Category Archives: Matthew

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:13-16

Dear God, my wife said something interesting a couple of days ago that was really profound. In the gospels, whenever Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like…,” it is always something very humble. It is never something that seeks power. It is always portrayed as something that is growing from grass roots. Literally roots since most of the stories are about seeds growing. It makes one wonder why the church today seems more focused on seeking political power and influence than it is on planting seeds and gathering people to you.

It feels like the power struggle began in the 80s with evangelical leaders like Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and James Dobson encouraging Christians to make a difference at the ballot box by voting for conservative values. And while there is nothing wrong with encouraging people to vote their conscience, over time this tended to morph into an “us vs. them” mentality among Christians. We started to lose our saltiness and we started to see those who didn’t vote with us as our enemy instead of part of the harvest to be gathered.

So let’s bring this down to me. What am I supposed to do to be part of planting seeds? What kind of light am I supposed to be. I suppose the first step is to practice what I preach and live the life you’ve called me to live. Love you. Love others. Deny myself and take up my cross. Let go of the cares of the world.

Now, assuming I’ve done those things, what’s next? I think the next step is just to speak peace to people. Right now, the divisive debate on Facebook/Twitter is about which medications to use to treat COVID-19. And I’ve kind of fallen into the trap of throwing out my two cents, although I’ve kept it more general. But when I see these posts–especially the ones supporting some controversial medications–the emotions I’m attaching to the motivations behind them are fear and frustration. They are afraid and frustrated that there is a conspiracy against us as Americans. There is a fear that the decisions are politically motivated and will ultimately result in a loss of political power in the election in November. There is a fear that they or a loved one will get sick and the doctor will not be allowed to prescribe the best medication for treatment.

On the other side are people who are tired of conspiracy theories (just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get me). They are afraid of fringe beliefs that might influence national policy. They are afraid of losing influential power to people whom they don’t believe are thinking correctly/clearly.

Father, help me to be a light to all of these people that happen to be in my sphere of influence. Help me to not worry about changing their mind, but to draw them to peace in your presence. Help us all to let go and embrace you. Help it to start with me.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.
Matthew 19:13-15

Dear God, I know a lot of theological points have been made about this passage over the years, and I’m one who has tried to deep dive it. But I want to look at one simple thing.

Maybe this is just as simple as Jesus telling the disciples to be nice. “Hey, guys. Just chill out. These people want me to bless their children. Be nice.”

It’s easy to get so focused on my own agenda that I can let anything that gets in my way irritate me. And I can see that sometimes in my coworkers as well. And because they are on the front lines of working directly with clients than I am, I can sometimes have more perspective than they do because they are in the fog of war. So in those moments it’s not only important that I help them to see the need for additional kindness, but also show them kindness as well.

Father, remind me throughout the day that even the most difficult people need to see your kindness through me. Help me to lead with that, model that, and encourage that through others. For your glory, for your glory, for your glory.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
Matthew 16:13-17

Dear God, the part I want to focus on this morning is when Jesus tells Peter that his knowledge came from divine revelation and not his own senses. I would love for that to be said of me sometime, but I am always to quick to trust in myself that I don’t think I allow myself to be still and just look to you.

It’s the part about not waiting on you that frustrates me with myself. For example, I have a friend who came to my wife and me recently with some of their personal concerns and fears. And while my wife and I have prayed for them, I can’t say that I ever stopped and waited on you to tell me what my personal response should be. I’ve just picked some actions and offered to help, but is the help I’m offering what it needed.

On the other hand, with the pandemic, last week our local hospital was under siege with COVID-19 patients maxing out its capacity. Then I felt you tell me that a prayer walk around the hospital campus would be appropriate so I’ve done three of them and I plan to do more. And you’ve seemingly said yes to the prayers I’ve made for the staff, patients, executive leadership, etc. The hospital went from 12 admitted COVID-19 patients to 1 within three days. Thank you. And that’s not to say that if they go back to 12 today you aren’t answering my prayers. Your will and your plan are yours. I trust you. I just don’t want to miss or take for granted anything you might be doing to show mercy.

Father, remind me with the Holy Spirit’s still small voice to seek you more and more. Give me the resolve to wait on you and not be in a hurry to solve things on my own timeline. And live through me so I can be a life that brings your kingdom and will into the earth.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:1-4

Dear God, I wanted to go back and find the verse Jesus is referencing here to maybe get a look into why this particular passage came to his mind when Satan was tempting him. Why did his thoughts go here? Here is the passage from Deuteronomy 8:1-3:

Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

There is a lot here about God humbling the Israelites. I wonder if that was part of the lesson you were teaching Jesus during those 40 days in the wilderness: Humility. Jesus was coming into his ministry and he was about to spend the next three years being worshiped as a celebrity and healer. Some would even worship him as God, but humble authority was his calling card.

Giving into this first temptation of Satan’s, I suppose, would have been to have Jesus prove out of arrogance, or maybe out of doubt, that he was your son and the Messiah. “If you are…” But Jesus didn’t take the bait. He knew humility and security in knowing who you are and who he was/is were the foundation upon which his life and ministry would be built. When Satan pointed him towards bread, he pointed Satan back to the importance of living humbly and depending upon your word. Their exchange wasn’t really about food. It was about one who had rejected you and grabbed for all of the power he could and the other who was submitted to you, looking to you for his being.

So how does that apply to me? Well, I can get very distracted by everything going on. I can look for nourishment to feed my mind through news, self-gratification, gossip, and also worry and fear. When I cut you off, you always end up replaced with selfishness, envy, greed…all of the things I’ve talked about in Galatians 5:19. There is no fruit of the Spirit without a connection to your vine.

Father, I don’t want to be someone who just sits here and thinks holy thoughts. I want to be a man of action. Help me to know how you would have me apply your words to my life and to act upon them. I want to do it for your glory. I want to give you my utmost for your highest. I want to live by every word that comes from your mouth.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:1-5

Dear God, this is the verse yesterday from My Utmost for His Highest. I don’t normally read his commentary before I start typing to you, but I read the first few sentences today. He had an interesting sentence in there: “There is a difference between retaliation and retribution.” He says that what Jesus is indicating in his different lessons is that we shouldn’t retaliate, but we should be aware that what goes around comes around.

I suppose the trick is to pull myself out of the retribution feedback loop by not retaliating. If someone is doing something wrong and I do not retaliate like I would normally want to then I am short-circuiting the natural order of things and exhibiting your love. After all, that’s what you’ve done with Jesus and your love for us. You love us unreasonably, and I am grateful for that.

I have a few relationships that I can gratefully say I stuck around even through what I perceived to be wrongs done to me. And after several years, I can say I’m glad I did. I’m glad I am not looking back now and thinking that I shouldn’t have let that relationship go 10 or 20 years ago. I haven’t always been perfect in those relationships. I’ve caused my share of pain as well. But I’m glad they are still there. Retribution is an interesting thing.

Father, help me to always be a source of mercy by drawing on the mercy you give me. Thank you for your mercy. Thank you for loving me. Now, please flow through me and take your love and mercy to others through my life.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen