Matthew 18:1-10 (As a Child)

¹ At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
 ² He called a little child and had him stand among them. ³ And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
   ⁵ “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. ⁶ But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
   ⁷ “Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! ⁸ If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. ⁹ And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.  ¹⁰ “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

There is a very clear image in my mind of a painting I saw as a young girl portraying Jesus sitting on a large rock surrounded by children.  There are children in his lap, children on the ground in front of Him, children standing next to Him, and even a couple children teasing each other over in the corner.  The picture is full of laughter, smiles, joy, safety, and silliness.  As a young mind, even I could understand that Jesus loved children and wouldn't send them away!  That image is one that helps me to form the way I treat children.


But something happens to us doesn't it?  Life happens, doesn't it?  And now it's so easy for us to go to  work, come home, clean the house, make food, and go to bed...over and over and over.  Have you ever had a moment where you've stopped and asked yourself where is my laughter, smiles, joy and silliness?  I know where it went.  You have gained information.  You have gained the information that life is not always fun, someone is not providing for you anymore but you must go work and pay bills, and people you love have gotten really sick and died or lost their jobs or their marriages.  You may have also gained knowledge from books -- you have an education now, right?  You are more enlightened than you used to be and so you don't believe the foolishness that you clung to as a child.  You know various philosophies and agendas, and perhaps you can give your validated opinion on anything whether people want it or not.  Then we take this new-found "knowledge" and start holding ourselves up as smarter, more well-read, more experienced, and more mature, and we begin to question whether people we know and some people we don't know really know as much as we do...and sometimes even if God really knows what He's doing because from our knowledge it should be done this way.  And then bada-bing: we no longer even resemble children anymore.


Children approached Jesus not even knowing what they did or did not know for they knew (as I knew as a child) that most people know much more than they do -- and that doesn't even matter to them!  They had no knowledge, or money, or anything to offer Him.  They just wanted to be with Him, to climb up into His lap and listen to Him.  He might ask them questions, and then they would answer.  He might play "Tickle Monster," and they would giggle and laugh and squirm in His lap.  They had a full trust in Him, because they knew there was absolutely no reason to fear when they were with Him.  In this security, He could wrap His arms around them and tell them how much He really loves them.  And they could take their chubby, dirty, 4-year old hands and fingers up to His face, feeling the roughness from a day's worth of stubble, look into His eyes and say with unrestrained love back, "I love you, too, Jesus."   They would walk away with laughter, smiles, joy, safety, and a sense of silliness and fun.


I challenge you today.  Enter your time with the Lord with as little as you "know" but rather with a desire to love on Him and to receive love from Him, to have Him ask you questions and then you answer back, to share something funny with Him knowing that it makes Him smile and laugh, too, and to soak up who He really is until you can say with unrestrained love back, "I love you too, Jesus."


He is not impressed with our knowledge, our experience, our degrees, our money, our positions, and our puffed-up thoughts of ourselves.  Sure, He gives us the ability to learn and to desire knowledge, but it was never meant to be an idol in our lives.  May we instead approach His throne with humility, as is referenced in verse 4 above.  And may we not be so wrapped up in our knowledge, our money, or anything else that we think matters that we get off track of what God's design is and lead others down that same wrong track with us...for there are great consequences if we do this passage says.  Instead...humility, my friends.


If we want to really be wise, not just full of knowledge, we need humility.  Proverbs 11:2 says,
"When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom."

Isaiah 66:1-2 says,
"This is what the LORD says:    “Heaven is my throne,
   and the earth is my footstool.
Where is the house you will build for me?
   Where will my resting place be?
² Has not my hand made all these things,
   and so they came into being?”
            declares the LORD.
   “This is the one I esteem:
   he who is humble and contrite in spirit,
   and trembles at my word."

Lord, you are God.  You have created all things and in You all things hold together.  Lord, I pray you would soften our hearts this morning.  Teach us how to be humble and how to follow you with a contrite spirit and a deep desire for Your Word.  I am sorry for the times that I think my knowledge is superior to someone else's or even to Yours, Lord.  Instead, I long for wisdom that only comes from You.  Forgive me, Lord.  Help me remember to come to You as a child does and to yearn for all that You desire.  Lord, I give YOU all the glory.

We Did It!!!

Well friends, today marks the 90th post since I started this Journey in late April.  The Lord has REALLY used this season of my life to bring me through some storms, celebrate with me in the sunshine, and teach me many things along the way!  It is amazing what we learn when we spend time in His word, and I'm coming to think that the morning is such a great time to do it...go figure.  Just as we give the firsts of our money to the Lord, I love the idea of giving the firsts of my day to Him in sacrifice as well.  And He responds when we do this.  This shouldn't surprise me because the Lord is calling out to His people all throughout the Bible -- He will give us good gifts when we spend time with Him (more joy, less stress, more hope for the future).

Let's take a look at the verse that is the namesake of this blog: Psalm 1.

¹ Blessed is the man
   who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
   or sit in the seat of mockers.
² But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
   and on his law he meditates day and night.
³ He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
   which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
   Whatever he does prospers.  ⁴ Not so the wicked!
   They are like chaff
   that the wind blows away.
⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
   nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
 ⁶ For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
   but the way of the wicked will perish.

Notice the bolded parts of that Psalm (my doing).  This challenge was because of Pastor James MacDonald who I listen to on my iPod while I run.  The Bible is crucial for our growth in the Lord, so he challenged us to a 90 day journey:

After the first 30 days, I would be disciplined (setting the alarm earlier is just plain hard to do!),
After another 30 days, I would start to desire getting up to read the Word,
After the last 30 days, I would DELIGHT in the Word...just as we see in Psalm 1!!

And may I tell you...he was right!  I am amazed at what I'm learning about being a Christian, about Jesus Christ Himself, and how all of this can apply to my life.  It's incredible what happens when we can read the Word and then meditate and think on it for a while.  The Lord speaks to us that way!

I challenge you.  Start doing this.  My 30 days were not consecutive, but I had to choose to keep going...and now here we are, and I am a DIFFERENT person!  I will never go back!

