Tag Archives: Matthew

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 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.

So what’s with the coins? (Matthew 22:18-21) May 21, 2016

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Luke 5-6

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 22:18-21
Jesus: You hypocrites! Why do you show up here with such a transparent trick? Bring Me a coin you would use to pay tax.
Someone handed Him a denarius. Jesus fingered the coin.
Jesus: Of whom is this a portrait, and who owns this inscription?
Students: Caesar.
Jesus: Well then, render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

The students meant to trick Jesus with what they thought was a difficult question, but Jesus caught them in their own sad violation of their petty traditions. You see, you have to look a little deeper into the story to understand just how foolish the student was to ask this question at this time and in this place. Jesus was in the temple the scriptures tell us when these scholars tried to trap Him.

The devout had some interesting rules about the temple. No coinage could be used in the temple except the shekel. In fact, the very devout would not allow Roman coins brought into the temple because they bore the image of Caesar. To many of the Jews. Just bearing the likeness of Caesar made the coin itself an idol and many refused to handle the coins and chose to barter for goods use raw precious metals rather than use stamped coins as a means of transacting business.

So when Jesus asked for a coin with which they paid their tax, it shouldn’t have appeared in the temple. That would have been an act of sacrilege for the coin to be there. How would they find it so soon and why would they even think to do what He said and bring it into the temple courts? So there is strike one.

Strike two, God tells us He is the one who puts people in places of authority. David and the psalmists continually talk about the power of God to cause kings to rise and fall. He alone allows kingdoms to stand. Sometimes He even allows corrupt governments to act on His behalf as He did with the Assyrians and Babylonians as punishment against His chosen people because of their failure to follow His commands.

So if God allows these kings and emperors and governments to hold power of His people, He expects His people to be good citizens. Paul tells us that, too. It’s better to be punished unjustly for doing good than to be punished justly for wrongdoing. What does it say about our godly character if we deserve the suffering we get because of wrongs we commit against others? But if we suffer for doing what is right and good, then we cast ourselves in company with Christ, our Savior. Is there any better company we could keep?

Strike three, Jesus’ answer takes the question with which they knew they could trap Him and turns it upside down as He usually did with those who opposed Him. Jesus never said much to denounce Rome or its government if you’ll read through His words. He really didn’t seem to care if the government we live under is a dictatorship, a democracy, a republic, a theocracy, or someone drawing straws to see what should be done next. He doesn’t seem to care about types of government on this world because He lives and operates in a different plane.

I think God really doesn’t care much for politics. He doesn’t care about Democrats, Republicans, or Independents. What God cares about are those who choose to live in His kingdom. We can begin to live in His kingdom in this world. When we do, the type of government doesn’t matter. The church flourishes under dictators. It grows in communist countries. God can’t be held down when kings sit on thrones. In fact, the slowest growth in Christendom seems to be in democratic states. Kind of interesting, isn’t it? When we live in a place where we can choose our own leaders, we can have our own way, we are more like to not choose God’s way. It is a fascinating corollary.

So what do we learn from these students’ encounter with Jesus? First, don’t ever think you are smarter than God. You’re not. You never will be. Don’t even try. Just give it up. Second, don’t worry about who is sitting in the seats of power. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be good citizens. We need to vote for the person God lays on our heart. We need to pray for our leaders. We need to understand the incredible stress our leaders are under to try to make sense out of governing the 7 billion people that occupy this globe. It isn’t an easy job. They need our prayer and support. God let them sit in those seats whether you like them or not. God is still in control of this place, so remember that if you bad-mouth them, you are bad-mouthing the person God allowed to sit in that seat!

Finally, keep God first. It was a little thing to have Caesar’s coins in their pockets in the temple. But for these young men, it was like cheating at solitaire. It spoke of their character. They knew they weren’t suppose to have the coins or they wouldn’t have thought to bring up the subject in the first place. Jesus trapped them in their petty rules because they lived by rules instead of relationship. Make your relationship with God and others more important than a list of rules you need to keep. You’ll find that you still keep the rules, you’ll just have a lot more joy and peace while you do it and you won’t even think about keeping them. It will just happen because you love them, like you love 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.

