Category Archives: Matthew

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Job Description For Jesus’ Disciples

Reflecting and Replicating the Master

SYNOPSIS: Are you a true disciple? The answer is easy: If you are reflecting and replicating the life of the Master, you’re in pretty good shape. If you aren’t, you need to go back and have a serious conversation — should I say, “conversion” — with the Master.

Discipleship is a journey.

Moments With God // Matthew 28:18-20

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

What do real disciples do? Two things actually: They reflect and they replicate.

First of all, authentic disciples become like the Master. They fully devote themselves to his life and they fully obey his teachings. They become like Jesus in thought, word, and deed to the point where his very being is reflected in the essential quality of their being. The Master becomes the sum and substance of their lives. Only by the kind of transformation where the Master is fundamentally reflected from center to circumference in their lives can Christ’s disciples in turn “go and make [other] disciples.” Only then can they teach others to “observe all that [the Master] has commanded.”

That is what it means to be truly Christian. Being truly Christian means being an authentic disciple. One cannot happen without the other—Christianity means discipleship; discipleship means Christianity. Being either is not just in name, it is in the reflection of the Master in the life of the disciple. Calling oneself a disciple is simply wishful thinking without doing the things of discipleship and being in essence the reflection of the Master. Call it what you will, anything less is nothing more than inauthentic discipleship, non-Christianity, a false religion.

Second, authentic disciples replicate the life of the Master through their lives in the lives of others. In other words, they reproduce. Barren discipleship is non-discipleship. True disciples go with the message, bearing the life of the One they reflect and persuading others to follow Jesus.

Disciples don’t just win converts to Christianity; they make other disciples in the way of the Master. To convert a soul to Jesus simply begins the process of discipleship. Conversion is the first step; discipleship is the journey. True conversion begins the journey of authentic discipleship; the convert requires the same full devotion to the Master’s life and the same full obedience to his teaching that took place in the proto-disciple. The Master’s life is replicated in the disciple, who in turn replicates the Master’s life in the convert, who then, in turn, replicates the Master’s life in still others.

That is when discipleship comes full circle and is proven authentic.

Here is the real question in all of this: Are you a true disciple? The answer is easy: If you are reflecting and replicating the life of the Master, you’re in pretty good shape.

If you aren’t, you need to go back and have a serious conversation — should I say, “conversion” — with the Master.

Take A Moment: If you are serious about being a true disciple of Christ, let me suggest that you offer this prayer: “Jesus, you said we cannot truly call you Lord unless we do the things you said we should do. With all of my heart, I want to be authentic when I call you Lord. Help me to give you my full devotion and complete obedience. Make me a true disciple.”

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Confidence In The Un-Random God

God’s Always Working His Plan

SYNOPSIS: There’s nothing random about God; He leaves nothing up to chance. That means for the believer, coincidence is simply God choosing to remain anonymous. As sovereign Lord of the universe, He is ruling over the details of history to bring about His flawless plan. What may seem like happenstance or fate, God has foreordained, caused, or permitted in His perfect will. Coincidence is simply a sovereign act for which He chooses to remain unseen, a miracle for which He prefers anonymity. Yes, He is in control of all things — and that includes your life. So today, and every day, put your confidence in the unrandom God!

Confidence in the un-random God

MOMENTS WITH GOD // Claim Matthew 2:5,15,18,23

For thus it is written in the prophets…

The birth and life of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world, was not the product of random events. It was the direct result of prophetic fulfillment. Thus the phrase linking Christ’s life to Old Testament prophecy is repeated four times in this second chapter of Matthew’s Gospel.

Those details of Jesus’ life had been laid out in the mind of God from eternity past and had been written down in the inspired utterances of the prophets of old hundreds of years before Christ was born. The fulfillment of scores of prophecies in minute detail of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus leaves us with a pretty amazing track record of prophetic accuracy…leaving no doubt that those prophecies detailing His second coming will most certainly be fulfilled, too.

There is nothing random about God; nothing is left up to chance. The God of the Bible is the sovereign Lord of the universe and is ruling over the details of history to bring about His flawless plan. What may seem like happenstance or coincidence, God has foreordained, caused, or permitted in His perfect will. Coincidence is simply a sovereign act of God for which He chooses to remain unseen, a miracle for which He prefers anonymity.

