Category Archives: Matthew

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Your Judas

Walking Where Great People Have Walked Before

Have you ever been betrayed by a friend? There is no pain quite like it! But are you willing to consider the possibility that God has a far deeper work to do in you that can only come through the betrayer’s knife? Charles Spurgeon said, “I bear willing witness that I owe more to the fire, the hammer and the file than to anything else in the Lord’s workshop. I sometimes question whether I have ever learned anything except through the rod. When my schoolroom is darkened, I see the most.” If you are going through the pain of betrayal, just remember that you are only walking where most of the greats have once walked.

Enduring Truth // Focus: Matthew 26:16

From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

Sorry to be the one to break the news to you, but everybody gets a Judas in life. At one point or another, you will bear the pain of someone you trusted thrusting a knife in your back. It is simply, and sadly, the awful reality of living in a broken world alongside fallen human beings.

Among the 60 conspirators who assassinated the Roman leader on March 15, 44 BC was Marcus Julius Brutus. Caesar not only trusted Brutus, he favored him as a son. According to Roman historians, Caesar first resisted his assassins, but when he saw Brutus among them with his dagger drawn, he gave up. He pulled the top part of his robe over his face, and uttered those heartrending words immortalized by Shakespeare, “Et tu Brute” … “You, too, my child?”

Julius Caesar was not the only one to know such treachery. The passionate Scottish patriot William Wallace experienced it when Earl Robert de Bruce betrayed him. Not even the brightest theological mind who ever lived—the Apostle Paul—or the most perfect human being ever—Jesus Christ—was spared. No one gets a pass on betrayal.

So here’s the thing: Are you willing to consider the possibility that God has a far deeper work to do in you that can only come through the betrayer’s knife? Charles Spurgeon said,

I bear willing witness that I owe more to the fire, the hammer and the file than to anything else in the Lord’s workshop. I sometimes question whether I have ever learned anything except through the rod. When my schoolroom is darkened, I see the most.

The truth is, the fire, the hammer and the file of a betrayal may result in some of God’s finest craftsmanship—if you keep your heart soft and your eye on him. If you are going through the pain of a betrayer’s wound right now, remember, you are walking where great people have walked before. Their greatness came because they didn’t allow betrayal to ruin them; they learned how to turn their pain into greater usefulness for the Lord.

Jesus responded to Judas’ money-making treachery with obedient submission to God—and transformed the world. Perhaps God wants to use your pain to form you, and transform your world.

Thrive: If you are going through the pain of betrayal, memorize and pray this psalm of David, who knew a little about betrayal: “But I call to God, and the LORD saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice…Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” (Psalm 55:16-17, 22)

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Camels, Needles, Wealth And Heaven

Anything can lead us away from God—wealth for sure, but also drink, food, leisure, entertainment, or any number of the things of this world. Jesus said that just as a camel cannot go through the eye of a needle, so someone who loves the world more than God cannot enter heaven. What a loss—forfeiting eternal glory for earthly gain!

Enduring Truth // Focus: Matthew 19:23

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”

When you read the entire story in of Jesus conversation with the rich, young ruler, you will notice that twice Jesus said how hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God…as hard as it would be for a camel to slip through the eye of a needle! Now that’s both intriguing, and because of our culturally accepted belief that money will make you happy, it more than a little intimidating!

Over the years, I’ve heard this explained by referring to a gate in ancient Jerusalem called the “Eye of the Needle”. This gate was designed so pedestrians could use it, but not marauding bandits on their camels. The only way a camel could get through this “Eye of the Needle” gate was to be unloaded and crawl through on its knees. The spiritual lesson is clear: The camel could go through the gate, but only after being stripped of its baggage—its wealth!

The only problem with this interpretation is that it’s not true! There is absolutely no archaeological or historical evidence for the existence of such a gate. That “interpretation” is simply a case of trying to make Christ’s words fit our own concept of what he meant. Jesus clearly says that it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Can this be done? Of course not! That’s the whole point!

Yet people have tried in vain to make it happen. Some have suggested that there’s a misprint in the Greek. The Greek word kamelos, meaning “camel” should really be kamilos, meaning “cable” or “rope”. Others suggest this was an Aramaic play on words, since kamelos and the Aramaic kalma, which means “vermin” or “louse”, are so similar. Okay, try threading a rope through a needle. Try nudging a gnat through the eye of a needle. It’s still impossible…even with WD40!