The wedding feast (Matthew 22:2-14) May 20, 2016

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Jeremiah 42-46

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 22:2-14
Jesus: The kingdom of heaven is like a king whose son was getting married. The king organized a great feast, a huge wedding banquet. He invited everyone he knew. The day of the wedding arrived, and the king sent his servants into town to track down his guests—but when the servants approached them with the king’s message, they refused to come. So the king sent out another batch of servants.
King: Tell those people I’ve invited to come to the wedding banquet! Tell them I have prepared a great feast! Everything is ready! The oxen and fattened cattle have all been butchered, the wine is decanted, and the table is laid out just so.
And off the servants went, and they carried the king’s message to the errant guests—who still paid not a whit of attention. One guest headed into his field to work; another sat at his desk to attend to his accounts. The rest of the guests actually turned on the servants, brutalizing them and killing them. When he learned of this, the king was furious. He sent his army to kill the murderers and burn their towns. But there was, of course, still a wedding to celebrate.
King (to his remaining servants): The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited didn’t rise to the occasion. So go into the streets and invite anyone you see; invite everyone you meet.
And the servants did just that—they went into the streets and invited everyone they met, rich and poor, good and bad, high and low, sick and well. Everyone who was invited came, and the wedding hall practically burst with guests.
The king looked around the wedding party with glee, but he spotted one man who was not dressed appropriately. In fact, he was dressed rather plainly, in clothes not at all fitting for a fine nuptial feast.
King: Kind sir, how did you get in here without a proper suit of wedding clothes?
The man was speechless. He had been invited in off the street, after all! Getting no response, the king told his servants,
King: Tie him up, and throw him out into the outer darkness, where there is weeping and grinding of teeth.
For many are invited, but few are chosen.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

What a story! A wedding hosted by the king. Invitees acting like it isn’t important. In fact, invitations being completely ignored and then beating and killing the servants who sent them. Destroying the homes and towns of those who killed his servants. The banquet hall being filled with anyone and everyone the servants could find to invite off the streets. A man not dressed in wedding clothes thrown into the streets.

What can we learn from all of this today?

I think there’s a lot we can learn. God gave us everything we need to find Him. In fact, He invites us to join Him in a great celebration at the wedding feast of His Son with His bride the church. But what do we do with the invitation? Do we treat it like it has no value? Do we, like the first people pointed out in the story ignore the invitation and lose the opportunity to enjoy the benefits the King of kings wants for us?

Or worse, do we murder the reputation of those sent to bring people into His kingdom? Do we fail to give honor and respect to God’s people, those who share His message? I’m not just talking about the Israelites, His chosen people, and I’m not just referring to the pastors that share God’s message from pulpits every week. I’m also talking about those prophets that come into our lives and remind us of some of the behaviors we engage in that are contrary to God’s word.

Do we drive them away and treat them the way these characters treated the King’s servants? Perhaps not. Perhaps we listen the prophets and preachers and teachers God sends our way and find our way into the company of His saints. We travel along with them through the doors of the church and sing the songs they sing. We read the scriptures they read. We even hold some of the religious offices they hold. We give of our time and treasure and there we are ready to participate in the wedding. The servants the King sent out shared the messages and we followed along and it looked like we did all the right things as we followed along with that new group of people those servants went into the streets to invite.

But then the King comes and asks an important question. Where’s your wedding clothes? How’s your heart? You heard the invitation, you knew it was a wedding, why didn’t you dress in the appropriate attire. What is the appropriate attire for the King’s banquet? We must be drenched in the redemptive blood of His Son, Jesus. If we haven’t asked for His forgiveness and received Him into our lives as Lord, we’re wearing the wrong clothes.

It might look to everyone else that we’re doing everything we’re supposed to. We might fool everyone else along the way. But God and I know my heart. He knows your heart, too. I know if I’m wearing the wedding garments, ready to enter His banquet hall. He doesn’t keep my position with Him a secret. I know if I’m right with Him. There’s an old hymn about that, my wife’s favorite. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine. Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long.

We can have that blessed assurance that we will be part of the great wedding feast with God. All it takes is faith and walking in the path He tells us to follow. 

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 weight of the stone (Matthew 21:42-44) May 19, 2016

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Job 39-40

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 21:42-44
Jesus: I wonder if any of you has ever opened your own psalter:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the very stone that holds together the entire foundation.
This is the work of the Eternal One,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
Therefore, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to people who will tend its sweet fruit and who will give the Creator His due. He who falls on the stone will be broken to pieces, and he on whom the stone falls will be crushed.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

If there was ever any question in the chief priests and elders’ minds about who Jesus was talking to when He talked about the landowner of the vineyards and the tenant workers who killed the landowner’s son, this statement cleared it up for them. Jesus took a passage out of the Psalms and aimed it square in their faces. He announced they would lose the kingdom of God and it would be given to people who would tend to it the way God intended.

