From The Heart

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

FROM THE HEART

Matt 18:23-35

23 "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27 The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28 "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. 29 "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' 30 "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." 

NIV

This is the continuation of what Jesus said about forgiving seventy times seven in answer to Peter's question about how many times should we forgive. Without regurgitating everything Jesus tells Peter and us about forgiveness through this parable about the servant and his master and the servant and his fellow servant and the result, we can conclude there is hell to pay if we hold a grudge, never forgiving someone who offends us. The most important aspect of what Jesus is saying here is that when we forgive it must be from our heart. That is to say, we cannot simply use words, which might look good, and appear as though we have forgiven someone, but if we are still holding on to the hurt deep within us, in our heart, then we really have not forgiven them and then we are in danger from being treated the same by God. That would mean that God would not forgive us our sin and thus we would not be declared blameless and holy in his sight which would lead to us not being able to enter the kingdom but would be cast out into the darkness. That is harsh, but what did Jesus mean when the wicked servant did not forgive his fellow servants’ debt and the master cast him into jail. What does the jail represent and how can any man pay the debt for sin? We cannot pay that debt and thus unforgiveness leads to being put in jail, or hell, until we can pay our debt, and that we cannot ever do, for Jesus is the only one who paid that debt for our sin. If we hold onto that offense in any way, not forgiving from our heart, we nullify the act of Jesus on that cross for us. Through Jesus, our master, our debt has been canceled and so then as we go through life, meeting anyone who owes us, or sins against us, we must forgive from our heart, truly forgiving, canceling their sin against us, setting them free if we want to enter the kingdom of God. 

Remembering Forgiveness

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

REMEMBERING FORGIVENESS

Matt 18:21-22

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" 22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.  

NIV

Jesus is going to give a much longer answer to this question of Peter’s with the illustration of the servant who owes his master. However, even though it is a lengthy answer, the point is about the heart issue of forgiveness. However, Peter simply wants to know how many times he should forgive someone who sins against him. This question is in response to what Jesus has already said about if a brother sins against you, go to him, and show him his fault. The point is about forgiveness, not about making someone see their fault. It is doubtful a person will commit the same offense against us seven times that we must forgive them each of those seven times. However, Jesus says that we must forgive them seventy-seven times. Some translations say this as seven times seventy. This would be more in agreement with the Greek word, which is a multiply adverb of seventy, which would then mean seventy times seven. Again, in fact, it is even more doubtful a brother would commit an offense against us four hundred and ninety times. That would be crazy to think of someone who would be that offensive and not come to his senses. So then, what does Jesus mean? If a person does offend us and we go them and point out their offense and they see it and repent, and we forgive them then we are to forgive them and that means we will never bring that offense up again. But the problem is our memory of that offense. Although we forgave them, can we ever forget what they did against us? That is the point Jesus is making. Some would suggest that he meant that no matter how many times a brother offends us we are to forgive him, that we are not to put a number on the times of our forgiveness. However, it makes more sense that even that one offense which we forgave him for, if we remember it, we need to remind ourselves we forgave him. This could go on for years and years, as our memory is both a blessing and a curse. So then forgiveness means forever forgiving and that means we never ever can ever hold that offense against a brother who we forgave, even in our memory. 

In His Presence

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

IN HIS PRESENCE

Matt 18:19-20

19 "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." 

NIV

Once again, our scholars of old would what us to think these words of Jesus have no bearing on the normal believer, but they are specifically meant for the apostles in the organization and affairs of the early church. How sad to say that we cannot have the Lord in our midst when we are all in agreement in worshipping him in spirit and in truth. How sad it is that when one of us is sick and we call for an elder of the church to pray for us, that the two of us agree and stand all alone without the presence of the Lord. Of course, we are being a little sarcastic because we do not believe or agree with those scholars of old. Again, if these words are just for the apostles why bother to keep these words of Jesus for believers of all ages to read. How can this just apply to the apostles and apply it to the matter of expelling an unrepentant member of the church? That would mean only two are needed and the whole church is not needed. These words of Jesus are for all of us throughout the whole course of time until he returns to take us home. The problem that could occur is that the two of us might never agree on anything we ask for. Sometimes we get too introspective that we only can think of what we want and are not too concerned about what our fellow believer wants. It seems about the only time two agree is when a pastor calls for anyone who needs to be anointed and someone comes forward with a need and the two of them stand in agreement praying for that one person’s need and behold when that happens there is Jesus right with them. We would think two of us normal believers should agree as often as we can with each other over a situation so that we could have Jesus right there with us and then we would be assured that it would be done by our Father in heaven. However, this requires faith, believing the word of God, believing these words of Jesus are true and meant for all believers. Why would Jesus only promise that to twelve men? No, this is meant for all of us and certainly, we would want to be in agreement so that the Lord would be in our presence and only God who is omnipresent can be with all believers who gather to worship with their hearts in agreement much like an orchestra all play a tune in agreement with each other. So then, when we gather in the house of God and worship Him in spirit and in truth we can be assured that we are in the presence of the Lord. 

Bind and Loose

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

BIND AND LOOSE

Matt 18:18

18 "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

NIV

It would seem, at least within the context that this was a well-known phrase among the Jews. This would apply to the teaching of the law, in the sense that what was bound was not permitted and what was loosed was permitted. Some scholars are of the opinion that Jesus was giving this authority to His apostles in the matter of the organization and operation of the church. That whatsoever they determined to be a rule, or in accordance with the will of God would be agreeable to God, and whatsoever they determined to forbid a believer to do, would be agreeable to God. This puts man in charge of other men or having the authority of God and able to establish certain rules and regulations for the conduct of the church. If this was only for the apostles in the establishment of the early church, then we need not bother ourselves with this verse, or this teaching of Jesus. But what if, like we are to believe that all scripture is profitable for correcting, rebuking, teaching, and training in righteousness, then what are we to do with something that most scholars think has no bearing on the Christian of today, but was strictly said to the apostle and them alone. The problem is the context in which Jesus said this. He said this in following his method for dealing with a brother who refuses to repent when confronted, in love, if his offense. After taking several witnesses and that bother still refuses to repent, then taking that offense to the whole church and he still refuses to repent, thus that brother is to be expelled from the community and treated as a pagan or a tax collector. The purpose is not to expel him to the world, but by doing so, show him his offense is bound on earth and thus in heaven. If, however, we forgive him, and as he returns seeking that forgiveness, then we have loose it or permitted him to return to fellowship. So then this teaching of Jesus is indeed meant to continue into the church throughout history and the future church. This is regarding disciplinary action that may be needed in the church. However, as we thought before, in the post-modern church where there are a plethora of available churches for the brother who refuses to repent to run to and make a fresh start where no one knows of his history, it is more difficult to either bind or loose or forbid or permit concerning a disciplinary action. This would also apply to the establishment of rules and regulations by a denomination as to what is permitted and what is forbidden. If we do not like the rules of one denomination, we simply find one that is more agreeable with our own thinking, what we want to permit in our lives, and what we think we should omit or forbid ourselves from doing. This appears then that we only want to submit to the authority of any church, based on us, rather than God. So the question remains, who has the authority to bind and loose today and does it carry any real meaning. 

