Monthly Archives: May 2016

So what’s a few days of discomfort? (Matthew 24:9-10) May 31, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 1 Kings 1-4

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 24:9-10
Jesus: They will hand you over to your enemies, who will torture you and then kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of Me. And many who have followed Me and claimed to love Me and sought God’s kingdom will turn away—they will abandon the faith and betray and hate one another.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

The promise Jesus gives in these two verses doesn’t sound so good does it. You might wonder who “they” includes in Jesus’ comment. Go back to the previous description of the signs of the times and you find it’s the people that claim to come in His name as the Messiah. He says some who call themselves Christians will hand you over to your enemies. If you really follow Jesus, you will be tortured, killed, hated by all nations just because you obey what Jesus says.

We’re beginning to see that today around the world. Look at what’s happening. Read the papers. Listen to the news reports. We hear only a fraction of what is happening to Christians around the globe. We hear about ISIS beheading Christians probably because the goal of ISIS is to dismantle our country. Their aim isn’t just to oust us from the middle east. They want our whole way of life ended. And that means our tolerance of any religion but Islam. They want their Sharia Laws enforced across the globe even though they don’t follow them personally.

But that’s not the only place where our enemies torture and kill true believers in Christ. We’re just getting reports from Europe in the refugee camps from the middle east that Christians are beaten, robbed of their possessions and food and sometimes killed just because they are Christian. And what do those in charge of the refugee camps do about the injuries and wrongs done to Christians? Not much if anything. They don’t want to create riots within the mostly Muslim populations, so they ignore the problem.

Then there are the African countries whose populations are increasingly turning toward Islam. Systematic genocide of Christians takes place every day. Whether through execution, unfair distribution of vital supplies in famine plagued areas, refusal to provide medical care to sick and injured. Dozens of ways are created to just let Christians perish in developing and developed countries around the world.

Even here in America, the rights and privileges of Christians are eroding day by day. As you screen the legislation proposed by state and federal agencies, the language often points directly toward Christians. We have quietly allowed our government to quell freedom of religion for those that serve the risen Lord as we increase our tolerance for all other faiths. Soon we will find even the freedoms we have in this country taken away as the end draws nearer.

But is this a time to withdraw, hide in holes, fear those that might try to silence the faithful followers of Christ? Absolutely not. The signs of the end of time are increasing just as Jesus said they would. The time we have left to share the good news of His sacrifice for our sins is drawing to a close. We have a great task in front of us. We need to share with those who would see our harm to help them know that God still loves them, despite the sin they commit. His will is not their punishment, but they choose that if they continue on the path they are on.

Today we see many doing exactly what Jesus said they would do. They claim to be followers and some might have been at one time, but when it gets hard. When Jesus says we can’t go the way of the world. When we begin to stand out from the crowd because we refuse to participate in the debachery the world calls pleasure. Many fall away. He talked about those in His parable of the sower. Those seeds sown among thorns that grow up but are choked out by their desire for the things of the world instead of keeping their eyes on the important things of God’s kingdom.

It doesn’t take much to look around and see that Jesus’ prophecies are coming true. Our grandparents probably said the same thing as they were growing up and the world continues to get worse. I just know that as Jesus uses labor as the metaphor, those birth pangs are getting closer together and more intense. I’m not sure how much closer they need to get before the labor of the final days begin, but they just don’t seem like they can be far off when you read Jesus’ prophecies.

His words to us may not sound like the most pleasant prospect for us right now. But remember, these things usher in the best days. Jesus is coming soon. And when He does, those that remain faithful to Him will join Him in a party that never ends. We will worship around the banquet table of God rejoicing with Him forever. With that in mind, what are a few days of discomfort in exchange for an eternity with Him? 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

We’d better get to it! (Matthew 24:4-8) May 30, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Exodus 33-36

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 24:4-8
Jesus: Take care that you are not deceived. For many will come in My name claiming they are the Anointed One, and many poor souls will be taken in. You will hear of wars, and you will hear rumors of wars, but you should not panic. It is inevitable, this violent breaking apart of the sinful world, but remember, the wars are not the end. The end is still unfolding. Nations will do battle with nations, and kingdoms will fight neighboring kingdoms, and there will be famines and earthquakes. But these are not the end. These are the birth pangs, the beginning. The end is still unfolding.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

These verses from Matthew that give us the description of the events that happen before the end comes can be a little disconcerting. Wars, rumors of wars, nations fighting against nations, kingdoms fighting against neighboring kingdoms. These are standard headlines today. Famines and earthquakes. They are everywhere.

