Tag Archives: Matthew

Are you ready to be His emissary? (Matthew 10:40-42) March 6, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 1 Corinthians 3-4

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 10:40-42
Jesus: Anyone who welcomes you welcomes Me, and anyone who welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me. Anyone who welcomes a prophet and surrenders to his prophecy will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who welcomes a righteous person and conforms to the righteousness that surrounds him and proceeds from him will receive a righteous man’s reward. And anyone who has given so much as a cup of cold water to one of the little ones, because he is My disciple, I tell you, that person will be well rewarded.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

There’s a story in the Old Testament that relates an action by King David not long after he took the throne of the united kingdom of the twelve tribes of Israel. The country was secure. His enemies defeated. David’s subjects lauded his reign.

Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, died; and his son Hanum became the new king. Nahash had helped David during the time he fled from Saul. So when David heard of Nahash’s death, he sent emissaries to Ammon with a sympathy message about his friend’s death. But instead of greeting David’s emissaries, Hanun’s advisors convinced him these men from David were spies sent to learn as much as they could about the new king and the country so David’s army could come in to defeat them.

Consequently, Hanun seized the men, cut off half of their beards, cut off their garments at their hips and then ordered them out of his country. Remember, these were David’s emissaries, his representatives. When he heard about what happened to his men, he sent messengers to intercept his emissaries to put them in seclusion until their beards grew back to keep them from public humiliation. Then David had something to say to Hanun. He spoke loudly about the way Hanun treated his emissaries by sending Joab and his army to crush the Ammonites.

Jesus’ words are reminiscent of that story. When you treat an authorities emissaries well, you will be treated well in return. When you treat an authorities emissaries poorly, expect to be treated poorly in return. Jesus was at the end of His instructions to His twelve disciples before sending them on their missionary journey to share His message. “Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

These twelve are His emissaries to their world. His representatives. Their message is His message. Their actions represent His actions. So, like David’s emissaries so many centuries earlier, the way you treat His emissaries determines the consequences that follow. If you welcome them, you welcome Him, and you welcome the Father, because He is one with the Father. Conversely, if you reject His emissaries, you reject Him and the One who sent Him.

Those can be tough words today. How do we discern who His true emissaries are in a world that also contains a lot of false prophets, preachers and teachers that bend the truth and pull us away from God’s intended path? Like Satan’s temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, they use scripture to prove their point. But they use pieces of scripture for their convenience. Their words sound good, but they don’t carry God’s message. How do we discriminate between God’s prophets and false prophets?

First, test what people say against God’s word. Go back to His word and read it for yourself…in context. Don’t let someone take a verse or two out of context and build their case. Put everything back into the context of God’s word. He never contradicts Himself. So when someone tells you something that contradicts His word, be wary of what they say. God does not contradict Himself. Either you heard wrong, misunderstood, or a false prophet is trying to lead you away from the truth. That testing includes me, too. See if what I say is true to God’s word.

Second, stay prayed up. The more we talked to God, and let Him talk to us through His word, the less likely we are to fall for the message of those false prophets. Like bank tellers who learn how to identify counterfeit money by only handling real money, when the fake stuff comes through their hands, they immediately know it is different and become aware it’s not legitimate. So it is with God’s word. When we stay attached to it, we come to know what is real and what is not. No one can fool us with what comes out of His word, because we become familiar with it.

Third, you stay connected to the source of all good things. You will become more discerning in what you hear and see. When you stay connected to God, He will help you see past the glitz and glamour of the false prophets so you can hear the truth. When God is fully in control of your life, He will help you discern truth from falsehood. When He is your source of power, nothing can wedge its way in because He has already overcome the world. But that means letting Him be Lord of your life. It means saying yes to Him…always. It means choosing to follow Him in everything He directs. It means letting Him really be Lord.

Are you ready to be His emissary?

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.

Who do you worship? (Matthew 10/34-39) March 5, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Matthew 26-28

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 10:34-39
Jesus: Do not imagine that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. I have come to turn men against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law. You will find you have enemies even in your own household. If you love your father or mother more than you love Me, then you are not worthy of Me. If you love your son or daughter more than you love Me, then you are not worthy of Me. If you refuse to take up your cross and follow Me on the narrow road, then you are not worthy of Me. To find your life, you must lose your life—and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

How would you like to hear those words as one of Jesus’ twelve disciples? Talk about negative motivation. Follow Me and not only will you have authorities opposing you, but your own families will turn against you. The message you share will break apart families causing sons and daughters, fathers and mothers to turn against each other. Because of their faith in Me, I will disrupt the religious norms of society and touch the heart of people’s faith. And by following Me, you will be right in the middle of it, because you are compelled to share My message.