It Depends On Us

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

IT DEPENDS ON US

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

This is serious business, and it should not be taken lightly. However, the problem is in the post-modern church we have developed hundreds of independent little churches that do not speak to each other and so if we have a brother who sins against us and we go through this process that Jesus has established, and we end up having to tell the whole church, which is simply that local church which we are members of, the offender who has refused to listen just goes to another local church and starts all over again. However, this does not relieve us from going through the process. There are also occasions in which the offended brother or sister refuses to attend to this process and go to a brother or sister and tell them of how they offended them, trying to establish a Christian bond. Instead of doing that which Jesus tells them, they merely retreat, leaving that local church to go on living with the offense, and an unwillingness to forgive the offender. Both these situations are symptoms of an unhealthy church, but what can we do? How can we solve problems between other believers? It has been said that if we are not part of the problem and not part of the solution then we should stay out of the situation. However, if we see our brothers or sisters behaving in a manner that is not befitting a believer, should we try to help them to see the truth? That could cause even more problems. What we can do is make sure that we do not offend others, if possible, and not become offended. However, if we do become offended in any way, we have the responsibility to go to our brother or sister and let them know that we felt offended and ask them to forgive us for that feeling for it is sure they did not intend to offend us, it is not their fault, but it is ours for harboring an offended spirit. Maybe they did it intentionally, but maybe they were completely unaware of our taking offense to something they said or did. However, there is also the fact that if we get offended, it might be that we are thinking more highly of ourselves than we should. But it is also possible that even if we are a humble spirit, we could feel as though a brother or sister has stepped on our toes, so to speak. Jesus makes it clear enough that we should resolve any conflict, anything that would cause division, dissension, or any animosity in the body of Christ. As far as it depends on us, we should live in peace with everyone. 

Lost and Found

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

LOST AND FOUND

Matt 18:12-14

12 "What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.

NIV

Again, Jesus is talking about those believers who have changed to become like a child in their faith. He also could be referring to those believers who some would say are feeble, that is they do not have the great understanding of the things of God.  But that does not fit the overall context. However, this Christian who lives by faith, the simple believer who does not go beyond accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior and believes they are saved through faith in Jesus and Jesus alone, that there is nothing more to add for their salvation is most likely the ones who Jesus is still speaking about. Yet, here he talks more about the fact that some believers who have not been thoroughly grounded in the word of God, but merely were saved and then seem to fade in their walk, not completely turning their back in Jesus, but simply waning in their walk, wandering into the things of the world, getting distracted by the yearnings for those worldly ideas, that could be a variety of things. It could be this self-reliance concept, or the idea of being successful in the eyes of the world, or whatever the world has to offer. Whatever the reason a believer wanders off, straying from the purity of their faith, Jesus pursues them, searches after them, as should we, as stronger Christians. We should not be content to let any of our fellow believers wander off into strange new worlds where no man has traveled before. Yet, there are men who have traveled there before and they are beckoning those who are not well-grounded in the word, those who only have their child-like faith and have not grown in understanding. Because Jesus says we need to change and become like a child, that is humble ourselves and depend on God for every aspect of our lives, does not mean that we should not grow in our understanding of the word, or learn from the scriptures as to how we should walk worthy of our calling. But if there are those who never grow and have no understanding and wander off, or are distracted by those purveyors of false doctrines, God is extremely pleased when they are brought back into the fold of the faith. God does not desire any are lost, but all are saved. This could then also apply to all peoples of every tribe and nation, every tongue, every race. Those are sheep also, as all people are the creation of God. They have indeed wandered off from any resemblance of being part of the flock of God. When we share the gospel and one person responds, there is rejoicing in heaven, a sinner has come home. The one who was lost has been found. 

Watching Angels

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

WATCHING ANGELS

Matt 18:10

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.  

NIV

Jesus is still talking about those little children, or still answering the question about who is the greatest in the kingdom. He has told his disciples that unless they changed and become like little children, they will not see the kingdom of God. We considered this metaphor already, but now Jesus expands even on the whole idea of the children of God. It might be possible those believers who have become so intent in being the most learned of believers, spending years of study, earning degrees in theology or some other religious accomplishments might think poorly of those who simply live a life of faith. How can any believer look down upon another believer? That alone is so against everything someone with years of study or a fully understanding of scripture would know without question. They would know all the other scriptures about how we are all equal in the sight of God and that God does not show favoritism and He give liberally to all who ask, and that Jesus died for the whole world, which would include those who are either walking in the light and those walking in the dark. In fact, there are some manuscripts that include a verse 11, which says, “The Son of man came to save what was lost”. This would certainly indicate that Jesus loves those who are lost just as much as those who are found. Therefore, who are we to look down on any other person? Who are we that we should think more highly of ourselves than we should? If we do, is that not pride, and does not pride come before the fall? Jesus said that we need to change and become like children, humbling ourselves before the Father. This humbling before the Father should give us the right perspective in our relationships with other believers. Of course, there is another view, which at this point, Jesus is not speaking to, but this view does come to mind because of what he did say about looking down on one of these little ones. It is possible that those who live by faith, might or could have a tendency to look down on those who feel knowledge is the key to enlightenment. That is because it might appear those who look to knowledge, to education in the word of God, might not have as much faith as those who simply live by faith. That is like dropping the other shoe, so to speak. We must believe that each of us are being watched over by our Lord, and maybe, by these words of Jesus, we have an angel who keeps track of us and reports back to the Father as to how we are getting along. But then, God can see for himself as he is omnipresent and omniscient. Still why did Jesus mention the little ones have angels in heaven who look at the face of the Father in heaven? It would make sense because we are one of those little ones, one of those who have changed and become like a child, in our thinking, and have humbled ourselves before God, recognizing we have nothing but ourselves to offer to God and we have no talents of our own, no skill of our own, no knowledge of our own, but only have that which has been given to us by God, and that even includes our faith, for it is God who gives every man a measure of faith, that we have an angel that looks at the  face of God in heaven. what a great thought, how much our Father loves us, that he has his angles watching over us. 

Putting it Behind

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

PUTTING IT BEHIND

Matt 18:7-9

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.