I did a quick Internet search just to see what is going on around the world in relation to Jesus’ predictions. Today there are 54 conflicts going around the world. Fourteen of them kill 1,000 or more people a year in the fighting. In the last seven days, the seismologists have recorded 90 earthquakes of 4.0 or greater on the Richter scale. You might be interested to know that four or five years ago, the agency posted earthquakes with an intensity of three or more, but there are now so many, they only post those with an intensity of four or greater.

Talking about famine is a little harder to wrap your head around. We know famine means there is not enough food for everyone so let’s look at hunger statistics. These, too, are hard to wrap your head around. Hunger can mean the pains in your stomach that some of us feel when we miss a meal. That’s not what Jesus was talking about, I don’t think. Most of us could stand to miss a meal or two without consequence. In fact, it would probably help most of us. But when we think about the undernourished or those that die of starvation, that number is staggering. Currently 795 million people on the planet do not have enough food to maintain their health. That’s one out of nine people on the planet. And among children under the age of five, it’s the hunger, undernourishment is the number one cause of death. Over 3 million children died of hunger in 2012 and 161 million were undernourished.

We hear about the melting of the polar caps and the rise of the oceans. The changes in weather that create weather patterns that reduce the growing season for crops or increase the temperatures to make it unfavorable for crops to withstand the scorching sun. We hear about El Nina` and other weather patterns that disrupt the normal flow of air and bring disasters to regions of the country and the world. Storms abound creating havoc for hundreds of thousands in this country and around in every country.

But Jesus tells us all these things are just birth pangs. These are not the end, but signs of its coming. These are the events that will tell us He is returning soon. So what should we do?

We could crawl into a hole and try to protect ourselves from the onslaught that is coming. We could arm ourselves and defend our tiny piece of ground from invaders and hold on to the possessions we hold in our hand. We could sit by and do nothing assuming God will come and wisk us away so we never face the troubles that will continue to grow until the tribulation begins and Christ returns.

I’m not sure any of those are what Jesus had in mind when He told His disciples the signs to look for that would herald His return. I think He gave us those signs to tell us time is short to finish the tasks He gave us to do. He gave us a command to go and make disciples in all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Remember? We are to share His message with others and bring them to the saving knowledge of Christ.

God does His best to let us know His grace is about to run out. Jesus told those around Him the signs like birth pangs that would precede the final judgments God would send upon the earth for their failure to follow Him and live in our selfish unrepentant state. I’m not sure how the signs could get much clearer. And if the birth pangs we see in the 54 conflicts, 90 earthquakes a week, 795 million people dying of malnutrition around the world, and all the other warning signs can be compared to the birth pangs preceding labor, just think what the end will be like. Women tell me the pain of the birth pangs and false labor are nothing compared to the labor itself. Can you imagine what the world will be like when these birth pangs of the end are over?

We have a lot of people to warn and help them understand there is but one way to escape the coming wrath God will pour out on this earth and those who fail to recognize Him as God. We don’t have much time left to do our job. We’d better get to it!

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

The temple will fall (Matthew 24:2) May 29, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Galatians 1-3

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 24:2
Jesus: Look around you. All of it will become rubble. I tell you this: not one stone will be left standing.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

The temple was a beautiful structure. Herod erected the gleaming white stone structure to create an awe inspiring edifice for the Jews he ruled. He wanted to win their favor and so spent what amounted to millions today to complete this monument to God. Only, it was more a monument to men than to God. Herod wanted the Jews to accept him as their king. Despite his evil, despite his loyalty to Rome rather than God, despite his utter failure in his faith, Herod thought he could win the Jews by buying their devotion with this temple.

And for many, the temple did win their favor. Herod put the priests in place who would allow his extravagances. The put up with him. They failed to call him out on his evil deeds because they enjoyed their privileges and power. They didn’t want to give up the luxuries and position and power the king gave them. Even these leaders and teachers knew where their power came from, they didn’t want to lose it, so they tolerated Herod.

This monument that was supposed to please God didn’t. But none of the temples did, really. If you go back to the first temple, you’ll remember David collected all the materials for it and gave the design to his son, Solomon to build it. God wouldn’t allow David to build it because of the blood on his hands in all the battles he had fought. But God allowed Solomon to build a temple. Solomon dedicated it and made some promises that he failed to keep.

Solomon’s son, Reheboam lost the northern tribes of Israel from the kingdom because of his father’s and his disobedience. The nation continued to falter in their faith and the temple finally was destroyed after it had been ransacked several times in the nation’s history. Ezra came back to lay its foundation four hundred years before Christ came, but it was nothing compared to the splendor of the ancient temple of Solomon or the awe inspiring edifice of Herod’s temple. And through all that time, the people continued to look at the building as the place where God resided.