God is in control of all things, and that includes your life. David wrote in Psalm 139:16,

You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.

God’s Word invites you to live with amazing confidence today, knowing that He is in control of all things, including even the smallest details of your life. Therefore you can say, “all things will work together for my good and His glory.”

Take A Moment: Offer this prayer of confidence to God: Lord, I will live confidently and expectantly this day, and this year, knowing that my life is a part of Your greater plan. Take over my life completely and may every detail of my existence serve Your purposes perfectly and bring great glory to Your great name.”

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You Are God’s Harvester of Souls

Lost People Matter to God - They Should Matter to Us, Too!

SYNOPSIS: There is a very real harvest of human souls that will spend somewhere in eternity—either heaven or hell. To the Lord of the harvest, the in-gathering of these unsaved souls is his primary “business,” if you will. Moreover, the Lord of the harvest has recruited you and me into his field to do the harvesting of these souls on his behalf. All that to say, since lost people matter that much to God, they must matter that deeply to us as well! As Elton Trueblood observed, winning souls “is not a professional job for a few trained men, but is instead the unrelenting responsibility of every person who belongs to the company of Jesus.”

Project 52 – Weekly Scripture Memory // Matthew 9:37-3

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest”

This verse represents a clear view into the compassionate heart of a seeking God, and more than anything, it reveals the compelling core of his very being.

Moreover, Jesus’s words remind us that there is a very real harvest of human souls that will spend somewhere in eternity—either heaven or hell. And being Lord of the harvest, it tells us that the gathering in of these unsaved souls is God’s primary business, if you will.

Finally, it tells us that we are those he has brought into his field to do the harvesting of these souls. In other words, you are God’s harvester!

All that to say, lost people must matter to us because they matter to God!

John 3:16, the most compelling of all the verses in the Bible, is compelling for a reason. It reminds us, in no uncertain terms, that the salvation of the lost, both near and far, both next door and across the ocean, is the driving conviction of God’s being:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Now if lost people matter that deeply to God—enough to send His only Son to die for us—they ought to matter deeply to us as well. And that is a critical issue since, as Christian author Jacquelyn Heasley puts it,

How we believe God perceives people determines how we will respond to them.

Every time you see the face of another human being, you’re seeing a soul that’s so loved by God that he sent his Son to die for their redemption—illegals crossing the southern border, the homeless camping along the interstate, anarchist breaking windows downtown, your next-door neighbor who won’t cut his grass. They matter to a missionary God and crossing international borders as well as our own comfort to reach them with his love is called missions. So, they need to matter deeply to us as well.

So reaching them with the Good News of salvation and the free gift of eternal life is the mission of God that has been assigned to you and me. In that sense, you and I are missionaries—albeit to our next-door neighbor, or to our classmate at the next desk over, or to our coworker in the cubicle next to us.

May I implore you to not only memorize this verse this week but to see it from a whole new perspective from now on? Let it remind you of the ripe harvest all around you. Let it give you a clear and constant view into the very heart of the seeking Father. And let it shake you to the core that God is depending on you to be the gatherer in his great harvest of souls.

May this be the compelling call that transforms you into a Christ-follower who has become intensely missionary. Henry Martyn, the nineteenth-century Anglican missionary to India who died, incidentally, at the age of thirty-one bringing the Gospel to Iran, said:

The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we become.”

God help you, and God help me, to become intensely missionary!

Reflect and Apply: Perhaps a prayer today is in order. Ask God to help you to see lost people as he does. Ask him to give you his heart for those who don’t know him and are, therefore, headed for a Christless eternity. And ask him to use you to influence someone to him today. And remember, he hears your prayers.

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The Cost of Discipleship

No Easy Believism Allowed

SYNOPSIS: Jesus made no promises of an easy, breezy, carefree Christianity. Rather, he demanded complete obedience, costly sacrifice, and selfless servanthood from those who wanted to be on his team. He told them that they would have to “eat his flesh and drink his blood” if they wanted a part in him. (John 6:53) He said people would hate them, misunderstand them, reject them, persecute them, and put them out of the synagogues. And he even promised that people would kill them, believing that in so doing they were helping God out. Yet the eleven disciples (one of them, Judas, got cold feet) fully bought into Christ’s call to costly discipleship. Will you?