Jesus’ words really get to the heart of our devotion. Who or what do we worship? Will we worship Him or someone or something else? He only accepts first place. Remember the second commandment God gave Moses on Mount Sinai? “You are not to make any idol or image of other gods. In fact, you are not to make an image of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. You are not to bow down and serve any image, for I, the Eternal your God, am a jealous God.” That any image, include any person. Sometimes that’s our biggest problem. We begin to put our spouse or our parents or our kids ahead of God.

You say, I’d never do that! But then we take them out of church to go to those soccer games. So, what’s more important? We decide to hit the lake instead of helping our invalid, widowed neighbor since that’s the only day we have off. So, what’s more important? We choose silver over service, gold over God’s glory, pleasure over piety. We don’t pour precious metals into molds and bow down to them as they sit on altars. But we have our idols as surely as the pagan nations of the Old Testament. We just disguise our better. Or so we think.

If you’re going to follow Christ, He must take first place. Period. He must be more important than everything else in your life. Are those other things bad? Not necessarily, but when they become more important than God, they become your idols. When your kids’ welfare becomes more important than God, your priorities are confused. But I guarantee you that if God is first in your life, He will help you ensure the welfare of your kids much better than you could alone. When you job becomes more important than God, your priorities are confused. Does that mean God doesn’t want you to have a good job? No, but when He is first He will help you with the right job in the right place so you can carry out His will for your life.

Following Christ means doing what the Father intends, not what we intend. It means giving up control of your life to His control. It means letting Him be Lord. Dying to self and letting Him become your Master. It means doing everything you do in ways that please Him, not you or others. When you do, it will please some and cause others to hate you, but in the end, isn’t it God you want to please anyway? If He will judge our actions and our hearts, isn’t He the one we need to listen to and obey?

Jesus promised His disciples (that includes those of us who follow Him now) trouble in this world. He promised suffering and hardship. He promised misunderstanding. He promised the world would hate us. But listen to His words again. “If you refuse to take up your cross and follow Me on the narrow road, then you are not worthy of Me.” He knows we will face all these things. He made the prediction. He made the promise. So if He knows we will face these things, He also knows how to help us stand in the face of these things. Since Jesus has already overcome death, hell, and the grave, He can help us overcome the problems we will face in this world.

Knowing this, what should we do? Stay on the narrow path. Keep sharing His message. Stay on the course He sets for you. Don’t worry about the opposition that comes your way. Recognize that our hope of eternal life in Him far exceeds the short duration of suffering we may endure here. Just keep on doing what He asks you to do.

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.

What will you do? (Matthew 10:32-33) March 4, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Isaiah 51-55

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 10:32-33
Jesus: Whoever knows Me here on earth, I will know him in heaven. And whoever proclaims faith in Me here on earth, I will proclaim faith in him before My Father in heaven. But whoever disowns Me here, I will disown before My Father in heaven.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

These were incredibly important words to Jesus’ disciples as they began the first missionary task He gave them. When He sent out the twelve with the message, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He gave them a short sermon to encourage them, but also to warn them of the opposition they would face, the potential imprisonment and suffering that would come their way because of the message they shared. But now Jesus gives His disciples the warning in the words we consider today.

“Whoever knows Me here on earth, I will know him in heaven. And whoever proclaims faith in Me here on earth, I will proclaim faith in him before My Father in heaven. But whoever disowns Me here, I will disown before My Father in heaven.”

We sometimes let Satan add a word in our thought process that confuses the warning Jesus gives us. We often think, “Whoever knows ‘about’ Me…,” but that’s not what Jesus said. So what does it mean to know Jesus? It is certainly more than understanding the intellectual facts about His life and death during the reign of Herod and Pilate. It’s more than believing Mary was His mother and Joseph, her husband, helped raise Him at least into His teen years. To know Jesus means more than regurgitating facts about Him.

When we look at the use of the word in the Old Testament we begin to get a better idea about what it means to ‘know’ Jesus. In Genesis 4, the King Jame version and many of the older translations use the term Adam ‘knew’ Eve and she conceived and bore Cain. Abraham ‘knew’ Sarah and she bore Isaac. ‘Knew’ and ‘begat’ go hand-in-hand throughout the Old Testament. The term denotes the intimate relationship between husband and wife. It’s even more than a sexual relationship. It’s the relationship that desires and accomplishes procreation.

Jesus wants us to know Him. To create more spiritual children for His kingdom. He is sending our His disciples to share His message to increase the population of the kingdom of heaven. The intimate relationship that draws us close to our spouse, so close we want to create progeny to carry on our human legacy, is the kind of close relationship Jesus wants with us. He wants us to know Him intimately.