They put Him in that box and assumed He stayed there. Just like we too often put God in our sanctuaries and assume He stays there. We leave after the worship service and live our lives pretty much the way the Israelites did when they left the temple. We forget God is the God of everyone and everything. That means He is in control of your home, whether you want Him to be or not. He is God in control of your job, whether you like it or not. He is God in control of who sits in the White House, whether the President is in your party affiliation or not. He is God in control of the terrorists, whether we want to think so or not.

We don’t understand why God allows things to happen the way they do, but we are not God and I’m glad for that. We would be terrible at the job. We are not just. Sometimes we are fair, but most of the time, we’re not and we are not just. But God is just. His actions are never unjust. It’s not in His nature to be unjust. He allows evil things to happen sometimes because we collectively made such a mess of His creation. Sometimes He gives us what we asked for. And the result is the world we see around us.

But God is still in control. He will not let His creation go further into an evil path than He desires. He will not let His children suffer beyond the point He chooses. God is beyond our understanding and we may not be able to figure it out with our finite minds, but God is still God. We are not. That’s the basic problem we have had since Adam. He thought he could become as wise as God. He couldn’t.

We think we can put God in a box. We can’t. We somehow get the idea we can confine His influence to the few hours we spend in worship with Him or we can turn Him on or off at our pleasure. We can’t. We think we can get by with our agenda and He’ll just go along with it because He likes us and we’re pretty good people. We’re not and He won’t.

You see, God is God. To really understand the purpose of the temple or the synagogue or the church, you really have to start with getting that one truth straight. God is God. Everything revolves around Him, not us. All those edifices are only temporary facilities for us to gather in community to worship. They have nothing to do with Him except as places for us to gather. He’s everywhere. We can meet with Him anywhere and we should. We can meet with Him anytime and we should. He is God.

So figure out God just wants to be with you. He doesn’t care much about the place. He cares about the relationship. We can’t impress Him with stuff, we only impress ourselves and others around us. They don’t count, only He does. Was Jesus sad that the temple would fall? I’m sure He was. Not because God wouldn’t have a place of worship, but because of all the reasons that caused God to allow its destruction once again. Our failure to listen to His voice.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Through the eyes of faith (Matthew 23:34-39) May 28, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Luke 7-8

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 23:34-39
Jesus: That is why I am sending you prophets and wise men, teachers of breadth and depth and substance. You will kill some of them and crucify others. You will flog others in your synagogues. You will pursue them from town to town. And on your heads, stained through your hands and drenching your clothes, my friends, will be all the righteous blood ever shed on this earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah whom you murdered in the house of the Lord between the sanctuary and the altar. I tell you: this generation will bear the blood of all that has gone before.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem. You kill the prophets whom God gives you; you stone those God sends you. I have longed to gather your children the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you refuse to be gathered. Surely you can see that God has already removed His blessing from the house of Israel. I tell you this: you will not see Me again until you say, with the psalmist, “Anyone who comes in the name of the Eternal One will be blessed.”

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

I grew up in a parsonage. And I was ordained in my denomination twenty-five years ago, myself. So I’ve been around the pulpit a long time. One of the things I’ve learned in that time, is that a lot of people like to have the pastor for lunch. I’m not talking about inviting the pastor to their house to enjoy a meal together. I’m talking about carving the pastor up and devouring him or her over the dinner table. I didn’t know until I was a teenager how often my dad got criticism about his messages from the faithful few that just had to say something. And it was always the same few. And there were always a few in every congregation.

I discovered when I began filling pulpits the same thing happened. Most people seemed to appreciate what I had to say from the pulpit. It wasn’t always comfortable, but I always try to share what God places on my heart and invariably the message reaches the right people in the congregation. I never preach to individuals, but individuals get God’s message, often in a way I never expected. That’s how God works.

But some people will hand me a note or make a comment or send me an email and let me know I missed the mark. Do I realize the political state of the world today? I really need to preach about that. Do I understand how many people are being killed by gun violence today? I ought to have a sermon about that. Do I know how many babies die in abortions every year? Am I concerned about that?

It’s interesting how many times I’m given sermon topics that someone is sure God has spoken to them about and so is sure I should speak to the congregation about it. Well, it just doesn’t work quite that way. At least it doesn’t work that way in any of the homiletic classes I’ve even taken. So I usually thank them for their concern and let it go. I would hate to be as miserable as they appear when they pick apart sermon topics and miss what I’ve tried to talk about in that day’s message.