Project 52 – Weekly Scripture Memory // Matthew 16:24

Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Salvation is free…but discipleship will cost you your life.”  I’m pretty sure he was quoting Jesus on that one.

Does Christ’s call to self-denying, cross-bearing discipleship seem a little extreme in comparison to the “easy believism” that passes for some brands of discipleship today? You will likely hear a lot more about a life of comfort, security and success these days from spiritual leaders than the straight talk Jesus laid on his would-be followers.

Jesus made no promises of an easy, breezy, carefree Christianity. Rather, he demanded complete obedience, costly sacrifice, and selfless servanthood from those who wanted to be on his team. He told them that they would have to “eat his flesh and drink his blood” if they wanted a part in him. (John 6:53) He said people would hate them, misunderstand them, reject them, persecute them, and put them out of the synagogues.  And he even promised that people would kill them, believing that in so doing they were helping God out. (John 16:2)

Yet the eleven disciples (one of them, Judas, got cold feet) fully bought into Christ’s call to costly discipleship. They gave up everything they had and left everything they knew for a life that promised nothing except a chance to advance God’s kingdom in a resistant, hostile world. They fully understood that the overwhelming bulk of their rewards would come only afterwards, in the afterlife.

Despite Christ’s less than appealing recruitment campaign, however, these first disciples, followed in the years to come by countless thousands of other hungry seekers, flocked to this self-denying, cross-bearing brand of Christianity. Jesus was a tough act to follow, to say the least, but these disciples eagerly signed up—and they changed the world.

How? Simply by doing what Jesus had asked: They denied themselves, took up their crosses, followed his way daily and laid down their lives for his sake— literally in many cases. Without a political voice, financial resources, social standing, and military might, this unlikely ragtag band of followers conquered the Roman Empire in less than three hundred years.

Such was the radical power of this brand of fully committed discipleship.

Do you worry, as I do, that Christ’s call to costly discipleship would empty most churches of its people in our day? Though most believers give mental assent to cross-bearing and self-denial, in reality there is very little evidence of it in their lives, or in their churches. A.W. Tozer comments,

It has become popular to preach a painless Christianity and automatic saintliness. It has become part of our ‘instant’ culture. ‘Just pour a little water on it, stir mildly, pick up a gospel tract, and you are on your Christian way.

If Jesus rebuked Peter (Matthew 16:23) — “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” — for suggesting Christianity without a cross, what do you suppose he would say to us who have suggested Christian discipleship without cross-bearing?

We must aggressively and boldly reject that brand of faith, because that is not the discipleship to which Jesus has called us. And that is not the discipleship that I want for my life.

How about you?

 The first mark of a disciple is not a profession of faith, but an act of obedience. ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

Reflect & Apply: Bonhoeffer once remarked, “Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.” No matter how long you have been a Christian, Jesus is calling you to a more ruthless brand of discipleship. Are you ready to follow?

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Our Bread and Butter

Don't Neglect Your Most Effective Weapon

SYNOPSIS: Be on guard today, because Satan will tempt you to sin. That’s his job description. But it’s not a forgone conclusion that you will surrender to the Enemy’s scheming—as seductive and as strong as it may be. Jesus didn’t—which means that you don’t have to either!  Jesus was under the authority of God’s Word; he knew the Word and will of God, and he used it to demolish the devil’s devices. And so can you. That’s one of the blessings of reading, reflecting on, memorizing, praying and obeying the Scripture each day, as you are doing – or at least I hope so!

Project 52 – Weekly Scripture Memory // Matthew 4:4

It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

The context for this familiar verse is the temptation of Christ. Right before Jesus began his public ministry, he entered into an extended period of prayer and fasting. And while we might think Jesus would have been at his most invulnerable by engaging in these spiritual disciplines, Satan still found him and fired three incredibly powerful temptations at him.

But three times Jesus parried the Enemy’s temptation by appealing to God’s Word. He met the first temptation with a quotation of Deuteronomy 8:3, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”  Jesus met the second temptation with a quotation of Deuteronomy 6:16, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” And the third temptation was met with a Divine dismissal wrapped in the language of Deuteronomy 6:13, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”

Now contrary to what we might assume Jesus was doing, he was not primarily quoting Scripture to scare away the devil. He was simply reminding the devil, and himself, that his life was under the sole jurisdiction of the unimpeachable authority of the Word of God. To Jesus, Scripture was his bread and butter.

