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Category Archives: Matthew

Parents of the Bible — The parents who asked Jesus to pray for and bless their children

13 Mar

One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left.
Matthew 19:13-15

Dear God, I could be wrong, but I don’t think I’ve ever looked at this story from the perspective of the parents before. In church, we’ve usually taken this as a story about the disciples and their short-sightedness. We’ve also looked at Jesus’s perspective on children. But what about these parents who didn’t really want anything specific from Jesus. No healings. No instruction even. I don’t know if the laying on of hands and blessing someone was common for rabbis to do in that time. Maybe it was.

I was just reading a commentary to see if I could get an answer to that last question when I saw this point made. Matthew chose to build this story in a way that shows Jesus’s attitude towards marriage and divorce as well as how he feels about the products of marriage–children. All is sacred. All is holy. All is worthy.

But going back to the parents, I wonder what drove them to do this. There were undoubtedly part of the crowds that were following Jesus around. Maybe some of them got the idea together. Maybe some of them just wanted their child to be touched by Jesus. Maybe it was an excuse for some of them to get that close to Jesus themselves. Whatever it was, I’m sure this was an impactful event in their lives and the lives of their children. I would love to know how this even resonated through their individual lives. I would also love to know what Jesus said as he placed his hands on their heads.

Father, parenting is about doing the best you can in any given moment. In this moment, these parents really didn’t have any idea what was going on. They had no idea that Jesus was the Messiah, and even if they did suspect it they certainly didn’t know how it would all work out. What they saw that day was a great man teaching great things. He was seemingly of you and from you, and they brought their children to him so that he could touch them and pray for them. Holy Spirit, pray for me now. Pray for my children. Pray for my and my wife’s siblings, nieces and nephews, and parents. I don’t have Jesus here in the flesh for that, but he sent you, Holy Spirit. So please give to us what Jesus gave to those children and their parents that day.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 13, 2020 in Fathers of the Bible, Matthew, Mothers of the Bible

 

Mothers of the Bible — Gentile Woman Who Asked Jesus to Heal Her Daughter

09 Mar

Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.” But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.” Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.” But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!” Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.” She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.” “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.
Matthew 15:21-28

Dear God, this story has always been hard for me because Jesus comes off as a bit of a jerk. Is he racist? Is he elitist? Is he none of those things, but simply testing her? I’m sure it’s the latter, but it doesn’t seem that way at first.

I think I’m going to do what I did with Jairus yesterday and just make bullet points about another rich story that is told in a tight eight verses.

  • This Gentile woman already lived among the Jewish people in Tyre and Sidon. Had she already started to become acclimated to Jewish traditions, or was she overcoming a lot of racism she had experienced to go to Jesus in the first place?
  • She calls him “O Lord, Son of David!” Is this an admission on her part that he is the Messiah? He isn’t only a rabbi to her. Jairus’s friends called him a teacher. That’s not who she says he is. I could be wrong in how I’m reading this, but I think she’s willing to put the Messiah label on him. Now maybe this is just kissing up out of desperation. Maybe she doesn’t have a barrier to calling him that because the Messiah doesn’t mean as much to her as if she had been raised Jewish. But it’s still quite an admission.
  • The labels her daughter’s illness as a demon that torments her. I don’t know how this manifests itself, but that’s the language she uses with him.
  • “Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word.” That seems harsh? A test?
  • “Tell her to go away. She is bothering us with all her begging.” Did Jesus set a bad example for the disciples here. Was this incident reshaping his own attitudes towards his being there for Gentiles too. I think he had already healed the Centurion’s servant at this point, so it’s probably not that. But it’s interesting that his response to her seems to encourage racism and bigotry among the disciples.
  • “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep–the people of Israel.” Again, racism or a test?
  • “She came and she worshiped him.” She didn’t just plead. She acknowledged his God-ness over her as well. She asked to be considered one of his people. She worshiped him.
  • They have their exchange about food and scraps from the table. This is the part of the story everyone remembers. If you try to bring this story to someone’s mind, all you have to say is, “The one where the woman just wants scraps from the table like a dog.” I was thinking about my dogs the other day and how grateful I am they can’t talk back. We definitely have a master/slave relationship with them. We tell them when to go to sleep, where to sleep, when to go to the bathroom, when to eat, to be quiet, to go away, to come here, etc. Then there is the part of the relationship where we play with them and scratch them. We feed them. We walk them. We give them shelter. We even pay a sitter to come and care for them when we leave town so they won’t have to be boarded. I’ve always kind of just read over this story, but maybe there is something more to this being a representation of my relationship with you than I’ve given it credit for.
  • Jesus is impressed with her answer and heals her daughter.