I think that’s what Jesus was telling the crowd of teachers and Pharisees gathered around Him that day. God sent teachers and prophets and wise men to them to help them understand God’s message, but instead of listening to their message, they had them for dinner. Criticizing everything those prophets and teachers and wise men tried to do to help them. Those Pharisees thought they knew better. They thought they knew the law better than God knew the law.

Pretty silly, isn’t it? God gave them the law. He sent the prophets. He put the words into the prophet and teachers’ mouths. Why did these governing priests, who continually fought for position and power think they knew more than those God sent?

The answer is pretty simple. The Bible tells us Satan puts a veil over our eyes. The analogy I like to use takes you back to elementary school days. Remember those hidden picture puzzles? The teacher would give us a picture and we would have to find the shovel and the comb and the pail and the apple and umbrella and other objects hidden in the picture. God’s truth in this world is like looking at that hidden picture. Satan has put a veil over our eyes and all we see is the picture until we deliberately exercise our faith in Him.

When we put our faith in God, the hidden objects appear. We see all those things we couldn’t see before. The truth stands out and every time we look at that picture, there are the hidden objects. We can’t help but see them from then on. The truth stares at us. We can try to ignore it, but we can’t. But first, we must exercise our faith in Him. So what are you waiting for? Want to know the truth? It’s there in plain sight. Take another look through the eyes of faith. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Are you a Pharisee? (Matthew 23:23-33) May 27, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Jeremiah 47-52

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 23:23-33
Jesus: So woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees. You hypocrites! You tithe from your luxuries and your spices, giving away a tenth of your mint, your dill, and your cumin. But you have ignored the essentials of the law: justice, mercy, faithfulness. It is practice of the latter that makes sense of the former. You hypocritical, blind leaders. You spoon a fly from your soup and swallow a camel.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You remove fine layers of film and dust from the outside of a cup or bowl, but you leave the inside full of greed and covetousness and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee—can’t you see that if you clean the inside of the cup, the outside will be clean too?

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like a grave that has been whitewashed. You look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside you are full of moldering bones and decaying rot. You appear, at first blush, to be righteous, selfless, and pure; but on the inside you are polluted, sunk in hypocrisy and confusion and lawlessness.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build monuments to your dead, you mouth pieties over the bodies of prophets, you decorate the graves of your righteous ancestors. And you say, “If we had lived when our forefathers lived, we would have known better—we would not have joined them when they rose up against the prophets.” Even when you are preening, you make plain that you descended from those who murdered our prophets. So why don’t you finish what your forefathers started? You are children of vipers, you belly-dragging snakes. You won’t escape the judgment of hell.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Ouch! Jesus let those Pharisees have it! I’d sure hate to be in their shoes. But have I looked inside to make sure I’m not them? It’s easy for us to point fingers at those hypocrites and talk about how bad they were. But that’s exactly what they did, too. Remember Jesus’ words to them? “You say, ‘If we had lived when our forefathers lived, we would have know better…’” Isn’t that what we say about the Pharisees? If we lived when they lived, we would have known better. We would have followed Jesus. We would have obeyed Him. We would have believed everything He said. Really? Then why don’t we follow His commands now? Why do we have so much trouble listening to His voice now?

Are we so different from the Pharisees? If so, why do so many of us just play at worshiping God? We attend church on Sunday, but forget about Him the rest of the week and do whatever we feel like doing. We think God is pleased with us as long as we give Him that hour on Sunday every once in a while and we have our ticket to heaven. But that’s not what God wants. He wants our total devotion.

We can be such avid sports enthusiasts and build shrines to our favorite teams with rooms filled with paraphernalia. Banners hung on the walls, pillows and blankets and curtains with the team symbols everywhere. We can be such fans we have season tickets and never miss a game. Yet when it comes to God, we find it’s okay to skip devotions or skip church or forget prayers or set aside reading His word. God will understand, right?

Are we so different than those Pharisees? But take a look at the people Jesus criticized. These were the one who took a calculator with them to make sure they gave a tithe, a tenth, of everything to God. When they went to their garden and took out herbs for dinner they weighed them on the scale and set aside a tenth to take to the temple. When they plucked grapes off the vines, the first of every ten grapes when into a separate basket to go to the temple so God would get His tithe. These guys knew the law and lived it. If they accidentally took a wrong turn on the Sabbath and it caused them to approach the limit of their allotted distance for travel on the Sabbath, they would stop where they were and spend the rest of the day on that spot until the Sabbath concluded. Then they would complete their journey.

We might be avid sports fans, but these were avid law fans. They lived every jot and title. Yet Jesus told them they would not escape the judgment of hell. Why? Because they didn’t understand the kingdom of God is about living a relationship with the Almighty, not about keeping a long list of rules. God’s wants our love, and our love is shown through our obedience to His will. He will let us know our position with Him. Just ask Him. The Pharisees knew. Jesus made it pretty clear. If we ask He will let us know.