NIV

Jesus is blaming the things of the world that cause us to sin. Whatever these things are, they are with us or rather all around us for Jesus said they must come. We can attest to what Jesus said is true. The world offers many temptations for us to feast upon. In fact, we are constantly bombarded with all sorts of ways to sin, and when we think of sin, we do not have to limit it to those areas like murder, stealing, adultery, or some other bad behavior. What could our hand do that would cause us to sin? What could our feet do to cause us to sin? We know what our eyes could do, that is not a problem to figure out that simply looking at something can cause major problems within us. Desire, lust, greed, envy, jealousy, are just a few areas of sin our eyes could cause. Jesus is not advocating that we mutilate ourselves to keep us from sinning. But our feet could take us to places we should not go, and we could touch things that we should not. However, all this may be metaphorical in the sense that we need to be watchful of what we desire. It is not so much our outer being, or body parts that cause us to sin, as it is our inner being, the true self. Sure, it may help or hinder our inner self by where we go, what we look at, and what we touch, but it is still our self that is at fault for yielding to the things of the world which cause us to sin. The other problem is that we are still in this perishable, mortal body that is corruptible, and to say that we have no sin would be calling God a liar, for we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and to say that when we became a Christian we became free of all sin, that we stopped sinning and we are as pure as God, we simply deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Still, we should not go about lurking in the world to see how much sin we can conjure up with our feet, hands, and eyes. But there should be a lot of self-examination and we should attempt to restrain ourselves rather than give in to our impulses. Even those thoughts, or feelings, or having an attitude of being judgmental, or critical can be damaging to self. Bitterness and unforgiveness, that can lead to hatred are dangerous. Jesus enumerated many areas of sin for us throughout his teaching. Then we have to consider the context and that Jesus is telling us this right after he said that if anyone causes one of those little ones to sin, it would be better to have a millstone around our neck and be thrown into the deep. Again, it may not be about little children as small humans, but about those who have changed their thinking and become like little children. Although we may well be the cause of our own sin, we should be extremely careful, to the point of avoiding altogether anything that would cause someone with that child-like faith to sin. This could be a real tightrope walk if we are trying to live rightly, but always living too close to the things of the world. It is the self that wants what it wants and when it wants it, and that is why Jesus said that we must deny that self and pick up our cross and follow him. However, as John also said that if we do sin we have an advocate in Jesus who is ever interceding for us before the Father. But, again, let us not go looking for ways to sin, but rather be aware of what it is that causes us to sin, and make every effort to put it behind us, so we cannot see it, walk toward it and pick it up. 

Love and Let Love

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

LOVE AND LET LOVE

Matt 18:5-6

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.

NIV

This is the rest of the story, as it were, page two. Again, Jesus is not talking about children as in small human beings born from the will of parents. These are those who have changed, who have turned around and become like a child, being completely dependent on Jesus, rather than having that independent, self-reliant adult thinking. So, then when we welcome a person of faith, one who has that child-like faith, we welcome Jesus into our midst. Again, having been taught most of our growing up years that we should be independent and strike out on our own, relying on our abilities and skills to build a life for ourselves, making our mark on the world, it is difficult, at times, to think like a child. However, even if we have not yet made the change have that child-like faith, being humble and completely dependent on Jesus for every aspect of our life, we must love and accept those who have changed and become like a child. We cannot make fun of them or think poorly about them because of the way they think and the complete faith they have in Jesus. What can happen is that some, and maybe even many in the church are living too much as adults, thinking like adults, looking to their education, their skills, their wealth, and cannot see that child-like believer as fully grown in Christ, not fully understanding all the nuances of the Christian life. However, it may even be worse as they are so close to the world, they do not even see faith as being needed as a child has in their parents, and thus this not welcoming carries the meaning of not recognizing their need for that kind of faith. This woe that Jesus mentions is serious, as if anyone stands in the way, or causes this believer with child-like faith to stumble by belittling or hindering their faith in any way, the result is not good for them. Here is where that golden rule comes into play doing unto others as we would have them do unto us. In other words, live and let live, and love and let love. 

Turn Around

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

TURN AROUND

Matt 18:1-4

18:1 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.

NIV

How is an adult supposed to become like a child? It is interesting the Greek word that is translated as change means to turn around rather than be transformed. This could mean that unless we turn around from our adult thinking, and think like we did when we were a child, we will not get to enter the kingdom of heaven. We spend most of our life trying to think more like an adult, learning more and more, trying to get a better understanding of things. This would include making great strides to garner the truth from the word of God. We think the more we learn the better we will be. Knowledge is the key to everything. But that is not what Jesus is telling his disciples, and us, about who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. In fact, Jesus did not actually answer their question, but instead gave them something to think about regarding just getting into the kingdom of heaven. It does not matter who is the greatest, but who gets in. Being the greatest is an integral part of adult thinking. We always want to be the best that we can be, or be the best version of you, or be the best you can be until you more than be better. All sorts of motivational slogans similar to these are to be found by the adult searcher for self-improvement. But Jesus says that we need to turn around and become like little children, which implies that we become dependent on God, dependent on Jesus as children are on their parents if we ever want to see the kingdom of heaven. Once again, this goes against all we were taught to grow up and become independent, to be self-reliant, and be productive members of society, contributing something to the world around us in some way. As Christians, we have been taught to learn the scriptures, learn and learn more. Denominations are full of institutions of higher learning, and many, if not all, require anyone who is either called or wants to be in ministry to pass all their tests and get some degree, saying that we have learned enough, and are adult enough to minister for God. But that is no guarantee we can enter the kingdom of heaven. No, it does not matter how smart we are, how many degrees we have, or anything about our pursuit of being the best version of ourselves we can be. What matters is that we turn around and see that we are completely dependent on Jesus for our requirement to enter the kingdom of heaven. A child has no pride in their accomplishments, for they have none. A child only knows that they must humble themselves before their parents if they are going to survive life itself, having clothes to wear, food to eat, a bed to sleep in, and toys to play with. A child cannot provide for himself but needs their parent to supply all their needs. A child must have complete faith in their parents. This is what Jesus is saying. We need to look to Him to supply all our needs, which our greatest need is to enter the kingdom of heaven. Let us turn around in our attitude from being independent to dependent. Let us turn around from thinking like an adult to thinking like a child. This does not mean we have to be a child, other than a child of God, but we must have complete faith in Jesus. We must turn around.

 

 

Offending and Offended

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

OFFENDING AND OFFENDED

Matt 17:24-27

24 After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?" 25 "Yes, he does," he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. "What do you think, Simon?" he asked. "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes — from their own sons or from others?"  26 "From others," Peter answered. "Then the sons are exempt," Jesus said to him. 27 "But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours." 

