32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn

“‘a man against his father,

a daughter against her mother,

a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—

36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’

Dear God, it is interesting that at some point they will be looking for the one who is going to bring a sword, but he will be saying that he is bringing peace. Matthew knows this when he is writing this in retrospect, so why is he focusing on this now? What is Matthew’s message to me?

I think that Matthew realized, looking back, that Jesus’ message and being his disciple would “turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, etc.” While Jesus preached a message of hope and reconciliation, he knew that there would be conflict about this. He knew that his message would offend some. It is pretty amazing how fortunate I am to not have these kinds of conflicts with my family over faith. I wonder, however, what kinds of conflicts I might have with my children over the years with faith. How will what they see in me influence their relationship with you? Will it push them away from you because it appears unappealing to them or will it draw them closer to you because they find it is something that they want? What will happen with my relationship with them over the years? As I said a few days ago, my greatest fear is that I am failing them spiritually.

Father, my heart is heavy today and distracted. You know what is going on in the different areas of my life. I have decided to make this day about sacrifice to you. Some can only come out through prayer and fasting. Well, if that is what it takes then that is what I will do. I will fast and pray about some of the issues I am facing and ask that you hear my prayers. Whether they be for family members or for work issues, I beseech you to hear me. If you are willing, hear my prayers.