After 38 years of marriage to my best friend, we often finish each others sentences. We know each others likes and dislikes. I know my wife’s favorite movies, songs, books, foods, colors, vacation likes and dislikes. I know her. I know her so intimately that I can tell when others cannot exactly what she thinks about something without her saying a word. I know when she feels bad, but puts on a smiling face to fool the public. She can do the same for Me. We know each other.

There’s only one way to have that kind of intimacy. You have to talk. We do that through prayer. When you keep your prayer life active and let Him talk to you through His word and His alive, active Spirit that permeates His word and His world, you get to know Him…intimately. Inside and out. He wants us to be able to complete His sentences, finish His thoughts, understand His will for humanity and for you. And when we know Him here on earth, He will continue that relationship with us in heaven at the end of this age.

He also gives His disciples a warning about sharing His message. If you proclaim faith in Him on earth, He will proclaim faith in you before the Father in heaven. But if you disown Him here, He will disown you there. Sounds pretty drastic, doesn’t it? But it also sounds pretty fair, don’t you think? It’s kind of like His message on forgiveness. If we forgive others, He will forgive us. We are forgiven in the same measure we forgive others.

Jesus told the disciples to share His message, to let others know the Messiah arrived, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He told them to proclaim Him to those they met. When they did, He would proclaim them to His Father, the Creator. But if they failed to share Him, if they decided it was too hard or too embarrassing or too risky to proclaim allegiance to Him and share His message. If they disowned Him, He would disown them.

The sermon Matthew recorded, delivered to the twelve before they went out to the villages around them is still true today. We are disciples if we accept Him as Lord and we accept His forgiveness, that’s part of the bargain. He accepts Lordship or nothing. All or none. So as His disciples we, like the twelve have a responsibility to share His message. When we proclaim Him before others, He proclaims us before the Father in heaven. When we disown Him before others, He disowns us before the Father. Still our choice. We can choose what we do, but we don’t choose the consequences. We know what the consequences are. He has told us.

Jesus’ declaration to His disciples, past and present, seems pretty straight forward. So, what will you do? 

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.

Fear the final judge (Matthew 10:28-31) March 3, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Job 17-18

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 10:28-31
Don’t fear those who aim to kill just the body but are unable to touch the soul. The One to fear is He who can destroy you, soul and body, in the fires of hell. Look, if you sold a few sparrows, how much money would you get? A copper coin apiece, perhaps? And yet your Father in heaven knows when those small sparrows fall to the ground. You, beloved, are worth so much more than a whole flock of sparrows. God knows everything about you, even the number of hairs on your head. So do not fear.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

We fight the wrong battles today. The media fills our heads with the ills of society and we fight the wrong battles. Every day we hear more stories, each more horrific than the one before about what we do to each other because of racism, poverty, greed, power, fame, jealousy, just name the vice. We fight against these things and think we are doing great things. But there’s a problem with our fight. We aren’t focused on the real battle.

Before we figure out there out strategy is wrong, each of us struggle with this enemy inside us that we try to satisfy with the things the world says will satisfy it. This hole in our life can only be filled by God, but we try everything else to fill it. Sometimes we try to act nice, do good things, but it doesn’t fill the spot. Sometimes we try bad things, things we know displease God, but we bend to the temptation in front of us and find after all the running from God and pleasing our selfish desires, the hole still stays.

Then someone tells us about religion and we race to our churches and synagogues, temples and cathedrals. We participate in all the rituals, give the institution our money, even take on some responsibilities, maybe even teach a Sunday School class. Those things make us feel good about ourselves, but that still isn’t the solution to our problem. None of those things, as good as they might be, fill the void in our heart that only God can fill. However, we let Satan make us believe they take the place of faith in Christ and following in His footsteps.

So we try, fairly unsuccessfully to fight this inner battle of right and wrong in our strength. It doesn’t work, though, because we are fighting the wrong battle. Paul reminds us the battle isn’t against flesh and blood. It takes place in spiritual realms. It happens in areas where we have no personal strength. We’ve already shown that by our failure to live the life God wants us to live. So what do we do? How should we fight? What battles are we supposed to engage in?

Let’s look back at Jesus’ words. He is in the middle of His sermon to His disciples as He is about to send them on their missionary journey within the borders of Israel. Their message is His message, “Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He has instructed them to use the hospitality of trustworthy men in the villages they visit, but they can also expect resistance wherever they go. And they will stand in court to defend their faith. Soon executions will begin. Floggings with strip away their flesh. Families will tear themselves apart over the message the disciples will deliver for the Master.

But with all that goes on in the spreading of His message, Jesus says, "don’t be afraid of mere humans. Fear the One who will decide your eternal fate. He’s the One you should listen to and obey. He’s the One you should spend your time getting to know. This body is ony temporary. In a flash it will be gone, but after that comes the judgment and the One who can destroy body and soul is the One to please. He’s the One to fear.

