Go

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

GO

Matt 8:28-34

28 When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. 29 "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" 30 Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31 The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs." 32 He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. 33 Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.

NIV

Our scholars of old had a heyday with this narrative, making the most out of the fact that Mark and Luke recorded it was one man who came out from the tombs while Matthew says two. In addition they were all involved with the idea that Jews were keeping forbidden animals, pigs were unclean. With many words, paragraphs filled with them, they expounded on these concepts. In addition the idea that Jesus destroyed personal property by sending the demons into the pigs and they ran over the cliff into the water and died. That would have been a violation of the law, which we know he never ever did. Yet there has to be some lesson in this narrative for our lives instead of just a history of what occurred. It would seem the reaction of the town’s people regarding this miracle has some meaning. First we are never told what happened to the demon possessed man or men. One or two matters not, although it just might have been one was far more demonstrative then the other and that is who Mark and Luke were referring to. He was the one who caught their attention. Nevertheless we do not know who they were. Could they have been prominent men in the town before being possessed by the demons? Could they have been mean landlords who dealt harshly with their tenants or merchants who used uneven scales? We just do not know, however the people were not happy about these demons being casts out of them and wanted Jesus to leave the area. Why did they plead Jesus to leave their area? What was going on they did not want Jesus to stay around? Seeing his power over the forces of evil might give us a clue. Perhaps the people were engaged in activities which they did not want to be either, healed, or cast out from doing. We know that Jesus is the Light of the world, but that men rather love the darkness. Evil does not want the presence of Jesus. This seems to be the only logical explanation to why they wanted him to leave. They were hiding in the darkness and did not want the light to shine into their lives. We know this is the case today for some people. But what about we believers, do we have some dark area within that we do not want Jesus to expose? Do we keep this one small area of our heart, our life locked away and ask him to leave that area alone? We know men look at us on the outside, they can only see what we allow them to see. That would be our personality. But God sees our heart, he sees our character. King David asked for God to search his heart to see if there was any iniquity within. This would indicate we might not know or be aware of that area within our being that is still lurking in the dark. In some cases we might well know and prefer to keep it in the dark. But in some cases we may not be aware and we need to seek God so he can reveal that area to us, to shine the light upon it. We know being indwelled by the Spirit we cannot have any evil spirit within, so there is no casting out needed, but some light would be helpful so we can be enlightened by it to our sin. Will this make us perfect, no, we will fail again, and again, unfortunately. But we will not be hiding something in the darkness. God does not force his way with us, it has to be on a voluntary basis. The people of that area were not willing to allow Jesus access to their lives, they pleaded with him to let them live without his intervention. So he left, as we will see in the rest of the story. We too can keep things from him. Although he knows our heart, it may be only that which we allow  him  access to that he can heal. We need that attitude of David, search me, O Lord, and see. We need to open every part of our being to him hiding nothing, keeping no area closed off to his forgiveness, his grace, his miraculous healing power and his authority.  We should be able to let Jesus simply see that area in our lives, if we have closed it off and he can tell it, “Go!” If we have already done all that, then we are good. But in case we might be missing something, unaware, unintentionally having some area that needs his light, then we need to ask him to search it out. Then he can tell it to go. 

Goodbye Storm

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

GOODBYE STORM

Matt 8:23-27

23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" 26 He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. 27 The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"

NIV

We do not know how big this boat was but it was large enough for Jesus and his disciples. The number of disciples is not told to us, but we could presume it was the twelve. Yet Mark records there were many boats in the crossing of the lake. Other disciples who followed Jesus took other boats and it was a regatta of small open boats with sails, the type commonly used for fishing in those days. Nevertheless our lesson is in what happened on that lake, no matter the number of disciples and boats. As was typical on that lake a quick storm arose and the boats were being tossed to and fro to the point of almost being filled with enough waves to drown them all. Jesus was asleep as if nothing was happening. We could be sure this would be impossible for us to sleep during such an overwhelming storm that was sweeping waves over the boat. Yet there he was asleep, catching a few zees as if nothing was going on, as if the wind was calm and the sea as smooth as glass. In his reality it already was, but in the reality of the disciples it was horrifying and fear was cripping their hearts. Some of these were fisherman, and well accustomed to these circumstances, yet we are told they were afraid and woke Jesus to let him know what was happening and asking him to save them. At least they were looking to Jesus for a solution to their predicament rather than attempting to save themselves. Perhaps they tried to save themselves first and seeing their efforts were useless, they turned to Jesus. What a lesson for us. Although we may not find ourselves in a storm on a lake with Jesus in the boat with us, we certainly have had our share of storms in life itself. The fact is that Jesus was also in that storm with us, being calm, for in his reality there is no storm. So as we are tossed to and fro by some storm in life that just pops up from nowhere, with no warning at all, are we afraid? Do we try to fight our way through the storm by our own efforts? Or do we go to Jesus and say, “Master, help us, we are going to drown”. But what does Jesus tell them, which also applies to us? "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Just as he calmed the wind and the waves at that time, he does the same for us when we are overwhelmed by some storm in our life. But the point is that we should have had faith in the first place. What would have happened if the disciples did not wake him? What would have happened it they said to each other, Jesus does all sorts of miracles, he has power from God, certainly the storm would be no problem for him, but let’s demonstrate our faith in him and tell the storm to subside using his name. Let’s yell out to the storm in the name of Jesus and watch it settle down. But no, they were afraid, yet they did go to Jesus to be saved. When he did calm the storm by just speaking to it, they were amazed, perplexed at the power he had over the elements. It seems that some believers are amazed when Jesus preforms a miracle today. Some believers are not really believers because they doubt the solution for that storm was actually brought about by Jesus. We should learn by now that whenever a storm arises in life, our first response should be to rebuke it in the name of Jesus. If we just cannot muster that much faith, then at least we should go immediately to Jesus and ask him to calm the storm. But then will he tell us we are of little faith? He has told us we would do even greater things then he did. So then let us just speak to those storms when they pop up and rebuke them. Another idea would be to just live in the reality of Jesus and not even be aware there is a storm. Then we would have no reason to fear. Just trust in Jesus, either way, not seeing any storms that would drown us, or rebuking them when they pop up in the name of Jesus. Either way, goodbye storm. 

Follow Me

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

FOLLOW ME

Matt 8:21-22

21 Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 22 But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead." 