All this theological maneuvering is ridiculous—and unnecessary. Jesus was using hyperbole, just like in Matthew 7 when he speaks of the “plank” being in your eye while trying to remove the “splinter” in a brother’s eye. No serious theologian would claim that Jesus really meant a toothpick, not a 2×4. Everyone understands that this was exaggeration for effect. In Babylon, where portions of the Jewish Talmud were written, since the elephant was the largest animal, it was substituted for “camel” to make this kind of point.

So this hyperbole in Matthew 19 is easily explained: A camel was Israel’s largest animal, and contrasted with the smallness of a needle’s eye shows the impossibility of squeezing the former through the latter.

Why such great efforts to make palatable what Christ “really meant”? Is it because we secretly — or even openly—desire wealth and don’t want biblical restrictions getting in the way of what we want? Just in case we inherit big bucks from Uncle Jeb when he croaks, or make a ton of dough in business, we don’t want any spiritual stigma attached to our money!

Now if this conversation bothers you a little, you’re in good company because it bothered the disciples, too. They were so shaken they asked, “Who then can be saved?” They were unnerved because popular Jewish thought had it that wealth and prosperity were a sign of God’s blessing.

Here’s the deal: Wealth itself isn’t the problem. It’s our attitude toward it…our over-dependence on it! This is really a very simple thing Jesus is saying: Through your own efforts, you cannot be saved. The wealthy cannot be saved through money—nor can one be saved by skills, talents, intellect, good looks—or even by living a good life!

Wealth is not the overriding issue here. As you can see, it would be just as dangerous for an underprivileged person to think that his poverty gave him spiritual piety and eternal favor.

In truth, anything can lead us from the path of righteousness: Not only wealth, but drink, food, television, leisure, entertainment, or any number of things available to us in this world.

In 2 Timothy 4:10, Paul writes, “Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world.” What caused this close friend and ministry companion, Demas, to leave Paul and walk away from Christ? He loved the world; the particulars aren’t divulged.

Whatever it was, the simple fact is that a camel cannot go through the eye of a needle, and someone who loves the world more than God, whether rich or poor, forfeits the approval of God.

1 John 2:15-17 says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world–the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does–comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”

The point is that we do not achieve salvation through our own efforts, nor can we gain lasting security and satisfaction by worldly means; it is from God alone.

So the real issue Jesus is addressing—back then and right now—is about priorities, not possessions. He isn’t teaching that wealth is wrong…it’s not money that’s evil…it’s the love of money that’s at the root of all kinds of evil.

Jesus’ real concern is this: What possesses us—not what we possess.

Thrive: Here is a prayer you may want to offer: “Dear God, I want you to possess all of me. Deliver me from the deceitfulness of wealth…or any other thing that I have substituted for you to bring me happiness and security. Bring me to that place where I am ready to let it all go in obedience and devotion to you should you ask.”

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God, I Want Your Will – Nothing More, Nothing Less, Nothing Else

52 Simple Prayers for 2018

The greatest, safest, most satisfying place in the world to be is in the very center of God’s will. So get there – and stay there – even in the midst of those circumstances that, from a human perspective, seem contrary to the will of a good and loving Heavenly Father. Learn to pray, early and often, earnestly and obediently, what Jesus prayed: “Father, not my will, but yours be done!”

A Simple Prayer for God’s Will:

God, not my will, but your will be done. That is what I need, and this is what I want. Give me your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Amen.
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Delayed, Not Denied

The God Who Promises is the God Who Fulfills

God always keeps his promises. They may be so slow in coming, but they are never late. God’s promises may seem delayed, but they are never denied to the faithful. So every time you read a Biblical promise, just know this: in his sovereign timing, he will fulfill what he has promised. The God who made 7,000 promises in his Word, many of them direct promises to you, will fulfill them all! It doesn’t matter when he fulfills them or how, it only matters that he will. And he will, because he’s the God who fulfills!

Enduring Truth // Focus: Matthew 1:1-2

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren.

Back in the day when I was growing up, you had two choices in Bible versions: The King James or the King James. And the King James used the word “begat” when listing the genealogies of the Bible, as is the case in this chapter. To read through these seemingly unending lists of mostly boring and meaningless names in the genealogical records took real commitment. Matthew 1 is a case in point: “Judah begat Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez begat Hezron, and Hezron begat Ram…” and so forth.

Perhaps you were tempted to skip over the genealogies and the begats in the Bible, or maybe just to just read through these names a little faster than normal. That’s what we tend to do with names and lists that are, honestly, meaningless to us. If we read them at all, we just breeze through them. They are to be endured, not enjoyed; tolerated, not celebrated. That’s understandable. The names are hard to pronounce. We don’t have any historical context for most of these people. Reading these names is akin of reading from the phone book.

