Today’s Podcast
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.