NIV

We just had a man who made such a rash declaration that he would follow Jesus wherever he went. Now we have this man who seems to want to be a follower of Jesus and was already a disciple of his. We are not sure if this was one of the Apostles, one of the twelve, but nevertheless he was a disciple at large. He had been following enough to be identified as a disciple. His request seems reasonable enough. We are assuming by his words his father just died and he needed to attend to the funeral preparations. But further research would indicate his father might well had been very sick, almost to the point of death. This would then be a son wanting to pay his respect to his father upon his death bed. This could also have been a son wanting to get his portion of the father’s estate, receiving his blessing from his dying father. Either case it would seem an appropriate request, at first, until we see the response of Jesus. Jesus was not approving of this request as his first response was, “Follow me”. This would indicate Jesus was more concerned about this disciple’s spiritual wellbeing then his attending to worldly affairs. It seems rather harsh to tell this disciple to let the dead bury the dead. Yet it would also be impossible for dead men to bury other dead men, unless of course, he was speaking about the spiritually dead. How can a man set his following Christ aside to attend to the affairs of the world? This was the point Jesus was making. The world, the affairs of the world, going to this city and that buying and selling, gaining wealth, looking after self-interests are conducted by the spiritually dead according to Jesus. We cannot do both, follow Jesus and attend to worldly matters. True, we need a home, a place to hang our hat, so to speak. Many of us need cars in order to get to work, to shop for food and clothing, as well as other material needs. But from whose hand has all we have been provided, ours or his? Yes, it is our effort, but we have been told to occupy, to work, to toil the ground all the days of our lives for our sustenance, as God told Adam at the very beginning. But it is about who we follow. Do we follow the ways of the world or do we follow Jesus. Just because some would say they do not smoke, drink, go to movies, dance, or even some say the women must cover their hair, which they cannot cut, wear long dresses, or plain clothes, does not mean they are not following the ways of the world in commerce or trade with financial matters. All those who attend to their man made rules and regulations may well not be following Jesus as he intends. This is want we need to also be careful and vigilant about. It is an easy trap to fall into. There are so many things we think we need. There is so much we think we have to take care of, manage to ensure our daily needs as well as our future needs. It can engulf us if we are not careful. It would serve us well to remember to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and he will add all these things to us. The things the pagans, the world runs after, attends to first. Let the dead bury the dead, as for us, we need to heed his words, “Follow me”. 

Cross over

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CROSS OVER

Matt 8:18-20

18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. 19 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." 20 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." 

NIV

A short exchange between this teacher of the law and Jesus, but it offers some insights as well. First we should wonder why after teaching so many people with what we call the Sermon on the Mount, he decided to cross over to the other side. Was it not the whole point to develop followers, to bring people to the truth? After gathering so many, why would he then decide to leave them and cross over the other side? Certainly some of these people of the crowd would follow him across to the other side, but that would not be easy. There were way too many for the number of boats available so they would have to walk around the lake to follow him. That would be a more difficult task than some might make. That might be the reason in itself. It is easy enough to follow Jesus when he is right there, but if the path to follow him requires some effort, only the true believer will take on that task. If we were always the recipient of miracle after miracle and continual miraculous healings it would be very easy to be a follower of Christ. But what if we did not have any miracles and divine healings? What if we have no signs of his provisions in our lives? Then would we still stay the course? Would we make the journey to continue following him when it seems he is making it more difficult to do so? Another thought about his crossing over after seeing the crowd is that he withdrew from them knowing full well others needed to hear what he had so say. He knew others on the other side needed to hear his teaching. He was not limiting himself to only one set of followers, but he came for the whole world and so he was about doing that, crossing over to reach more people. As the preparations were being make to cross over, that is gathering the boats, making them ready to launch out into the lake, a teacher of the law speaks up to Jesus. There is another as well who speaks up, but we will get to him next. We might make note although two men make some declaration about following Jesus, their motives or method of following him are very different. This teacher of the law makes it very clear that he has decided to follow Jesus no matter where he goes. He will eagerly follow him, giving up all else. We might suspect a teacher of the law has a certain position in life that is very comfortable. He would have a home, perhaps a nice one with servants even. He would be involved with the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees, the Sadducees and other teachers of the law, having a position of respect in the community and even have a fair amount of personal wealth. The response of Jesus points straight into this man’s heart. Jesus tells him although the animals of the earth are cared for by God, he, the Son of man has no such care. He is the poorest of the poor. He has no home of his own, no place to call his own, to place to rest.

2 Cor 8:8-9

8 I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor , so that you through his poverty might become rich.

NIV

It would seem there was a cost for this man to follow Jesus. He would have to give up his rich life and become a poor wandering follower with no place to lay his head either. It would seem it would be difficult for him to follow Jesus wherever he went by going back to his home, his position in the community as a teacher of the law and all his belongings. He was going to have to give all the material life up for an eternal one. This is want Paul meant about Jesus becoming poor and that through his poverty we might become rich, gaining eternal life. There has to be some truth in this for our lives as well. If we are going to follow Jesus, is there not something in life we have to give up? That is not to say the rich cannot follow Jesus. But he did say it would be more difficult for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle then a rich man to enter heaven.

Matt 19:23-24

23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." 

NIV

This is the point he was making to this teacher of the law and he makes this point to us. When we cling onto what we think is ours, have we truly decided to follow Jesus? Perhaps we have simply tried to incorporate Jesus into our way of life. Again, it is not that we should all be in poverty for that is not the point either. But the cost of discipleship does require the giving up of something. This is not to make a list of no smoking, no drinking, no dancing, no movies, no whatever else, no and no fun. This is the giving up of our own lives, our own ambitions and goals if we are to follow Jesus. Again this does not mean we are nothing. Certainly some have been called to be doctors, lawyers and candle stick makers. Others have been called into the ministry of serving others. It is not about having wealth, it is about trusting in that wealth rather than in Jesus. It is far easier for a poorer person to trust in Jesus then a wealthy person is what Jesus was teaching here. As he responded to the teaching of the law, we too must leave behind the life we made for ourselves and become the life he makes in us, whatever that is. Jesus has already crossed over to the other side, he has left this life and ascended to his eternal life. We too need to cross over from this life, leaving everything behind in order to journey to the other side. There is the physical and spiritual application here. Are we willing to cross over? 

Wait on him

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

WAIT ON HIM

Matt 8:14-17

14 When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15 He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him. 16 When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases."  