It is interesting that Satan knew who Jesus was—that he was God the Son—yet tempted him anyway.  Likewise, Satan knows that you, too, are a child of God. Your identity will not stop him from unleashing an onslaught of spiritual sounding temptations to get you to compromise your standing as a child of God.

So be on guard today. It is not a forgone conclusion that you will surrender to the Enemy’s scheming—as seductive and as strong as it may be. Jesus didn’t—which means that you don’t have to either.  Jesus was under the authority of God’s Word; he knew the Word and will of God, and he used it to demolish the devil’s devices. And so can you. That’s one of the blessings of reading, reflecting on, memorizing, praying and obeying the Scripture each day, as you are doing.

And in your battle with the Tempter, let this encourage you: Since Jesus overcame his battle with temptation, he stands at the ready to help you in your battle.  So just ask him for his help—he is more than willing to come alongside you.  Hebrews 2:17-18 reminds us,

“For this reason Jesus had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

So when sin comes tapping on your shoulder today, just lean into Jesus, and then do what he did: He hit back, punching the temptation in the teeth with the Truth.

 “Satan doth not tempt God’s children because they have sin in them, but because they have grace in them. Had they no grace, the devil would not disturb them… Though to be tempted is a trouble, yet to think why you are tempted is a comfort.” ~Thomas Watson

Reflect & Apply:  The Puritan preacher, Thomas Watson, said, “Satan tempts to sin under a pretense of religion. He is most to be feared when he transforms himself into an angel of light. He came to Christ with Scripture in his mouth: ‘It is written.’” Since the devil baits his hook with spiritual sounding ideas, watch closely that you don’t meet legitimate needs and valid desires in ways that don’t come under the absolute authority of Scripture.

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The Entire Bible In One Word: Love

Just Love — And Everything Else Will Fall Into Place

SYNOPSIS: It has been called “The Great Commandment.” Within it you will discover the bottom line to what God wants from his people. It is a job description, if you will, that succinctly describes what must occupy the attitudes, thoughts and actions of every true disciple. It is the gold standard of a growing spirituality, the truest measurement of a salvation that has taken root, the surest sign of transformation into Christ-likeness. It is also a brilliant one-word summation of the entire Bible.  In a word, here is what Jesus said: LOVE! Love—not the noun, but the verb. Love—that’s it. Just love, and everything else will take care of itself.

Project 52 – Weekly Scripture Memory // Matthew 22:37-40

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

Jesus’ response to a question asking him to identify the most important law in Scripture has been called, “The Great Commandment”, and truly, it is a great one!

Within it you will discover the bottom line to what God wants from his people. It is a job description, if you will, that succinctly describes what must occupy the attitudes, thoughts and actions of every true disciple.  It is the gold standard of a growing spirituality, the truest measurement of a salvation that has taken root, the surest sign of transformation into Christ-likeness.

It is also a brilliant one-word summation of the entire Bible.  In a word, here is what Jesus said:

LOVE!

Love—not the noun, but the verb. Love—that’s it. Do that, and everything else will take care of itself. Simply love God with every fiber of your being, and your religion will be pure, your faith will be authentic and your Christianity will be true to plumb. For when you love God wholeheartedly, then you will love his Word, obey his commands, testify of his greatness, steward his resources, serve his purposes, worship his name, care for his creation—and you will store up treasure in heaven, to boot! Just love God, and everything will be alright with you!

And if you really are loving God with your whole heart, then you will also love your neighbor as yourself. If you are not loving people in that manner, then you have a love problem; your love for God is anemic. The truest sign that God’s love is transforming your own heart is a demonstrable love for the people around you.  Likewise, the most effective love for the people around you is rooted in and issues from your love for God. Love for God and love for people are inseparable; you can’t have one without the other.

That’s right: Love is the thing. All else pales in comparison; nothing else matters!

So the burning question is, how do you love God like he wants to be loved?  How do you fulfill this first and greatest commandment?

To begin with, let me encourage you not to limit your understanding of love to the feelings and emotions of love that we have come to expect.  Just as you don’t always “feel” love for another person, you won’t always feel the warm sensation of love for God.  At times you will—and that’s wonderful—but don’t depend just on your feelings.  They are way overrated!