When we believe in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, though, we do not need to fear punishment. This fear is the awe that God deserves from us when we remember exactly who He is. He is God. The Creator of the universe and all that is in it. He deserves our worship and our awe, our fear. Jesus goes on to say, though, that we are worth far more to God than the smallest creatures He takes such good care of every day. His example of the swallows God feeds and shelters helps us see how much we must be worth to God.

God knows everything about us. He knows what we have tried to fill the void in our life. He knows the path we have trod to finally discover our broken, depraved, seemingly hopeless condition in our sins. He knows the price He already paid for our salvation. God knows more about us than we know about ourselves. He knows the number of hairs on your head. Do you think you could ever count them? Don’t worry about those authorities that might want to arrest you, beat you, even kill you. Fear God. Follow His directions. He’s the One that sets the standards and makes the rules. Probably a good idea to please Him if He will be the final judge.

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.

No secrets (Matthew 10:26-27) March 2, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Psalms 24-26

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 10:26-27
Do not be afraid of those who may taunt or persecute you. Everything they do—even if they think they are hiding behind closed doors—will come to light. All their secrets will eventually be made known. And you should proclaim in the bright light of day everything that I have whispered to you in the dark. Whatever whispers you hear—shout them from the rooftops of houses.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

I learned a long time ago about the dangers of trying to keep secrets. If one other person knows the secret, it’s not secret anymore. In fact, if you’re the only one that knows something, it probably won’t stay secret. We humans have a tendency to tell all. Just look at the tabloids that plaster the grocery aisles. If you think you can have a secret life, you’re wrong. It will come out. President Clinton’s sexual escapades come to mind. Nothing stays hidden.

The truth is, Jesus’ words plaster themselves as warnings across everything now. Remember George Orwell’s “1984” and big brother. The futuristic writer saw our every actions overwatched by the government by 1984. Everyone lost their individuality and ability to think for themselves. Society looked really ugly in the novel. The story centers around William Smith, a member of the Outer Party, finds Big Brother rewriting history to suit the party in power no matter what the facts of those historic events really said.

Move ahead from Orwell’s novel in 1949 to today. We are thirty plus years past the setting of the novel, but have you thought about how much of that novel is true today? With your nine-digit social security number, various agencies of the government can learn about everything there is to know about you. Just think about how much information you put in email or on the web every day. Do you bank online? Most of us do. Do you take care of medical issues online? Do you order anything online? Do you use email to share information about you or your family?

Most of us use computers on a daily basis for something. A lot of people believe their information is absolutlely safe and secure in the little black box that sits under the desk or in your laptop. Anyone who knows much about IT at all will tell you nothing is absolutely safe if it is in electronic format. The dispute between Apple and the FBI should make the average person understand just how vulnerable electronic information has become.

The FBI only went to Apple with the terrorist’s phone after they made the mistake of foreceably changing the phone’s password. Had it not been for that small error, Apple probably wouldn’t be standing up against the government. No one would know about the real capabilities of agencies like the FBI. We wouldn’t realize just how vulnerable we have become through our advanced technology.

We can get into almost any email, computer, smartphone, etc. And the user will never know it’s happened most of the time. Sometimes it’s crooks that do the hacking as noted by the stories at come out periodically about another five or ten million account compromised in some store or bank’s secure system. Even the IRS reports 750,000 records stolen from their attempt to make tax time easier last year. So if you spend any time at all with people who understand IT, you learn never to put anything in electronic format that you wouldn’t want the world to see. Because someday, they probably will.

What does our lack of secrecy have to do with Jesus’ words? It’s easier to understand now, more than ever before, how easy it is to make public our private lives. The push of a few buttons, the click of a few keys, and a person’s life is laid bare to anyone who wants to see. How much more do you think God knows about you? He knows your thoughts before you think them. He knows your actions before you take thet first sep. He knows more about you than you now yourself and will continue to know more about you until you face Him on judgment day. Then everything you’ve ever done will be laid bare before the world. Nothing will be hidden.

Jesus promises this universal disclosure of our lives as He talks to the disciples on this particular day. Nothing will be secret, everything will be known by all. So, how then should we live each day? Would your actions stand up to the scrutiny of others? Do you want you life on display for others to see? Jesus is telling us to live such that our lives can be an open book and the events of our lives, directed by Him, shouted from the mountaintops. In fact, Jesus wants us to tell others the secret whisperings He has for us. His message doesn’t change. Repent. Follow Me. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Shout it from the rooftops. Let others know your secret – Jesus is Lord, His kingdom is at hand.

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.

