Gospel of Matthew

Morning devotions ~ Don’t be lazy

/ The Pastor

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. [Matthew 7:21]

Dear Christian, it is a dangerous thing to be so secure in your salvation that you become complacent. It is a dangerous thing to think you can coast through life without “working out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2). It is a dangerous thing to think that the Christian life is a spectator sport. For if this is what you are doing, then you don’t know Jesus.

May you not find yourself in a position where the door is being shut in your face because you traveled down the wrong road. I imagine (because I can’t say for certain since I am not God) many a “Christian” have lived a “secure” life because they have “put their time in” or because they thought they were already through the door and then found themselves being rejected by the one they through they were following, because they really did not know Jesus. That is a terrifying thing to think about.

Instead, O Christian, work out your salvation with fear and trembling (as the apostle Paul so eloquently says).  See your salvation through faith in Jesus as a wonderful gift and then seek to do the will of God. Search him out and listen. Listen and then do. Do and rejoice. Rejoice and glorify God.

When you truly know your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and what he has done for you, then you are not going to want to sit on the sidelines. When you realize what salvation truly means you are going to want to “get into the game” in order to glorify God and share with others this awesome God.

So dear Christian, don’t be lazy. When you say, Lord, Lord” actually mean it. Get to know the real Jesus and work out your gift of salvation with fear and trembling.

Praise be to God, always and forever. Amen

The Pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ God can handle it

/ The Pastor

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
[Matthew 6:33-34]

Oh dear Christian, there is so much to worry about in this life and so little that can be changed by worrying. There is so much to worry about in this life and so much that can be lost by worrying. There is so much to worry about in this life but we have such a big God to handle our worries.

But what can be lost by worrying?

First off, we are not guaranteed tomorrow so worrying about tomorrow seems to be a waste of time. Deal with what you can control now and go from there; placing tomorrow in God’s hands.

But second, worrying now takes you away from a great and joyous pursuit: Seeking God’s Kingdom and enjoying all that God is.

When you worry about things that you have no control over you are placing such pursuits over God and actually making said worries a god over God almighty. But you are also robbing yourself the opportunity to enjoy God and see God’s mighty hand at work in your life; however that may look.

When I worry too much and get anxious about the many ministry demands in my life everything is effected. My chest starts to hurt as my heartburn kicks into high gear. I get distracted by such pains thinking that this might be “it”. So I stop what I am doing and maybe go home for a while to rest and calm down, all the while worrying about what I should be doing. I vicious cycle. Grrr.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

What if you actually did that and sought God’s kingdom and his righteousness? I am not giving you permission to be lazy and neglect your to do list, but what if you spent more time enjoying God’s promises and less time worrying about things you can’t control. When you can do that then you can spend more time witnessing to others as you live for God.

Now that sounds like a good plan:
(1) Seek and pursue God
(2) Enjoy God’s promises
(3) Watch God do His Mighty thing in your life
(4) Receive all you truly need

Deal with today and let tomorrow rest in God’s hands. Trust him, God can handle it.

Praise be to God, always and forever.

The Pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ Rewarded

/ The Pastor

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. [Matthew 6:3-4]

Have you ever met a person who likes to make sure others know about the charitable things they do? What they do is great and it helps others but it causes me to wonder what their motivation is. Are they seeking a reward? If so, their reward won’t last long or their charity will backfire as people will think they are arrogant for bragging about it or worse yet, God is not impressed.

Seeking rewards in this life, through things we should be doing anyway, is not the way of the Christian. Seeking praise is this life is idol worship. Seeking attention is stealing glory away from God. Besides, why seek a reward when you have already been given the best reward? And that reward was something that Jesus won through the cross and then handed over to you through faith. Anything we might gain in this life pales in comparison to the eternal life we have through Jesus Christ.

Matthew says here that if you service others in secret, your Father will know and He will reward you. This reward is nothing more than the realization that what you have done has come through saving faith. You can’t earn your way to heaven you can only receive and then worship God through your life ~ all the way to heaven.

As a Christian, one way we worship and praise God is through serving others. So do it. Don’t brag about your serving; boost about what God offers all sinners. Don’t worship to show off to others, worship God because He is worthy. Don’t shout from the mountain tops that you are awesome, but shout that Jesus Christ was born for all.

