Category Archives: Matthew

Posted on

It’s All Small Stuff

Read: Matthew 9

“Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” And the man jumped up and went home! (Matthew 9:6-8)

I’ve always loved that line:  “Is it easier…?”  If I had been the one in this situation instead of Jesus, I would likely have said, “Is it harder…?”  But Jesus was God, and he didn’t sweat the small stuff—and to him, it was all small stuff.

That’s why he could forgive sins just as easily as he could heal a paralytic.  That’s why he could raise a little girl from death, heal a woman with a twelve-year issue of blood, open blind eyes, equip a mute man with speech, and drive demons from those in the devil’s bondage.  It was all small stuff to Jesus because he was God.

And what about your life?  What are you facing—a physical challenge, a financial situation, a problem at work, guilt over a past sin, a broken marriage, an impossible addiction or a defeating habit?  What is your paralysis?  Whatever it is, no matter how big of a deal it seems to you, it’s all small stuff to Jesus, because he is God.

As you face the things in your life today that have paralyzed you with fear, anxiety, guilt, anger or inaction, take to heart the words of the prophet Jeremiah, “O Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power.  Nothing is too difficult for you.” (Jeremiah 32:17)

What a great reminder.  The God who spoke and suddenly a world was created out of nothing certainly won’t be intimidated by the stuff in your life that you think is difficult.  He doesn’t sweat the small stuff—and to him, it’s all small stuff.

So you don’t need to sweat it either!

“When you have no helpers, see your helpers in God. When you have many helpers, see God in all your helpers. When you have nothing but God, see all in God. When you have everything, see God in everything. Under all conditions, stay thy heart only on the Lord.”  ~Charles Spurgeon

What If God Took Over?

Write out on a piece of paper that which has you emotionally and spiritually paralyzed. Now fold the paper until it is a small square and write on it, “Small Stuff”.  Once you’ve done that, then in the most dramatic (but safe and legal) way you can imagine, get rid of the paper once and for all!  From this moment on, in faith trust that Jesus has taken care of it.

Posted on

God Was Here

Read: Matthew 8

The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!” (Matthew 8:27)

When Jesus finished his inaugural sermon—the Sermon on the Mount—he came down off the mountain and got busy doing the things the Savior of the World had to do. In launching his ministry among the Jews as their Messiah, his claims to Divine status had to be authenticated.

And authenticate he did! He taught the people as no one had ever done before. The closing comments in chapter 7 as Jesus finished the Sermon on the Mount describes hearers that were truly awestruck with his teaching—it was done with a power and authority they had never witnessed before. Surely this was proof that God was here.

Then Jesus cleansed a leper (8:1-4) — a hopeless, disgusting condition that brought humiliation and isolation to the sufferer, a person’s worst nightmare. Jesus actually touched this man who had not enjoyed even the most basic human contact in who knows how long, and the man was immediately healed. Truly this was proof that God was here.

Then Jesus reached out to a non-Jew, a spiritual and social “no-no” in that day, and with a simple verbal command, a Roman centurion’s paralyzed servant, who wasn’t even physically present, was healed (verses 5-13). Jesus then healed Peter’s mother-in-law as well as a host of other infirmed and afflicted people (verses 14-17). Some of those whom he healed were severely tormented by evil spirits, and with the word of his mouth, Jesus delivered each one of them and banished the demons from tormenting them further (verses 16,28-34). Surely this was proof that God was here.

But perhaps the most dramatic exercise of his Divine authority was the calming of the storm (verses 23-27). As Jesus and his disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee, a fierce storm arose and the men literally feared for their lives, while Jesus slept in the boat. Then, with as much ease as it takes to brush a piece of lint off a garment, Jesus arose and rebuked the storm, and it subsided.

At this, the disciples, who had heard his spell-binding teaching, had witnessed his miracles of healing, had seen demons flee like little squealing school girls from his presence, dropped their jaws in amazement: even the physical universe submitted to his commands. Truly this was the living proof of a loving God. Surely Jesus was Lord and Savior of the world! Without a doubt, this was proof that God was here.

So here’s the deal: If Jesus’ words are Divinely authoritative, if no physical malady can withstand his healing touch, if demons wither in his presence, if even the storms of this world have to obey him, then why can’t you be confident in the face of any problem in your life right now?