Father, I don’t know that this woman would ever have been driven to worship Jesus without going through this terrible thing with her daughter. It humbled her. Her love for her daughter and desperation brought her to her knees. I’m sure she told her daughter from that time forward how this man named Jesus, a Jewish Messiah, healed her. I wonder how she felt when she heard about the crucifixion. Did she hear about the resurrection too? You made the pain she experienced count, and I’m grateful for that. I’m grateful for her, and, as a Gentile, I’m grateful for myself as well.

I pray all of this in the name of that same Jesus,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 9, 2020 in Matthew, Mothers of the Bible

 

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The Elephant

22 Feb

Dear God, I’ve been praying through and thinking through these scriptures all week. I’ve looked at Moses on the mountain getting about eight chapters worth of instructions from you. I’ve looked at Peter talking in his second epistle about his experience at the Transfiguration. And I’ve looked at the Transfiguration itself. I’ve also layered on top of it the story of Naomi from the book of Ruth. These are the pieces of quilt I feel like you’ve given to me this week as I’ve prepared to preach tomorrow. So this morning, what I’d like to do is ask you to help me take these pieces and weave them together into the message that your Holy Spirit wants to deliver to the parishioners at the local Presbyterian church in the morning .

It starts, I think, with the old illustration of the blind men who each touch a different part of an elephant and then asked to describe the elephant. One describes the elephant as being a really long stump (the leg). One describe an elephant as an odd snake-type creature or really long, rough hose (the trunk). One describes it as a long smooth spear (the tusk). One describes it as a huge rough wall (the body). Another describes it as a thin, wiggly animal with some hair on the end (the tail). They are all accurate in their description of what they know, but they are wrong. They can’t see what we can see. They cannot see how the leg, trunk, tusk, body, and tail all work together to form one of the most majestic animals in the world.

That’s what you showed me in the story of Moses on the mountain. You were getting some business done with Moses. It was housekeeping time. It was paperwork time. You and Moses needed to spend some time together so that you could give him some marching orders for all of Israel. But the Israelites couldn’t see what was going on. All they saw was the cloud and the fire. For all they knew, you had grown angry with Moses and he was dead. If you would have asked them to explain what was going on they would have had no clue. Not even Moses really understood the whole picture, but you did. You could see what no one else could see.

Then we get the story of the Transfiguration. Another example of you tangibly showing up on a mountain and spending some time with your man. In this case, it was your son, Jesus, and he brought three friends (notably, you brought two friends of your own in Moses and Elijah). You know I’ve thought for a number of years that you did this because Jesus needed it. He was on his way to Jerusalem. He, at a minimum, had a good idea of what was coming if not complete knowledge of his impending future. I think he needed some affirmation and encouragement, and you provided it to him through your personal presence and affirmation as well as whatever he learned from Moses and Elijah. But what were Peter, John, and James doing there? If you asked them in that moment to describe what they had just experienced they would have said that Jesus is really powerful, and they had just gotten to see Moses and Elijah. Yes, Jesus kept talking about his death, but they didn’t really believe that. How could he possibly die? It’s almost like we look at the current stock market. How could it possibly start to lose? The piece of the elephant they could see what very small in the grand scheme of things. They didn’t understand the pressure Jesus was under or what he needed. They didn’t understand what you were doing for them in revealing the reality of Jesus being the Messiah to them through this story. That’s what the verses in 2 Peter are about. Peter, in retrospect, is telling his audience that he knows the Jesus story is real because of what he witnessed on that mountain. He and his two friends didn’t only hear some disembodied voice that could be explained away as a hallucination. They physically saw Elijah and Moses–so much so that it occurred to Peter to put up houses for them. You don’t build houses for spirits.

And then on the way down, they are still trying to make sense of what they had seen. They wondered if maybe seeing Elijah there was a fulfillment of the prophecy about Elijah preceding the Messiah. That’s when Jesus explains to them that they have already seen Elijah in John the Baptist. Jesus showed them just a little more of the elephant.

So why don’t you show us what is going on? Why do you keep us on a need-to-know basis? Why is it that I so rarely need to know? The answer is obvious. If we know any suffering or inconvenience that lies ahead we will most certainly avoid it. If I had known what answering your call to quit my stable job in 2003 would mean to my own discomfort and instability I might not have done it. If I had known some of the pain involved in parenting I might have avoided it. If Jacob had known that his relocation to Egypt would result in generations of slavery he might have let his family die in the desert. And that impoverished widow who Jesus saw put her two coins in the collection never knew that her faithfulness in the midst of her poverty would be a lesson to all of us for thousands of years.