NIV

The question is about a temple tax and thus this is not a Roman tax collector, but these are the Jewish collectors of a tax for the general running or operational expenses of the religious activities of the temple. This is different than the tithe of the whole nation. We cannot be sure what operational expenses they had. Some would suggest this tax was voluntary and it went for the purchase of wood, salt, flour, incense, and even some animals for sacrifice. It would seem the salt and flour were used to make the showbread. However, the scene here is to show us several things. First, we are told these collectors questioned Peter, which would suggest the rest of the disciples and Jesus had already gone into the house. As Peter answered in the affirmative regarding whether Jesus paid his share of the temple tax, when he did enter the house, Jesus knew what the question was and what Peter’s answer was. However, because we are not specifically told Peter was the only one there, perhaps all of them were, but the collectors simply asked Peter. Either way, Jesus makes the point through his illustration that He, being the Son of God, should be exempt from paying any tax for the operation of religious activities in the temple, as it is his father’s, the King of kings, house. However, not to cause any more friction or opposition from the Jews, Jesus tells Peter to catch a fish and the first one he catches will have a coin worth enough to pay the temple tax for Jesus and Peter. This shows us the omniscience of Jesus and His complete authority over nature itself, which He would have to cause this fish to have the exact right coin in his mouth. However, what do we learn from all this that we might be able to apply to our lives? What is the reason for this scripture? Could it be about paying our tithe? Most likely not, but this was not about a tithe, but a temple tax, which we do not pay, except perhaps in an offering above our tithe. However, our tithes are supposed to be for the operational expenses of the church, so no temple tax would be needed. Although we do, from time to time, have special offerings for extra-large expenses, like a new furnace, new roof, new flooring, new pews, or whatever else we think we have to do for the upkeep of the building. Yet, this is not about that either. We think what we need to learn, which we already know, is the divine nature of Jesus. However, perhaps there is something else about us that we might consider. If Jesus was exempt from the temple tax because He is the Son of the King, then we being the children of God should be exempt from the temple tax, or offerings beyond our tithe. But the truth of what Jesus was teaching about not causing more opposition or that the collectors would not be offended does apply to us. This would mean that we should be careful not to offend the collectors, who would be those who do religious things. True believers would not be offended by what we do or not do, but as with the Jews who were not followers of Jesus, but doing religious activities, would be offended, so do those who just are religious, thinking activity or sacrifices are what is needed to worship God. Yet, we should not even offend them, being careful because we love God and thus love them and would do no harm to them. This is all about being offended, and not offending. Although it is not right to be offended either. 

Grief and Joy

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

GRIEF AND JOY

Matt 17:22-23

22 When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. 23 They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life." And the disciples were filled with grief.

NIV

We know that his disciples knew that he was the Messiah, but from what we learn from the Acts of the Apostles is that even after Jesus had been raised from the dead, and appeared to many over a forty-day period and that his disciples asked him if now was the time that he was going to restore the kingdom of Israel. So we know when Jesus told his disciples this truth of what must take place, of course, they were filled with grief. We cannot be sure, but it makes sense they did not understand about Jesus coming back from the dead. If we understand the Greek word Jesus used, it is not as this translation makes it. The Greek word simply means to arise, to awaken from sleep, or can also mean awaken from the dead. The more wooden translation is through the idea of collecting one's facilities. We could see this as Jesus saying that he was going to be handed over to his enemies and they would kill him and in three days he would collect his facilities, he was awakened, which in essence means he will raise to life. Still, they did not understand and all they knew or understood was they were going to be without him. Of course, we have perfect hindsight and know he had to go to the cross to redeem us, to pay the price for our sin, so that we could be restored to our original position with God, being in his paradise as immortal beings. When we accept Jesus and become born again, we are no longer a child of Adam, the first man, who disobeyed God and lost his immortality, being cast from the garden. Now we have been adopted into the family of God and have the right to be called children of God, and are now living under the rules of the new creation, and we will set aside our mortality and put on immortality, also setting aside our perishable bodies and putting on an imperishable body. This happens just as it did with Jesus, as we die, we will be raised in the same glorified state as Jesus was. There is no reason for us to grieve like his disciples because we understand. However, that does not mean we should not have grief because Jesus had to suffer a terrible experience because of us. He was beaten, humiliated, spit on, whipped until his skin was ripped open and then, not just tied to a cross, but nailed to the cross, a horrible and heinous way to be treated. Yet, he did allow all that to happen because he loves us. We should be filled with grief, but at the same time, we can be filled with joy, because we know Jesus lives, and so will we. These feelings are expressed more openly as we visit Good Friday, and Easter Sunday morning, Grief and Joy. 

Faith for the Impossible

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

FAITH FOR THE IMPOSSIBLE

Matt 17:14-20

14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 "Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him." 17 "O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me."  18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?" 20 He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." 

NIV

What disciples could not drive out this demon? It does not appear these mentioned disciples were any of the twelve for they were always traveling with Jesus. There were other followers of Jesus who could be called disciples and we would have to believe these are the ones who did not have authority over evil spirits. When Jesus sent his twelve out, as we saw back in chapter ten, He gave them authority to heal the sick, raise the dead, and drive out demons, so they could have and would have driven the demon from this man’s son. Nevertheless, Jesus makes the point about faith. Before we consider faith, we should also think about what Jesus meant about this unbelieving and perverse generation and how long shall he stay with them. Was he speaking about those disciples, or the Jews in general because they did not see him as the Messiah? It would seem he meant those disciples who followed him, but still were not understanding who is really was, but just saw him as a great teacher, who had the power of God to do miracles. Could this also apply to us today? Can we say we are Christians or believers or followers of Jesus and not have the faith needed to do that which we could? Jesus said it only takes the faith of a mustard seed, and that is not much faith at all, for a mustard seed is supposed to be the smallest of all seeds yet can grow to be the largest plant in the garden. So then are we just giving God lip service when we say we believe? Or is our belief just for our salvation, or maybe we should better say our hope is in Jesus for our salvation? Hope may not be the same as faith. Hope is simply an expectation and when we refer to our hope in Christ, it would be a confident expectation, but still, that is not having faith to say to a mountain to move from here to there and see it move. Hope does not produce the impossible, but faith can according to Jesus. We say we have faith, but do we have faith? Maybe we are not supposed to have that kind of faith, as Jesus only meant it for his disciples, and that was then, and it does not apply to us now. That cannot be right, as then we would have to say all of the scripture was for then and not for now, and thus even salvation is not available to us now. So then if all scripture is applicable for all mankind in all times of history, then having faith that overcomes the world, that can move mountains is available to us. We want that faith, Lord give us this faith to believe all things are possible. 

