outside the boat, but He will call us to Himself and when we step out in faith, He will catch us.. even if our faith is little and our doubts are sinking us.   May we find that when Jesus gets in the boat with us.. the storm is calmed.. Let us abide in Him!

Jesus, Lord of heaven and earth, Son of God, and Gracious Savior,  we worship You.  It is in You, Christ Jesus, that we come to the throne of Grace to seek help in our neediness.  Father, we come to ask for Your Kingdom to come in power and glory.  We seek Your Kingdom and Your righteousness and rest in all that You alone can provide.  You know our every need.  You know the healing touch we need, the provision of food for each day.. spiritually and physically.  We ask for Your blessing.
We seek to walk in Your Spirit and to abide in You always.  Forgive every sin and cleanse us again, for You are our faithful Redeemer.  We forgive any and all who have sinned against us.  Deliver us from our self-centered ways and desires and from the lies of the enemy.  For it is in Christ's name we pray . Amen.

Matthew 13  Jesus uses parables to describe for us what the kingdom of God is really like...

It is like a mustard seed that is comparatively small but grows into a great tree which is larger than other plants in a garden.

It is like leaven.. which is small, but when it is mixed with meal, changes the whole composition.

It is like a hidden treasure that when found, is worth more than everything else you own.

It is like a valuable pearl, again, worth selling everything else to purchase it.

And, it is like a dragnet, when filled to the full, is evaluated.. the good fish kept and the bad ones thrown out.


Knowing these things, Jesus says, "..every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old." 

Jesus preached that we need to "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; " ( Matthew 6:33)
And He said, "He who has ears, let him hear." ( 13:43)

As disciples of Jesus, we know that there is nothing worth more than His reign and rule in our lives.  He has invited us to "Come" and He offers His "yoke", lined with love.  He rules with glory and power and majesty.  His commands are perfect and His will is always for our good.

We may understand that the kingdom in us is relatively small, but do we recognize that He is making His Kingdom grow and flourish in us?  Do we realize that we "leaven" the world around us? Are we willing to give up everything.. all those things that are fleeting and will pass away.. for the ONE thing that is eternal.. His Kingdom?  Do we acknowledge that we are all subject to His evaluation.. and that only those who are true.. will be saved in the end?

Father in heaven, Maker of heaven and earth, we love You and desire to walk in Your Light and to love as You have loved us.  Fill us with Your Spirit and Your Word.  Give us strength and grace to walk this day in Your paths that we might glorify Your Name.  Amen.