Devotionary

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Ep 152 – Matthew 7:21-23 May 24, 2017

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Jesus has talked about false prophets, now He is going to talk about false professors, those who claim to profess belief in Him, but whose lives lack the fruit to prove it. In Matthew 7, verses 21-23, Jesus addresses those who will claim to be His followers, but whose lives are really marked by lawlessness. They give Jesus lip-service, but all the while they live according to their own rules and standards. Rather than seeing Jesus as their sole source of salvation, they tend to view Him as nothing more than a model to follow – they use His life as a standard for their own behavior, but not as a means of being made right with God. According to Jesus, their professions regarding Him will be false. And the result will be His ultimate rejection of them. He will tell them, "I never knew you". He will accuse them of doing works of lawlessness. All because they refused to do the will of God – to believe in Jesus Christ as their sin substitute and Savior. Knowing about Jesus is not the same thing as believing in Jesus. Doing good deeds in the name of Jesus is not the same as believing in the good news about Jesus.

Ep 151 – Matthew 7:15-20 May 23, 2017

Show notes

In Matthew 7, verses 15-20, Jesus addresses the topic of false prophets. He describes them wolves in sheep's clothing and warns that, even though they will disguise themselves, they will be recognizable because of their fruit. In other words, while their looks may be deceiving, their fruit won't be. It will be painfully clear by their words and actions that they are not approved by God. They may appear to be on the same path, the narrow path, but their presence there is only to act as distractions and road blocks to those who are truly God's children. This message is essential for us to hear, because we are surrounded by so many who claim to be Christ-followers, but whose lives lack any sign of fruitfulness. They appear to be fellow companions on the narrow path to the kingdom of God, but they are like diseased trees, incapable of producing life-giving fruit. Not everyone who claims to be a Christ-follower is one. Not everyone who sits in the pew on Sunday is a true worshiper of God. Jesus would have us live warily and wisely, knowing that the enemy is real and the threats against us are ever-present.

Ep 150 – Matthew 7:12-14 May 22, 2017

Show notes

In today's episode, based on Matthew 7, verses 12-14, we will be covering two critical topics: The Golden Rule and the Narrow Gate. While it may first appear that these two things have little or nothing to do with one another, we are going to see that Jesus is describing a way of life that follows a radically different path: The path of love. Those who are approved by God and blessed to be a part of His kingdom, are called to live dramatically different lives, marked by a completely different kind of love than that which characterizes the world. The path of love, Christ-like love, is not for the faint of heart. It is not for the selfish and self-centered. We are being called by Christ to love as He has loved us – sacrificially and selflessly. We are being called to walk a lonely, seldom travelled path, where our actions will be misunderstood and our companions will be few. The rest of the world will take a different path. They will pursue a different way. But rather than reject them, we are to love them. Rather than condemn them, we are to treat them as we have been treated by God: With grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

Ep 149 – Matthew 7:7-11 May 21, 2017

Show notes

Today's episode covers a very familiar passage of Scripture found in Matthew chapter seven, verses 7-11. And the title of this episode is based on the three words Jesus mentions in these verses: Ask. Seek, Knock. For many of us, we grew up hearing these verses used as part of an invitation to salvation. And while they certainly can apply, we have to decide whether that was Jesus' original intention when He spoke these words. Was He inviting non-believers to salvation or encouraging those who would one day find themselves approved by God because of their faith in Jesus' death, to take advantage of their intimate relationship with the Father? It makes a significant difference in how you apply this passage, because it changes who these three words apply to. We have to remember that Jesus was talking about the kingdom of heaven, and was juxtaposing it with the kingdom of this earth. He was letting His audience know that things were about to change in a dramatic way. He had come to bring new life and a new means by which men might be made right with God and, therefore, enjoy an intimate relationship like they never had before.

Ep 148 – Matthew 7:1-6 May 20, 2017

Show notes

"Who am I to judge?" How many times have you heard someone say that? Perhaps you've said it yourself. But is it something we should say? Are we unqualified or not even responsible to judge someone else? That will be our topic today as we look at Matthew chapter seven, verses 1-6. I've entitled this episode "Just Judgment" because there are two kinds of judgment: One that is inappropriate and sinful, and the other that is not only necessary, but expected for those who are approved by God. In this passage, Jesus will deal primarily with unjust judgment. He knew He was dealing with a people who would hear His words, misunderstand and then misapply them. They would, as we so often do, hear what the Word of God says, and somehow think it applies to someone else in the audience, but not us. One of the things about so-called spiritual people, is that they tend to expect non-spiritual people to live up to their higher standards. They find someone who is less spiritual than themselves and then judge them for their lack of spirituality. They place unnecessary burdens on those who have no business carrying them, while actually giving themselves a free pass.