Hands

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

HANDS

 

Matt 17:9-13

9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, "Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."  10 The disciples asked him, "Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?" 11 Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands."  13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.

NIV

John was not Elijah but came in the spirit of Elijah. What the disciples were referring to the prophecy by Malachi, in fact, the last words of that prophet about Elijah coming before that great and dreadful day of the Lord. It seems Malachi is speaking about the Day of Judgement. The Revelation given to John speaks about the two prophets who came before that second coming of the Lord. It would seem they would be Moses and Elijah as these are the two that just appeared with Jesus when Peter, James, and John saw him transfigured. However, Jesus is speaking about John the Baptist and not about some distant day of his second coming. Luke makes that clear enough for us by telling us about the birth of John the Baptist being foretold to Zechariah by the angel. In fact, the words are almost the same as the prophet Malachi. The angel said that John would go before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the father to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Matthew tells us that this is true, as he makes sure we know the disciples’ understood Jesus was talking about John the Baptist. So, how does all this have any meaning to us? This is all history, and we already know by the Spirit, that Jesus is real, and that John the Baptist was real, and did that which was foretold he would do. It was not John that turned our heart to the Lord, it was the Spirit. Still, Jesus also speaks about the fact that he would also suffer at the hands of man. What this speaks to us is that there is an evil that resides in the heart of men. Once we had that evil closer to us than we like to admit. But now, we have accepted Jesus into our hearts and that evil has fled for how can evil and the Spirit reside or coinhabit within our hearts. Still, we must understand evil does exist, just as it did in the hearts of those who inflicted the suffering upon Jesus, although they were only fulfilling the will of the Father, or at least God was using their evil to complete his plan for our salvation. Nevertheless, Jesus suffered for us. It is difficult to think of his suffering because it was our sin, our evil, which was the reason he had to come to die on that cross. We spend so much time worshipping and praising his name, giving him honor and glory, thinking good thoughts about Jesus, and how he is in all his glory, sitting at the right hand of the Father ever making intercession for us. But his suffering, his shame, and humiliation at the hands of man had to come because of the evil in our hearts. We may not have been “Bad people”, but if we did not have Jesus in our hearts, we had Satan in our hearts and Jesus suffered at our hands. However, thanks be to God, Jesus was raised from the dead and His love endures forever and now we are in his hands. 

Metamorphoo

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

METAMORPHOO

Matt 17:1-8

17:1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 4 Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters — one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid."  8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

NIV

Why would they not be afraid, hearing the very voice of God? They did not seem to be afraid to see Jesus transfigured or the appearance of Moses and Elijah, two dead guys from long ago. But hearing the voice of God was too much for them. It is interesting that Jesus took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, James, and John up on a high mountain knowing this event was going to take place. It is also interesting the Greek word for that is translation as transfigured is Metamorphoo, the same word that is used to describe what will happen to us when we are taken up, that is we will be transformed, changed in a twinkling of an eye. Our perishable body will become imperishable, our mortal body will become immortal. We will be transfigured in the same sense that maybe even our faces will shine like the Son, pun intended, but we will have robes white as the driven snow, or white as the light. We can only surmise that Moses and Elijah appeared much the same as the transfigured form of Jesus and that gives us this clue that to how we will be someday. Peter, James, and John had to be amazed, and of course, we would expect nothing less from Peter, with foot in mouth, wanting to make three shelters, thinking this was going to last a long time and the three of them were going to have a great experience from here on out. Then the voice of God blew that all up and the three of them could not bear up to hearing the voice of God, for they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. Why is it that when we heard the voice of God, whether it was audible or simple within our spirit, we were not terrified, but we rejoiced that God was speaking to us? In all reality, whenever we read or hear the word of God, He is speaking to us. We are certainly in awe of the word of God. We have a great deal of respect for the word of God in printed form. But we cannot remember being terrified to hear His voice. Jesus did not want Peter, James, and John to be terrified either, for He told them to get up and not to be afraid. When we consider that God loves us, even beyond our comprehension of what love means, we have nothing to fear from God, not even when we hear His voice. Someday, we will be standing, transfigured, in the very presence of God. 

Taste of Death

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

TASTE OF DEATH

Matt 16:24-28

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." 

NIV

Having considered taking up our cross and following Jesus and either gaining or losing our life, we should ponder on what Jesus said about Jesus going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels. What makes this a bit difficult to understand is that Jesus also told his disciples that some of them will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. First, we think Jesus is speaking about that last day of judgment in that he said that each person will be rewarded according to what he has done. We know he is not speaking about how many, or how good of deeds we have done, for that would mean that one Christian might be rewarded better than another. This could not be the case for we know God does not show favoritism. It would also cause a sense of competition about Christians to see who could outdo the other in doing the best or larger number of deeds to gain a bigger crown with more jewels. That is so against all of scripture, even the idea of jewels in a crown is never mentioned. Yes, there are crowns, such as the crown of life, or crown of glory or righteousness, but that is for all who overcome and are faithful to the end.  The reward is our salvation, while those who did not accept Jesus will be rewarded with perishing. It comes down to whether we are in or out, or whether we gained or lost our lives, as to whether we gained the world, yet forfeited our soul, or we lost our lives by taking up our cross and following Jesus. As far as those who that are standing there with Jesus, his disciples not tasting death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom, we cannot see that as the same day as the Day of Judgement, as it would not fit the context. However, Mark and Luke make it clearer in that they record Jesus saying the kingdom coming in power. This little band of believers except for Judas would see the Day of Pentecost and the kingdom of God explode through the power of the Spirit. In fact, John would see the Jewish nation scattered, the temple destroyed, and the gospel spread throughout Asia, Greece, Rome, and across the known world. The kingdom would continue to expand more and more beyond their lifetimes. However, tasting death, if we are believers, is just a momentary experience, for we will be resurrected onto life and life everlasting. We do not think that Jesus was making death a bad thing, but simply something that we would taste. There are many things that taste very good, and some that taste bad, such as the second death. But although we will taste death, it will be good tasting because it is flavored with eternal life. Therefore, for us, we look forward to the taste of death. Besides, it is just a taste, we are not having the whole meal. 

Deny and Follow

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

DENY AND FOLLOW

Matt 16:24-28

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." 