What’s in a name? (Matthew 10:24-25) March 1, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Judges 17-21

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 10:24-25
Jesus: A student is no greater than his teacher, and a servant is never greater than his master. It is sufficient if the student is like his teacher and the servant like his master. If people call the head of a house “Beelzebul,” which means “devil,” just imagine what they’re calling the members of his household.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

The two verses that make up this paragraph in Jesus’ lesson to His disciples has been used in many ways through the years. I’ll admit I’ve taken the first verse by itself to talk about training to the peak of understanding. Learning to become as near the Master as possible. But I’ll also admit, I’ve never really put these two verses together until I discovered them as a paragraph in The Voice. It’s an interesting way to look at Jesus’ teaching.

The head of the house holds a special place. If you think historically about the place that person holds, you begin to understand more about what Jesus talks about here. In our mobile society, we don’t get the full impact of His message as His listeners would.

Today, kids leave home and go to school, find a job, buy a house and seldom live with their parents anymore. They create their own households. But not then. Until the last century, societies were not very mobile. Children grew up in the home in which their parents lived. Families lived in the same house for generations. The head of the house most often was the eldest male member of the family, but sometimes the responsibility was passed to a son when the father became to old or feeble to carry out the responsibilities.

The head of the house held significant responsibility. The family succeeded or failed by the wisdom of the head of the house. He made the financial decisions for the house. He gave the blessing for marriages of the sons and daughters within the household. He decided what the occupation of each member of the household would be.

The family learned from the head of the house. The head of the house decided who would go to school and who would not. He decided what level of education each member of the household needed and made provision for it. He was the spiritual leader of the house. He determined the religion the family would follow. If he said the family was going to the synagogue, they all went to the synagogue. If he decided idols would be allowed in the home they would be there and everyone would worship them.

He was the master of all that happened within the boundaries of the families property. The family lived and died by the edicts of the head of the house. Part of being in a particular household meant carrying that family name. You were identified by your household, your genealogy, your heritage. That’s part of the reason genealogies were so important to the Hebrews and records exist today from hundreds of generations in the past. It’s part of the reason our scriptures are full of genealogies. Names meant something.

Names still have significant impact, not as much as they used to, but they carry a lot of weight. Think about a few names that bring some visceral response. Mother Theresa. Billy Graham. Bill Gates. Steve Jobs. Jeffrey Dahmer. Adolf Hitler. We could go on and list dozens and dozens of names that cause us to think good thoughts or bad thoughts about those names.

Imagine the whispers if you lived in Milwaukee and your name was Dahmer. I expect a few folks changed their name after the notorious story of Jeffrey’s killings and cannibalism. And the family name Hitler has all but disappeared. Names bring reactions when we hear them. They do now and they did in Jesus day.

Now think about Jesus’ words. If the head of the house is called, the devil, and he is the best of the bunch, what will people call the rest of the household members? Get the point? So whose house do you want to be a part of?

So, do you want to be in the household of Beelzebub or the household of Jesus? Both bring people into their families. Both teach their doctrine. Both require allegiance to them. One brings death, the other life. One deals in hate and destruction, the other shares love and hope. One wants selfish gain, the other deserves our worship. One tempts with temporary pleasure, the other guarantees eternal life. One pretends godlike qualities, the other is God. Which house do you want to belong to? Which name do you want to carry in this world and the next?

The surprising thing is you get to make a choice. You can choose which name you want to carry. You can decide which house you belong to. You can determine who will be the head of your house. But you only have those two choices, Beelzebub or Jesus, the devil or God. It should be an easy decision. Make the right one if you haven’t already.

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 One that matters won’t hate you (Matthew 10:21-23) February 29, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Genesis 32-35

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 10:21-23
Jesus: Your task will be fraught with betrayal: brother will betray brother, even to the point of death; fathers will betray their children, and children will rebel against their fathers, even to the point of death. When you are persecuted in one town, flee to the next town. This is the truth: you will not be able to witness to every town in Israel before the Son of Man comes. Everyone will hate you because of Me. But remember: the one who stays on the narrow path until the end will be saved.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Who would have believed history would unfold the way it has over the last fifty years? I think about the really bad kids in my school when I was growing up. They smoked behind the bleacher! How terrible! We had no drugs in the schools. No police stood at the doors to the schools. We didn’t worry about guns or knives in backpacks. No one abused illegal or prescription drugs. Once in a long while you would hear about a teenage pregnancy, but those were few and far between. There were a lot more virgins that not and those that were not were frowned upon.

No one “lived together” to see if they were compatible before getting married. Divorce was a bad word and husbands and wives learned to work out their differences. Almost all the kids I grew up with had two parents…at home. And they were they same parents that were there at their birth! Amazing, isn’t it. Now, pornography is one of the biggest vices in the church. Divorce rates in the church exceed those in the secular world. Police walk the halls of middle schools and high schoolers face metal detectors when they enter their buildings. Smoking cigarettes is still a problem, but so is marijuna, ectascy, cocaine, crack, prescription drugs, and all sorts of homemade concoctions.