Here is the link to my original blog post -- I encourage you to read it.  You CAN do it!
http://psalm1walk.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-it-all-began.html

May you be blessed in the reading of His Word,
Molly

Matthew 17:17-20 (Little Faith)

4 And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, ¹⁵said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. ¹⁶And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him." ¹⁷And Jesus answered, "O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me." ¹⁸And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. ¹⁹Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" ²⁰He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."

The disciples just asked Jesus why they were unable to cast out the demon, and He tells them it's because of their little faith!  Again, I am flabbergasted by the fact that the disciples see Jesus, all that He does, and the miracles He performs, and they STILL lack faith!  How can that be?  I don't know for sure, but would you allow me to give a few wonderings?

I wonder if they are battling the thought that some of the miracles are just coincidences?  Do we do that?  Someone is healed from a illness or it progresses healing quicker than expected and we think, well, that's just coincidence.  Remember that James 1:17 says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father..."  Whatever good is happening in your life is not a coincidence, my friend.  It's a GIFT from your Lord!  Believe that!  Don't allow satan to trick you into believing it was just a coincidence!

I also wonder if they have a hard time trusting in Jesus because they know Him so well.  Let me expand.  I sometimes wonder if our evangelical church has swung the pendulum too far the other direction.  Not too long ago, our nation revered God's majesty to the point where they lost all personal relationship with God.  But now, I wonder if the Church has become such close "friends" with God that we have lost sight of how powerful and majestic He really is!  Much like as a teacher, you can't be "friends" with your students or a parent can't be "friends" with their child because the lines of authority become blurred.  Yes, God loves you so much and desires a personal relationship with you, but He also wants you to remember Who He is in His entirety.  He's not just your buddy -- He's SO much more than that!  When we fail to recognize this, we fail to believe what He can really do, and we lack faith.  Remember you God:
²³ For the LORD your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The LORD your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. ²⁴ He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God.” Joshua 4:23-24

Nothing is impossible in our lives because of the God we serve!  We must have faith.  Not in anything that WE can do, but fully and completely in what God can do.  Your God is the same God that raised Jesus from the dead!  No other god or person has or ever will do that!  So, let me assure you, your current circumstance is not the one exception that God can't resolve.  You do not have the one situation that God cannot change!

Pray to your God, the One who raised Jesus from the grave, the One who parted the Red Sea, the One who heals your diseases, the One who restores your broken marriage, the One who calls your wayward child home, the One who has chosen to leave the comfort of Heaven to come to Earth and die for you so that you might know Him and be saved.  That is your God, dear one.  Ask Him to give you the faith you need, and He will do it.

Mathhew 16:21-28 (Assisting Satan...Are You?)

²¹ From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
 ²² Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
 ²³ Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
 ²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. ²⁶ What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. ²⁸ I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Did you realize that even as Christians, we can be a stumbling block to the gospel and Jesus Christ?  It amazes me here that Peter, who would soon become one of the greatest Bible teachers and writers, would be called, by Christ, a stumbling block!  I think that would be the worst -- to hear Jesus say to me, that I am being used against Him!  Notice, he doesn't use Peter's name though.  Peter says the words to Jesus, but then Jesus rebukes satan.  If you have committed your life to Christ, you belong to Christ and have His spirit within you.  So how can satan be using us?  He whispers in our minds and hearts.

Remember what satan did in the Garden to Eve?  God had distinctly commanded her to not eat from the tree.  And what did satan do?  He got her to question what God said.  In Genesis 3:1, we read, 
"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”  See, he places a question in our minds, and instead of remembering what we KNOW, we begin to wonder if we've been wrong all this time.  Thus, what happened to Peter.  When Jesus tells him that He will be killed by the officials, Peter questions with, "Never, Lord.  This shall never happen to You."  Or as the Message says, "Impossible!"  I wonder if it's with somewhat of an arrogant tone because, though the Lord never sinned, He was tempted.  Perhaps, Jesus, knowing who He was and the power He had, was tempted by pride to think it was above Him for these things to happen, or perhaps He was just dreading the pain and separation from God He would experience.  Regardless, Jesus was tempted to believe something, and satan used Peter to stir that temptation in Jesus.  We think Peter's motives must have been somewhat good, because I'm sure Peter would have preferred that Jesus not die; He loved Him!  So how can this be so terrible?

I love how The Message puts the next few verses.  Compare them to the NIV translation above (verses 24-26), "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?" 

When everything within us cries out, "No!", we must remember that God's plans are larger than ours.  Sometimes His plans include death:  death of a loved one, death of a job, death of an addiction, death of a dream.  But His plans are ALWAYS plans to prosper us, give us hope and a future (Jer. 29:11).  Satan will try to whisper in our ears, "You can't live without that.  What does God think He is doing?  You are not going to make it without that."  But those are the lies we believe.  When we are stuck in what is being taken away, we are not walking forward in the plan God has for us as individuals and as all of humanity.

When my mom died, and even still two years later, I will occasionally have a thought pop in my head that I'm beginning to recognize:  it's the whispers of satan.  He causes me to question God's goodness and love.  Just this Saturday, my dad re-married.  He married a lovely woman named Jackie, and I can see the excitement and joy all over my dad's face.  Jackie and her 13 year-old son are just as much a part of God's plan as I am.  I still miss my mom terribly, I can't even describe it.  But more than ever, I am beginning to also see how God can redeem and restore that which was lost (my mom).  More and more, I sense that God is not just doing something for Dad, Jackie, and her son, in giving them to each other, but God is also doing something for ME!  I have grown tremendously in my relationship with the Lord in the past two years, and even more in the past six months because in my questions God has given me the faith to turn to the Lord (thankfully) rather than something else.  I know that losing my mom is not what I would have chosen, but I also see the goodness of the Lord in my life as I'm learning life lessons and more about my relationship with the Lord than I would have if she were still here.  I truly believe that!  When I was meeting with a mentor of mine this past week, she said, "Molly, if your mom could have seen the growth in you in these past years as she was still lying on her death bed, I believe she would have willingly said, 'I will die so that Molly will come to know the Lord in that way'."  I believe so, too!  It has been and continues to be a refining process in my life.  The flames do hurt sometimes, but I believe that I am seeing the goodness of the Lord in the midst of the flames.  I am letting go of the plans I had for my own life, which included having my mom around for another 50+ years, in order that I might have the Lord's plans and purposes in my life.