Rather, look at love for God this way:  Start with a decision to love—purpose in your heart that you will love God. Then make a commitment to love—make loving God the highest and most fiercely guarded priority of your life.  Follow that with the action of love—do the things that demonstrate your love for God: Spend time with him, talk to him—and listen, tangibly care for the things he cares for, align your life around the things that matter to him. Finally, never take your love for God, or his love for you, for granted. One of the best ways to keep love fresh is by expressing gratitude for what his love has done for you.

Though it seems crazy and is actually quite impossible, make it your life’s ambition to outdo the love God has for you by your love for him.  It’ll never work, but you’ll be amazed at the kind of life that results from trying.  Henry Martyn, an Anglican mission from the early nineteenth century wrote,

“With thee, O my God, there is no disappointment; I shall never have to regret that I loved thee too well.”

Make love the thing—love for God, love for people—and you will never, ever regret it!

Reflect & Apply:  If you are worried that your love for God is waning, I would recommend that you pray what I once heard someone offer as a heartfelt cry to God: “Lord, I want to love you.  Help me to want to want to love you more!” That may sound a little strange, but I somehow sense that your Father would be moved by that kind of request.

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Job Description for Jesus’ Disciples

They Reflect and They Replicate

What do real disciples do? Two things, actually: They reflect, and they replicate. First, they become like the Master. They fully devote themselves to his life, and they fully obey his teachings. They become like Jesus in thought, word, and deed to the point where his very being is reflected in the essential quality of their being. Only by the kind of transformation where the Master is fundamentally reflected from center to circumference in their lives can Christ’s disciples, in turn, “go and make [other] disciples,” which is the second thing real disciples do. Only by being like Jesus can they teach others to “observe all that [the Master] has commanded,” replicating the life of the Master through their lives in the lives of others. In other words, they reproduce. That is when discipleship comes full circle and is proven authentic.

The Journey: Matthew 28:18-20

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

What do true disciples do? Two things, actually: They reflect, and they replicate.

First of all, authentic disciples become like the Master. They fully devote themselves to his life, and they fully obey his teachings. They become like Jesus in thought, word, and deed to the point where his very being is reflected in the essential quality of their being. The Master becomes the sum and substance of their lives. Only by the kind of transformation where the Master is fundamentally reflected from center to circumference in their lives can Christ’s disciples in turn “go and make [other] disciples.” Only then can they teach others to “observe all that [the Master] has commanded.”

That is what it means to be truly Christian. Being truly Christian means being an authentic disciple. One cannot happen without the other—Christianity means discipleship; discipleship means Christianity. Being either is not just in name, it is in the reflection of the Master in the life of the disciple. Calling oneself a disciple is simply wishful thinking without doing the things of discipleship and being in essence the reflection of the Master. Call it what you will, anything less is nothing more than inauthentic discipleship, non-Christianity, and a false religion.

Second, authentic disciples replicate the life of the Master through their lives in the lives of others. In other words, they reproduce. Barren discipleship is non-discipleship. True disciples go with the message, bearing the life of the One they reflect and persuading others to follow Jesus.

Disciples don’t just win converts to Christianity, they make other disciples in the way of the Master. To convert a soul to Jesus simply begins the process of discipleship. Conversion is the first step; discipleship is the journey. True conversion that begins the journey of authentic discipleship requires the same full devotion to the Master’s life and the same full obedience to his teaching that took place in the first disciple. The Master’s life is replicated in the disciple, who in turn replicates the Master’s life in the convert, who then, in turn, replicates the Master’s life in still others.

Discipleship comes full circle and is proven authentic, then, when the Master’s life is replicated in the disciple, who in turn replicates the Master’s life in the convert, who then, in turn, replicates the Master’s life in still others.

So, here is the real question in all of this: Are you a true disciple? The answer is easy: If you are reflecting and replicating the life of the Master, you’re in pretty good shape.

If you aren’t, you need to go back and have a serious conversation — should I say, “conversion” — with the Master. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer observed, “Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.”

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

Jesus, you said we cannot truly call you Lord unless we do the things you said we should do. With all of my heart, I want to be authentic when I call you Lord. Help me to give you my full devotion and complete obedience. Make me a true disciple.