NIV

These words of Jesus have been taken or rather interpreted several ways. Either way, Jesus is speaking prophetically, however, as to how far in the future is the question that causes some to see his words differently. It does seem that Jesus is quoting or at least referring to what Daniel saw in his vision, which any good Jew would know. But first, we should deal with this idea of wanting to follow Jesus and how we must deny ourselves and take up our cross to do that. What does it mean to deny ourselves? Does that mean we should not want anything? We dare say that is not the meaning. Self is the core of our being, and it has more to do with relying on self, rather than on Christ. Self-reliance is a dangerous condition, especially when it comes to saving our lives. What good is chasing after the things of the world if they do not provide us with life? In fact, seeking after the world instead of Jesus will cause us to forfeit our souls. Now, the question remains regarding if we can do both. Can we deny ourselves, stop this self-reliance and follow Jesus while we are trying to obtain everything we want by our own self-determination? That is simply bizarre to even say it out loud or for that fact, even think it. It does not seem easy to deny our selfish pursuits, because as a norm in our culture or society, we want what we want and we usually find some way to get what we want and in some cases, we want more, bigger, better, or newer than what we currently have. If we are living like that, it does not appear we deny ourselves of anything to follow Jesus. Oh, sure we might think we deny sinning, in some sense. We might think that if we do not steal, murder, commit adultery, or some other crime, living sort of uprightly, abiding by the law of the land, except of course, in our cars, speeding away, we are being a “Good Christian”. Of course, that includes getting ourselves to church on Sunday morning. But is that truly what Jesus meant about taking up our cross and following him? If we deny ourselves, give up on our selfish ambitions, and submit ourselves to which God has appointed us and that might include bearing with certain situations, even difficulties we might meet within walking the Christ-like or Christian Road. The state of our lives or our destiny is either in our own hands or in the hands of God, for we cannot serve two masters, self and God. We cannot straddle the fence either, trying to live according to the will of God while making our own way in the world, having one foot in Christ, and the other in the world. Sure, we need a certain amount of creature comforts this world has to offer. We need a place to live, food to eat, clothes to wear, and a few other things we need in this society, like a car to get to work, etc. However, Jesus has told us to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and he would make sure we would have the things we need in this world to live out our days until he comes for us. It is all about setting self aside and relying completely on Jesus. Sure, we could just spiritualize it, and say it has only to do with trying to save our own soul or lives, and that we must deny that thinking and realize that Jesus is the only one who can save our souls.  Yet, he deals with both issues, our souls, and our earthy lives. 

Thinking of

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

THINKING OF

Matt 16:21-23

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." 

NIV

From what Matthew records for us, Jesus could not be any clearer as to what must happen to him. He was not telling his disciples to frighten them, but to inform them that all this must take place, but not to worry, because he will be raised to life. Certainly, they have witnessed Jesus bringing a little girl back to life. Although Matthew does not record the account that John does about Jesus calling Lazarus from the grave, it must have already happened. However, Peter, who we can identify with at times, could not understand with his spirit, but only with his earthly thinking. We would think that if Jesus can raise people from the dead, that he could rise from the dead whenever he wanted to, although to fulfill that which was spoken about him by the prophets, he would stay in the grave three days. It is interesting that Jesus told Peter that upon this rock he would build his church, and this is the same Peter who walked with Jesus on the water, that now Jesus calls him Satan, at least it looks like that is what he is calling him. We doubt that Jesus is calling Peter Satan, but the words, the thoughts, of Peter stem from the influence of Satan. We say that as long as we have the Spirit dwelling within us, Satan cannot dwell within us, as in we cannot serve two masters. However, we are still subject to his tempting us to think the things of men, rather than the things of God. We should remember that Peter had yet been baptized with the Spirit and thus it would be easy for him to think like men. When Peter made that statement about Jesus being the Son of the Living God, he was not thinking like a man, but had been revealed that truth by the Spirit, so why now is Peter not being revealed the truth, but rather thinking the things of men rather than God? Does that mean, there could be times when we are being revealed a great truth by the Spirit and turn around sometime later and think about the things of men? Is our fate being this fragile, mortal human being? Can we not always remain pure at heart? We would hate to think that at times we can be so close to God, and then turn and look at the world with wanting in our heart, but that seems to happen at times. It is just because we are human, that we have this duplicity that exists within. Certainly, Peter was not Satan, nor are we, but it is our human thinking that is not in line with the thinking of Jesus. We know that Peter does eventually get it, as did we, however, none of us is spot on all the time and have moments of weakness, as Peter did, as well as all men. That is not an excuse, but we do need to face the reality of the condition of our hearts. Sometimes we think about the things of God and sometimes we think the things of men. Someday that will change forever, but for now, let us pray the things of God are our most dominant thoughts. 

The Key

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

THE KEY

Matt 16:13-20

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"  14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"  16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.   19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  20 Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

NIV

Having considered the question of Jesus and the answer of Peter, we need to gain an understanding of these words of Jesus that are somewhat difficult in nature. What did Jesus mean when he said that he would build his church upon the rock? We know that Peter’s name means rock, which is the name Jesus gave him, changing his name from Simon. There have been various interpretations of what Jesus meant. One is that Jesus turned to himself, or made some gesture pointing to himself, who is referred to as the Rock, such as the Rock of our salvation. Upon this solid Rock, I stand. Certainly, the church is built upon Jesus Christ. But is that what Jesus meant? Another view is that the rock meant something that is the solid truth, and upon this truth that He is the Son of the living God, that confession of that, as Peter had just done, is how the church will be built. But both those thoughts may miss the true meaning of what Jesus was saying. The fact is that Peter was being told that he would lay the foundation of the church both to the Jews and the Gentiles. There is no question that on the Day of Pentecost, as we see in Acts 2, Peter was the one who stood up and delivered a great sermon followed by about three thousand who accepted his message and were baptized. We can just imagine the scene of that many people all being baptized, praising God for their salvation through Jesus Christ. Also, in Acts 10 the story of Cornelius having a vision and sending for Peter. There is no doubt that Peter was one of the founding fathers of the church, but not the only leading voice. We find James speaking up in the council of elders, and they followed his advice. What may have kept most protestant churches giving the proper due to Peter is the Catholic church wanting to declare Peter as the first Pope of the church. However, the point is that Jesus did speak to Peter and was making sure that Peter understood that he would be a significant part of building the church because of his hearing the voice of the Spirit revealing this truth that Jesus is the Son of the Living God. We also have to believe that the other disciples heard this exchange, and were also now keenly aware that Jesus affirmed the fact that He is the Son of the living God and they too will be a part of building the church alone with Peter. Although Peter did much for the church, others wrote gospels, and letters, as well as traveled to spread the message. How many churches did Paul and Barnabas start? How many churches did Timothy build upon that truth? What about John, Mark, and others? It was all the elders, who decided to have the people choose seven men to take care of the distribution of food, while, all of them kept themselves to the spiritual matters of the church. So, what do we do with all this? There must be a more general application that has an impact on our lives. This is not just about Peter, as everything is about Jesus, the point of all scripture is to direct us to Jesus, to turn our attention to Jesus, and accept Him as the Son of the living God. However, Jesus did say directly to Peter, that He would give to him, Peter, the keys to the kingdom and authority to bind things on earth and they would also be bound in heaven. No doubt, Peter was important in the early church, but then now we are in the post-modern church, and we must deal with whether we play any role in the church. Do we, as children of God, as brothers and sisters of the Son of the living God have that same authority which was given to Peter? When we consider all of scripture, we must believe we have been given the keys to the kingdom as well. We are told when any two of us agree about anything we ask for, Jesus says it will be done by His heavenly Father. That is binding on earth and being bound in heaven, as well as if we agree to lose it in the earth, that is let something go, then it will be let go in heaven. This must apply to all of us, along with Peter. If Peter was the only one to get the keys, then we need to worship Peter for without him we could not get in. but if Jesus gave us all the key, which he did, giving us himself the true key to getting into heaven, then we all have the key. 