You think that might have smarted a little when Jesus told them those words? You think they might have been a little embarrassed to get chastised by this man in front of the very crowds who followed Him. These were the same people they had taken offerings from for years. They had told these people how to live their lives, how to obey the laws God handed to Moses on the tablets of stone, how to practice the rituals set up through the centuries. These same people now heard this uneducated preacher from Nazareth dare to tell them they would lose the kingdom of God and it would be handed over to others who would care for it better than they could. How dare He make such statements, and especially in public places.

Jesus kind of stepped on their toes, well, he kind of stomped all over them. He let them know God’s kingdom is more than rules and regulations and rituals. God’s kingdom is about relationship with the Father and relationships with each other. It’s about grace and mercy and love. But that message went to the heart of the chief priests and elders in Jesus’ day, right?

Well, maybe. Do we act any different? Do we get so caught up in our programs and schedules and rituals and church rules that we forget what we’re really doing and why we do them? Do we put our processes above the reason for doing them in the first place? Do we get so set in the routine of our services and our ministries that we leave God out altogether?

Sometimes I wonder if God would be pleased with the focus we have in our churches and our ministries. Oh, we do some good things. But do we do them in the name of Jesus or to get our brand elevated in the eyes of the market? Do we feed the homeless making sure nothing has our church name on it or do we put a banner up and advertise who is helping? There’s a good question for you.

Why do we do the things we do in ministry? Is it really to serve others or to serve ourselves? Do we want to do good and help others or are we trying to buy that ticket into heaven? James tells us faith without works is dead and I agree with Him. And quite frankly, no one looking in from the outside can tell the difference between someone doing good works because of their faith or someone who is doing good works to try to attain favor. The outcome for the person receiving the help is the same. It looks alike to the person being fed or clothed or taught or housed. It’s just good works to them.

But God sees our heart. He knows what’s on the inside. He knows why we do what we do. Do we act out of love or duty? Do we feel the necessity to help others because God prompts us or because we have this inner ego that wants others to see how good we are to others? Only we and God know the answer to that question. We can fool everyone else for a long time, but there will be a day of reckoning and Jesus words will still be true.

If we don’t give the Creator His due, Jesus warning will happen to us just as it did to those religious leaders who worked so hard to push Him out of the way 2,000 years ago. “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to people who will tend its sweet fruit and who will give the Creator His due. He who falls on the stone will be broken to pieces, and he on whom the stone falls will be crushed.”

You don’t want to find yourself under the weight of that stone. It’s much more than you can bear.

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.

Tenants of the vineyard (Matthew 21:33-40) May 18, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Psalms 57-59

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 21:33-40
Jesus: Here is another story: A landowner planted a vineyard, put a wall around it, fitted it with a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard and left town. When harvesttime came, the landowner sent his servants to collect rent—in the form of grapes—from his tenants. The tenants attacked these rent-collecting servants. They killed one, stoned another, and beat a third. The dismayed landowner sent another band of servants to try to collect his due, a larger group of servants this time, but the tenants did the same thing—capturing, beating, killing. Finally the landowner sent his son to the tenants, thinking, “They will at least respect my son.” But the tenants knew the son was the best way to get to the landowner, so when they saw the son approaching they said,
Tenants: This is the landowner’s heir apparent! Let’s kill him and take his inheritance.
And so they did; they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
What do you think the landowner will do when he comes and sees those tenants?

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

It almost seems like Jesus is taunting the chief priests and scribes and elders in the temple and around Jerusalem, doesn’t it? Here he is again with another story that points directly at them. Using our 20/20 hindsight, clearly, the story is an allegory for God’s kingdom and the judgment against the religious leaders in Israel. The landowner is the Father, the vineyard is the work done here on earth to gather people into His kingdom. The workers are those who should be spreading the word of His love and grace and mercy, those whose mission is growing the kingdom. The son of the landowner is Jesus.

What should be done to the tenants of the vineyard who kill the landowner’s son? It’s an easy question for those religious bigots to answer. Tear them to pieces. Kill them all. Throw them out. Find others who will be honest and work diligently for the landowner. But these self-righteous religious leaders didn’t see themselves as the workers in the vineyard. They saw the injustice in the story, but didn’t see their own failures in doing exactly the same thing with God’s work.

The outsiders, the Gentiles came to Jerusalem and the religious leaders to find God’s grace and they were driven away by the self-righteous leaders who held the law in their hands. Even their fellow Jews came to find grace and instead were burdened by the impossible traditions levied on them by these men who made sure everyone who came to the temple felt the guilt of their sin rather than the grace of God’s love.

Soon, they would even take action against the Father’s Son by hanging Him on a tree. Thinking Him cursed and unfit for their imagined kingdom of God, they would have Him crucified, murdered by the conspsiracy of their doing. What would happen to them? The church would grow exponentially. They couldn’t stop it. As hard as they tried, the church would grow.