Yet we believe the inspired Word of God, inerrant in all it affirms, the only authoritative and infallible rule of faith and conduct. That means every chapter, every verse and every line is God’s perfect Word for us—even the genealogies. They are not here by mistake; they are not here just as filler. They are here by God’s design for our benefit. So, in a sense, these genealogies are truly “Designer genes”.

If you have ever researched your genealogy by looking up your family tree, you know that what you are looking at is the historical thumbprint that provides context to the ongoing story of your life. That’s why God spent valuable ink in His Word passing these genealogies to us. And this genealogy in Matthew is important because these names not only remind us how Jesus got here. They tell us the story of who God is. And since God is our Father, the stories behind these names reveal the “Designer genes” that make us, spiritually speaking, who we are.

This particular genealogy tells a wonderful story—a very important story that you and I really need to know: It tells the story that God is the God of promise.

The very first line in Matthew 1:1 says, “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham.” The birth of Jesus was the result of a Divine promise made thousands of years before his birth. The God of the Bible is a God who makes promises—and is faithful to keep them—every one! The Bible contains about 7,000 promises, and two of them stand head and shoulders above the rest: The Abrahamic and the Davidic covenants. Abraham and David are two significant Old Testament characters. God made promises to them in response to their faithfulness.

To David, God made the promise of an everlasting throne I Chronicles 17:11-14, “When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom…I will establish his throne forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son…I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever.”

But God not only promised David an enduring throne, he promised Abraham a universal seed. God told Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 that through his genealogy the whole world would be blessed. That didn’t happen for Abraham through Isaac, or Jacob, or Judah. It didn’t even happen for David through Solomon. The enduring throne and the universal blessing were revealed and fulfilled hundreds of years later through Jesus Christ.

The point is that in this genealogy, we see that God always keeps his promises. They may be so slow in coming, but they are never late. God’s promises may seem delayed, but they are never denied. And every time you read this genealogy, or any Bible genealogy for that matter, you are seeing how the God of history, in his sovereign timing, fulfills what he has promised.

And the God who made 7,000 promises in his Word, many of them direct promises to you, will fulfill them all in his sovereign time! It doesn’t matter when he fulfills them or how…it only matters that he will.

And he will, because he’s the God who fulfills!

Thrive: If there are over 7,000 promises that God has made to his people in the Bible, shouldn’t you be claiming one or two of them for yourself? Look up a couple of promises in God’s Word, memorize them and pray them back to God every day this week.

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The Divine Eye Of The Satanic Storm

The Greatest, Safest, Most Satisfying Place in the World

Where is the greatest, safest, most satisfying place in the world to be? In the very center of God’s will, that’s where! So why not move there—like ASAP. And here’s a prayer that’s a great first step in making the move in that direction: “Father, not my will, but yours be done!”

Enduring Truth // Focus: Matthew 26:39

Jesus went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Where is the greatest, safest, most satisfying place in the world to be? In the very center of God’s will, that’s where!

When we can learn to not only pray, but earnestly desire God’s will for our lives—unpleasant and undesired circumstances notwithstanding—then we will have discovered what Jesus knew all along when he prayed that prayer on the very night he was betrayed: The Divine “eye” of the Satanic storm.

Jesus desired his Father’s will more than anything else—even life itself. He knew his purpose in life was to fulfill God’s plan: To redeem a lost world by his sacrificial death. He entrusted his own personal preferences to the One who not only works out all things for His own glory, but for the good of His children as well. (Romans 8:28) That’s why Jesus, whom Hebrews 12 calls, “the author and finisher of our faith,” looked at the cross with great joy. That’s why he endured this ghastly assignment heroically. That’s why he even despised the shame of hanging upon that cross like a death-row inmate. For Jesus knew that the path to the crown was by way of the cross. Now he has arrived and is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

Have you come to that place where you can subjugate your own preferences to the will of God? When you can so entrust your life to the Father’s perfect plan, no matter what that means, you will have discovered, as Jesus did, the Divine eye in the midst of every Satanic storm. And that is the greatest, safest, most satisfying place in the world!

Take a moment to absorb how Hebrews 12:1-3 says it:

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [Jesus and others who heroically fulfilled God’s will], let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

Are you struggling with God’s will? Does it seem a little too much to handle? Keep your eye on Jesus! Consider what he went through! For if you endure your cross now, then afterwards comes the crown!

