Category Archives: Matthew

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The Propagation of Easy-Believism

Read: Matthew 16

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)

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

Jesus made no promises of an easy, breezy, carefree Christianity. Rather, he demanded complete obedience, costly sacrifice, and selfless servanthood from those who would follow him. He told them that they would have to eat his flesh and drink his blood if they wanted a part in him. He said people would hate them, misunderstand them, reject them, persecute them, and put them out of the synagogues. And he even promised that misguided religious fanatics 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. They left everything they had and 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. And, despite Christ’s less than appealing recruitment campaign, 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 did they manage such a small task of world change? Simply by doing what Jesus had asked: They denied themselves, took up their crosses, and laid down their lives for his sake. 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, transformative power of this brand of fully devoted discipleship.

Do you worry, as I do, that Christ’s call to costly discipleship would empty most churches of its people in our day if it were preached unapologetically like Jesus taught it in his 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.

If Jesus rebuked Peter (verse 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 (verse 24), what do you suppose he would say to us who have suggested Christian discipleship without cross-bearing?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer once remarked, “Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.” We need to remind ourselves of that truth, because you likely won’t hear it from too many pulpits today. A.W. Tozer commented that “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.’”

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?

“Salvation is free … but discipleship will cost you your life.” ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

What If God Took Over?

If you are serious about Christ’s call to discipleship, then why not offer this radical prayer:  “Jesus, though my flesh from the inside and my culture from the outside are constantly calling me along the path of easy spirituality, deep in my heart I want to take up my cross and follow you.  Enable me by your indwelling Spirit to die to myself so that I might live unto you—at all costs!”

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The Sacred Cow Barbecue

Read: Matthew 15

“And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition.” (Matthew 15:6)

Tradition gets a bad rap in Christian circles these days.  Much of modern, so-called “seeker-sensitive” spirituality has pretty much done away with anything that smacks of tradition.  Yet not all tradition is bad.

However, it is safe to say that the reason modern Christianity is down on tradition is that many churches have done exactly what Jesus warned against: They have nullified the authority and power of God’s Word by blind allegiance to tradition.

We must be careful at all costs to avoid unthinking and unquestioned loyalty to a tradition. We ought to boldly question anything that prevents seekers from experiencing the reality of a God whose Son broke scores of ridiculous rules and then died to redeem those very seekers.  We ought to courageously challenge anything that keeps believers from walking more intimately with Jesus Christ.  We ought to seriously evaluate anything that might stand in the way of God’s presence when he, himself, went out of his way to remove every barrier to his presence. When any tradition, no matter how well loved and appropriate at some time in the past, hinders worship, belief, and intimacy with the Almighty, that tradition has to go!

What traditions am I talking about?  I don’t know—you tell me.  Perhaps it has to do with style of music or appropriate worship attire or a preferred version of the Bible or how your church practices Holy Communion.  It could be anything that, by itself, is not wrong, but if that practice or tradition is now, in all honesty, worshiped or treated as sacred, then it has nullified the Word of God.  Traditions are not sacred, only God is!

Take a hard look at your traditions, and the traditions of your fellowship.  And if you find a sacred cow, it may be time to heat up the barbecue.

Be wise.  Be prayerful.  Be careful.  And enjoy the burnt offering.

“To do things today exactly the way you did them yesterday saves thinking.”  ~Thomas Woodrow Wilson

What If God Took Over?

Name a tradition that really helps you to experience the presence of God.  Now write a paragraph describing why that tradition is important to your faith and honoring to God.  If you cannot root it in a “theology” that encourages intimacy, spiritual power, the growth of the fellowship and the evangelization of the lost, then it’s time to fire up the barbecue.

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God’s Therapy

Read: Matthew 14

“As soon as Jesus heard the news [of John’s death], he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns. Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” (Matthew 14:13-14)

Karl Menninger, founder of the famed psychiatric clinic in Topeka, Kansas that bears his name, was once asked, “What would you do if you thought you were going crazy?” Without even having to think about it, he said, “I’d go out and find someone less fortunate to serve.”

There is just something therapeutic about serving somebody else—especially if they are worse off than you. When you are going through your own hardship, whatever that may be—sickness, loss, disappointment, depression—God’s therapy is to find those who cannot help themselves, who cannot pay back your kindness, and minister God’s love to them.

That is not to deny or avoid your own hurt. Not at all! To love, serve, and bless the less fortunate is to activate a spiritual law that we find in Acts 20:35, “And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Jesus said it another way in Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

In other words, when you are the conduit of God’s love and grace, and when heaven’s generosity is being poured through you to those in need, on the way through you, that flood of love, grace and generosity will leave the Divine touch in your own life.

Jesus is practicing his own preaching here in Matthew 14. His cousin, John the Baptist, had just been beheaded by Herod. When Jesus heard the news, he was deeply affected, as any human being would be. He felt tremendous sorrow and grief over the loss of a loved one. And he did what most of us would do: He got away from the crowd to spend some time alone and pour out his grief.

But Jesus didn’t stay there long. He didn’t succumb to self-pity; he didn’t retreat into isolation; he didn’t get paralyzed by grief. He found other people who were hurting for different reasons than his own, and out of compassion for them, he began to minister to their needs.