The question is, will we do something about it. The Pharisees thought they could fix their problem by destroying God’s Son. Of course, their solution didn’t work. The only solution is to come to Him in repentance. Confess who we are and who God is, then turn away from sin and toward Him. Follow the path He lays out for you. That’s the real solution. It works. We never need to hear the woes the Pharisees heard. It just takes listening and doing what God says.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Don’t catch the woes! (Matthew 23:13-22) May 26, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Job 41-42

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 23:13-22
Jesus: Woe to you, you teachers of the law and Pharisees. There is such a gulf between what you say and what you do. You will stand before a crowd and lock the door of the kingdom of heaven right in front of everyone; you won’t enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from doing so.

Woe to you, you teachers of the law and Pharisees. What you say is not what you do. You steal the homes from under the widows while you pretend to pray for them. You will suffer great condemnation for this.

Woe to you Pharisees, woe to you who teach the law, hypocrites! You traverse hills and mountains and seas to make one convert, and then when he does convert, you make him much more a son of hell than you are.

Woe to you who are blind but deign to lead others. You say, “Swearing by the temple means nothing, but he who swears by the gold in the temple is bound by his oath.” Are you fools? You must be blind! For which is greater: the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, “Swearing by the altar means nothing, but he who swears by the sacrifice on the altar is bound by his oath.” You must be blind! Which is greater: the sacrifice or the altar that makes it sacred? So anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by the sacrifices and gifts laid upon it. And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the God who sanctifies it. And when you swear by heaven, you are swearing by God’s throne and by Him who sits upon it.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

These first woes Jesus gives to the leaders of the religion of His countrymen should give us warning about what God does not want to see in His church today. These were the elite according to those who went into the temple and synagogues. These were the teachers and preachers of the day. These were the ones you were told to emulate if you wanted to get on the right side of God’s grace. Yet Jesus had a lot of pretty harsh words for them as you hear this recollection from Matthew.

“What you say is not what you do. You steal the homes out from under widows. You are blind trying to lead others. You don’t understand what is really important in the temple or the rituals you use within the temple.”

How would you like to hear those words from Jesus? Would it make a difference in what you did or how you acted? It didn’t do much for the Pharisees. They just plotted to kill Him and then carried out their plan. Do we do that? I’m afraid sometimes we do. I’m afraid sometimes we get so caught up in what we think is right we refuse to listen to anything else. We won’t even listen to God. We refuse to listen to anything that might disrupt our comfortable position in the world. We want to be first or at least in the top ten and so we disregard any advice from anyone that would disagree with our position.

That’s what happened to the Pharisees. Jesus disagreed with them. He told them their interpretation of God’s word was wrong. He told those they tried to lead they were blind and not worthy of following because they only wanted glory for themselves and not glory for God. They could stand to share the limelight, even with God. As soon as Jesus began to challenge their position, the thing they coveted the most, they did everything they could to destroy Him.

Jesus saw through them, just like He can see through us when we seek glory for ourselves. We can talk a good game and maybe even do some good things for those around us. The Pharisees did. They prayed well. They took up offerings for the poor. It looked like they did great works for all those around them. But Jesus, and the Father knew better. God knew their hearts and the purpose behind their plans and actions. God knew the ego they worked to stroke with every action they took.

So Jesus told them like it is and hoped they would hear and repent. Those words remain for us today so that we can hear and understand and avoid the temptations to which the Pharisees fell. Woe to you Pharisees. Get it right. Do what you preach. If you know God’s word, then do it. Don’t just pray for the widows, but put feet to your prayers and help them. Don’t live a double standard. Be straight up with the people you lead and should be serving. Understand what’s really important. It’s not the rituals and programs you put in place to help you remember God and His grace. It’s His grace. It’s not the monuments we build to remind us about our journey with Him, it’s Him.

Until we recognize God for who He is and bow before Him as the Creator of all things, God, Commander of His Heavenly Armies and King of the universe and all it contains. Until we acknowledge He is God and we are nothing beside Him, we will try to be like those Pharisees, jockeying for position and power instead of giving our all to the King of kings, giving all glory to Him. Don’t be caught catching the woes the Pharisees caught from Jesus.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Do what they say, not what they do (Matthew 23:2-12) May 25, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Psalms 60-62

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 23:2-12
Jesus: The Pharisees and the scribes occupy the seat of Moses. So you should do the things they tell you to do—but don’t do the things they do. They heap heavy burdens upon their neighbors’ backs, and they prove unwilling to do anything to help shoulder the load. They are interested, above all, in presentation: they wrap their heads and arms in the accoutrements of prayer, they cloak themselves with flowing tasseled prayer garments, they covet the seats of honor at fine banquets and in the synagogue, and they love it when people recognize them in the marketplace, call them “Teacher,” and beam at them.