Before he was martyred by the Naizis, German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in a letter from prison, “Much that worries us beforehand can afterwards, quite unexpectedly, have a happy and simple solution… Things really are in a better hand than ours.”

That’s why Jesus’ prayer, “Father, not my will, but Yours be done,” is a really good prayer for you to pray. Your life—unpleasant and undesired circumstances notwithstanding—is in better hands than yours.

And after your cross, if you endure by doing the will of the Father, comes the crown.

Thrive: Why not pray this prayer over your life before you go out for the day? “Father, not my will, but yours be done!”

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Check Your Dipstick

From the Abundance of the Heart

Just think of your heart as the reservoir and your tongue as the dipstick. If you want to figure out what’s in the tank, or how much is there, just listen to what you say and you’ll get a pretty accurate picture of the true you. If you don’t like what your words consistently reveal, remember that mouth control begins with a heart transplant. And if you need a new heart, you’re in luck: the Great Physician is available for supernatural surgery.

Enduring Truth // Focus: Matthew 12:34 & 36

How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak.

Just think of your heart as the reservoir and your tongue as the dipstick. If you want to figure out what is in the tank, or how much is there, just listen to what you say and you’ll get a pretty accurate picture of the true you.

The Bible uses the term “heart” to describe the inner person. The word “mind” could easily be substituted for “heart”, but it is more than that. The heart is not only your thinking part, it is your attitudes, desires, dreams, ambitions, personality—the invisible stuff that gives life to your skin and bones and makes you uniquely you. The heart is the inner capacity to know, love and respond to God.

The tongue, or what you say, simply reveals what already exists in your heart. Your words are critically important, and as Jesus said, you will be held to account for them, even the off-the-cuff ones. Yet it is not so much the words you speak, it’s what is behind them that is truly important. That is why you can’t simply discipline your tongue—though that is not a bad idea. It is your heart that needs to be transformed. If you don’t, your speech will ultimately betray what is on the inside.

A person with a harsh tongue has an angry heart; a negative tongue comes from a fearful heart; an overactive tongue springs from an insecure heart; a boasting tongue is from a prideful heart; a filthy tongue comes from an impure heart; a person who is critical all the time has a bitter heart. On the other hand, a person who is always encouraging has a joyful heart. One who speaks gently has a loving heart. Someone who speaks truthfully has an honest heart.

So what’s the solution to managing your mouth? I like what Lloyd Ogilvie, former Chaplain of the United States Senate says, “you’ve got to heart your tongue.”

That means, to begin with, you’ve got to get a new heart. Mouth control begins with a heart transplant. Ezekiel 18:31 says, “Rid yourself of all the offenses you have committed and get a new heart and a new spirit!” Painting the outside of the pump doesn’t make any difference if there is poison in the well. I can change the outside, turn over a new leaf, but what I really need is a new life or a fresh start. I need supernatural surgery from the Great Physician.

How do I get one? David prayed in Psalm 51, “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” Maybe you ought to pray that prayer right now, because God is in the heart transplant business. Ezekiel 36:26 says of God, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

Then once God gives you a new heart, ask him for help every day. You need supernatural power to control your tongue. You can’t do it alone. Your life is a living proof of that. That’s why we’ve got to daily ask God to help us. In Psalm 141:3, the psalmist prays, “Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.”

That’s a great verse to memorize and pray every morning: “God, muzzle my mouth. Don’t let me be critical or judgmental or harsh today. Don’t let me say things that I’ll regret.” If you ask God for help, he will.

Finally, master your mouth by disciplined thinking. James 1:19 says, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” In other words, engage your mind before you put your mouth in gear. Control your thinking and you’ll control your speaking. Control your speaking and you’ll control your whole life. And the best way to control your thinking is by consistently and prayerfully filling your mind with the Word of God.

What goes into your mind, gets into your heart, and what gets into your heart, comes out of your mouth. So don’t just watch your mouth—for sure, do that—but “above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”(Proverbs 4:23)

Thrive: Memorize Psalm 141:3, “Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips.” Then pray this prayer morning, noon and night for the next seven days: “God, muzzle my mouth. Don’t let me be critical or judgmental or harsh today. Don’t let me say things that I’ll regret, but only things that will please you!”

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The Whole Enchilada

Be A Grace Giver!

Whatever you do, don’t make it difficult for those who are turning to God.