NIV

Was Jesus going about to fulfill what the prophets had said about him, or was he just doing what he was doing and it so happened the prophets had spoken about the things he would do? It is sort of who came first, the chicken or the egg. Nevertheless our lesson is not regarding that matter, but it is in the mother-in-law of Peter. Yes, we have another example of Jesus simply healing a person by touch. Yes, we have Jesus healing many, all who came to Peters house as well as driving out demons with just a word. He did not carry on a conversation with them, he simply spoke a word and they obeyed his command and left the people they had been possessing. Which could bring us to the fact that evil spirits do possess people. If that happened in the time of Christ, it happens today. There may be times we encounter people who are possessed by an evil spirit. We may well meet people who have an evil continence, which is driven by the spirit within. We should not take these encounters lightly, and tread carefully. This is why God has bestowed upon us his armor. We have the authority of Christ to do that which he did, simply command the spirit to leave. But we need to know that is whom we are speaking to, rather than just an evil person. This is where we need to deploy or engage that gift of discernment God has also given to us. Yet let us continue with our peering into this mother-in-law of Peter. She was sick, she had a fever and was lying in bed, useless, unable to do that which she is used to doing. As soon as Jesus healed her, she got up and began to wait on him. The Greek word is actually the base word to minister, dieekónei,  it is where we get the English word deacon. It is used in a wide application, to wait on tables, to provide that which is needed to sustain life. It is also used as one who ministers to the sick and needy, a deacon. We would surmise it meant she got up and served Jesus and the others food and drink. That she served as the hostess of the house, in the manner she was accustomed. She served Jesus. Here we are sick with the fever, which would be sinners condemning ourselves to death because of our sin. Jesus comes along and offers to touch us and heal our deadly disease of sin. Once touched by him we rise from our death bed and immediately begin to wait on him, serve him, minister to and for him. It would seem Peter’s mother-in-law had no special skills or talents which could be used for a specific purpose. She wasn’t even the woman of the house, who either did all the cleaning, cooking and laundry, as that would have been Peter’s wife’s role. Yet being the senior woman of the house it may well have been her role or she oversaw those duties of any servants if Peter had any in his employ. In either case, she served Jesus with the ability she had. This is our story, we have been raised from our death bed and we need to serve Jesus with whatever we know how to do. It may be the case that Jesus gives us some new talent, or ability when he calls us to a particular task. But the fact still remains that we have been healed and we need to get up and serve him. This is not serving ourselves, but serving the needs of Jesus. So then we ask, what are his needs? In the case of Peter’s mother-in-law, Jesus had need of food and drink for he was in the physical. For us, he is in the spiritual and thus his needs are that we do his will, that we accomplish his plan for our lives. This includes living a life pleasing to him, which we would have to read the whole bible to discern all of that which we should be living like. But also serving him means we are doing something for the kingdom of heaven. We are doing our part as the body of Christ. That implies more than just attending church on Sunday morning, being one of the congregants. That implies that we are doing something to enhance the kingdom, we are actively engaged in some ministry. This is not a church program, but rather a serving Jesus moment. This can be done where we live, in our community, where we work, where we play, as well as where we pray. This is doing that which we are used to doing. It may not be some special training we have to obtain. It may not be a special degree or certificate that we need. It simply is what we are used to doing and getting on to do it as a service to Jesus. This is not to say he does not gift us with special gifts of the Spirit. For surely that has happened many times to many believers. But again it is due to being touched by Jesus through the Spirit so that we might rise up and immediately wait on him. 

Great faith

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

GREAT FAITH

Matt 8:5-13

5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering." 7 Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him."  8 The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." 10 When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.

NIV

Great faith, this is what Jesus called the faith of this non-Israelite, this Roman centurion. He was part of the occupying force of Rome and yet he needed Jesus to heal a servant of his. First we should speak to the issue of this man of authority, this centurion who had such compassion on a servant in his household. It was understood this was a male servant as Jesus says he will go and heal him. But the point is this centurion who commanded one hundred men was concerned enough for the physical pain of a servant he would go and find Jesus asking him to heal him. He could have just allowed this servant to die, and get another one in a heartbeat. But his concern may well have impressed Jesus regarding his faith. What we also have here is the statement Jesus makes about his faith.  Jesus has not found faith like that anywhere in Israel. This would include Peter, Andrew, James and John and whoever he had already called to follow him. In fact Jesus says that there will be people from the east and the west that will get into heaven, the kingdom of God. That includes us. That is if we have faith. The disciples along with the many others who follow after him saw miracles and healings and believed because they saw, but this centurion did not have to see Jesus do the healing, he knew that all Jesus had to do was command or speak the healing and it would be done. This truly impressed Jesus regarding his great faith. He makes this statement which seems will fulfilled even to our time. Israel is not a nation of people who have faith in Jesus Christ, although they make a certain amount of income from the Christians who come to visit this Holy Land. The question, of course, is although we are from the east and the west, do we possess that kind of faith, great faith. Not the kind of faith needed for salvation, for we know that God gives ever man a measure of faith.

Rom 12:3

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

NIV

This statement Paul was inspired to pen was in the context of spiritual gifts as well as being a living sacrifice. Yet the point remains the same regarding faith. God has given each person a measure of faith. Does he give one more than another? That would be inconsistent with the fact he does not show favoritism. It is what we do with the measure we have been given that counts. Just as the parable of the talents. It has nothing to do with money, but with the gifts, with our faith. He gives us a measure of faith, he gives us each gifts and someday we will have to give an account as how we used them, not for our own gain, but for his. How have we used what he has given to us to further the kingdom of God? True the measure of faith he gives to each man certainly has a purpose for each person to come to Christ. Yet some reject or hide that faith deep down, they repress it by their evil deeds for they would rather live in the darkness then come into the light. This is what he was saying about those in Israel. They were rejecting, repressing the faith God had given to them to believe in Jesus. This centurion was also given a measure of faith by God and he was awakened to it, loaded up in his heart, believed not only that Jesus was able to heal his servant, but that Jesus only needed to speak the words and it would be so. Great faith, is that which is exercised. We all have the same amount of muscle cells within our bodies, however some exercise them into great proportions, while other just wither away physically. The measure of faith we are given in order to become great faith must be exercised. We need to believe Jesus can just speak the words and it will be done. All too often we live by sight or feel rather than by faith. We feel a pain in our body and we believe we hurt. We have a material need and we believe we need to go get it. We believe we have to store up enough for retirement and so we act on our belief. But what about faith in Jesus? What about believing he only needs to speak the words and it will be done? Can we exercise our faith enough to believe for a healing, for a miracle, for provisions for our lives? We have already visited his teachings about not to worry about those things, but to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and he will add all those things to us as well. That requires faith, great faith, to believe, to not worry, and to not be anxious about tomorrow. This is not about God granting everything we say, but our believing what Jesus says. God is not a genie in a bottle to grant us three wishes, as some might think, using the words in Mark about saying to the mountain, get up and cast into the sea.