Where are you today, loved one?  What do you need to let go of in order to not be a stumbling block in what God wants to do in your life and in the lives of the people around you?  My prayer for you this morning is that you would not believe the whispers of the evil one in your head and question the Lord's plan for you.  He LOVES you, dear one.  "We know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purposes" (Romans 8:28).  In ALL things, He is working for the GOOD.  It might be work according to HIS purposes and not ours, but regardless, it is for YOUR good.  Can you believe that today?

In the above verses, Jesus tells us that if we want to follow Him, we have to deny ourselves (I wanted mom to stay here, just as Peter didn't want Jesus to die).  We have to deny our desires!  We have to lose the plans we have for our own life, in order that we might find true life and joy in Him.  It's true, my friends.  And we don't need to be going after the things of this world which gain us nothing, but just steal our soul!  This is the design He has for us, and may I assure you, it is GOOD.

Let go of it.  Trust your Lord who loves you.  Then get ready...He is going to do something big that you wouldn't believe even if you were told!  (Habakkuk 1:5)

Matthew 16:5-12 (Men and Food)

 ⁵ When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. ⁶ “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
 ⁷ They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.”
 ⁸ Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? ⁹ Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? ¹⁰ Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? ¹¹ How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹² Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. 

I hope you can get a little chuckle from the Word today, because I sure did!  I had the biggest laugh out of Scripture that I have ever had!  But, I also was reminded of a powerful truth.

So, if you read the four verses from yesterday, you'll remember that Jesus has just had a brief discussion with the Pharisees and Sadducees.  It's right after this, RIGHT after this, and Jesus and his disciples have left where they were and started boating across the lake.  The disciples begin to get hungry and they realize that they've forgotten to pack bread to eat.  Knowing men, this is probably a major issue (my husband asked me around 8am this morning what we wanted to have for LUNCH today!  Needless to say, food is a big deal).  So, the disciples are talking about their hunger and wishing they'd packed some bread, and Jesus says in reflection of what just happened, “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (italics mine)


Well, the poor men, all they can think about is their hunger, and so the Bible says, "They discussed this amongst themselves and said, 'It is because we didn't bring any bread.'"  I am seriously laughing out loud right now.  Can't you see them?!  They are talking about being hungry and how they wished they'd brought bread, and then Jesus makes a comment about "yeast" and they all stopped in mid-sentence, turned and looked at Jesus with eyebrows up and eyes wide, then slowly turned and looked at each other as if they're thinking "He caught us.  How did He know that we forgot to pack lunch?" 


Then, "Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked," (and I can picture Him chuckling as He says), “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread?"  He is GOD, for cryin' out loud!  Don't they understand that He even used the word 'yeast' on purpose?!  He is aware of what they are saying the verse says!  I'm sure Jesus had to be saying this with a smile on His face.  Because here they are concerned about maybe having to skip lunch, and Jesus Christ is with them!  He says, "Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?  Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?"  How quickly we forget, don't we?  I often think, well, if I had been a disciple, it would have been so much easier to believe and follow Jesus because they were physically with Jesus.  But even the disciples have quickly forgotten what Jesus did!  How can they do that?  Did they think it was coincidence that thousands of people were fed those two different days?  If Jesus fed thousands, surely He will make sure the twelve of them don't starve!  

But that's not even the point.  Then Jesus says, "How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  They were so focused on what their bodies were saying to them and what they didn't have have that they missed what Jesus was really trying to say to them!  Does that ever happen to you?  You might not even know if it has!  But I wonder if we are ever so caught up in the momentary troubles that we miss out on what Jesus is really trying to do in our lives and what He wants us to learn in the moment.  If this was easy for the disciples to miss Jesus' point, how much more easy and often do we miss it?

Then, finally their eyes were opened, and "Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Remember that in verse 1 it says the Pharisees and Sadducees were trying to test Jesus.  They (the Pharisees and Sadducees) are the little bit of yeast in a great batch of dough (the community), and their little words of doubt and unbelief could and will have an enormous impact on the people around them.  Jesus warns the disciples to be careful of this.

Don't you think the disciples probably felt just a little foolish after they realized that Jesus wasn't talking about their bread?  But feeling foolish isn't a bad thing -- it's what teaches us the importance of changing our behavior for next time!  Hopefully next time, they remember with Whom they are, and maybe, just maybe, they will focus on the greater picture rather than their momentary concerns when Jesus is trying to teach them something.  AND...I hope they also remember that Jesus can and will meet all their physical needs.  Even lunch.

Thank you for humoring me, Lord.  You know that I desire to follow You, but sometimes I just can't seem to get my mind off of "lunch."  I pray that I would be consistently mindful of You and choose to take just one step in Your direction today.

Matthew 16:1-4 (Signs from Christ)

¹ The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.
 ² He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ ³ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. ⁴ A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away. 

This is a short but powerful passage in Matthew this morning.  What sticks out to me most is that the Pharisees and Sadducees were on opposing sides when it came to principles and conduct. They had very different beliefs!  YET, when it came to the cause of Christ, they were united in their efforts against Him.

Is that not the truth?  We may really not get along with someone...until we find out that we both dislike the same thing!  Not LIKE the same, but DISlike.  If we can both complain about our tough boss, or the annoying co-worker, or the family member that rubs us the wrong way, then we finally found something in common.  But surely, joining sides over negativity is often a quick spiral downward for both of us -- oh my, how I have been there!  Just imagine if the Pharisees and Sadducees, with all of their scriptural knowledge, could have joined WITH Christ in His efforts to reach lost people.  Can you even imagine the kind of impact and influence they could have had on the world?  Wow!  Yet, God knew this would not be the case.  It's no surprise to Him that they chose the opposite, but let us learn from them that we might be able to serve God and influence the world for His fame in our life times.