Enduring Truth // Matthew 20:16

Jesus said, “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”

On its face, the Parable of the Vineyard in Matthew 20:1-16 has to be one of the most unfair stories in the Bible. Come on—people who come to work just before quitting time and get paid the same as those who’ve put in a full day! You’ve got to be kidding! Since Jesus told parables to illustrate the Kingdom of God, how in the world does this story represent the Father’s righteous rule?

In this story, a landowner goes to the marketplace to hire temps at the beginning of the work day—a 12-hour day that began at 6:00 AM—and contracts with the most suitable looking workers: a day’s work for a day’s wage—one denarius. Then, still needing help, he goes back at 9:00 AM, again at noon and at 3:00 PM to get more workers. Each additional time, however, there is no contract; he just says he’ll pay them whatever is right. Finally, at the 11th hour—at 5:00 PM—he goes back and sees a few more workers hanging around. Now you’ve got to ask why haven’t they been hired yet…and how come they’re still here? Waiting to get hired with one hour left in the day is kind of like showing up at a Pumpkin Patch the day after Halloween looking for work. Obviously, these guys are not your Stanford MBA types; they’re not the most employable people at the temp service. But help is needed, so they’re hired.

Then the owner blows them all away at the end of the workday by paying all the workers the same: One denarius—a full day’s wage! Imagine the surprise of the 11th hour workers when they realize they’ve just been paid the same as the all-day guys. I can imagine one of them saying, “We didn’t really deserve this. Let’s get out of here before the payroll people realize their mistake and ask for the money back.” And the all-day workers—man, are they mad at the ridiculous generosity of the owner!

So what is Jesus getting at in this parable? To begin with, understand that this is not a story about how corporations should draft compensation policy, so don’t get hung up over that. As a general rule, people who work 12 hours should get paid more than people who work 1 hour. Operate your HR department like this landowner and you’ll soon be out of business.

What Jesus is doing here is picturing the kingdom for us: Undeserving, unlikely desperate people trusting in the generosity of God to include them in his vineyard. The vineyard is a metaphor about coming into God’s kingdom, through Jesus. Who gets to be in God’s kingdom? Everyone—anyone who accepts Jesus’ offer, that’s who! And all kinds of sinful people are taking Jesus up on this offer: Prostitutes, tax collectors and even Gentiles. They’re coming in at the 11th hour and still getting the whole denarius.

But the pious Jews who’ve been in the vineyard all day long aren’t happy about this. They can’t grasp this thing called grace that Jesus is revealing; it’s nothing less than scandalous to them.

Now here is one of the things I’d like for you to consider in this story: You are an 11th hour person—me, too—but the longer we’re in the kingdom, the more we become like the all-day people. Every time someone new comes into the vineyard, they become the 11th hour worker and we move back down the line to 9th hour workers, to noon people, to the nine o’clock crowd, until finally, we are sitting with the all-day folks. And the real danger we face is taking on the attitude of these all-day workers.

As we move along in our walk with Jesus, we are either moving into what we might call performance-based Christianity, or we’re moving toward grace-based faith. Performance-based people believe they deserve a full day’s pay based what they do. They act as if God is getting a good deal in getting them; that he couldn’t run his vineyard without them. But grace-based believers understand they did nothing except to show up and accept God’s offer. Their entire relationship with God is based on trust in his ridiculous generosity and gracious character.

Don’t slide into an all-day spirit. Rather—perhaps you should do this on a regular basis—simply recount the gracious goodness of God that invited you into his vineyard when you did nothing to deserve it at all. Take a moment to absorb what Philip Yancey wrote so insightfully about this in his book, What’s So Amazing About Grace:

“Many Christians who study this parable identify with the employees who put in a full day’s work rather than with the add-ons at the end of the day. We like to think of ourselves as responsible workers, and the employer’s strange behavior baffles us as it did the original hearers. But we risk missing the story’s point: that God dispenses gifts, not wages. None of us gets paid according to merit like these early workers, none of us, for none of us comes close to satisfying God’s requirement for a perfect life. If paid on the basis of merit, we would all end up in hell.”

Good point—none of us gets paid according to merit. And aren’t you glad for that? If we did, we would all—all-day and 11th hour workers alike—end up in a Christ-less eternity.

Listen, friend, you received the whole grace enchilada when you didn’t even deserve a nibble of the beans and rice. So be grateful—be very grateful! And don’t ever stop!

Thrive: Quit trying to control how others come to God, or worship, or serve or grow in their faith. Just release them to God’s grace, because his grace will do a much better job conforming them to his image than your griping.