Mark 11:22-25

22 "Have faith in God," Jesus answered. 23 "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." 

NIV

It is about having faith, great faith in God. Yes we can have that kind of faith that what we ask for we can believe we will receive it. Not from our own hands, but from the hand of God. That requires faith which has been exercised into great proportions. Yet it is the faith like that of a child, who simply believes without any reservations. We remember a time in our youth we had absolutely no doubts whatsoever that Santa Claus brought all our presents. That is childlike faith, which is very much like, if not the best example of great faith. Believing without any doubts, without any reservations. This is the kind of faith the centurion showed in his conversation with Jesus. He had no doubts that all Jesus had to do was to speak the words. Doubt is just another form of disbelief. Faith requires belief, great faith requires absolutely no doubt. Is it possible to believe and have doubt? Maybe we can believe just a little and then we will receive just a little. We should be believing with great faith. We believe!

I am willing

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

I AM WILLING

Matt 8:1-4

8:1 When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2 A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." 3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. 4 Then Jesus said to him, "See that you don't tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." 

NIV

A controversy has brewed on whether Jesus broke the law by reaching out and touching a human that was unclean. We know that simple is not the case. Jesus was perfect, not breaking any of the law or he could not be the perfect Lamb of God who took away our sin by becoming sin on the cross. Yet there are those who would argue the fact that he broke the law. Certainly by some accounts it would seem he broke the letter of the law but not the spirit of the law. Yet if we look at the law that was stated regarding anyone touching a human who was unclean we would see the truth that Jesus did not break any part of the law, the letter or the spirit.  

Lev 5:3

3 "'Or if he touches human uncleanness — anything that would make him unclean — even though he is unaware of it, when he learns of it he will be guilty.

NIV

This law is very clear, if a person touches human uncleanness, anything that would make him unclean is the key portion of this law. Was Jesus in any danger of becoming unclean? Absolutely not as he was God in the flesh. He was in fact proving his divine nature by reaching out and immediately healing the leper. We could also argue that once Jesus actually touched him, he was no longer a leper, but he was immediately healed. But that could be argued against, as he may not have been healed until Jesus said, “Be clean” and he had already touched him. Nevertheless by the letter of the law, Jesus was never in danger of being made unclean by touching him, therefor there is no merit in the argument of his breaking the law. What we have, however, is a lesson for us to see that Jesus heals. This is just one of many healings he did while he walked among his creation. But he has not stopped healing. He will heal us today just as he did while he was here in the flesh. We could make a case in the words of the leper. He asked if Jesus was willing. Of course Jesus answered, “I am willing”. We could conclude it is the will of God to heal.

Isa 53:4-6

4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

NIV

Although many Christians know these prophetic words and accept them as about Jesus taking away our sin. That he was pierced for our transgressions. There is no forgiveness of sin without the sheading of blood. It might be easy to overlook the part about by his wounds we are healed. We might be able to argue that in death all infirmities will be healed. This corruptible will put in incorruptible. But Jesus healed people in the midst of their infirmities. He did not tell them to just wait until they are resurrected and they shall be healed. No, he reached out, told this man he was willing to heal him right then and there, and healed him immediately. Why would we be told he did all this healing at the time of need if that is not his will for us? He bought our healing by his wounds. He did not give it back. He bought our healing. We are healed by his wounds. We merely have to come to terms with that. So often we here, especially older folks, speaking about their aches and pains, almost as a badge of honor. We confess all the wrongs things that beseech our bodies instead of confessing we are healed by his wounds. Yes, we have those who would argue that God does not heal some people. Are they bringing God down to their thinking? It is God’s will we are healed. Instead of bringing God down to our way of thought, we need to bring our thinking up to his level and his will. Jesus said, “I am willing” so why don’t we believe him? Have we replaced Jesus with doctors? Have we decided doctors are the way Jesus heals today? There could have some merit, but Jesus healed the leper then told him to go show himself to the priest, so he could be proclaimed clean and reenter society, go back to his family. Maybe that is all we need the doctors for, to affirm we have been healed. Yes, it seems simple enough. But have we lost that simplicity? Have we complicated the matter of being healed? What it comes down to is that Jesus said, “I am willing”. Did Jesus ask the leper if he had repented of all his sin? Did Jesus ask the leper if he was keeping himself righteous?  How can any of us ever be qualified by our righteousness to be healed? How can any of us ever be free enough of sin to be healed? The leper had to be a sinful man, just as every man is, yet when he asked if Jesus was willing, Jesus responded, “I am willing”. So what do we do? Do we believe or not? As for me and my household, we shall serve the Lord, which means we believe. 

He said so

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

HE SAID SO

Matt 7:28-29

28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

NIV

It does seem to be a wonder why people were amazed at his teaching. That begs the question whether we also are amazed at what we just read and considered from his teaching. We are told they had others to compare the style of teaching to, their teachers of the law. Did the teachers of the law not speak with authority? Did they not believe in the law? From what we know they were overzealous in their attempt to practice the law, at least in public view. But if they were not teaching the law with authority it would seem they were not convinced of its merit. If we believe something to be the truth, do we not promote it with all the authority we can muster? Perhaps we are not presenting the truth of scripture with all the authority Christ had. Do we not have the indwelling of the Spirit, one of the divine natures of the Holy Trinity? Then should we not be able to teach the truth of the gospel message with all the authority of God? It would make sense the teachers of the law were not indwelled by the Spirit and therefor they taught as men. Their teaching was dead, it did not contain the authority of Christ. This is why people were amazed at his teaching, because he spoke with authority. Because he was one of the Holy Trinity he spoke with his own authority, with one who knew the truth, because he was the truth. Yet this should serve us as a lesson as well. We cannot teach the truth without the indwelling of the Spirit. This is the warning Jesus gave us about the false prophets, they teach and preach as men, not having the Spirit. We can teach the truth of God with all the authority of Christ because he sent us the Spirit who leads us into all truth. But we must believe with all our heart that it is the truth. The teachers of the law may not wholly believed in the law, we simply do not know, but they could not teach with authority. We, on the other hand, have the Spirit and thus we are able to speak with authority about the truth of God. It is not boastful or prideful that we say this. Jesus told us that we would do even greater things than he.