We live in evil times. And with the degradation of society, we get the news reports of fathers and mothers killing their children. We hear about children killing their parents. We read about the random slaughter of innocent people. Violence and disregard for human life runs rampant. Is it any wonder the words of Jesus mean more now than they did when He spoke them 2000 years ago? As men and women try to satisfy their selfish desires with more and more of what the world offers, is it a surprise that His words are true today as they were then?

Men will hate you if you tell them about dying to selfish desire and living for Christ. Men will hate you if you talk about repentance and obedience to God’s word. Men will hate you if you tell them the only way to heaven is by following Jesus’ example. Men will hate you for bearing the righteousness of God because of His forgiveness and His Spirit in you. Jesus promised they will hate you if you carry His message to them.

So what are we to do? Continue to share the message. Continue to love. Just because those of the world will hate you, doesn’t mean you can hate them back. In fact, if God has forgiven you, you can’t hate them. He says we are forgiven in the same measure that we forgive. How can you hate and forgive at the same time? You can’t. We must love our enemies. Do good to those who persecute us. Pray for those who wrong us. Jesus knew we would face tremendous opposition when we share His message in this evil world. But this isn’t the end.

As we help others understand the truth of Jesus’ message, some will hate us. But some will learn about Him and be gathered into His kingdom. Some will repent because His kingdom is at hand. Some will recognize their evil ways, their brokeness and want to find freedom from the burden of sin they carry. Some will listen to your words and want the peace and joy they see in your face. And for those few who find the narrow path on which we walk, all the trials and persecution and suffering and heartache will be worth it.

Jesus lays out the job description pretty well for His disciples. The road ahead will be a hard one. Even relatives, parents, children, siblings will turn against one another because of the message you share. So ingrained is the desire to satisfy our selfish pleasures that we would turn against those we love the most.

But there is a better way and those who follow Christ know that way. Just keep your eyes on Him and follow in His footsteps as He leads you along. Keep doing what He asks of you. Will it be easy. Not always. But He will never give you a task that you cannot accomplish with His help. He promises. You will be hated, but not by the only One who matters in the end. So just keep sharing His message. He’ll reward you in the end. 

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 worry, just talk (Matthew 10:18-20) February 28, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 1 Corinthians 1-2

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 10:18-20
Jesus: Because of Me, naysayers and doubters will try to make an example out of you by trying you before rulers and kings. When this happens—when you are arrested, dragged to court—don’t worry about what to say or how to say it. The words you should speak will be given to you. For at that moment, it will not be you speaking; it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

A great job description, don’t you think? Join my firm and the people that don’t like what you say will drag you before the highest authorities in the land and have you arrested and taken into court for your “crimes”. But don’t worry about it. Don’t worry that those authorities have the power to execute you. Don’t worry that the naysayers and doubters are paying off those officials and have the power to get you arrested and thrown into prison in the first place. Don’t worry about any of that. Just join my company and do what I tell you to do. How would you like those instructions?

Notice Jesus didn’t mince words here. “When this happens,” He says. “When you are arrested and dragged into court, not if. This is going to happen to you. You’re going to find yourself in jail. You’re going to be arrested. You’ll get your mug shots on the post office wall as part of the most wanted crowd. But don’t worry about it. You’ll have your day in court.”

Can you imagine the looks on the disciples faces as they heard those words? What? We’re going to be arrested, thrown in jail, go to court, stand in front of kings and judges? What are we supposed to say to them? What is our defense against those that doubt You? You’ll be miles away in some other city, how are we supposed to defend ourselves against these guys? What do you mean don’t worry about what to say?

I can just see their eyes grow wide and their jaws slacken and their mouths open wide as they take in what Jesus tells them in these words. He knows what will happen to them. He knows He will become the sacrifice for the world’s sins. He knows these twelve will carry His message and His Spirit will live in them and empower them once He ascends back to His home in heaven. But they don’t understand any of this at this point. They are dumbfounded with the prospect of what will happen.

But they also trust their Master. And they listen carefully to what He says next. The Holy Spirit will give you the words to say when you stand before the authorities. It will be the Father’s words that come through you. Don’t worry about it.

Those that know me well, know that on personality tests, I am a slammed against the wall introvert. I can stand in front of a crowd and preach. I can get up in front of an auditorium full of people and teach. But I really am a died in the wool introvert. I’ve learned to act like an extrovert when I have to, but it is really hard for me to talk to people. I am much more comfortable sitting in a room with a book.

When I go to restaurants, I like my back to the wall. When I go to parties, I migrate to the edges of the crowd. I seldom attend things where people will just mill around and when I do, I either go early to find a spot where I can anchor myself and not have to move or go late to arrive just before the main event starts and everyone freezes in place. I don’t mill around very well. I would never survive New Year’s Eve in Times Square. I just couldn’t do it.