The other part of this passage that I want us to see this morning deals with their desire.  They asked Jesus to show them a "sign from heaven."  Scripture says they were testing Him to prove His authority.  Yet, had Jesus not been giving them so many signs?  He fed thousands (twice) with just a couple fish and a little bread; he healed MANY sick and ill people; He turned water into wine!  Yet, these were not what they desired.  They wanted something big and flashy and magical!  I wonder if we have ever done that.  Have any of us asked God for something and He answers us, but not in the big, flashy way we wanted, but in a smaller, quieter answer.  God could certainly do big and flashy if He wanted, but sometimes He also just answers us in the quietedness in our souls.

Jesus answers them that their sign is the sign of Jonah, who was in the belly of a fish for three days and then was released.  Does that remind you of anyone?  The only thing that truly sets Christ apart was His resurrection!  No other "god" or being has conquered the grave, my friends!  THIS is our God!  Why do we need to ask for any other sign than that?  Instead, ask the Lord for more faith, that you might believe it in the depths of your heart.

If we truly understand that magnitude of this, it will change every aspect of our lives.  Lord, we want to believe.  Help us in our unbelief.  May we live for the fame of Your name.

Matthew 15:1-20 (Hypocrisy and Speech)

¹ Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, ² “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.” ³ Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? ⁴ For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ ⁵ But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ ⁶ In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. ⁷ You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,
 ⁸ ‘These people honor me with their lips,
      but their hearts are far from me.
    ⁹ Their worship is a farce,
      for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”
 ¹⁰ Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. ¹¹ It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”
 ¹² Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?”
 ¹³ Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, ¹⁴ so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”
 ¹⁵ Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.”
 ¹⁶ “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. ¹⁷ “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. ¹⁸ But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. ¹⁹ For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. ²⁰ These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”

God tends to teach me things in seasons I've noticed.  Some seasons last months, and others may only last a few days.  I suppose He teaches all of us that way: when the radio, the sermon, and the Bible seem to all be talking about the same topic...you know what I mean?  Well, in the past three days, God has been working with me on my testimony.  I remember thinking as a teenager that I sort of wished I'd been a drug dealer so that I could have a "cooler" testimony than the one I have.  Yet, God is showing me now how powerful my testimony can be:  I was a hypocrite.

As a teenager and college student, there were many times that my walk and my talk did not match!  We can call that teenage rebellion, or we can call it what Jesus calls it:  hypocrisy.  


Ouch!  I really don't like the sound of that.  Yet, as I'm reading in Matthew, Jesus keeping talking about the Pharisees.  If you've been reading in Matthew with me, wouldn't you agree?  I'm thinking, Okay, Jesus, I get it -- you and the Pharisees didn't get along.  But whenever the Bible repeats something, it is important.  So, if Jesus continues to talk about the Pharisees, it must be really important.  And it is:  they are the best picture of hypocrisy we have!  And Jesus hates their hypocrisy!  Here, He also points out that they are focused on all the wrong things.  In verse 9 He says,  "Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God."  The Pharisees were making their ceremony more important than God, telling people they MUST do a ceremonial hand-washing before eating.  But Jesus corrects them in saying, "It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”  Again, how many times can He say it to us, I am more concerned about the condition of your heart...

What makes me laugh is that the disciples come to Jesus to let Him know that He's offended the Pharisees in saying that and they ask Him, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?”  They are saying this to God!  How quickly they forget who they are with!  I would imagine much of what God says offends people even today.  People are offended by the idea that God thinks He is the only way, or by what He commands that we do and not do (even though it's all for OUR benefit).  But if we only knew who He really is, and His power compared to ours, we could certainly never say such things.  Recall what the Lord said to Job when Job forgot to Whom he was speaking,
 ² “Who is this that darkens my counsel
   with words without knowledge?
³ Brace yourself like a man;
   I will question you,
   and you shall answer me.
 ⁴ “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
   Tell me, if you understand.
⁵ Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
   Who stretched a measuring line across it?
⁶ On what were its footings set,
   or who laid its cornerstone—
⁷ while the morning stars sang together
   and all the angels shouted for joy?
 ⁸ “Who shut up the sea behind doors
   when it burst forth from the womb,
⁹ when I made the clouds its garment
   and wrapped it in thick darkness,
¹⁰ when I fixed limits for it
   and set its doors and bars in place,
¹¹ when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
   here is where your proud waves halt’?
 ¹² “Have you ever given orders to the morning,
   or shown the dawn its place,
¹³ that it might take the earth by the edges
   and shake the wicked out of it?
¹⁴ The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
   its features stand out like those of a garment.
¹⁵ The wicked are denied their light,
   and their upraised arm is broken.
 ¹⁶ “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
   or walked in the recesses of the deep?
¹⁷ Have the gates of death been shown to you?
   Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
¹⁸ Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
   Tell me, if you know all this. 

That is Who we have the privilege of talking to, of calling our God, a God who is infinitely powerful, yet also abounding in graciousness and compassion for us.  Oh, how I need to be reminded of this EVERY day!  I am not God.

Okay, tangent there.  Back to Matthew.  All that to say, may we not be as concerned about what the Pharisees, or anyone else thinks.  But may we press on to do only what God has commanded us to do.  Here in Matthew, Jesus is telling us that we need to be more concerned about what is coming OUT of our hearts (through our mouths) than what goes INTO our bodies (through our mouths).  May our words not be those of "evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander" (vs. 19).  Jesus says THOSE are what defile us.  If my words and my actions include these things and I claim to be a follower of Christ, than I am a hypocrite.  Hence, I am still a hypocrite many days, but the difference now compared to my past is that my heart is broken over my own hypocricy; whereas, I used to just take God's grace and continue in the same patterns.


I am currently stuck in agreement with Paul when he says in Romans 7:15,  "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."  Likewise, I can never seem to do what I want to do, which is whatever I know God commands me to do.   I will never be perfect on this earth.  But what God cares about his my heart.  I am trusting that He sees my desire to do the will of my Father, despite my failed attempts many days. 

May we bow before Him this morning, humbled with the knowledge of who He is and who we are not.  Lord, we are ready to do your will this morning, especially in our speech today.  We love you, Lord.   May our lives today bring You glory and fame.

Matthew 14 (The Busiest Day Ever!)

Matthew 14 is blowing me away right now!  Read it here:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2014&version=NIV1984

Okay, I know you probably didn't read it.  Read it.  This chapter is amazing!  You need the whole picture!