Praise be to GOD always and forever, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ Great Joy

/ The Pastor

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. [Matthew 2:10-11]

What gives you great joy?
~ Seeing a beautiful sunset
~ Your children
~ A healthy looking checkbook balance
~ Athletic success
~ Good health
~ A full sanctuary
~ Peaceful relationships
~ [Fill in the blank___________]

All these things give a sense (false sense) of peace and happiness yet we pursue and worship them. The magi traveled a great distance to find a baby who was King and were exceedingly joyful when the star finally stopped at the place where Jesus was.

Once in the house they fell down in worship; the only appropriate response to Jesus but also, the only one/thing worthy of worship. Health or money or children or big houses or good jobs or many friends do not and can not give life, and therefore they are not worthy.

The magi gave up a way of life and belief system to worship the King. Will you give up your idols and worship the only one who is worthy for ONLY Jesus has given his life for you. Your idols of this world care nothing for you as they can not save your soul.

See in Jesus your hope, your salvation, your Life and be exceedingly joyful. All praise be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ Being wise

/ The Pastor

And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. [Matthew 2:11]

A quick Christmas trivia question for you: How many wise men (magi) were there? Three? Actually we don’t know know. Scripture talks of three gifts but not the number of magi that showed up 🙂

But seriously, these magi (this is where we get our word “magic” and “magician”) traveled a great distance to find this king. And once there, scripture says they bowed down to worship Jesus. And one only bows down to someone who is of higher status or importance than oneself. These magi (magicians, astrologers, worshippers of the stars) knew who they were in the presence of and humbled themselves before Jesus; their new King and Way of life. I imagine they returned home changed.

And really, humbly coming before Jesus in worship is the only appropriate response to Jesus. When you consider what he did for you, how can you not fall down before him. Jesus was born in order to die for you and for me; miserable sinners. Jesus came to bring us to God. Jesus came to defeat death and give us life.

These wise men were indeed wise. They recognized their true King and Way of life. Humbly come before Jesus and worship the one who is worthy; the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Humbly come before Jesus and praise the one who gives you life.

Merry Christmas and Amen.

The Pastor -|—

It’s all about Jesus

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
[Matthew 1:18-21]

Here’s another remind for you ~ It’s all about Jesus.

And how can we dare say it’s about anything or anyone else?  I mean…he will save his people from their sins.  There you have it.  It’s pretty straight forward.  Forgiveness of sins…which means everlasting life.

Wow…that’s pretty awesome.

When Zechariah was met by the angel Gabriel and told of the wonderful news that he and his wife, Elizabeth (who was well beyond normal child-bearing years), was going to have a child, Zechariah was hesitant.

“Give me proof.”

The angel was a little miffed and said that he stands in the presence of God and shouldn’t have to give Zechariah proof.  Therefore Zechariah is struck silent until their baby (John the Baptist) was born.  Then Zechariah sang the praises of God.  Better late than never, but either way, God came through because our awesome and grace-filled God is faithful.

“he (Jesus) will save his people from their sins.”

You want proof?  Look to the cross:

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Jesus DID save his people from their sins.

There you have it ~ It’s all about Jesus.  Praise be to God!

The pastor -|—

Cravings

/ The Pastor

“It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)

I am trying to drop a few pounds and get ready for a triathlon that is coming up in about a month here in Jackson.  The training is going fine but it is the eating I am struggling with.

You see…I like food.  A lot 🙂 

When I get hungry I eat.
When I get bored I eat.
When I watch TV I eat.
When I…and you get the point.

I need to crave healthier foods in order to be…well…healthy.
I need to control my cravings.

My scripture reading this morning really hit home.  Food is important.  Maintaining a healthy diet is important.  Exercise is important.  But be careful not to crave those things alone…for “bread alone” is not good enough but we need “every word that comes from the mouth of God.”  For no amount of healthy eating and exercise will cause us to live forever…only God can do that for us through Jesus Christ.  I have to remind myself that Jesus healed many people in scripture but in the end they all died (I mean…you don’t see them walking around today…do you?).

What brings life is forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus.  And I get that daily reminder through God’s Word.

So live healthy AND crave God’s Word…for that is the ideal diet.

edh -|—

Just shut up and follow

/ The Pastor

I have been doing some pondering this week about what it means to be called.  The Gospel text for this Sunday (Jan 22) is Mark 1:14-20.  Here Jesus is walking along; encounters some guys and simply says “Come, follow me”.  And these rabbi school rejects drop everything to follow Jesus.

They leave behind a somewhat stable income.
They leave behind a place to live.
They leave behind family and friends.
They leave behind their careers.
They leave behind their comfort zones.