All that said, I have to tell you that preaching is a passion for me. I’m called to preach. I don’t understand why God would do that as much as I dislike meeting and talking to people individually. It is so difficult for me. But when I stand in front of people to share His message, I understand these words of Jesus. I study hard to prepare sermons, but when I stand before a crowd, the experience is overwhelming. It’s almost an out-of-body experience. I don’t know where the words come from sometimes.

Preaching is hard work and I’ve been more exhausted after preaching a 20 minute sermon some days than after moving a truck load of furniture, but I love to preach. Why? Because I know these words of Jesus are true. The words are often not my own. When I’m truly prepare, the Holy Spirit takes over. When I’m prayed up and the topic is His, not mine, His words flow in a way that is hard for me to explain. Others hear a sermon I didn’t seem to prepare. But hear the words they needed to hear in that moment to convict, convence, encourage, admonish. They got what they needed, not from me, but from God’s word.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us? Don’t worry about sharing His message with others. He will give you the words to say. When you boldly speak in His name, others will hear what they need to hear from His word. But you need to prepare yourself. Be prayed up. Stay rooted in His word. Stay connected to the Source from which those words can flow. When you stay connected, like Jesus says, “Don’t worry about what you will say…the Spirit of your Father will speak through you.”

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.

Sheep, wolves, snakes, and doves (Matthew 10:16-17) February 27, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Matthew 23-25

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 10:16-17
Jesus: Listen: I am sending you out to be sheep among wolves. You must be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves. You must be careful. You must be discerning. You must be on your guard. There will be men who try to hand you over to their town councils and have you flogged in their synagogues.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Guess what? Some things never change. There are men (and women) out there who try to hand real Christians over to criminal and civil courts to have you bankrupted, embarrassed, imprisoned, and beaten and killed if they could. Even in our churches. The world is against us. Guess which religion is persecuted more than any other around the world. Guess which religion has more martyrs than any other every day in our civilized, modern, politically correct world.

Jesus told His disciples both then and through the ages they would be like sheep among wolves. Have you ever seen the aftermath of a pack of wolves against a stray sheep or goat or even a cow? It’s not a very pretty sight. There’s not much left when they get through with it. And when they attack, they start with the softer parts of the sheep so it doesn’t die quickly. The battle isn’t long, but it’s not over nearly as quickly as the sheep would like it to be in that losing battle.

So, Jesus warns us. Watch out. Be careful. Be discerning. Be on your guard. Be shrewd in dealing with the people who hear the message. Many will hate you because you tell the truth. The message cuts to the heart of every person…without exception. Because God’s word is sharper than a two-edged sword. It exposes the sin people think they have hidden so deep inside them no one can see it. But when you share the message that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, God’s word exposes sin. And people will hate you for it. They will try to destroy you because you carried the message that laid them bare.

Some of the terms Jesus used reminds us of those Roman soldiers that stood all around those disciples. The country stayed flooded with soldiers because this place always caused problems for the empire. They refused to honor the gods. They refused to bow to the emperor. They always talked about God as their King. Their loyalties were certainly focused on something other than the good of Rome. Other nations revolted, but none had such deep devotion to a single entity like this nation. So warriors were always present. Jesus used those terms to prepare His disciples for the onslaught they would face.

But in the middle of His description, He gives one little phrase we sometimes miss when we picture those valiant Roman warriors, “be…as innocent as doves.” Doves have held a place in many nations’ hearts as a symbol of peace and life and harmony and innocence for millenia. It was a dove that brought back the olive branch to Noah that marked the end of the flood and the beginning of a new covenant of peace between God and man, marked by His bow in the sky.

Doves were often used in sealing covenants as we remember with God and Abraham when God gave Abraham the task to bless all nations. When God gave Moses the instructions for sacrifices, doves often became the substitute for larger animals for those who couldn’t afford large animals. Blood still needed to be shed, but God also didn’t want to extend or exacerbate poverty and perhaps make a person’s situation worse by requiring sacrifices out of the reach of the most poverty stricken in the land. Doves were abundant and cheap. If that’s all you could afford, doves could be offered as sacrifices. Mary and Joseph brought doves to sacrifice for Jesus after His birth.

So as we share the message, acting as God’s soldiers in a battle between good and evil, obedience and disobedience, we must have those characteristics we like to emphasize: boldness; shrewdness; careful; discerning; on our guard. But we must also be innocent, peaceful, in harmony with God and His will. We must remember whose message we carry and He means it to do. The message, “Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” But the message is one of love, mercy, grace, hope. The message comes to the lost to show them the way to everylasting life.