The Living God

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

THE LIVING GOD

Matt 16:13-20

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"  14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"  16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.   19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  20 Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

NIV

It is interesting, having stood at a particular location in Caesarea Philippi. There was a ruin of a temple that Caesar had built and a ruin of a temple that was built to the god Pan. We can only imagine these temples stood in all their majesty and glory when Jesus and his disciples walked past them. Here was Caesar, a man who wanted to be a god, and there the temple of Pan, a god who was represented as a man. Here is where Jesus asks his disciples who do they say he is. Was he a man who wanted to be a god or a god that presented himself as a man? An interesting question in such a unique location. It is also interesting what some people say who Jesus is. Some thought he was someone other than who he is. However, Peter gets it right and answers the question, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” First, Peter understood that God was a living God. Here in the presence of a man who wanted to be a god, who was just a man like all other men, and a false god made by the hands of man, which in essence is just a statute and no god at all, Peter understands that Jehovah is a living God. Jesus affirms what Peter answered by telling him that his answer was not from some invention of man, but was revealed to him by Jesus’s heavenly Father, the living God. This is the only way we too can know that God is the one and only living God. It is revealed to us through the power of the Spirit. We also know that Peter declared that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, known as the Father, and who sent the Spirit to dwell in Jesus. Of course, we believe and know that God is all three, He is three in one. However, even if some think this to be a mystery, God has three persons that he manifests himself through, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. It is not essential that we understand or comprehend everything about God for what created man could fully understand the creator God. Yet, we know enough to realize God always was and is and always will forever be. This was not revealed to us by man, but by the Spirit, and as with Peter, we declare Jesus is the Son of the living God, and that He is our Savior, our Lord and because of Him, we have eternal life. It is also interesting that as much effort some men can put into building a following, or gathering of people, a church, they can only build an earthy organization. Jesus is the one who will build His church, it is by His power that the church exists, and it is not a building, the church is the people who have been compelled by the Spirit to come together to worship the living God. Satan cannot keep us apart, he cannot destroy us, for he has no power against Jesus. Let us rejoice that we are kept by the power of God, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against us. We are children of the living God, redeemed by the Son of the living God, and filled by the Spirit of the living God. 

On Guard

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

ON GUARD

Matt 16:5-12

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.

NIV

There is a tremendous amount of teaching available to believers from several sources. First, the plethora of books from a wide range of authors who could be coming from a variety of theology positions can be obtained from many different places. We could stop at the local bookstore or simply click away on the internet. These can cause many believers to be deceived by false teaching; therefore, we need to be careful and understand where these various authors are coming from. This is not to say that they would not be wrong in what they believe, but if we are aligning ourselves with a particular denominations statement of faith, or statement of beliefs, then we could find alternate beliefs, such as the difference between those of a Pentecostal and evangelical statement of faith. As with the Pharisees and the Sadducees having a difference of beliefs, in that the Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection. That would change everything for the disciples if they were not on guard against the yeast of the Sadducees. So, it is with us. We must be on guard against teaching that could influence us away from the truth. This is not simply a denominational issue, for although we might disagree over some points of scripture, they are still our brothers and sisters in Christ. However, there are many books that appear to be about God but are very humanistic in nature. The other source we need to be on guard against is those television preachers. Again, some may have good things to say, some simply have silver tongues designed to garner followers with open wallets. They speak words to tickle the ears so as to draw people to themselves. Listening to them is a yeast that can infect our minds and hearts. There is a reason for God to establish the local pastors, as Paul instructed Timothy to choose men with certain qualities. Jesus was the single pastor, the single teacher of his disciples, and did not want them to get infected with the yeast of other teachings. This is the reason God has established the overseers, the shepherds, to lead those in their spiritual care to the truth of God. Sure, there could be some differences in each church, but if the main teaching is Jesus Christ Crucified, and resurrected and ascended into heaven, that Jesus died for our sins, and if we repent and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior we will be saved, then we all are on the same path. There are other main truths, and some secondary truths that we should agree upon that are important. But the fact is we need to be on guard against those false teachers, false preachers, who mask their true intentions of self-gratification. God has given us many tools for us to guard with. He has given us the gift of discernment, which is from the Spirit, who in all He does to lead us into all truth, as well as His full armor so that we may be fully equipped to guard against the yeast of falseness. 

Signs

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

SIGNS

Matt 16:1-4

16:1 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.

NIV

What do we do with this? We know that which the Pharisees and Sadducees did not. We have accepted Jesus as our Messiah, our Lord, and Savior by faith. Whether we have seen any sign or wonder matters not because we believe by faith. We know what the sign of Jonah means. So how do we make sense of this narrative that could impact our lives? There are other passages that have been more difficult to garner a complete truth about, such as the events yet to come as described for us in the revelation that was given to John. Although, as we know, this is the revelation of Jesus to John and therefore to us, there are also future events that we are told must happen. It is interesting the world does not see this truth, but they are more like the Pharisees and Sadducees, looking for some supernatural or paranormal signs to indicate there is some kind of spirit world that exists outside the realm of God. There are within the church believers who want to interpret the signs of the revelation to John by the known physical evidence of our modern day. They want helicopters and nuclear bombs, airplanes, or jetpacks to explain away some of what John saw. However, John only knew of what he knew of his day and could only describe in the words of his day. So it is with wanting signs in order to believe. We do not need signs, we do not need to find signs for we have faith in God, faith in Jesus, and faith in the Spirit, that he will lead us into all truth. But it is the wicked and adulterous generation, those who are having an affair with the world, or the things of the world who want that sign, a proof of what is. Therefore, they make up proof to say they have a sign. They invent proofs for evolution so they can say they have a sign of how and when the earth came into existence alone with how man evolved from a single cell blob. They invent proofs of global warming so they can say they have found signs that man is at fault, that they have the knowledge of how to fix it. They show us signs of glacier calving, which is a normal process that has and will happen continuously, as signs that man has caused the earth to heat up and the ice is melting endangering nature. Man is always looking for or making up signs and yet the real sign is found in the word of God, and we cannot make that up, but merely accept it by faith. Thanks be to God, for even our faith is a gift from him.