What is keeping you from putting full faith and exercising full obedience in Jesus Christ? What further proof do you need that a loving God has come to you in the person of Jesus Christ? In light of who he is and what he can do, why not do today what the Roman centurion did 2,000 years ago: Give him your complete trust and full devotion. How awesome it would be if Jesus could say of you,

“I’ve yet to come across this kind of simple trust anywhere.”
(Matthew 8:10, The Message)

“I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are wise and very beautiful; but I have never read in either of them: Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden.” ~Saint Augustine

What If God Took Over?

Why not offer this prayer of trust to the God who is right here, right now?  “O Lord, I want to trust you with the trust of that Roman centurion.  You are Lord over disease, demons, and even the elements of the physical world, and you deserve to be the Lord of my life.  This day, remove any doubts, fears and reluctances so that I might give you my complete trust and my full devotion, and more than ever before, take over my life!”

Posted on

Fruit Inspectors

Read: Matthew 7

“You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” (Matthew 7:16)

When I was growing up, I remember hearing the pastor of our church, who happened to be my dad, exhort our small congregation with these words of wisdom: “The Bible says we’re not supposed to judge other people, but it doesn’t say we shouldn’t be inspecting their fruit.” In light of what Jesus taught here in Matthew 7, he was standing on solid theological ground.

Now the world has used Jesus’ words in verse 1, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged”, as a sledgehammer against Christians who take a stand on the cultural issues of our day, but Jesus never intended his words to intimidate believers into moral silence. The truth is, we have been called to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15) both to wayward Christians as well as lost people who are headed for a Christless eternity. Who better to stand on the wall as moral and spiritual watchman than an authentic Christ-follower?

Our calling as ambassadors for Christ is to compel people to righteousness, but we are to do so without being self-righteous and moralistic. If we fail at that, truly our judgmentalism becomes a turn off to everyone—sinners, saints and even God himself. And while we have failed at that on occasion, past failure is no reason to abdicate a role that is critical to both the purity of the church and the salvation of the lost.

Now as it relates to Matthew 7, what we need to understand is that when Jesus spoke against judging in verses 1-8, he was specifically taking a stand against what had become the national pastime in Israel: evaluating the spirituality of others by their outward observance of the Mosaic law and their acts of religious piety. The fact is, Jesus said in verses 21-23 that there will be those who were pretty good at being religious and who will be able to claim an amazing track record of good deeds, but will still be refused entrance into the eternal kingdom when they stand before God. Thinking religious piety was their meal ticket to heaven, they will be shocked and dismayed to discover that their good deeds didn’t get them “in” with God—only grace can do that.

So in that regard, we are not to be judgmental, as the Jews had become. We are, however, to evaluate the spiritual quality of those who claim to know Christ by inspecting the fruit being produced from their lives.  We are to “know them by their fruit.”  What is “knowable” fruit in the life of a Christian?

  • The fruit of repentance: John the Baptist called attention to that in Matthew 3:8. This is the first fruit we can observe in a God-honoring life—a complete turn around from sinful patterns to the pursuit of God’s righteousness.
  • The fruit of abiding: Jesus addressed this in John 15, saying that when a believer is fundamentally connected to him, abiding the True Vine, there will be much fruit that brings great joy to the believer and much glory to God the Father.
  • The fruit of giving: In Romans 15:14-29 Paul speaks of the fruit that comes when we financially resource God’s work: redeemed souls and relieved suffering.
  • The fruit of the Spirit: The most revealing fruit of authentic faith and growth in Christ is the fruit the indwelling Spirit produces in the believer—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
  • The fruit of the light: Ephesians 5:8-12 speaks of observable fruit in a believer that consists of goodness, righteousness and truth.
  • The fruit of praise:  Our lips are to offer up the sacrifice of praise that glorifies God through Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 13:14-16)

For sure, we must avoid the spiritual pitfall of becoming judgmental. Nothing destroys Kingdom life and blocks Kingdom growth quite like that. Noting sullies God’s reputation more on Planet Earth than self-righteous pain in the neck busybody believers sticking their opinion into everybody’s business.  But if we are going to protect God’s family from false believers and fake teachers, if we are going to exhort and admonish one another on toward growth in grace and the character of Christ, and if we are going to call a lost world to a loving God, we can’t shy away from inspecting the fruit once in a while.