It's amazing what we can glean from scripture when we read it in order!  There are three stories (and I hate to use the word stories now because it seems like they are fake if I call them stories, so perhaps I should say three different accounts of history) all that I've heard many times before.  But what amazes me is how they take place within approximately a day (from Jesus' perspective at least).

You have one more chance to read it before I dig in...please read it!

Okay, first, John the Baptist is beheaded, and the disciples take his body and bury it.  Then the disciples go tell Jesus.  Jesus hears of this news in the morning and is greatly saddened, so "he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place" (vs. 13).  Then, hearing that he had left, the crowds followed Him on foot from the towns (they walked some distance).  When Jesus landed back on shore, he was greeted by the crowds that were there waiting for him!  He had compassion on them and began to heal their sick.  They were basically out in the middle of no where, so the disciples told Jesus to send them away to go buy themselves food.   But instead, Jesus feeds them with just five loaves of bread and two fish.  Later, Jesus sent the disciples on ahead to the other side of the lake while He dismissed the crowds.  He stayed back and went up the mountainside to pray.  While the disciples were in the boat, He walked to them...on top of the water!  And I want to add that when they landed on the other side, after all that major stuff with Peter, word spread that Jesus had landed in the area and people began to bring their sick to Him.

I added that last sentence because what amazes me most about this chapter is that Jesus is fully human and yet fully God.  Imagine the emotions Jesus must have had in this one day!  The day starts by hearing that John the Baptist has died, whom Jesus refers describes when He says in Matthew 11:11,
"I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist." Jesus and Johnny B. are the ultimate ministry partners.  Jesus loves John!  And now He's been told that he was killed for absolutely hateful reasons.  Because Jesus is fully human, He retreats for a while.  I can imagine He did what the rest of us would do -- cry and pray and remember.  

And then, every time Jesus comes back from a time of prayer, He is immediately greeted by crowds who NEED something from Him.  Does that sound familiar?  Mother of young children, does that sound familiar?  Pastors, does that sound familiar?  All of us, does that sound familiar?  Yet, Jesus does not help and heal people begrudgingly -- He heals them compassionately the Bible says.  How can He do that?  Isn't He still grieving His friend and just exhausted for all of this?  He can do this not on His own strength, but because He's made time to be with the Lord and to get His power and strength from Him, even in a time of grief.  Wow, that blows me away!


I mean, really.  Take a look at His day!  Sometime that morning He gets the news that John has died; He goes away for a bit to be alone; He heals and teaches the people all day; He performs a miracle to feed them all dinner; He goes away for a bit to be alone; He walks across a large lake (on top of the water) to meet up with the disciples and has a major teaching moment with Peter (keep in mind this is somewhere between 3-6 a.m. -- the fourth watch); then when they arrive on the other side of the lake finally, people are ready for His healing and help all over again!  Oh my gosh!  If ever my day is full and I don't think Jesus really understands, I now can see that he does!  That just sounds exhausting to me.

So, what's the key to His ability to keep going?  His attitude toward the people and His motivation for the work.


Where can we receive that attitude and motivation?  From our time spent with the Lord.  

On a busy day, how likely are we to spend EXTRA time with God?  We think, I don't have time for that today.  But according to Jesus, do don't NOT have time for it.  We need His power and presence even MORE on the busy days!  We need a perspective shift even more on those days -- Who are we really doing all this work for anyway?  We need to be reminded to practice the very presence of God beside us on those busy days.  Jesus knows this, and He did it on what was one of the most crazy days in recorded human history, I'd say.


Just another day in the life of Jesus, I guess.


Take time to be with your Lord today, despite how busy your day is.  Get away to a quiet place and pray.  Allow Him to give you what you need and to remember who you are, and greater still, who He is.

Matthew 13:24-52 (What IS the "Kingdom of Heaven"?)

The Parable of the Weeds

 ²⁴ Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶ When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.    ²⁷ “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
   ²⁸ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
   “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
   ²⁹ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

 ³¹ He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. ³² Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”  ³³ He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
 ³⁴ Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. ³⁵ So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:
   “I will open my mouth in parables,
   I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

 ³⁶ Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”  ³⁷ He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
   ⁴⁰ “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. ⁴² They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

    ⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.    ⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. ⁴⁶ When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

The Parable of the Net

    ⁴⁷ “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. ⁴⁸ When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. ⁴⁹ This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous ⁵⁰ and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 
 ⁵¹ “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.      “Yes,” they replied. 

What is the Kingdom of Heaven?  That's a very church-y phrase isn't it?  Daniel 2:44 puts it this way when he's talking to King Nebuchadnezzar, (italics mine)
“In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever."  Such is the kingdom of Heaven!  When Jesus came, His Kingdom was established on the earth, but it also is in Heaven at this very moment, too.  And we wait for the day when the Lord says "It's time" and He wipes out evil.  It is referred to as "the harvest" in verse 30 above.

So, what's true about the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven according to this chapter?

vs. 24, 37 : Jesus is the one who sowed the good seed, or believers, here on earth. He is the "good guy" in this parable.

vs. 25, 38 : The enemy is satan and the weeds are his followers, be they people or fallen angels, or anything that causes sin.  Satan stays true to his character in that he plants these weeds while people are sleeping, when they aren't paying attention.  He's tricky because he doesn't want us to kill the weeds before they have a chance to grow, too, and try to choke out the wheat.

vs. 27-29 : The owner's servants are angels that follow Jesus.  They are aware of what Jesus intended for this earth -- wheat, or followers of Him.  They ask Jesus if they should go pull all the weeds because they know they are ABLE.  They don't ask Him if they have enough power to do it (because they know Whom they serve), but just if they should.  And Jesus tells them the time is not yet because He doesn't want any of His followers to be uprooted in the process.

vs. 30, 39 : So for now, we grow together on this earth, wheat and weeds.  But at the end of the age of sin, at the appointed time that only the Lord knows, Jesus will send His angels to pull the weeds and burn them in a fire (Hell) and then harvest the wheat and bring it to His storehouse (Heaven).

vs. 31 : The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed.  It's so small!  Don't expect that the Lord's Kingdom will EVER be the "popular" thing.  You will feel out-numbered.  But allow yourself to be planted and to grow roots in the Word, and you will flourish, just as the Kingdom of God will flourish.

vs. 44 : “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."  The same goes for us!  It is a treasure that is hidden.  We need to search for what this Kingdom is and what it looks like.  Once we find it and understand it, we will be full of joy!  So much joy that we will want to participate in His kingdom as much as we can!  It will become our life-line. 