 

                                                                                                               

Abundance

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

ABUNDANCE

Matt 15:32-39

32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way."  33 His disciples answered, "Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?" 34 "How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked. "Seven," they replied, "and a few small fish." 35 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. 37 They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 38 The number of those who ate was four thousand, besides women and children. 39 After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.

NIV

This is a continuation of the narrative Matthew records about Jesus landing on the other side and a crowd following him on land and how they brought all the sick and those with infirmities to Jesus and he healed them all. This would have taken some time, perhaps the better part of three days, as Matthew records, and Jesus was concerned about the people having something to eat. In fact, it is recorded that He had compassion for them. This is the second time Jesus fed thousands with just a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish. Sometime later Jesus talks about the yeast and his disciples did not get it, and he reminds them of the two times he used so little to feed so many to the point there were leftovers to be gathered up. Jesus does not skimp, but when he provides, He does in abundance. We can testify to this abundant provision of Jesus throughout our journey with him over these past forty-plus years. Jesus has never stopped having compassion on us and seeing to it that we have always had enough, to the point of having leftovers, which would relate to us being able to share that abundant provision. At times, it does relate to food or other material things, but His abundant provision can be applied to many aspects of life. His provision could apply to wisdom or understanding and or knowledge. His abundant provision could apply to either the gifts or the fruit of the Spirit, and this could be incorporated into love. Because He loves us abundantly, we should have enough love leftover to share that love of Christ with others. The Spirit manifests his gifts and fruit to overflowing and thus they should overflow onto others. Whenever we see Jesus doing anything, he does so with abundance. Even His first miracle at the wedding in Cana, he had the servants fill six water jars, a total of one hundred and eighty gallons of water that he turned into wine. We are not sure how many guests were there, but that much wine surely was an abundant amount. Whatever Jesus does, he does it in abundance. Let us continue to live in his provision. Matthew tells us that after this he went to the region of Magadan, or Magdala, the city by the sea where Mary of Magdala came from. Perhaps this is where she met Jesus for the first time and followed him. We have had the privilege to visit this place, and it is in view of the sea. But, let us not forget about the abundant provision of Jesus. 

Helping People get to Jesus

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

HELPING PEOPLE GET TO JESUS

Matt 15:29-31

29 Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. 30 Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. 31 The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

NIV

Once again, we have an account of many people who are in need of healing being brought to Jesus. The lame need help getting to Jesus. We would think the blind need help getting to Jesus, the terrain would be unfamiliar, and Jesus is one of the hundreds of people in a crowd. Even the crippled would need help getting to Jesus. We suppose most of the many others would need some type of help getting to Jesus. Perhaps the mute could make it on their own, but then maybe without a voice, they could not make their way through the crowds of people, not being able to say, “excuse me, coming through”. Maybe there was some shoving and pushing, but maybe there was some respect for those in need of being healed. However, the point here is twofold. First, Jesus healed them all and it caused the crowd to praise the God of Israel. Second, we see that people need help coming to Jesus. What we can be sure of is that Jesus is still in the business of healing people, but what needs to happen is those who require healing need to come to Jesus. When Jesus was walking among his people, they could come to Jesus in a physical sense. Today we can only come to Jesus in a spiritual sense, as He is physically sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven. However, even in the spiritual sense, people need help coming to Jesus. Unless Jesus appears in a supernatural way to someone, such as He did to Saul, who we now know as Paul, people do not come to Jesus on their own, they need help, navigating through the crowd. The crowd could be seen as a distraction or obstacle in getting to Jesus. We would suppose if there was a church in which everyone who was sick or had some infirmities were healed, a crowd would appear. We have seen crowds gather to watch some of these supposed faith healers, but for the most part, they came to see the man, and not God. Some of those supposed faith healers are indeed charlatans who do nothing but fleece the flock, by giving them a show and making them pay through offerings. Others may well be wanting the God of Israel to be praised, and people may indeed receive genuine healing. We have witnessed both, we think, as, on a personal note, we traveled with some of those “Healers” taking photos for them. But the point remains the same when it comes to getting in the presence of Jesus, people need help. This is evangelism in a sense; however, it is simply helping people get to Jesus. 

Response to Faith

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

RESPONSE TO FAITH

Matt 15:21-28

21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession." 23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us." 24 He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."  25 The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said. 26 He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."  27 "Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." 28 Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

NIV

This seems to be a very strange encounter because of how Jesus handles this request from the Canaanite woman. Calling her a dog just seems to not be in the character of Jesus, who is normally full of mercy and compassion for those in need. The fact that Jesus came to the Jews did not prohibit others from wanting His power in their lives. If it were true that Jesus only came for the Jews and never ever intended for any gentiles to receive salvation, or any other prayer request would be completely out of the will of God. John makes it quite clear in his account of the gospel that God so the world, which must include all the gentiles, that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes should not perish but have eternal life. This would then include this Canaanite woman. Therefore, what we would conclude is that Jesus was giving this woman an opportunity to exercise her faith. We think that her request was certainly well presented in the way that it was short, humble, full of faith, fervent, yet modest and it was indeed rational, but also relying on the mercy of God, and we could say she was persevering. The point being is that when we have a need, we do not need to babel on like Jesus said the Pharisees did, trying to impress people with their fine words. We do not need to remind God of every word He said, or quote many verses within our request. If we need healing, we only need to ask to be healed, with faith and being humble before our lord. We noticed she had no other recourse, so her reliance was completely on Jesus. We think maybe we might put a little more faith in the doctors than we do in Jesus, so our reliance is divided and maybe, just maybe that may be why we do not see such miraculous healings as did those in the time Jesus when the medical practices were so lacking in comparison to today. We have heard, and maybe even thought ourselves, that God uses doctors to heal us. Maybe that is true, maybe He does, but maybe He doesn’t and would rather we rely completely on Him. Maybe we give up too soon in our request and total reliance on Him, thinking the doctors are His method. It’s just a thought. What we do know is that Jesus met this woman’s need. He responded to her faith. Jesus will also respond to faith. Can we utilize doctors and still have faith? Who is to say, only God knows? What we do know is that Jesus heals, and however He elects to do it is fine with us. Jesus always responds to faith.