But you: do not let anyone call you “Rabbi,” that is, “Teacher.” For you are all brothers, and you have only one teacher, the Anointed One. Indeed, do not call anyone on earth “Father,” for you have only one father, and He is in heaven. Neither let anyone call you “leader,” for you have one leader—the Anointed One. If you are recognized at all, let it be for your service. Delight in the one who calls you servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

It’s easy to play the church game. We can belong to the biggest, most popular church in the city. We can recite the Apostles’ Creed and the tenets of our doctrine. We can sing in the choir and teach a Bible class. We can be on the church board or council of elders. We can sing the right songs, pray what sounds like holy prayers. We can dress just like the preach and even fill in for him when he is absent. We can do all those things, but does that make us right with God?

Of course the answer is no. God doesn’t look at those things by themselves. He care less about the external trappings and actions that we do to impress others and looks at the inside as to why we do the things we do. Others will see all those things and might even view us as righteous, right with God, on the inside track with Him. But we and God know better. We know if we do those things to impress people or in service to God. We know if our actions please Him or us.

That’s what Jesus was talking about here. The Pharisees appeared to do all the right things. They prayed long prayers in the temple and synagogues. They wore robes that others thought showed their piety, maybe like the robes of the priests and pastors in some of our churches today. They wore headgear that showed the status of their position in the priestly hierarchy. They kept their solemn demeanor in the presence of their parishioners to let them know how serious they were about their faith. These Pharisees let people know they fasted at least twice a week instead of once a week. They let everyone know they prayed three times a day. They let everyone know all about their religious disciplines.

Everyone knew just how great these men were. Or at least they thought they knew. Then Jesus comes along and looks in their heart. He sees why they do the things they do and recognizes the paradox in their actions. None of their demands on the people fit the reasons carried out their own daily behaviors. They wanted others to act the same way they did. None of those actions were wrong. But the reasons were. The Pharisees did all those things to be noticed by men, not God. Jesus says, do them, but do them for God. Let go of the selfish desire to be recognized by others and just be good because God is good.

Jesus says to understand the meaning behind all those rules the Pharisees spout so eloquently. The meaning God intends is to love. Jesus shared the truth behind the rules. They are good, holy, God gave them, so they are right. But as Paul points out, we perverted the rules. We twisted them so that they only point out our sin. The rules can’t lead us to God, but rather, they drive us toward evil. But when we exercise faith in the truth of God’s word, He gives us deeper understanding that leads us to salvation.

God wants our heart. When we give it to Him completely, we will do the things the Pharisees say we should do. We will give. We will help the poor. We will pray. We will study God’s word. We will work tirelessly to build God’s kingdom. We will do all kinds of things willingly for the Creator of the universe. We will do it all with a smile on our face and joy in our heart. Why? Because of the grace He gives us and the grace He enables us to extend to others,

The Pharisees’ words were good, their displays were sometimes right. But their hearts centered on themselves and their satisfaction, not on God. So Jesus tells us don’t be like them. Do what they say, not what they do. Be real, act from your heart in service to God.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

The words (Matthew 22:42-45), May 24, 2016

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 2 Samuel 20-24

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 22:42-45
Jesus: What do you think about the Anointed One? Whose Son is He?
Pharisees: But, of course, He is the Son of David.
Jesus: Then how is it that David—whose words were surely shaped by the Spirit—calls Him “Lord”? For in his psalms David writes,
The Master said to my master
“Sit here at My right hand,
in the place of honor and power,
And I will gather Your enemies together,
lead them in on hands and knees,
and You will rest Your feet on their backs.”
How can David call his own Son “Lord”?

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Jesus has thwarted all the religious leaders. He saw through all their tricks. He avoided all their traps. He turned their words against them when they tried to trip Him with their rules and regulations. They tried to point to infractions of the law of Moses, but didn’t understand Jesus was there when the Law was given to Moses. In fact, He wrote the words on the tablets of stone. He was and is God. They thought they knew the word of God, but He was the Word of God.

Those religious leaders didn’t have a chance against Him. They wanted to make the people turn against Jesus. They wanted to cause the crowds to think He was corrupt and evil, a son of the devil. But every time they tried, Jesus only proved again that He was the Son of God. He confounded them over and over. So they had run out of questions. Their attempts failed. They couldn’t trick Him into doing wrong or misstating the facts or changing His mind. They just couldn’t match His wisdom and understanding.