And a good place to start is by inspecting your own!  That in itself will most definitely keep you from being judgmental.

“Good works do not make a good man, but a good man does good works.” ~Martin Luther

What If God Took Over?

Do a little fruit inspection in your own life today.  Is there visible fruit in the areas the New Testament calls you to fruitfulness?

  • The fruit of repentance—Matthew 3:8
  • The fruit of abiding—John 15:5-8
  • The fruit of giving—Romans 15:14-29
  • The fruit of the Spirit—Galatians 5:22-23
  • The fruit of the light—Ephesians 5:8-12
  • The fruit of praise—Hebrews 13:14-16
Posted on

What’s My Motivation?

Read: Matthew 6

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:33)

What is your motivation? Why do you do what you do? How would the people who have a front row seat to the drama of your life—your spouse, your children, your friends, your classmates, your co-workers—describe the passion that drives you?

Let me explain why I ask these questions? Bear with me, because I want to take a moment before I come back to this question of motivation.

We have a tendency in reading Scripture to focus more on individual verses rather than the entirety of a passage. This is certainly the case with the Sermon on the Mount—particularly chapter 6.

Keep in mind that when Jesus first delivered this sermon, it was not written; it was spoken. It didn’t have verse numbers or paragraph headings; it was delivered as a whole thought. It was not delivered in one-liners or in sound-bytes. I don’t think Jesus prepared it with the thought that it would one day be great fodder for Scripture memory.

In this sermon, Jesus was revealing to his disciples for the first time what the Kingdom life was all about—the ways and means of the Kingdom of God and how its citizens would flesh it out in day-to-day living.

When you read Matthew 6 from that perspective, then everything about this wonderful chapter—Christ’s teaching on giving, fasting, the Heavenly Father’s concern for our needs, and the most beloved part of all, the Lord’s Prayer—must be run through the filter of one key idea: Motivation.

That’s why Jesus says that your giving to the needy (verses 1-4), your praying (verses 5-15), and your fasting (verses 16-18), must be done secretly—that is, quietly and not with the motive to impress other people with your spirituality. That’s why he says you can’t serve both God and money at the same time (verse 24). That’s why he calls you to a worry-free life that doesn’t get hung up on material things of this world (verses 25-34).

He is saying that if you want to be a part of his kingdom, then your motives for doing what you do must change. That’s why he challenges you to invest in God’s Kingdom—“lay up treasures in heaven…” (verse 19-21). That’s why he calls you to eschew the all-consuming pursuit of stuff, exchanging that worldly passion with a kingdom passion—“But seek first the Kingdom of God…” (verse 33).

Jesus is calling you to a higher, purer, better motivation for life: the health and welfare of the Kingdom of God. And when you make God’s Kingdom your first and highest pursuit through giving, praying, fasting, then your whole being will be infected by something eternal—namely, the presence of God. The purposes of God will drive your behavior, the power of God will sustain your efforts, and the pleasure of God will be your chief end.  When your motives as a citizen of the Kingdom of God thus have been sanctified, you will live for the glory of God alone—Soli Deo Gloria!

So Jesus calls you to closely examine your life (reread verses 22-23) because the growth of the Kingdom of God in your heart is riding on what you allow the driving motivation of your life to be.

What’s your motivation? Why do you do what you do? What would others say the consuming passion of your life is?

Jesus would say, “store up treasures in heaven; start making kingdom investments. They produce better returns in the long run, and in the short term, your Heavenly Father, who knows exactly what you need, will provide it.”

“I will place no value on anything I have or may possess except in relation to the kingdom of Christ.” ~David Livingstone

What If God Took Over?

Heavenly Father, I want my only motivation in life to be that I live for your glory alone.  Make me a soli Deo gloria kind of person! I want to have a consuming passion for the things that you care about. Cleanse me from the wasteful pursuit of the temporary. May it be said of me by all of heaven and the people who know me on this earth, “he sought first the Kingdom of God; he pursued God’s righteousness with an all consuming passion. He is a true example of the Kingdom life.”