There are a couple more parables in this passage, too.  And quite frankly, I'm not sure how to interpret them with the short amount of time I have to study them this morning.  Please feel free to comment if you have further insight.  But I hope this at least gives you a taste of what Jesus meant by the Kingdom of Heaven.  His kingdom is currently here and active as the battle is fought for human hearts, and so it will also be after the harvest, when we who believe will live with Him forever!  This is a big deal!

His kingdom is now and forever!  Thanks be to God!

Matthew 13:1-23 (Parable of the Seed and Soils)

 ¹ That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. ² Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. ³ Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. ⁹ He who has ears, let him hear.”  ¹⁰ The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
 ¹¹ He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. ¹² Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables:
   “Though seeing, they do not see;
   though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
   ¹⁴ In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
   “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
   you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
¹⁵ For this people’s heart has become calloused;
   they hardly hear with their ears,
   and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
   hear with their ears,
   understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’
   ¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. ¹⁷ For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
   ¹⁸ “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. ²⁰ The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. ²¹ But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. ²² The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. ²³ But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Chapter 13 is a bunch of parables that Jesus tells.  I used to, and let's be honest still do, get so frustrated as to why Jesus spoke in language that was not easy to understand.  It seems to me that if you want people to do what you want, you might want to speak in a way that is easily understood so that they can follow you.

But even more valuable than the people that want to follow you, are the people who want to follow you deeply.  Such is the reason for parables.  In Matthew 7:6 Jesus says,  “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces."  Jesus knows what its like to give something of great value to people who don't respect it and think it of no value.  Such is the same with the wisdom we can have from Christ.  Pearls of wisdom are not just cast to anyone and everyone, but rather to the people who truly seek them.  The next two verses in Matthew 7 are: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."  If we ask and seek, Jesus will open our eyes to His wisdom and kingdom!  And such is the reason for parables...


Luckily for us, Jesus does explain this particular parable at the end...phew!  Even the disciples needed Him to explain the parable, so don't beat yourself up if you don't initially understand it.  But how incredible it is to me that Isaiah even prophesied in vs. 14 that "You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving."  How I pray that does not become me -- that my heart becomes so calloused that I no longer am sensitive to the Word of God! 

Because I have Jesus in my heart, I know I am not "the first man" where Satan comes and snatches any truth away from my understanding.  If you're not sure of this yourself, just admit that you are a sinner in need of Him and ask the Lord to take control of your life.  Then you can be sure!  I promise you, it will be the best decision you will ever make.  Then, please tell me or someone you know who is a Christian so we can get to you the tools you will need to be a deeply-rooted Christian.  That would be the best news of my week!

The "second man" had no root in the Word, so his joy and understanding of the Bible lasted only a moment.  Jesus loves the tree analogies! But they paint a perfect picture for us.  May our roots grow deep down in the soil of the Word and of WHO Christ is so that we are not easily squelched when our circumstances become too hot for us to bear on our own.  What are you doing to make sure your roots are deep in Him, my friends?  For one, you are reading this blog, which means you desire to understand Him more.  That's a great step in the right direction!  I encourage you to dig into the Word yourself -- even just one verse a day.  Allow Him to speak to your needs this morning.

The "third man" is a tempting place for all of us.  If we hear what the Bible says but our hearts are full of worries and a desire to be wealthy and acquire things other than Christ, those desires will choke out what we are learning from the Lord.  May I be honest with you?  This has been a struggle for me lately!  I have good seasons and not so good seasons as we all do.  I am surrounded by affluence where I live, and it's so easy to begin to equate your worth with what you have here and to want to hold on so tightly to what you have for fear of losing it.  I have been reminding myself, "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matt. 16:26).  Lord, help me to just want You.  You are enough.  Help me to make You my heart's only desire, and to fully trust you with everything else.  I have nothing to fear in You!

The "fourth man" is who we strive to be.  He hears the Word and understands it, so he can put it into practice in his own life.  And his yield is a hundred times what was planted!  How can we do this?  We cannot on our own.  John 14:26 says, "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."  It is He that teaches us and allows the Word to be alive and active in our lives.  Be attentive to the presence of God's whispering in your life today, and do what He says.

This is not something where we can say, oh, I've finally made it -- I'm done.  No, this is a life-long journey and process!  We will never be finished, but hopefully we will be one step closer to Christ and being like Christ each day.  Keep pressing on, dear people!  This race is not yet won!  Keep fertilizing those roots...

Matthew 12:46-50 (A New Definition of Family)

 "While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him.  Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”
  He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”  Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers.  For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”"

Families are tricky institutions, aren't they?  The older I get, the more I realize how blessed I have been to have a great family, but also the harder it is to let it go as it begins to change.  I've begun to think about the holidays this year, and my family will be quite different this year than it has ever been...we are missing one very central person, we will have added two more people through marriage by then, and all my aunts who I love are beginning to become grandmothers to their own families which means they won't necessarily be joining ours this year.  My sentimental, little heart has a hard time with this change.  The picture of "the holidays" that I have cherished is going to look a little different this year.

Family is a big deal in our culture, too.  Oh, Hollywood...they portray holidays as the happiest of times with everyone smiling around the table and loving one another as Jesus would.  But as I speak with friends dear to me, I come to understand that all families go through change: relationships get severed; people get mad; siblings marry and go see in-laws.  It's part of life.  I appreciate the movies that aren't afraid to show those parts, too.

More than ever this year, I have come to understand what Jesus is talking about in these few verses.  A few years ago, I was so confused as to why He would seemingly "dismiss" His own mother and brothers.  At one point during His ministry, His mother and brothers thought He was a little crazy because of what He was saying and doing (Mark 3:20-21).  How incredibly hurtful that must have felt to Jesus.  Yet, Jesus didn't hold His earthly family up as His "everything" (as I did a few years ago).  I'm sure he was thankful for His family and He loved them, but the point of life is not our family, dear friends...it's Christ and His Kingdom.