So what do we learn from this?

I hear so many “intellectuals” try to debate the existence of God, the rightness of any religion as long as you’re sincere, or the rightness of no religion. I hear so many who want to discount the reality of the Creator. But that’s okay. They can try their best, but in the end, Jesus will have the final word. If you are one of those who fight against Him, you will find yourself on the losing side of the battle. You’ll admit one day that you’re just not smarter than God no matter how much you think you are.

There are those who wish to think there is no God because they want to wish away His commands. They want to think His laws do not apply. If they acknowledge He exists, they must acknowledge He has sovereign over all things and there will be a final reckoning for all we have done in this life. When you acknowledge the existence of God you must accept the whole package. Jesus talked about heaven and hell, a final battle of good and evil, a final judgment at which those who follow Him will be ushered into the presence of God and rewarded with eternal life with Him.

You can’t ignore the parts you want and just pick and choose the words you like leaving the rest behind. God’s word is God’s word. Either all of it is true or none of it. We take it or leave it. It’s still our choice, but that’s the only two choices. No discarding the parts we don’t like. That’s no a choice on the test.

So Jesus used scriptures those religious leaders knew well to show them how little they really knew about God and His word. They tried their best to use scripture to cause Jesus to stumble. But it was they who fell on their face when they tripped over it. Jesus used the scriptures against these religious leaders just like He used scriptures against Satan and with the rich man who went away sorrowfully and all who choose their own way instead of God’s way.

God doesn’t keep secrets from us. It’s all there in His word. We just need to remember how to use it. God’s word is not a place to just find your favorite verses and skip the rest. It’s not a place to read a few words every once in a while when you feel like it. God’s word is the place to get to know Him, His plan for this world and for your life. It’s the place where He left His instructions for life. If we would listen to Him in it and obey it, it’s amazing how much better life happens day by day. Circumstances don’t rock us. We find joy and peace as we listen to His voice in the beauty of His words.

Those without faith in Jesus stumbled over the law. Those with faith in Him find peace in those same words. When you try to defeat Him, you’ll discover you only defeat yourself. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Love, do you pass the test? (Matthew 22:37-40) May 23, 2016

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Exodus 29-32

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 22:37-40
Jesus (quoting Scripture): “Love the Eternal One your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is nearly as important, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The rest of the law, and all the teachings of the prophets, are but variations on these themes.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

There must be a bazillion songs about love. And no wonder. Love is a wonderful thing. The problem with most of those songs, though, the world has so corrupted even the word that we don’t know what love really means any more. Most of the songs deal with satisfying some selfish desire for carnal pleasures. But that’s not what Jesus was talking about when He talked about loving God and loving others.

We’ve fallen into the world’s trap that somehow love is for us instead of for someone else. We think love is supposed to make us feel better or gain some place in the life of someone else. We talk about sharing our love with someone, but look at that phrase. Jesus never talked about sharing our love. He just said to love. Sharing implies keeping some for ourselves. Divvying up the pie, so to speak. But Jesus doesn’t see love that way. Jesus says give it all away. He wants us to follow His example.

So what did Jesus do? He emptied Himself. He loved like no one else. Jesus took on the sins of the entire world so that He could forgive us of those sins. He loved us enough to die for us. He left the throne room of heaven and wrapped Himself in the frail flesh of humanity, suffering the same things we suffer, enduring the same pains and heartaches and disappointments we endure so that when He stands before the Father, He can act as our perfect advocate.

He gave all of Himself for us. He loved us to the extreme. Not the mushy, gushy, lustful stuff the world calls love, but God’s kind of love that sacrifices all for the good of someone else, even if that someone is your enemy. That’s what Jesus did for us while we were still sinners, far from God. Working against Him. Doing things far outside His will.

Jesus says there are two commandments on which every other law rests. Love God and love your neighbor. It’s all about love, so we should understand what love is. The love of God is deeper, wider, higher, and longer than we can imagine. It began before the world came into being and will last long after it disappears from the scene. Love never fails. It’s always there and always comes through. It strengthen us in the darkest night. Love keeps us safe from the wiles of the enemy so we can stand before God at the end of time.

So if we follow Jesus example in loving others, it means we give of ourselves for their benefit, not ours. You still find that definition of love in the dictionary, but it has moved to the fourth place in Webster’s. Here’s how it reads: 4 a : unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: as (1) : the fatherly concern of God for humankind (2) : brotherly concern for others b : a person’s adoration of God. See we keep pushing it further and further down the line of definitions because we want what suits us, not what suits God.