Posted on

Exceeding Expectations

Read: Matthew 5

“But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)

If you are like me, you were probably spiritually exhausted after reading through the list of “kingdom requirements” Jesus laid out for his followers in Matthew 5. And if you were thinking that Jesus had set the bar pretty high, you came to the very last verse and realized that it wasn’t just high, he set the bar impossibly high by capping the chapter with these words: “Be perfect, just like God.” So much for the “my yoke is easy and my burden is light” stuff we were hoping for from Jesus!

It doesn’t take very long in reading through Christ’s teachings in this and the following two chapters that comprise the Sermon on the Mount before you realize Jesus isn’t backing down from the rigid, legalistic, impossible, burdensome demands of Jewish law, he’s actually calling his followers to a much higher standard.  He’s not asking for less, he’s expecting more. He’s revealing what the Father really requires of those who want to enter the kingdom life and live as a true child of God.

The problem in Jesus’ day was that over time, the religious leaders of the Jewish people had boiled down the law of God to a long list of do’s and don’ts.  Eventually, the spirit of the law had been lost and rigid, loveless, legal applications had taken its place.  The result was that along the way, the people of God, the Jews, wandered from what was meant to produce an intimate love relationship with their God and had settled instead for a religious system that measured spirituality through outward acts of piety. But, Jesus taught, the Jews had missed the point by a mile.

By the way, that didn’t just happen in Jesus’ day. It is just as easy for people—for you and I—to do today in our day in our walk with God.  The spiritual drift is always away from loving intimacy with the Father toward measurable acts of religiosity: Church attendance, tithing, serving in a ministry, not doing this, doing that…

Jesus’ bottom line in all of these teachings in Matthew 5-7 is that God wants not your outward acts of piety and prideful obedience to the minutiae of some religious legal system—he wants your heart.  He wants a heart that is fully engaged, fully devoted, and fully in love with him.

Obviously that can’t happen through a wooden observance of the law.  The law was meant to drive us to the cross where we can drink from the grace and mercy of God—something the law could never do. And once we have been submerged in the deep, deep love of God revealed by the cross of Christ, that love drives us back to a different kind of law, the law of Christ (revealed here in the Sermon on the Mount and throughout the New Testament), where we can be sanctified.  What a beautiful truth:

The cross of Christ saves us once and for all; the law of Christ sanctifies us day by day!

As we offer our saving, sanctifying God a fully devoted heart and a totally surrendered life, then our obedience takes us—and keeps us—where the law couldn’t through it’s requirements: By his grace, perfection—just as our Father in heaven is perfect.

“The law works fear and wrath; grace works hope and mercy.” ~Martin Luther

What If God Took Over?

Make this prayer yours, and offer it with an open and sincere heart to God:  “Father God, arrest my heart.  Create in me a new heart—one that longs for you more than even life itself.  May it be perfect before you!  God, I invite you to finally, fully, and forever take over my life.”

Posted on

Temptation: Our Masters of Divinity

Read: Matthew 4

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. During that time the devil came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God…’” (Matthew 4:1-3)

“Masters in Divinity”—that’s what Martin Luther called his temptations. No believer enjoys facing them, but within each temptation resides the very real potential of a faith-strengthening, character-refining, sin-crushing victory.  Truly temptation is, or should be, the Christian’s Masters of Divinity.

Even Jesus faced temptation.  It’s interesting, profound, really, when you think about it, that Satan knew who Jesus was—God the Son—yet tempted him anyway.  Satan once resided as Lucifer, one of the chief angels, in the presence of the Holy Trinity—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. So when Jesus became God the incarnate Son, Satan, knowing perfectly well of his divine nature, unleashed a torrent of enticements anyway that were designed to derail God’s plan of salvation by knocking Jesus irremediably off course. Now, to be certain, if the very Son of God had to endure an onslaught of Satanic temptation, you and I will too.

It is also of interest that Satan didn’t tempt Jesus with obvious evil. Three times he attempted to entice Jesus to sin with subtle, sane, and spiritual sounding goodies. That’s because the devil is the master of subtlety. He didn’t come to Jesus dressed in a red suit and pointed tail, pitchfork in hand, luring him to commit murder or to steal a bag full of money.  These temptations were to gain what seemed good by sacrificing what was best. Likewise, when Satan tempts you, the bait he sets in front of you will be subtle, sane, and seemingly spiritual.