John 14:9-17

9 Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10 Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth.

NIV

These are the words of Christ. If we believe, then we can and will speak with the same authority that Jesus spoke with to these people who were amazed. The key is having the confidence in the Spirit. If we shrink back, taking a back seat in the conversation about life with others, then are we allowing the Spirit to lead us, or are we just living as all other men? Sure there are men who would speak as if they have authority, but without the Spirit, they speak only as men. Because we are led by the Spirit, we should be speaking with the authority of God, because he said so. 

The Rock

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

THE ROCK

Matt 7:24-27

24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." 

NIV

Here we have that therefore again. We would have to revisit everything he had just being saying to get the picture of the therefore. Don’t judge, remember the speck and the plank. Don’t cast the truth of the gospel on those who trample on it. Ask, seek and knock, look how much more God gives us good gifts. Enter by the narrow gate, but only a few will find it. And finally remember not all who say, Lord, Lord will enter into the kingdom, because they are only giving God lip service, but their hearts are divided. Now we come to the therefore. If we put these teachings into practice, if we actually live by them we will be building our lives upon the Rock.

2 Sam 23:3

3 The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me:

NIV

Ps 71:3

3 Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.

NIV

There are other scriptures that refer to Jesus being the rock as well, but the point he was making is that if we say we believe in God, if we confess that Jesus is Lord and the Savior of our lives, then we should live as such, putting our faith in him as well as doing those things he tells us. If we do not judge, and we do not go looking for the faults of others, especially while we have so many of our own, and we stop sharing the gospel with those who refuse to listen and indeed degrade the truth of God and we walk that narrow path which leads to the narrow gate, then we are building our lives upon God, upon Jesus. But if we ignore his words about these matters then we are simply fools who are building our lives upon our own concepts of what we think is better, which is sand and our lives will be blown away down the broad road to destruction. Because he had the Pharisees to compare true living for God to, we now have those who act religious, those who have placed their list of do’s and don’ts on their refrigerator so they can keep track of how well they are doing, well maybe they put them on the bulletin board at church. We have all those who say they are Christians, but live just like everyone else, pursuing after fame and fortune, or maybe just fortune. We have those who chase after the material goods of life, but claim to follow Jesus. We have the Pharisees to compare ourselves to as Jesus did. Have we been building our lives upon the same things they have, or are we actually building our lives upon the Rock, upon Jesus. We simply cannot add Jesus to our existing life which we have been building on the sand. We have to trash that construction and start a new life, a new building on the Rock, All the materials we had been using to build on the sand simply will not be any good for our new construction project. We have to put off the old, get rid of all the old stuff and put on the new. Start completely over with all brand new material which we find in the word of God. We cannot use both together, they are incompatible material. If we are to survive the storms of life, if we are to make it through the tough times, we need to build on the Rock of Ages.

Jer 17:5-8

5 This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. 6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

7 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

NIV   

The first half is about those who build their lives on the sand, on the ideas of their own thinking, who trust in themselves more than in God. The second part refers to those who build their lives on the Rock. When we draw all our nourishment for life from Jesus, from the word, then we will make it through no matter what life brings our way. It does not matter how difficult situations we face, our lives are not build on sinking sand.

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ the solid Rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand. This is from an old Lutheran hymn

Let us build only on the Rock. 

A Heart Issue

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

A HEART ISSUE

Matt 7:21-23

21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

NIV

This may be one of the more difficult sayings of Christ. We could see this as a conclusion of sorts to his previous words regarding false prophets. Those who preach the gospel message of sorts, even though they distort it for their own purposes. The idea is that while they preach the doctrine of Christ, his divine nature, his death and resurrection and ascension their own hearts are not bent on doing the will of God but rather their own will. How much more we should be careful to avoid any contact with such false teachers. If we were to be drawn into their snare, their trap of deceit, would we then be subject to their same fate? If, on the other hand, we took these words to apply to any believer, we would have to see them in a more personal way. However, we have to believe that because Jesus said that whosoever believes on his name will be saved.

John 3:16

16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

NIV

Yet we are also told that if we confess with our mouth and believe in our heart.

Rom 10:8-13

 9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11 As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."   12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile — the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."  

NIV

This certainly is the application for those false prophets. They confess with their mouths, but their hearts are not with God, but rather with themselves. But we could also apply that to ourselves. We confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, but do we live that out fully in our heart? We have to go back to that divided heart thing again about serving both God and money. If we say we believe in Jesus Christ, that we put our trust in him for salvation, but not for the rest of our lives, that we have to store up the money for our own future, then have we truly believed in our heart? If we say, Lord, Lord, but our hearts are not fully devoted to him, we keep some area for our own pleasures, and then have we done what he speaks about? Surely sin will not completely leave us, we are bound to fail at some point in time, like daily, but it is the bent of our hearts that makes the difference. How can we say we trust in God when we do all we can to prove we really do not trust in him, especially when it comes to money, storing it up for retirement? Yet we say, “Lord, did we not work in the church?” “Lord, were we not on the broad, or were a deacon or elder?” “Lord, did we not serve in the choir?” On and on the list can go as to how we might remind God how much we did for him. But did we do it with a divided heart? Were we all the time still looking to our own devises, our own abilities and ways to provide for our future needs, and all under the pretense of being a good steward? So whether he was speaking only about the false teachers or applying this to all of us, it still comes down to the condition of the heart. Words and works are one thing, those are for man, but it is our heart that God looks at.  

1 Sam 16:7

The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

NIV

We have already seen how Jesus talked with the Pharisees about being clean on the outside, but not on the inside. He called them whitewashed tombs. It cannot be about being sinless, or appearing to be sinless for that would be self-righteousness as the Pharisees were. It comes down to how we believe in our heart. Do we believe him in our hearts, do we live what we say? It is not even about walking the talk, for that is before men, it is about living the talk in our hearts. Truly believing in Jesus for every aspect of our lives. Yes, we should care what man sees, for we represent our Lord, we are his ambassadors in this foreign land. But God looks into our heart and what does he see?