Jesus was setting a pattern for us, don’t you think? Not to minimize the hurt and grief that we experience from loss, discouragement and disappointment, but to turn it into a productive force that initiates God’s healing therapy in our own lives by becoming the conduit of Divine love and grace to hurting people.

Perhaps you are licking your wounds today from the loss of something dear and near to your heart—maybe even the death of a loved one. If that is the case, try doing what Jesus did. See the needs of other hurting people around you and love them. You probably won’t feel like doing it, but do it anyway. It won’t take away your own pain, but it will unleash God’s healing therapy for you. And at the end of the day, you will find that your journey through grief will be a lot healthier and a whole lot more productive.

“By compassion we make others’ misery our own, and so, by relieving them, we relieve ourselves also.”  ~Sir Thomas Browne

What If God Took Over?

Your assignment today is to do exactly what Karl Menninger suggested: Find someone who is hurting and serve that one in God’s love. In so doing, you will be surrendering even more territory of your life to God’s control.

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Worry-Weeds

Read: Matthew 13

“The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced.” (Matthew 13:22)

When I was a kid, every Spring my father would plant a garden in our back yard—tomatoes, green beans, corn, squash, strawberries—you name it, if it had a chance to grow, he’d plant it.  He even planted cotton—in Oregon, for crying out loud! Then every Saturday morning in growing season, he’d drag my sorry carcass out of bed to weed that garden.

And I hated it; I wanted nothing to do with it.  I wanted to be doing more productive things that all the other kids my age got to do on Saturdays: Sleeping in, or playing street football, or riding my stingray bike, or watching Saturday cartoons (in those days, “George of the Jungle” and its ilk were much more educational and mind-stretching than the stuff kids watch today).  But no, I had to pull those stinking weeds.

Perhaps my dad, like Jesus, who spoke continually in parables to illustrate the kingdom life, was trying to teach an object lesson. You see, just as weeds can stunt the growth of a physical garden, nothing is more damaging to your relationship with God and your spiritual fruitfulness than the “worry-weeds” in your life: The cares of this life and lure of wealth. These weeds are particularly dangerous because they look like fruit-producing plants at first, but in the end, they are noxious. They pop up early and often in the soil of your heart, and they alluringly demand your attention.  Jesus called them thorns, warning that if not dealt with, they will eventually choke out the fruit-producing seed of God’s Word.

What are your worry-weeds?  Making the mortgage payment on your home, paying for a couple of cars in your garage, affording a respectable university for your kids or making sure your retirement account is getting fatter? Do you stay awake at night worrying about the yo-yo stock market, plotting the next move to outpace the “Joneses”, or worrying about who will occupy the White House in two years?  What are your worry-weeds?

Be honest—you’ve got worries; so do I. I fight the same addiction to the cares of life and the lure of wealth that you do. Whether we like to admit it or not, the “thorns” that Jesus warned about are competing with the values of God’s Kingdom for the soil of our heart.  And guess what?  You and I are the only ones who can weed out those worries. For sure, God will strengthen you and give you discernment to deal with them, but you are the one who will have to do a little self-weeding.

Listen—it is time to quit talking about this and start weeding.  You know intuitively that I am spot on about this.  The growth and fruitfulness of the Kingdom of God in your life, in your family, and in your church is riding on you being bold enough, wise enough and ruthless enough to start pulling and chucking those weeds right out of your life.

So let’s do some weeding!  I will pray for you, and I hope you will pray for me.

Happy gardening!

“Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.” ~C.S. Lewis

What If God Took Over?

Jesus didn’t offer any practical actions steps here about weeding did he?  I think that’s because we really don’t need any.  We just need to roll up our sleeves and get busy.  How about going back to Matthew 6:33 and putting the things that are consuming your attention through the sieve of “seek first the kingdom”?  Then anything that gets caught in the sieve … weed it out!

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Check The Dipstick

Read: Matthew 12

“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.” (Matthew 12:34 & 36)

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)

“Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.” ~Ambrose Bierce

What If God Took Over?

Memorize Psalm 141:3,

“Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips.”

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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When You’re Deeply Disappointed With God

It is easy to believe in the good times—when things are going great, prayers are getting answered, and God is obviously on our team. But just cut off the flow of blessing, squeeze our faith a little, push us out of the comfort zone, let God get outside of that nice, neat theological box we like to keep him in—then take our spiritual temperature and see if we’re still aflame with faith.

Read: Matthew 11

John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” (Matthew 11:2-3)

Let’s be honest—we’ve all been deeply disappointed with God. Sometimes he doesn’t live up to our expectations. A prayer didn’t get answered the way we wanted, when we wanted: a healing didn’t occur, a job was lost, a relationship went sour, a marriage wasn’t saved, a loved one refused salvation, a child died…

That’s when faith really gets tested. It is easy to believe in the good times—when things are going great, prayers are getting answered, and God is obviously on our team. But just cut off the flow of blessing, squeeze our faith a little, push us out of the comfort zone, let God get outside of that nice, neat theological box we like to keep him in—then take our spiritual temperature and see if we’re still aflame with faith.