So what does the story of these leaders of the past have to do with us? Do we fit into the allegory anywhere? Maybe. Take a look at what you do in your ministries. Do you drive away those who would seek the fruits of your labor. Do you try to hoard what God has done for you and try to keep it for yourself? Do you think God has blessed you in whatever way He has so that you can enjoy those benefits alone?

If so, look at the plight of those workers in the vineyard. The landowner expected a return on His investment in those tenants. He expected the laborers to give back to Him something of what they were allowed to enjoy. The landowner didn’t take it all. He just wanted a return on His investment. He could take it all, after all, the land was His. The vines were His. Everything there belonged to Him. The workers were fortunate to have an opportunity to work and probably given food to eat and a place to live as long as they worked in the vineyard. But the profit belonged to the landowner. Everyone knew it. Even those tenants.

So what about the work that you do? Do you realize that it all belongs to God? Do you give it to Him to let Him use it in whatever way He desires? Do you begrudge Him your time, offerings, energy, job, family, whatever tasks you might do in His name? If you do, remember Paul’s words. “Whatever you do, do it as if for the Lord.” Everything belongs to Him anyway. We are only tenants in this little dot of space. He owns it all and allows us to enjoy a bit of it for our pleasure for a little while. But never forget that during those few years we are here, we are just tenants. We just pass through. Remember the story. Don’t be caught like the tenants Jesus describes. 

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 you do what the Father says? (Matthew 21:27-32) May 17, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 2 Samuel 15-19

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 21:27-32
Jesus: Then neither will I tell you about the authority under which I am working. But I will tell you a story, and you can tell Me what you make of it: There was a man who had two sons. He said to his first son,
Father: Go and work in the vineyard today.
First Son: No, I will not.
But later the first son changed his mind and went. Then the father went to his second son.
Father: Go and work in the vineyard today.
Second Son: Of course, Father.
But then he did not go. So which of the sons did what the father wanted?
Chief Priests and Elders (answering at once): The first.
Jesus: I tell you this: the tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God ahead of you. John came to show you the straight path, the path to righteousness. You did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. Even as you saw the prostitutes and the tax collectors forgiven and washed clean, finding their footing on the straight path to righteousness, still you did not change your ways and believe.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

The chief priests and elders got pretty frosted at Jesus’ story, because they knew He meant for the second son to represent them. They knew what they were supposed to do, but failed to do it. They carried on the rituals, but didn’t extend God’s love. They knew the Talmud and the Law, but didn’t live what they preached to the crowd that assembled to learn from them. The elders and chief priests understood the standards, but didn’t live up to them.

But the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the down and out that Jesus ministered to on the hillsides, those people came back to the synagogues filled with joy. They came giving their tithes and offerings joyfully. They came praising God for the transformation in their lives because of the forgiveness they experienced when they came with a truly contrite, repentant heart.

Okay, so Jesus got the attention of the chief priests and elders. That was then. It’s 2,000 years later. What does that have to do with us? He was talking about those leaders that were about to crucify Him, right? He doesn’t mean us, does He? Well, perhaps it’s time to take inventory.

Do we really worship Him when we go into our churches or do we just go through a routine every week and say we do? Do we let anything take the place of our worship of God or take the place of our service to Him? Do we sully His name by calling ourselves Christians and then acting like everyone else instead of acting like Jesus? Do we take time to talk with God on a regular basis without asking Him for something, but just talking to Him as you would your father or a friend?

How about honoring our parents? Do we give them the respect they deserve? Do we slander others and so destroy their reputation without real cause? Do our eyes wander lustfully to someone other than our spouses? Do we take home pens and paper from work or use the office resources for our personal projects? Do we cheat at solitaire? Do we try to keep up with the neighbor when then get a new car, new shutters on the house, new plants in the yard, or anything that looks interesting that we want?

Those are just the common ten commandments God tells all of us to keep, you know. He gives each of us personal commands and convictions to keep us protected from the temptations Satan throws in our path. But do we listen to Him? Do we do what He tells us to do or do we take matters into our own hands and think we know whats best and make our own decisions without consulting Him.

See, Jesus looked into our future and the story He told the chief priests and elders that day hits all of us between the eyes if we’re not careful. What God wants from us is our obedience. When we love Him we will do just that, obey. When we don’t trust Him and love Him, we hold on to parts of ourself and think we can live our lives better without Him. We try to hide parts of our lives from Him. (An impossible thing to do, by the way.) We try to maintain lordship over every aspect of our lives.