Jesus sent His disciples and He sends us to a world He knows will try to swallow us up because of the message we carry. But the people we reach need hope. And they only find that hope in one place. That one place isn’t a place at all, but a person, Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the living God, Incarnate. In our innocence, others will see Him instead of us. In our peace, others will find Him. In our reflection of His righteousness, others will find hope for their own cleansing. All we need to do is share the message. “Repent! The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

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.

Will your neighbors point to your house? (Matthew 10:11-15) February 26, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Isaiah 45-50

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 10:11-15
Jesus:When you enter a town or village, look for someone who is trustworthy and stay at his house as long as you are visiting that town. When you enter this home, greet the household kindly. And if the home is indeed trustworthy, let your blessing of peace rest upon it; if not, keep your blessing to yourself. If someone is inhospitable to you or refuses to listen to your testimony, leave that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. This is the truth: Sodom and Gomorrah, those ancient pits of inhospitality, will fare better on judgment day than towns who ignore you tomorrow or next week.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

This is probably one of those passages you just run through real fast to get to the next one, isn’t it? Jesus already said stay with someone in the villages you enter. So it makes sense to thank them for their hospitality before you leave. We just jump right over these verses, though, without really thinking much about them in the scheme of what Jesus tells His disciples to do. Let me read it to you again and listen carefully to the authority Jesus gives His disciples.

“When you enter a town or village, look for someone who is trustworthy and stay at his house as long as you are visiting that town. When you enter this home, greet the household kindly. And if the home is indeed trustworthy, let your blessing of peace rest upon it; if not, keep your blessing to yourself. If someone is inhospitable to you or refuses to listen to your testimony, leave that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. This si the truth: Sodom and Gomorrah, those ancient pits of inhospitality, will fare better on judgment day than towns who ignore you tomorrow or next week.”

Wow! These guys are to go to the town square and figure out from the average citizen who is trustworthy in the village. Go to that person’s house, knock on the door, invite themselves in, and stay there as long as they stay in that village. Now what do you think about their mission? I thought yesterday bit off more than we could chew, but this is really radical! But those were Jesus’ words not mine or yours. Notice Jesus said, “When you enter this home.” Not “if you enter this home.” He didn’t expect His disciples to get an invitation from the villagers, He expected them to go to the most trustworthy person according to the standards of those in the village. When they arrive at that person’s house, greet them kindly, and tell them their taking up residence in their house as long as they stay in that village.

So how long would that be if someone came to your door? “Hi, I’m Simon. I work for this new preacher in town. I’ve come to stay with you until I decide to leave your city. By the way, I don’t have any money or extra clothes or bedding or anything except what you see on my back. So I expect you to take care of me as long as I’m in town.”

Reminds me of the popular television show, “What Would You Do?” To be honest, I’d probably tell him to take a hike. Am I going to let a stranger stay in my house indefinitely? It will take a lot of nudging, well to be honest it will take a 2×4 across the back of the head from the Holy Spirit to help me know I’m really supposed to do something like that. Someone I know, sure. Someone referred to me, probably. A stranger off the street…these days? Hmmmm.

Listen to their authority, with rewards and punishments, though! If hospitable, leave your blessing of peace. If inhospitable, shake the dust off your feet and leave. They will be judged more harshly than Sodom and Gomorrah. Remember those two cities? Fire and brimstone falling out of the sky until no trace of those two cities exist today! That’s authority for deciding whether a host is good to your or not.

So what? What are we supposed to do today? Do we take in every stranger off the street? Do we give up our homes to anyone who comes around? I think the answer is maybe. The answer is do what God tells you to do. I’m pretty sure there was a reason Jesus sent His disciples to the most trustworthy person in each village. When Jesus’ disciples showed up, these trustworthy men saw something in them that was different than the people that surrounded him everyday. He saw the same trustworthiness and integrity he exercised in his daily life. He saw in these disciples’ eyes the same kindness he showed to others every day. It was not hard for him to extend his personal grace and hospitality to these itinerant preachers sharing the good news of the kingdom of heaven.

But to see trustworthiness, we must be trustworthy. To see kindness, honesty, integrity in the core of a person in that first meeting, in must be in your core. To discern the makeup of the person in front of you, you must have those qualities deep inside you. Only then will you know what that inner peace and confidence looks and feels like when you meet another of your kind. To be one of those to whom Jesus sent the disciples, your actions must demonstrate who you are on the inside by consistent behavior day in and day out through every situation that arises. Then others will call you trustworthy, a person of integrity, honest, loyal, a person of great character.

It was probably easy for the villagers to point the disciples to the right house in every place they visited. So the big question as Christians in a sin-filled world, where will people in your neighborhood point if a disciple asks the question, “Can you point me to the most trustworthy person around here?”

Will they point to your house?

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.