Sheep or wolves

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

SHEEP OR WOLVES

Or 

GOOD OR BAD TREES

Matt 7:15-20

15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

NIV

And boy do we have a bunch of them. We can be certain those who preach for the gratification of self and their own fame and fortune fit this category of false prophets in sheep’s clothing.  This is not to put any judgement on the local pastors of churches who serve their congregations from the heart. They know who we are, they visit with us, they pray for us, they make hospital visits, among so many other ways in which they serve. These are those who Paul takes about who deserve double honor. But those who would fleece the flock so to speak, to gather thousands upon thousands of followers which then fill their coffers with much gold and have no clue who we are would be the ones we should watch out for. With the advent of multimedia it has become much easier for these false prophets to gain support for their lavish lifestyle. Their deceptive feel good and prosperity messages has fooled too many believers. Jesus warns about them and gives us the standard by which we can use to see the truth about them. Good trees bear good fruit, bad trees cannot. Although this is not a judgement on every tele-evangelist, or preacher who garners thousands of followers, it would be good to examine the type of fruit they bear. It might be one thing for a preacher to say they love us, but how can they if they do not know us? These churches that grow to the point of having to engage multi pastors for each and every age group might well be missing the mark as well. Programs after programs serve to an extent the physical needs of the congregation, but who provides the spiritual food necessary to sustain life? It is not about programs or numbers, but we are to look for those pastors who bear good fruit to bring the truths of God in both their lives and their messages. This again is not an endorsement of every local pastor, but we are to search out those who do produce the good fruit in they lives. These are the ones who we can say are not false prophets. We need to be careful to who we listen to. The false prophets appear on the outside to be sheep, good loving believers, but inwardly they are indeed ferocious wolves feeding their own appetites for fame and fortune. Jesus is the greatest example for the true sheep as he is the Lamb of God. He is the example we should look for in finding a shepherd for our spiritual growth. True we have the Spirit, and we learn from him, as he leads us into all truth. But at the same time we are admonished to not forsake the assembling of ourselves. We do need the local church, the local community of believers for we are also admonished to build each other up until we all reach the unity of faith.

1 Thess 5:11

11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

NIV

There is much to be said about being together as believers, and this behavior can only be done in the local community. Mega churches have tried the small group model and some might have certain successes, but we have also seen many abandon that model for some other in order to achieve greater growth. The point is we should be careful, looking at the fruit of the tree. We should be aware if we are seeing a sheep or a wolf. 

The few

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

THE FEW

Matt 7:13-14

13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

NIV

This may be the introduction to the following words about false teachers, bad and good trees and the corresponding fruit, and who will actually enter and who will not, yet we should take a look at these words alone as well. What is the difference between the narrow and the wide gate? Certainly the narrow gate leads to heaven and the wide one to hell and ultimately the lake of burning sulfur, which is the destruction he speaks of. This Greek word rendered destruction is in fact just that, completely destroyed, perish as John uses as opposed to eternal life in the famous passage 3:16. This reinforces our thoughts regarding the non-eternal existence of hell, as it is thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, destroyed along with all those who refused to believe and traveled down that broad road to the wide gate. This narrow gate is for those who decide to believe. It is obvious we are actually few in number. This might bring us to consider that many who call themselves Christian are actually traveling the broad road to the wide gate. This thought comes to us from the following words of Jesus when he says that not everyone who says to him, Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. We will get to those words in a few days, but for now we should consider this narrow road and narrow gate. The number who enter will be far less than those who don’t. Only a few will find it. Those are his words not ours. The question is are we the few? How can we be sure we are among the few? He goes on and speaks about the false prophets who come in sheep’s clothing. These are the preachers who so many people are being deceived by. Those who gather large congregations with their prosperity and feel good messages. How many believers have fallen prey to their false teaching? How many denominations spend more time on pinpointing their doctrine, then the truth? Can they all be right, and yet be so different in their belief? Jesus will tell us about knowing who is who by the fruit. What their lives produce, not physically, but spiritually. The pagans can produce much physical fruit, but only a few who walk that narrow road to the narrow gate produce good spiritual fruit. Just what number consists in that word, few? We remember one group that confessed they were the true ones and only 144,000 were going to get through that narrow gate. Then their numbers grew to more than that number and they have to revise their truth. There is but one truth and one narrow gate. The one and only path to it is Jesus. He is the truth, the light and the way to that narrow gate. It is not Jesus and something else. The Way is Jesus. We cannot get distracted by all the rules and regulations of man-made church. That is what the Pharisees were about. Their religiosity appeared good, but was in fact false in its premise. They looked to the law for their salvation, while the law pointed them to Jesus and their refused the narrow road for the one that leads to destruction. We have to be careful not to get caught up in the rules of church, or even denominationalism itself for then we would have to determine which of them is right, because with so many differences they all cannot be right. They all add something to Jesus. True, some are very close to the truth and we should not avoid attending, or fellowshipping with other who believe. But we must be diligent and vigilant in seeking the truth. The Holy Spirit is our only true leader in finding the truth. Every human leader of people may or not be one who is led by the Spirit. This is why he has given us the gift of discernment, to know which pastor is led of the Spirit and who is led by their own humanness which would then be false teaching. The road is wide, many will travel it, but only a few will find the narrow gate. Let us be among the few. 

Ask Seek Knock

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

ASK, SEEK, KNOCK

Matt 7:7-12

7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

NIV

Perhaps we should have just dealt with verse 7 and 8 alone for there is plenty in this statement of Jesus which needs to be deeply embedded in our hearts. Three words, ask, seek and knock which has so much meaning. We could see this in respect to salvation, as we do need to ask God for it and we do in a sense need to seek salvation and there is some reference to the words spoken in the revelation to John about him standing at the door, and if we hear is voice and open the door, he will come in.

Rev 3:19-20

19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

NIV

But these words were spoken to be recorded and sent to the church. Jesus was speaking to the believers and thus he was doing the knocking at the door. So we might think these words about ask, seek and knock are also spoken for the benefit of believers. Although this sermon on the mount was a teaching to all who were following after him, looking to him for healing, for freedom from Rome, perhaps seeing him as the awaited Messiah. Yet these words are also spoken for the ages to come, which means they were spoken to us. How many non-believers read these words and ponder on them in order to see they need to ask God, seek his salvation, and earnestly knock at the gates of heaven for it. No, it would make more sense these words were for the believer to garner the truth.