But really we can control very little of what happens to us day to day. So little of life is under our direct control. We think we have power over things, but we really don’t. How much do you really control your health, for instance? You can eat right, sleep right, exercise, do everything the medical world tells you to do. Then you step into the street and get hit by a bus. You just can’t control everything.

What we can do, though, is decide to obey God. We can do what the Father asks us to do. He will give us the ability to do it. All we need to do is make up our mind to live for Him, ask for His empowerment, and do what He says. He will help us. He promises. He always makes a way of escape from the temptations of life. Our problem is we usually don’t look for the exit signs He has glaring in front of us. We just stick around for the show instead of running away as fast as we can.

So will you be like the first son or the second son in the story? Will you do what the Father says or not? 

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.

Under whose authority? (Matthew 21:24-25) May 16, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Exodus 25-28

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

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 21:24-25
Jesus: I will answer your question if first you answer one of Mine: You saw John ritually cleansing people through baptism for the redemption of their sins. Did John’s cleansing come from heaven, or was he simply washing people of his own whim?

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

The chief priests and elders came to Jesus questioning His authority. Here He was doing miraculous things in the courts of the temple and they couldn’t believe He was doing them by the power of God. Jesus taught those who would listen the meaning of God’s word and showed them the fulfillment of prophecy through His actions and the chief priests and elders thought He must be working with Satan instead of the Almighty. The crowds were flocking to Jesus, so the chief priests and elders knew Jesus must be doing something wrong to attract so many people. They couldn’t get people to come to the temple in such droves, so Jesus must be in league with the devil to gathering such a throng around Him.

We would never do that, would we? We would never look at someone drawing such crowds in the name of God and say they were doing so by the power of Satan, would we? We would never accuse the miracle workers of slight of hand, trickery, and deceit to draw the crowds they do, would we? Hmmm!

When the disciples came to Jesus and wanted Him to stop those performing miracles in His name, He said to leave them alone. If they were doing so under false pretenses, at least His name was being lifted up. They would be judged by their actions, but His name would still be glorified by their actions if His name was used for the healing ministry they were doing. Hmmm! Do we condemn those who perform miracles in Jesus’ name, calling them charlatans, doing it only for the money?

I wonder what Jesus would say about our conversations today if He dropped into our churches and social groups and homes as we talked about our brothers and sisters. When we begin to belittle our fellow denominations or we start talking about the televangelists or we demean all faith healers when one or two are found to plant fake victims of disease or illness in the audience, are we doing what these chief priest and elders did?

I think we might be. I think Jesus might just ask us to answer a few questions that would cause us to stop us in our tracks, back away slowly with an embarrassed look on our face, and run back into our holes. You see, if people are doing good in Jesus’ name, it’s not our place to figure out their internal motive. If they are doing so for their personal gain, that’s for God to sort out. If they accept funds and use that money to satisfy their own greed and avarice, they will answer for it before God. We don’t need to worry about it.

But they might also be using all that money for the good of others. They might be pouring that money into other ministries and we really don’t know unless we are able to see the books and few of us have that access, do we. What we do know is that Jesus’ name is being lifted up and He is given credit for the healing, the ministry, the miracles that are taking place. And that’s what He wants. Those that are instruments of those actions will answer to God for the motive of their actions.

The same is true when we talk about each others denominations. Are the baptists right? Are the Methodists on the wrong track? Will the Presbyterians be at the head of the line in heaven? Will the Catholics be at the back of the line or the front? Are the Lutherans leading people the wrong direction? We talk about each other a lot. The truth is there is something right in all our doctrines and methods of governance. And the truth is there is something wrong in all our doctrines and methods of governance.

The right is that we all worship God and put our faith, trust, and hope in Jesus, His Son, who gave His life for our redemption. The wrong is we are all sinners and flawed because of it. Every one of our denominations grew out of discord with a parent denomination. God never intended denominations to happen within His church, but we began to have discord from the very beginnings of the church with the arguments about whether Gentiles should undergo the rite of circumcision when they became members of Christ’s body, the church.

Since that time, groups split from one denomination after another. The Catholic, universal church began, but the Orthodox church split from the universal church, then the Greek Orthodox saw they had it right so they split again. Luther came along to address the problem of indulgences levied by corrupt, greedy priests more interested in property than piety and the Protestant religion was born with the Lutheran church, then it split because of governance. Then it split because of doctrine questions, then it split over the treatment of segments of the population, then it split over the question of missions, then it split over… Now churches split over the color of carpet or where the keyboard sits on the platform.

Are we any different than those chief priests and elders asking about the authority of the other ministers around us? Think about it the next time you decide to have one of those ministers of denominations for lunch!

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.