Month: May 2022

Matthew 7:24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

Jesus uses an extended analogy in this section, which makes my nerdy English teacher heart happy. One of the things commentary points out in this analogy is that the only difference is the foundation. Everything else is the same. So when life goes sideways, as it inevitably will, our foundation is what can save or sink us.

Matthew 7:25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

This entire section gives new meaning to the expression “hitting rock bottom.” If God the Rock is our foundation, then rock bottom allows us security, traction, to finally stop falling, to catch our breath. If we’ve built on shifting sand, then even hitting bottom doesn’t give us solid ground.

Matthew 7:26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

Lord, Thank You for the reminder that it doesn’t matter what we build in this life if we don’t have You as our foundation. Thank You for being a firm foundation always, even when life is falling apart. Draw us closer to You. Amen.

Matthew 7:27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Have a blessed day.

Matthew 6:8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Yesterday, my pastor talked about, among other things, the fact that we are all on the same team. While this is an analogy I frequently use in the classroom, I hadn’t really thought much about it in life. But that shift in perspective that we are all part of the same team instantly changes my perspective of the people around me. We are a team, a community. It’s not me against “them.” We are on the same side.

Matthew 6:9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name….

And as I was reading commentary on verse 6, the fact that it says “Our Father,” not “My Father”—a collective pronoun instead of a singular one, reinforces that idea of community, and quite frankly, was something I had never thought about before, reinforcing this idea of team.

Matthew 6:10-11 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.

Lord, Thank You for placing these insights on my heart. Thank You for these connections that You place in my life, for allowing me to see them, examine them, draw closer to You because of them. Thank You for our need for community in You, for the fact that we are all on the same team, Your team. Draw us closer to You as we encourage each other. Amen.

Matthew 6:12-13 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

Have a blessed day.

Matthew 5:1-2 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.

This chapter is the first real look at Jesus’s teachings. And what I see here is a caution and reminder. The Pharisees and Sadducees uphold the letter of the law in fact, not in spirit. They follow the law, but their hearts are not in it. Jesus says the law is important, it will not be abolished, but following the law is not enough.

Matthew 5:17-18 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

This chapter is a reminder that faith and righteousness go beyond just following the letter of the law. It involves the spirit of the law, the spirit of our hearts and the Spirit of God. It involves our intentions and our hearts, our thoughts and our minds, not just our actions. Belonging to Jesus goes way beyond just following a set of rules.

Matthew 5:20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Lord, Thank You for the reminder that You know our hearts, and You want our hearts and not just our actions. We can’t just academically follow You. We have to be all in—body and soul. Help me to live for You with that level of passion and commitment. Draw me closer. Amen.

Matthew 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Have a blessed day.

Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

A verse that I cling to, especially in difficult times, especially when life feels like it is falling apart, is Isaiah 43:19, paraphrased here as: God is making a way in the wilderness…. This verse is not only a touchstone in times of trial but also in times of temptation.

Matthew 4:2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

It’s easy to give in to temptation, especially when you are weakened. Jesus here was hungry after 40 days of fasting. No human would have faulted Him for turning stones into bread. But Jesus clings to God’s word, and God makes a way in His wilderness.

Matthew 4:3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Lord, Thank You for making a way in any wilderness we face. Thank You for giving us a means of resisting temptation by clinging to Your word. Thank You for the understanding that resisting temptation isn’t easy, but by clinging to You and Your word, it is always possible, no matter how difficult the situation. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 4:11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Have a blessed day.

Matthew 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

The Pharisees and Sadducees fascinate me. I understand them from the standpoint of following rules. You give me rules to follow, and I can follow them to a T. Church on Sunday? Check. Tithing? Check. What gets me is the fact that these rule-followers miss the mark so badly. How did groups known for following rules and expectations end up murdering the Messiah? How did things go so terribly wrong?

Matthew 3:8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

What they seem to lose sight of, what John is telling them here, is that the kingdom of God is not about appearances; it’s not about checking boxes of righteousness. It’s about the state of the heart in relationship to Christ. That is much more involved and much more personal than simply checking boxes.

Matthew 3:9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

Lord, Thank You for the caution of the Pharisees and Sadducees. While I want to do the right thing, follow the rules, obey the law, I do not want to end up with the hardened, bitter heart of these groups. Help me to worry less about checking boxes and more about living a life in harmony with Your teachings. Draw me closer. Amen.

Matthew 3:10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Have a blessed day.

Matthew 2:1-2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi a from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

I am much more familiar with the New Testament than the Old, so familiar that it is easy to gloss over words I’ve read so many times. As I read Matthew 2 this morning, I consciously had to keep slowing myself down, concentrating, refocusing on the words on the page instead of the familiar story in my mind.

Matthew 2:5-6 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

And honestly, isn’t that concept–of slowing down, looking more deeply, not simply resting on surface impressions–exactly what Jesus was about? The rulers and the religious were so entrenched in “the way things are” that they lost sight of the way things could be, should be. They were so busy maintaining status quo that they lost sight of what was right in front of them.

Matthew 2:17-18 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

Lord, Thank You for this desire to read through Your word, looking closely. As I continue through these familiar passages, help me to remember to keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking (Matt 7:7). Help me to move past the familiar and to know You more. Amen.

Matthew 2:22-23 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

Have a blessed day.

Matthew 1:1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham….

My oldest sister loves family genealogies—tracing histories back in time to see where they lead. The beginning of Matthew does something similar—traces Jesus’s legal lineage back to Abraham, rooting the New Testament into the Old.

Matthew 1:18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

This first book of Matthew also gives the narrative wings as we see the origins of Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary. We are rooted in the past so that we can fly into the New Testament on the metaphorical wings of the Messiah.

Matthew 1:22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

Lord, As I begin this foray into the New Testament, thank You for rooting me firmly in You, in all that has come before. Thank You for the reminder that You are Immanuel,“God with us”. Thank You that You are here with me every step of the way. Draw me closer. Amen.

Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”(which means “God with us”).

Have a blessed day.