Ep 147 – Matthew 6:25-34 May 19, 2017

Show notes

This episode covers Matthew chapter six, verses 25-34 and deals with a universal problem, common to all mankind: Anxiety. That's why I've entitled this episode, "You of Little Faith." It seems that worry is timeless in nature and no respecter of person, regardless of the century in which they lived or their income and social status. Both the rich and the poor worry. The powerful experience anxiety just like the weak, but usually over different issues. And Jesus brings up the topic on the heels of his discussion regarding laying up treasures on earth and the love of money. It seems that Jesus ties these things directly to the problem of anxiety. The more we put all our stock in the things of this earth, the more we will have to worry about. We will worry that we don't have them. If we do have them, we will worry that we might lose them or have them taken away from us. The things of this earth bring us status and a sense of satisfaction. Even just the thought of getting more stuff can make us feel giddy with excitement. But Jesus breaks the news that our worry is directly linked to our love of earthly treasures and our lack of faith in God to provide for our needs.

Ep 146 – Matthew 6:19-24 May 18, 2017

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Today's episode is entitled, "Earthly Treasures and Pleasures" and is based on Matthew chapter six, verses 19-24. This section of Jesus' message will probably be quite familiar, but its exact meaning may remain a bit obscure as to you. Jesus will go from talking about earthly treasures to bad eyesight. Then He will jump right into a brief discussion on money. But what is the point of all this? What is Jesus trying to tell us? It is important to remember that Jesus began His ministry by carrying on the very same message John the Baptist had begun: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." From the earliest moments of His earthly ministry, Jesus stressed the kingdom of heaven. And during this message, delivered on that Galilean hillside, Jesus has continued to stress the kingdom life. He has been calling people to a completely different life lived according to a completely different set of standards, and as part of a kingdom that is not of this world. For a people whose focus had become earth-bound, Jesus was presenting a higher calling and a dramatic change in perspective.

Ep 145 – Matthew 6:16-18 May 17, 2017

Show notes

Today, in Matthew six, verses 16-18, Jesus is going to address the topic of fasting. While not a common practice among most Christians today, fasting was a spiritual discipline that was very familiar to the average Hebrew. As we will see, there was at least one day a year when every Israelite was expected to fast or afflict themselves. It was tied to the annual event called the Day of Atonement. But whether or not we fast is not the main point of what Jesus has to say in these verses. He is more concerned about the motive behind fasting, or better yet, the heart of the individual who chooses to fast. As it was with prayer, fasting had become just another way for Israelites to advertise their spirituality and impress their friends with their superior piety. Fasting had been hijacked from its original God-decreed purpose and been forced to serve as a means of self-promotion. People fasted to get noticed, not by God, but by men. They fasted, believing it would score them brownie points with God, and make them look super-spiritual to their peers. But Jesus wanted them to know that God was not impressed.

Ep 144 – Matthew 6:9-15 May 16, 2017

Show notes

Matthew six, verses 9-15 contain what has come to be known as the Lord's Prayer. For some, this simple prayer has become the primary prayer they pray. They have it memorized and can recite it easily. But was this Jesus' intent when He shared this prayer as part of His sermon on the mount? Was He providing us with a prayer to pray or a model to follow? If you look closely, He prefaces the prayer with the following words, "Pray then like this." It would seem that He is giving us a model or simple outline for proper prayer. And it is important that we understand the context. Jesus has been talking about prayer, fasting and giving. He has been exposing false prophets and those with false professions. Prayer had become a means by which the Jewish people attempted to impress one another. They preferred public prayers and long-winded, wordy and repetitious prayers. But Jesus wanted them to understand the kind of prayers God preferred. And this short, but remarkably rich prayer provides them with a simple outline of the elements that should be a part of each and every prayer we pray.

Ep 143 – Matthew 6:5-8 May 15, 2017

Show notes

Today, in Matthew six, verses 5-8, Jesus is going to take on the topic of prayer. I've entitled this episode, "Prayer for Praise" because Jesus is going to deal with another outward act that had been intended to reflect righteousness, but had become a twisted form of self-promotion. Prayer, intended to be a private conversation between God and His child, had taken on a distorted purpose, where the audience was no longer God, but other men. In other words, prayer had become an outward display of your righteousness designed to gain the recognition of men. And it seems that it had become common practice to pray long, wordy and sometimes repetitious prayers in order to impress others with the level of your godliness. But like everything else Jesus has said so far in His message, He is going to take his audience to task on their warped view on prayer. Prayer was not meant to gain the praise of men, but to offer praise and petitions to God.

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