1 John 5:13-15

13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him.

NIV

This is the proof in the pudding, so to speak. In order to know for certain that we have eternal life, that Jesus Christ is real and that he was born, lived, died on the cross, was buried and rose from the grave and ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, we can ask anything according to his will and he hears us and he will give us what we ask for. Ask, seek and knock. Believing in Jesus is good, but asking and receiving is simply icing on the cake. We do not have to live this life in want, if we but ask, seek and knock. This is not a flippantly asking, but this is an earnest asking, a seeking for his will, and a knocking with meaning. If we just tap on the door of heaven, it may not mean we really mean it, or believe it. But the truth is Jesus tells us to ask, seek and knock. He goes on to explain for us how we as parents, although we are not pure like God, but have evil within us, still give good things to our children. This is how God is with us. God will give good gifts to those of us who ask him. Now we could also see these gifts as the gifts of the Spirit, which we believers surely are in need of. How can we live a successful Christian life without the gifts of the Spirit? It would be like being a crippled Christian living life lame, unable to walk the talk. This does not mean we are completely without sin, as Jesus makes it clear, we who are evil give good gifts to our children, but it does mean that as we try to live a life pleasing to God, even though we fail, he never fails and if we ask, seek and knock he will give to us whatever we ask for. If we seek the truth, we will find it, and if we ask for the door to be opened it will. This again could imply the door to heaven, or salvation. It could be seen as that as well, but again these words are written to believers, so let us believe with confidence. God  is waiting to hear us ask, seek and knock. 

Let them be

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

LET THEM BE

Matt 7:6

6 "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.

NIV

We have so many different ways in which we could render some explanation what Jesus meant by this statement. Our scholars of old seem to be thinking in the old concepts of church and the pious manner of the believer. The dogs are those who would come to church, but then return to some form of ill-gotten behavior the next day. That which is holy they considered the sacraments and thus these dogs should not be allowed to take communion. The problem with that thinking is not a one of them or we are actually worthy enough if we use the lack of sin as a standard. Self-righteousness is one of those ill-gotten behaviors.  Instead it would make far more sense to consider the story of the pearl of great value, since our Lord uses the pearl here.

Matt 13:45-46

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.

NIV

As we have found this fine pearl, the kingdom of heaven, we should certainly share the gospel message with others, however it would seem Jesus is saying there are those who would trample the message and then turn on us and persecute us because of our faith. How are we to know who are the dogs and the swine? Certainly it would seem as we encounter certain individuals who reject the message, saying things like, “Your argument has no value, because I do not believe in God”. “That is alright for you, but I believe the bible was written by men, so it has no meaning” or some other form of rejection of the truth of God. Why then should we continue to cast our pearls before them? No, it is time to shake the dust off our feet and leave them to their own thinking. That sounds like we are not very merciful or compassionate to let them perish, to not continue to try to reason with them until they see the truth. But the point is there are people who would trample the message of the kingdom of heaven under foot and never ever see the truth as they have rejected the conviction of the Holy Spirit, they reject anything we would say as well. They have condemned themselves by this rejection. We cannot make anyone believe, it is up to the Spirit. So, there are some who we need to leave alone, keeping silent in their presence regarding the kingdom. We still can add our thoughts to a conversation, but we should not cast our pearls before them. They reject anything we have to say as valid regarding the bible or God. It is that simple, just let them be in that case. 

Look Closely

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

LOOK CLOSELY

Matt 7:1-5

7:1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

NIV

How easy it is to have a critical outlook about others. It is very easy to see the faults in others than the ones we have within. Maybe in some respects it comes down to thinking more of ourselves then we should. Although we might also justify our correcting others under the guise of wanting to help them be a better person. But the fact is that Jesus tells us with whatever measure we use to see others, we will be seen with that same measure. So if we look upon others with a critical mind, we will be seen with a critical mind. The thing here is that Jesus does not mention who will be looking at us with that critical mind. Would it be the other people, or would it be God? The point it seems Jesus is making is that we simply are not qualified to judge or correct others for their faults as our faults are even greater than theirs simply by judging or thinking we are so right in showing them the errors of their ways. It is far easier to be the sidewalk superintendent then to actually dig in and do the work we are being critical of. This can apply in various applications. We could put this principle to work toward our government officials, our company owners or immediate supervisors, or even with a co-worker. Although it seems even easier to apply this within our families or with people we are very familiar with. However this should be where we are the most aware of how this works, for with those who we are the most familiar with, they too are that familiar with us and thus see many, if not all our faults too. So if we become critical of them, no doubt it would be very easy for them to criticize us. This would then meet the being measured with what we measure rule. What Jesus is saying about getting the plank out of our eye so we can clearly see the speck in the others, is indicating why we judge them for some error, our judgement is even a greater error. So it comes down to live and let live. This does not preclude us from going to a brother who sins against us. This concept may have been taken out of context that Jesus speaks about later in this record of Matthew.

Matt 18:15-17

15 "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.'   17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

NIV

It is not about a brother caught in sin, it is about a brother who sins against you. It is not about judging the sins of others because we have enough of them ourselves, but it is about when a person, a fellow believer commits a sin against us. An example would be if he stole something from us, or he maligned our character publicly, with a false witness or whatever else would be considered sinning against us personally. Then we should go privately to them and work it out. But this has nothing to do with the teaching of Jesus about not judging or we will be judged, or the plank and the speck. This has nothing to do with just going to them and telling them they are doing something wrong, or having a wrong attitude, or saying something that sounds unkind, or would give people a wrong impression of them or whatever. This is teaching about going to a brother is strictly about when that brother sins against us. So let us back up to what Jesus was saying here about the plank and the speck. Simply put we do not have any room to confront openly or have an attitude inwardly about another person’s faults. So in reality is does come down to live and let live. The law of love applies here, rather than judging according to the law. Before we look at anyone else we need to look at ourselves closely. 