Subtle: Expect the temptations you face today to be quite subtle.  Satan’s stock-in-trade is deception, which is what makes temptation so effective.  Jesus called him “the father of lies”, and he has gotten pretty good at it over the millennia.  That’s why the bible calls us to constant alertness.  So watch and be on guard for enticements that will be just slightly off center from God’s will.

Sane: When Satan tempted Jesus, the Lord had just come off a forty day fast.  He was at the limit of what the human body could endure. He was hungry, he was physically weak and emotionally depleted.  Satan was simply suggesting that Jesus ought to use his God-prerogatives to satisfy a legitimate physical necessity—and he was dangling Scripture in front of him as justification.  Your temptations today will likely be quite easy to justify, which is exactly why they are so dangerous.  Be careful, be prayerful, and be armed with God’s Word on the matter.

Seemingly Spiritual: Jesus was called to be the Messiah of the Jews, and what better way to jumpstart his ministry than by hang-gliding from the highest point of the temple in Jerusalem—without the hang-glider!  What a great way to show off his God-powers and impress the people he was called to lead. Ultimately, Jesus was called to be the Lord and Savior of the world.  Why not fast-track that plan by allowing Satan to hand deliver all the nations of the world to him in an instant?  No fuss, no muss!  The problem was, however, that each of these temptations would have meant depending on himself to get his needs met rather than trusting in God’s provision, timing and plan.  That is perhaps the most foundational and most common temptation of all—to trust in anything or anyone other than God to get your needs and wants met.

You will be hit with temptation in the same way today—just count on it!  It will be subtle, it will seem sane, and probably, it will sound incredibly spiritual.  So be on guard—sin is crouching at your door.  But it is not inevitable that you will succumb to it.  Jesus didn’t—which means that you don’t have to either.  Jesus knew the Word and will of God better than Satan, and so do you.  That’s one of the blessings of reading and praying through the Gospels this year, as you are doing.

Likewise, since Jesus overcame his battle with temptation, he stands at the ready to help you in your battle.  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 temptation comes knocking at your door today, just send Jesus to answer it.

“Every temptation is an opportunity of our getting nearer to God.” ~John Quincy Adams

What If God Took Over?

Memorize I Corinthians 10:13 … absorb it into your spirit … and most importantly, rely on it when temptation comes your way:

“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”

Posted on

‘Sorry’ Don’t Cut It, Pal!

Read: Matthew 3

“Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.” (Matthew 3:8)

Repentance is one of those double-edged swords in the Christian’s life.  The fact that we need to repent reveals the unfortunate presence of ongoing sin in our life, yet at the same time it reveals the fortunate grace of a righteous God who has made it possible for us to repent of what should rightly bring down his punishment upon us.

Repentance, however, is a highly misunderstood concept, especially in our day.  I have a sense that many people feel sorry for their sins simply out of the guilt that doing wrong naturally produces or the pain of sin’s consequence or even the fear of impending punishment.  Now don’t get me wrong, guilt, pain and fear are good motivators—if they lead us to true repentance.

But true repentance is more than saying “sorry”, feeling guilty about failure, or fearing the wrath to come.  Authentic Biblical repentance, the kind that produces fruit, as John the Baptist preached, requires that we understand that our actions and attitudes have offended a holy God, that we experience a corresponding godly sorrow, and that we take action that leads to a 180 degree change in our sinful behavior.

I think Paul captured the essence of true repentance when he wrote,

“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.”  (II Corinthians 7:10-11)

Perhaps a good assignment for today’s reading would be to think about any recent “repentance” you have offered to God, and run it through the filter of Paul’s words.  See if the confession of your sin can stand the test of true repentance.

If it does, congratulations—spiritual fruit will be the result.  If it doesn’t—well, I think you know what to do.

“If you have sinned, do not lie down without repentance; for the want of repentance after one has sinned makes the heart yet harder and harder.” ~John Bunyan

What If God Took Over?

Have you been guilty of asking for forgiveness without truly repenting?  Open your Bible to II Corinthians 7:1-11, absorb what it says, then take a few moments to talk with God about your sins. Then make sure what you offer God—true repentance—is followed by the fruits of repentance.