Just like that they go and follow Jesus.  No argument. No negotiating.  They go and follow Jesus.  At least some of those characters in Old Testament tried to object:

I’m too young. (Jeremiah)
I’m a man of unclean lips. (Isaiah)
I don’t speak so well. (Moses)
We’re too old. (Abraham and Sarah)

That sounds more like me.

But God has a response for those excuses and so they follow…and God is faithful…and God accomplishes what God set out to do through them.  As if there should have been any doubt.  God is awesome and God knows what he is doing.

If that be the case (and it is) why do I think I can offer up an excuse for why I can’t or shouldn’t follow?  Do I really believe I can convince God that He made the wrong choice?  Do I really think I can talk God out of what God has in mind for me?  Do I really think that God doesn’t know me better than I know myself?

Silly man!

So whatever excuse you have used to not follow God…throw them out the window.  They’re no good.  When God says “Follow” simply recall to mind Psalm 23 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me” .

Think also of Jesus’ promise from Matthew 28 “…and lo, I am with you even to the very end of the age.”

When God commands you to follow, God is not going to leave you stranded.
When God commands you to follow, God will not leave you orphaned.
When God commands you to follow, God WILL do amazing things through you.

So just follow.
Stop the arguing.
Repent and preach the Good News of Jesus Christ died and risen FOR YOU.
And then…watch the fireworks…praising God always and forever.

Amen!

edh -|—

Fill ‘er up

/ The Pastor

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)

Today the Gospel text inspired me to think about “the crowds” that followed Jesus.  In Matthew 4:23-25, the crowd was described as people who had been healed of many things ~ or as I saw them ~ invisible people.  They were people who society had cast aside and looked past them.  And this is not unlike what we do today.  There are many people among us who are invisible.  Sure…we see their bodies, but we really don’t see them because we are so focused on filling OUR lives with meaning through worldly pursuits.

But as I was reading more in the Gospel text I saw something else.  All the invisible people, after they were healed (essentially, made visible by the love of Jesus) continued to follow Jesus.  And this lead me to Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

Isn’t that what we are all looking for ~ to be “filled” in someway?  We try to fill ourselves with stuff, time, busyness, etc when all we need is Jesus.  The people healed in the Gospel text could have returned to their communities, families, synagogues ~ restored ~ but they followed Jesus.  They followed Jesus in order to be filled more with his teaching ~ and love.  If only we would do the same.

Let’s pray…

Loving God, lover of our souls, you and you alone truly fill us.  You and you alone truly give us meaning.  You and you alone truly give us purpose.

Yet

We strive to fill ourselves.
We strive to fill our calendars with busyness.
We strive to fill our checkbooks.
We strive to fill our Facebook accounts with friends.
We strive to fill our homes and driveways.
We strive to fill our careers.
We strive for that which will not bring us life.

Humble our hearts, so much so, that we can see the only one who can truly fill us ~ Jesus Christ.  Heal our “eye sight”, so much so, that we can see the invisible people in our lives ~ so as Christ fills us with his love we can in turn fill others with that same love.  Help us to understand that all our striving to “fill ‘er up” is nothing more than a chasing after the wind.

Thank you, God, that through faith Jesus Christ, we are filled ~ with righteousness ~ that which we TRULY need.

Amen!

edh -|—

Love

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Matthew 22:37-39
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus’ teaching about the greatest commandment is a powerful one for me. I need this to keep me centered and grounded.  It is too easy to think ministry is about what WE do and how successful WE are and how many people WE invite to church and how much WE serve.  It is too easy to become selfish.  I need daily reminders that without love my words and actions are empty.

Let’s pray together:

Loving God,

It is easy for me to say “I love you” but do I?
It is easy for me to say “I love my neighbors” but do I?
It is easy for me to say “Of course I do”…but really?

When I consider my actions.
When I reflect on my words.
When I ponder my motives.
I can’t help but see selfishness behind what I say and do.  And this is hard considering what we hear from the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 when he says that without love we are nothing but noise.

I want you to be praised and glorified but there is a part of me that wants to be praised and glorified. 

I want you to receive all the attention but there is a part of me that wants to be center stage.

Loving God…please take away my self-centeredness and fill me with your love. Convict me of wrong motives and show me the most excellent way (Love). Encourage me to share my life with people and not just words.  Strengthen my faith to see you in all things.  And remind me every moment of my life that nails are not what held Jesus to the cross but rather it was love ~ his awesome love for each of us.

Loving God, help me to love you more and my neighbor as myself.

Amen.

edh -|—