The first definition listed in the dictionary today? Selfish desire; self-satisfaction. Listen to it: 1
a (1) : strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties maternal love for a child (2) : attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers (3) : affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests love for his old schoolmates b : an assurance of affection give her my love. All of these look at satisfying something inside us. They point toward our affection, our desire, our feelings.

God’s kind of love reaches out despite the wrongs that might be done against us. God’s love does good whether or not there is affection or attraction or kinship or ties. God’s love reaches out to perform acts of kindness to show mercy and grace to those who do not deserve it just because people are part of God’s creation. If God made them, they are good and so we love them because we love Him.

Love becomes an action verb that says we participate in making life better for those around us because we can. Not because we have to or even because we want to, but we do good for others because we can. That is love. Doing good expecting nothing in return. Wanting nothing except to pour out our lives as an offering to God in the form of service He asks us to do for those who do not deserve it because He poured out His life for us when we didn’t deserve it either.

That’s real love. Do you pass the test? 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

The God of the living (Matthew 22:29-32), May 22, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 2 Corinthians 11-13

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 22:29-32
Jesus: You know neither God’s Scriptures nor God’s power—and so your assumptions are all wrong. At the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage. They will be like the messengers of heaven.
A key to this resurrected life can be found in the words of Moses, which you do claim to read: “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Our God is not the God of the dead. He is the God of the living.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

I sometimes find it amusing to hear the assumptions people make about heaven. It’s been happening a long time as we can see from today’s focus on Jesus’ words. First, you need to understand the Sadducees wanted nothing other than an argument with Jesus. Jesus kept talking about heaven and the resurrection and the Sadducees didn’t believe in a resurrection. They only took into account the books of Moses, the Law, and in those five books of the Old Testament, there is no promise of heaven or a here after or a resurrection.

So the Sadducees came to pick a fight and used the Law God gave Moses to try to trap Jesus in His words about heaven. Seven men marry the same woman after each dies successively. None have children, but they marry her in accordance with the Law to carry out the name of their deceased brother. That’s the law. That’s what Moses told them to do and He got it from God, right?

Well, they forgot Jesus had already come down pretty hard on the Pharisees for questioning Him about divorce. Divorce wasn’t in God’s design, but He made provision for it under certain circumstances because we live in an evil, wicked world. So now, these Sadducees think they can trump Jesus with their heaven question. Jesus has been preaching about heaven and the kingdom, so let’s see if He can answer this one.

Once again Jesus baffles these supposedly educated religious leaders. I like His not so subtle barb, “A key to this resurrected life can be found in the words of Moses, which you do claim to read:…” They think they have it right. They can no doubt recite long passages and never stumble on a single word. They even have their Talmud memorized. So they know all the great Rabbis’ interpretations of those difficult passages. Yeah, they’ve read the words of Moses. But do they get it?

I think that leads us to a few questions we need to answer today. First, have we even read it. Jesus pointed to them and acknowledged their claim. And Jesus really didn’t dispute the fact that they read the words. They could recite them as well as He could. So, the first question for us is have you read God’s word? It’s surprising how few Christians have read the Bible in its entirety. We think that’s for the “holy crowd” or the preachers or something. But if we really want to know God, don’t you think the words He left for us is a really good place to start? So that’s the first question, have you even read His word. If not, today is a good time to start.

The second question is do we understand it’s message? Some, like the Pharisees and the Sadducees like to pick it up and find all the “thou shalt not” passages and beat people over the head with them. They see God’s word as a list of rules we must keep in order to win God’s favor and find our way to heaven. But that’s not what God’s word is. The Bible is really a love story. It’s the story of God’s overwhelming love for the people He created. So much so, that He wrapped Himself in flesh and gave His own life as the redemption price to buy us back into His presence.

It’s a horrible picture to remember, but one that fits when you think of the price God paid for our redemption, but we were slaves to sin. Picture the 18th and 19th century slave ships and their cargo unloaded on the docks. Men, women and children standing on blocks sold at auction to the highest bidder. But we gave ourselves away to the master of sin and became his slave to do with whatever he wanted. But God came on the scene and bought us back. He gave His life to pay the price to break the chain that held us in the slave camps of the enemy and gave us a new life of grace and mercy and love.

He doesn’t chain us to this new life. We can return to the slavery of sin if we want, but why would anyone choose to do that after experiencing the freedom God gives when we ask Him. God’s word speaks of His plan of redemption from the very beginning. It tells His story of grace and mercy and forgiveness from the first sin in the Garden of Eden until John call out on the Isle of Patmos, “Come soon, Lord! Come soon.”

Have you read the book? Do you know it? Do you understand the message of redemption God gave us in His word? He is the God of the living and wants to give you new life, too.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.