John the Baptist was there. He had obeyed the call of God early in his life as the forerunner of the Messiah. He had arranged his whole world around announcing Jesus as Israel’s Messiah. He had lived an austere life, preached his heart out, courageously confronted the religious establishment, boldly challenged sinful hearts, and called Israel to national repentance, all to prepare the way for Jesus. He expected his faithfulness to God and obedience to the call would usher in the Kingdom of God when Jesus showed up and launched his messianic ministry.

But now he was in jail. He was in a pretty serious situation that in a few days would lead to his beheading. And Jesus was out there preaching to small crowds, doing a few miracles here and there, and not taking this Messiah thing very seriously. John was disappointed, to say the least.

Did you notice how Jesus handled John’s disappointment and doubt? Not with a brow beating, not with a rebuke, not with anger, Jesus simply reaffirmed John and spoke about his value in God’s eyes. Jesus understood where John was coming from.

Jesus also understood that God’s timing was way different than John’s. John wanted the Kingdom now, and when it didn’t happened, he questioned. So Jesus redirected John’s faith—he encouraged him to take his eyes off circumstances and put them back where they belonged:

“Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen—that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.’” (John 11:4-6)

Jesus is inviting John to keep his eye on the undeniable evidence of God’s activity; to stand firm in the unshakeable hope of God’s Kingdom; to lean into the unbreakable promise of God’s Word; to never let go of the irrefutable goodness of God’s character. And then, when it’s all said and done, John is just to fiercely trust!

We’ve all had those kind of doubts, questions, disappointments and perhaps even anger with God when he doesn’t live up to billing. Maybe that’s where you are today. That’s okay—God is big enough to handle your upset—provided you do as John did: Own up to your upset. God won’t give you a holy beat-down if you’ll come to him with a humble and honest heart. He’ll simply reaffirm your inestimable value and remind you of his everlasting love—and invite you to trust.

And at the end of the day, you’ll never be disappointed when you trust God. The Apostle Paul, who knew a fair amount about suffering, wrote these encouraging words in Romans 5:3-5,

“We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”


What If God Took Over?
Have you been honest with God about the doubts you are having—especially when they concern your confidence in Him?  He invites your thoughts, worries and concerns—so right now is a great time to talk to him.  And to listen.  And then, to fiercely trust!

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Be Spirit-Filled—By Whatever Means!

Jesus often referred to the “promise of the Father,” which was—and still is—to send the Holy Spirit to be with us, dwell within us, and work through us in ways that are beyond human replication. It doesn’t take too long reading in the New Testament to understand that God’s deep desire for his children is that they would live as Spirit-filled people.

Read: Matthew 10

“You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about me. When you are arrested, don’t worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time. For it is not you who will be speaking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” (Matthew 10:18-20)

The New Testament writers spoke often of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus directly spoke a great deal about the Spirit as well. For the first century Christians, a relationship with the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, was just as normal and expected a part of their faith experience as was their relationship with Jesus.

It is unfortunate that what was fully embraced in the first century has become so controversial in our day:  The infilling of the Holy Spirit.  We now quibble over if one is Spirit-filled at salvation or if the infilling comes when one is baptized in the Spirit as a separate and distinct event.  We argue over whether speaking in tongues is the initial physical evidence of being Spirit-baptized or if the Spiritual language is even valid in the 21st century.

Theological lines have been drawn, denominations have been formed, preachers have taken their stand on one side of the issue or the other, position papers have been issued, and all the while God longingly waits to give the Holy Spirit to all who ask (Luke 11:13).

Jesus often referred to the “promise of the Father,” which was—and still is—to send the Holy Spirit to be with us, dwell within us, and work through us in ways that are beyond human replication.  It doesn’t take too long reading in the New Testament to understand that God’s deep desire for his children is that they would live as Spirit-filled people.

For the believer, the Spirit-filled life is not an option, but a divine expectation.  It is an act of faith and obedience that will enable the believer to experience dimensions of the blessedness that the Acts 2 believers experienced.  Nothing but the Spirit-filled life will empower the believer for his/her mission in the world.  Nothing but the Spirit-filled life will enable the believer to live the kind of holy and honoring life God calls for—and deserves.  Nothing but the Spirit-filled life will equip the believer with words—and courage—to stand before hostile people to fearlessly declare what the world does not want but so desperately needs to hear:

“God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

The Father is still waiting to deliver His gift to those who ask.  “Ask and keep on asking…for how much more will the Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask!” (Luke 11:9-13)

We may quibble over the mechanism of Spirit infilling, but the bottom line is, by whatever means, be filled and keep on being filled with God the Holy Spirit.

The Father promised it.  Jesus declared it.  The Holy Spirit is ready for it.  Are you?


What If God Took Over?
‘Lord Jesus, you are the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  Just as you breathed on your disciples and invited them to receive the Holy Spirit, I ask you to breathe on me and baptize me in the Spirit of your Father afresh today. Fill me with the Holy Spirit from the center to the circumference of my life—truly take over every square inch and every split second of my life.”