I grieved over the loss of what my family used to be.  Don't get me wrong, I still LOVE my family so much, but I am having to let go of what I always thought it would be in order to embrace this new thing that God is doing with us.  And in the process of letting go of the tight hold I had around my idea of "family," I have also been able to experience "family" in a whole new way -- through the family I choose in my friends and other loved ones at my church.  This year, Josh and I spent Easter dinner with a couple in their 70s and two couples in their 50s...none of which are related to either Josh nor I through blood. The waitress thought we were all related -- three generations at one table -- but we technically weren't.  But it was lovely!  I LOVE these dear people just as they are family, and I'm learning so much through them and their experiences which are different from my family of origin.  And my sisters and I are very close, but I also have had some very DEEP experiences and conversations with dear girlfriends that leads me to believe they are as much my family as my blood family -- I would do ANYTHING for them!  What a gift!  I don't have to just have my blood family, I can have even more deep relationships.  That's an ever greater blessing!

I challenge you today to think about who your "mothers and brothers" are on this earth.  I pray you have people who may even love and challenge you more than your blood family.  It is such a GOOD thing to be in relationship with all types of people -- may we not be so comfortable with the idea of staying close with only our blood family.

And if you don't feel close to your blood family today, all the better!  He doesn't speak about the core family nearly as much as He speaks about the generations!  He sees the big picture family.  Jesus doesn't hold blood family up as being better than our family in Christ.  So get to know some of them.  Find that Jesus provides for your needs in relationship through His Church.  They may not come to you, but you can reach out to them.  We all need people, don't we?

Matthew 12 (Just the Next Right Choice)

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. ² When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”  ³ He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? ⁴ He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. ⁵ Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? ⁶ I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. ⁷ If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. ⁸ For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
 ⁹ Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, ¹⁰ and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
 ¹¹ He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? ¹² How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
 ¹³ Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. 

When I read this section, and even the sections before and after it, I got so angry!  The Pharisees are SO annyoing!!  They remind me of my 5th graders who are just learning that it's not nice to tattle on someone else.  A ten-year-old regularly tries to get their siblings in trouble, or blame their friends for what they did, or tell the teacher what someone else does wrong.  And I can just hear the tone, the bratty, self-righteous tone that goes with it in my head.  It's fresh to me because I just had the "if it has nothing to do with you and no one is being harmed, you're tattling" talk with one student yesterday, and now I feel that I need to have the same talk with Mr. Pharisee here.

I understand that they wanted to be exactly sure that this Jesus man wasn't pretending to be someone He's not.  It's okay to use the intelligent mind that God gave us to question things and make wise decisions.  That's not wrong!  But the problem with the Pharisees is that they SAW, with their own eyes, Jesus healing people.  They saw physical evidence that He is who He says He is...and they still chose not to believe, and not only that, they "plotted how they might kill Jesus" verse 14 says.

They hated Him.  Later in this chapter, you can see how they will set up ways that they might be able to trick Him so that they could have some, ANY, evidence against Him in order to get rid of Him.  Again and again in this chapter they taunt Him. Their hearts and minds were evil.

But Jesus is not blind to their schemes...He IS God, for heaven's sake!  Later in verses 33-37, He says,
 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.  You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.  The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.  But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.  For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

We've spoken about this before, but the proof is in the fruit!  The evidence that you are following and loving Christ is in your fruit.  You may say you are a Christian, but what percentage of your day is spent doing things for others or learning more about your Lord?  Yes, I used the word percentage.  Each day we need to be serving Him or learning from Him.  That is how we produce fruit!  The Pharisees were reading scripture, but they weren't learning from it.  They were using it to condemn others!

Perhaps you've heard the Native American parable where the little boy's grandfather tells him that each of us has a good dog and a bad dog living inside of us, helping us make our decisions.  The little boy asks, "Which dog is bigger, Grandfather?" and the grandfather replies, "Whichever one you feed more."  So is the same with our hearts, my friends.  We don't become evil or Christ-like over night.  It is a slow continual process of the small choices we make each day.  


Jesus knows this to, and as he addresses the Pharisees for their evil ways in verses 43-45 (italics mine), He says,
“When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.  Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

It's a process.  Our final condition today when we lay our heads on our pillows tonight can be worse or better than it was when we woke up this morning.  It's our choice.  What are we allowing in?  With whom are we surrounding ourselves?  What do we watch and read and listen to?  Are you choosing things that will make you better for the Lord or worse.


Learn from what Jesus said about the Pharisees, my friends.  It's time to make a choice.  At any given moment today, I hope we make just the next right choice.

Matthew 11 (Whatever We Think??)

Do you ever think God should have done something a different way?  I regret to admit that I have had this thought many times.  However, recently, the Lord is teaching me just how arrogant that way of thinking really is.  I mean really...we think we know better than God...??  When you put words to it, it sounds so awful, doesn't it?

That's exactly what is happening in Chapter 11.  John the Baptist, the messenger who was to come prepare the way for Jesus' arrival, is in prison.  But he hears word that perhaps the Messiah has finally come and made Himself known through miracles.  So John sends some of his disciples (people learning under him) to go check out Jesus since he (John) is in prison.  Jesus response to them is,
"Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen— the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.  And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me" (vs. 5-6).


As they leave, Jesus begins telling the other people around Him (because there were always people wanting to be around Jesus) that John the Baptist, the crazy guy from the wilderness was in fact the one sent to prepare the way for Jesus.  But the people had had such a hard time believing that this crazy guy could have been he, so Jesus, knowing their hearts, says, "Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people with expensive clothes live in palaces.  Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet.  John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say,
   ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
      and he will prepare your way before you.’<sup>"

How often are you tempted to guide Jesus in what He should do?  "No, Jesus, I would do this a different way if I were you.  I don't think you really get it.  You can't possibly use that person!  I mean, look at them!  And you certainly don't expect me to do that, do you?"</sup>

 But then Jesus assures us that He did choose John the Baptist. “I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is!  And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it.  For before John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses looked forward to this present time.  And if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!"  He says, Yes, I chose Him.  Locust-eater and all.  And none of you are greater than Him because he has a heart for Me and my kingdom.  And remember what God said, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD (Isaiah 55:8).  And "The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart" (1 Sam. 16:7).