Seek First

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

SEEK FIRST

Matt 6:25-34

25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

NIV

And now the “Therefore”. Jesus has been telling us not to store up treasures for ourselves here on earth, but rather in heaven, for where our treasure is, that which we place value on, there also is our heart. Jesus admonishes us not to focus on the things of earth, but rather on heaven, for what we gaze upon, what we look at with want in our eyes, our heart follows. He goes on then to tell us we cannot have a divided vision, we cannot have a divided heart regarding God and money. We cannot want both of them at the same time, the desire for one is incompatible with the desire for the other. Now he comes to the main point which begins with therefore. He tells us not to worry a about our life. We should not be concerned about having food and clothing, or in other words, the material needs of this world. He has just been telling us we cannot serve two masters, and now he makes that point very clear in showing us examples of how God cares for his creation which we are his crowning glory, his finishing touches of his creation. All of creation, all the birds of the air, all the vegetation he spoke into existence, but we have been formed from the dirt of the earth. In essence God knelt down spit into the dirt, made mud and formed his man, then he leaned over and breathed his very breath into his handcrafted man. We were not spoken into existence and so we are told that as much as he cares for all the he just spoke into existence, how much more does he care about the handiwork of his hands and that which contains his very breath. Pagans are referred to as those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior as we have. They do not have a divided heart as they pursue full throttle the wealth of this world. Their only concern is their life, their material gain, making the most of their time here. Their goals and ambitions are mainly fame and fortune.  Sure there are those few who do great humanitarian works, yet to what end? Do they receive praise from men for their great deeds? The point Jesus is making is that the pagans chase after the things of the world with no concern about the kingdom of God. Their hearts are bent toward their own pleasures, goals, and ambitions strictly for their own self-interest. We should not be pursuing the same things, as we have decided to follow Jesus. So if then we chase after the things of the world we would have to have a divided heart. So then how can we love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our mind, all our soul or spirit, and all our strength? How can we chase after God and still want all the stuff? He tells us that if we do chase after him, and only him, he will add all the stuff to our lives. He will care for us, he will provide for us better then he provides for the rest of his creation. Here again he concludes with this aspect of worrying about our future. It seems that is more and more of a priority among the body of Christ in this present age. With all the ads on television and radio about securing our financial future with gold and silver, which mostly appear in the conservative programs, which are more than likely viewed by many Christians, we are deemed the target market as we are viewed as being in want of wealth and our future needs of it. Some churches have even conducted seminars on money matters. There are actually Christian investment counselors, helping Christians secure their future needs. Have we lost our way? Have we become so concerned about our future here on earth that we have forsaken seeking first the kingdom of God? Have we become too concerned about our retirement plans, when Jesus teaches us not to, that we have decided to simply pick and choose what we will follow? Do we chase after the things of the world thinking we are just being good stewards? Jesus is clear on this matter. We must seek the kingdom of God first and foremost. The kingdom is our only goal and ambition. God will take care of our retirement.  He said he would give us rest.

Matt

28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest . 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." 

NIV

Although we will get to this passage again, it is interesting the Greek word translated rest, has a meaning of to cause or permit one to cease from any movement or labor in order to recover and collect his strength. Does that not sound like retirement? Instead of chasing after our financial security so we can retire from our own efforts, we should seek after the kingdom of God and he will give us retirement. Perhaps not the kind many believers are chasing after, but nevertheless he will give us the ultimate retirement in the place he has prepared for us. Until then we are to labor, keep busy, doing that which he has called us to do. Seek first his kingdom, do not worry about our life, our future, God will make sure we have one, both here and there. It is about what we seek first. 

Choose

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHOOSE

Matt 6:24

24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

NIV

Here is the third part of the whole statement that started with not storing up treasures on earth, then about our eyes and what they are fixed, or focused on, and now he gets right down to the issue at hand. It is impossible to love God and the world at the same time, with the same heart. Jesus is going to make a conclusion next because the very next word he says, is “therefore”. Yet we need to see this point first. This has been building up to this point about serving both God and money and now we have to come to terms with exactly what that looks like. We do get caught up in the concept of having to make a living. The problem is what kind of living do we what to make. We can choose to live a modest or an abundant one. First things first though. We must consider God’s view of the world, seeing the whole of mankind. Many countries have the same goods and services we have in America. Yet there are many, what would be considered, third world countries, or peoples who live without the goods and services of the developed world. Some peoples live with little to no electricity as well as homes with glass windows and doors. The idea of wealth, however, is universal. It simply is at different levels or has various meanings. To own more than one cow in one country would be considered to be wealthy, while for us it carries a far more expansive concept. Since we live here we need to see this loving God and money in our view of wealth, for in the eyes of many in the third world, or those countries which practice socialism or communism, the poorest American is wealthy. An example of this would be how so many Cuban and Mexican peoples make extreme efforts to live in America, to live with the ability to obtain both freedom and what they would consider wealth. However, here we are, living the life, having all the goods and services we so desire. Some have more than others. Some live in luxury compared to others. How much is too much? If we go back to the beginning, is having too much when we can store it up for our future needs? Here Jesus tells us that we cannot love both God and money. What are we devoted to? What does it mean to be devoted to God? Can we invest in the world as long as it lines our pockets with Gold, and still be devoted to God? Can we separate the two? Can we say we are devoted to God, but still store up our money for our senior years? Can we focus on both at the same time? Do we justify our investing, our saving up for financial security by believing this is how God is providing for us? Is storing up money opposed to the principle Jesus taught as recorded by Luke?

Luke 6:37-38

37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give , and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." 

NIV

Give and it will be given to you. How can we store up and give at the same time? But we have to keep or bear in mind the concept of having a divided heart or trying to focus on both God and our financial wants. We need certain things in life, just to get along. God has placed us where we are. We need a certain amount of income to continue in the lifestyle we have. The question is of course, is our lifestyle our choosing or directed and provided to us by God? Are we living where he has directed to, or have we decided where and how we are to live? This is not about whether we are rich or poor in the grand picture. Certainly God has given some a different amount in order to reach people in that kind of lifestyle. It is difficult for a person who makes a modest income to witness to a millionaire, telling them God will provide. On the other hand we have some millionaire preachers telling people God can make them a millionaire too, just keep giving your money to them and God will give them more. It is a vicious circle when it comes to God and money. We want God, but we want money too. Will he truly give us more money if we give ours away? Not sure, we better keep on storing it up, just on case he doesn’t. It gets real dicey and it is hard to truly come to terms with doing what Jesus tells us to do, when it comes to money. It seems we don’t have too much trouble with the other stuff, well at least that is what we think, but when it comes down to the money issue, we just have not grasped it fully yet. Will we ever get it completely? God and money, or is it God or money? Do we really need to choose?