We are so trivial aren't we?  The Jews wanted their Messiah to come in with riches and gold in hand, riding in a large caravan of animals and people and slaying all their enemies.  Our Messiah has riches, but they are worth far more than gold -- His wisdom, His love, His mercy and compassion, and His SALVATION and He will give them ALL to us!  He humbly came in as a baby and later on one little donkey with his disciples as He entered the place where he would die, but he didn't blare horns and make a parade and a spectacle of Himself.  And He continues to fight our enemy for us everyday, and one day He will slay him for good!  I could have never come up with that, and yet, that is SO much better than what we thought we wanted, isn't it?

Do we even know what we want?  I don't think we do.  Jesus then says this:
“To what can I compare this generation? It is like children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends,  ‘We played wedding songs,
      and you didn’t dance,
   so we played funeral songs,
      and you didn’t mourn.’
  For John didn’t spend his time eating and drinking, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’  The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom is shown to be right by its results.”

Truly, we don't even know what we really want, or what is best for us.  But Jesus does.  If I have learned anything in the past year, it is that God really does know best.  He knows what is best for me as an individual and us as a nation of people in this current generation.  I am daily reminded as I read Scripture how NO man could come up with the wisdom that I find in the Bible.  It is absolutely a Diety-inspired and crafted book.

So often we are focusing on all the wrong things.  The trivial, meaningless things.  Lord, how I pray You would show us what matters most to You and how we can live according to Your plan for the humanity that You love.


We should not be telling God to get with our program, dear ones!  We know nothing compared to the mind and ways of our Lord.  I pray you and I will strive today to get on God's page today.

Matthew 9:35-10 (Jesus' Pep-Talk to Us)

Oh wow!  I LOVE this passage today.  It's like Jesus' pep-talk to his disciples (and to us) as we step into the world on His behalf, a world that will hate us.  You have got to read this!  Here is the link again for you, since this is long, but I just couldn't break it up!

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%209:35%20-%20matthew%2010&version=NIV1984

I do want to make sure you read the last couple verses in Chapter 9.  Starting at verse 35,
 "Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Can't you just SEE Jesus' heart?!  What did he do?  He went through ALL the towns and villages...he didn't want to miss anyone!  The three verbs here are that He taught, preached, and healed EVERY disease and sickness.  I don't see anywhere that His main purpose was to condemn, judge, or point fingers at us.  He has compassion on us because we are harassed, worn out, beat down, and lost...just like sheep without a shepherd.  And after looking around at these people that he loves as He travels the country side, His response is to say to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few."  People need to know the love of Christ!  They are harassed, helpless, and lost.  There are many of them, but not many workers to show them the love of Christ.  His heart is breaking for those who are lost and without Him.  Again, don't you want to just go sit beside Him for a while and soak up some of His presence?  I can't wait.


So, in Chapter 10, we see who He sends out first -- His disciples.  And they are listed there in pairs because I'm assuming they were sent out in pairs.  Jesus does not want or expect us to think we are best when we are working alone! 


Verse 8 says, "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."  Until today, I always thought this verse which talks about giving freely referred to material possessions, but here the phrase comes after this list of healing people. (And how amazing that Jesus gave these normal men the ability to heal people, huh?).  So, after this list, I see that it's not material possessions they are giving but grace and mercy.  Jesus so wants us to give grace and mercy.  And how?  Freely.  I'm learning more and more in my own life that when I fail to give grace or mercy to someone it's because I have lost sight of how much grace and mercy Christ has already given me.  I could list for you all the things I have that I don't deserve, and all the things I deserved (punishments) that I never received because of Christ.  When I lose sight of that, how quickly I become judgmental of what others deserve.  Oh Lord, help me.


The next section of verses talk about all that they will go through as they are walking the country speaking on behalf of Christ, and Jesus tell them not "if" you are arrested, but "when" you are arrested,  "do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say,  for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."  What assurance!  And we can call on that assurance even today because we have the Spirit in us!  Today, ask Him to guide you in your words and actions.  He is ready and willing!


So often, from the pictures we were shown in Sunday School as a kid, we think of Jesus as this tender, weak man who is fragile when it comes to the ways of the world.  But what I love about this chapter is that He is anything but that!  He tells the disciples to be shrewd as snakes; he warns them of the hardship that's about to come, and I don't believe He's saying all of this using the tone in which you talk to your dog!  Look at what He says beginning in verse 34:
 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.  For I have come to turn    “‘a man against his father,
   a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
    a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
    “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;  and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
That's hard core!  I don't see any sweet but empty promises in there.  Who Jesus claims to be is a big deal, and He knows that even within families it could be detrimental.  Families will be split apart over their belief or unbelief in Christ and what He says!  He's not saying that news of your conversion to your family will be welcomed news to them, or that your sister will be glad to hear you will no longer do what you used to do with her on the weekends, or that your kids will be excited about going to church with you on Sundays!

But don't be anxious that Jesus thinks you are just an expandable human being.  Look at what He says about you starting in verse 28,  "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.  Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."  Should you die because of your faith, God sees that.  Not even a bird will fall to the ground apart from the will of the father!  But God knows even the number of hairs on your head, or the number of hairs that used to be on your head, or the number that of hairs that you recently had highlighted.  He knows your DETAILS.  No matter what, Jesus says here, "don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."  You are never out of God's sight or out of His thoughts.  


The one-line summary of this passage?  Living for Me is not going to be easy, but I will be constantly with you.

If you haven't read the passage for today, I can't encourage you enough to put that link in your browser and read these powerful words of Christ!  There is so much more in there than I have time to begin to cover.   Really look at who He is.  He's not the quiet, shy, weak man that so often comes to mind,  and I hate to admit that it even does come to my mind when I am persuaded by the culture.  Read this passage and look at His authority!  It's THAT authority that is walking with you today.