And then there is Naomi. She was convinced you had turned on her. Mara. Call me Mara because God has made my life bitter. When I left I had everything, but now He has taken everything from me. The Lord has sent me nothing but tragedy and made me suffer. (Ruth 1:20-21) But she didn’t know. She didn’t know that you would use her situation and the loss of her husband and sons to bring Ruth to Bethlehem. She didn’t know that she would play a role, through her dead husband’s legacy, in setting Ruth up with Boaz. And she didn’t know that she would end up cuddling and raising King David’s grandfather, Obed. She didn’t know that Obed’s grandchild would kill Goliath and set up the country for its greatest period. She could only see a little piece of the elephant. But you were faithful to her.

What’s one other common thread in these stories. You gave each person affirmations along the way. They didn’t necessarily see them as affirmations. The Israelites didn’t understand that if Moses had just disappeared for 40 days with no cloud or fire they wouldn’t have necessarily believed him when he came back with the rules. Peter didn’t realize at the time that you had given him evidence of who Jesus was through witnessing the Transfiguration. And Naomi didn’t see it at the time, but if she had stopped feeling sorry for herself for a moment she would have seen that Ruth was there for her when she absolutely didn’t have to be. Naomi could have been left for dead, but you were there for her.

Father, help me to reach the level of faith where I don’t need to see what the elephant looks like to follow you joyfully. I don’t know what the lives of my children will look like. I can’t see how a decision they make in this moment will impact the next. I cannot see how my own actions will flow into history. But you have been good to me. You have been better to me than I deserve. I guess my simplest prayer is that I will decrease, you will increase, and I will worship you and do my best to love all of those around me with your love.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 22, 2020 in 2 Peter, Exodus, Matthew, Musings and Stories, Ruth

 

Matthew 17:1-13

19 Feb

Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials —one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.” The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground. Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus. As they went back down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” Then his disciples asked him, “Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes? ” Jesus replied, “Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, but he wasn’t recognized, and they chose to abuse him. And in the same way they will also make the Son of Man suffer.” Then the disciples realized he was talking about John the Baptist.
Matthew 17:1-13

Dear God, I want to look at this story today from Peter’s, James’s and John’s perspective. Well, mainly Peter’s since he is the one who talks so we know a little more of what is going on with him. That, and the fact that the New Testament reading for this weekend is Peter using this Tory to make his point.

I’ve talked before with you about how I think this experience was your way of encouraging, affirming, and even comforting Jesus on his way to Jerusalem. But, frankly, he didn’t have to have these three disciples with him. But maybe they needed to be there. In fact, who’s to say that Jesus didn’t have several experiences like this that weren’t recorded because no one was there?

I would say that one of the things Peter got was a revelation that this was all for real. He had just seen Moses and Elijah, for crying out loud! What a testimony this was to them in a time when they might have started to doubt!

You can tell they are trying to process what they just saw as they walk down because they are trying to make sense of having just seen Elijah (they just saw Elijah!) and how it might fit into the prophecy about him coming back before the Messiah comes.

Of course, Peter uses this experience later in his epistle to underscore that this is all very real. You are real. Jesus was/is real. The message he was preaching is real. This one little event had a huge impact on him.

Father, you do things that encourage me all of the time. Sometimes I notice and sometimes I miss them. Please help me to notice you in every moment. Help me to be grateful for every single thing you do for me. And, really, thank you for even caring about me at all, not to mention loving me so much.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 19, 2020 in Matthew

 

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Second Sunday of Advent

08 Dec

In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said,“He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!Clear the road for him!’”John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire. “I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.”
Matthew 3:1-12

Dear God, having grown up in a church that didn’t really observe the church calendar (Advent, Lent, etc.), I’m still figuring out the different Sundays between Thanksgiving and Christmas and what they mean. It was my wife, who grew up Episcopalian, who first taught me about some of these things. I had hear the word “Advent.” I had hear about “Lent.” But I didn’t really have any idea what they were about.

So now I’m here on the second Sunday of Advent. I’m preaching later this morning and it’s apparently time to talk about John the Baptist. I prayed through the verses above earlier this week as part of my preparation for this sermon. Now it’s time to make sure I have what you want me to say crystalized in my mind so that I can give someone this morning the message that you have for them. So what is that message?

Much like earlier in the week, what has stuck with me from the passage is the people who came to hear John. What were they looking for? What did they find? I think they were looking for happiness. But happiness is a pretty vague term. The Declaration of Independence calls the pursuit of happiness one of the unalienable rights you endowed to us. I doubt even they could have articulated it. They just knew their souls were unsettled. They were not at peace. Word had gotten to them that there was this weird guy out in the wilderness preaching and dunking people in water (he called it “baptizing?”). Now those people were telling their friends that they were experiencing you and life in a ways they never had before. They were happy.

There were other people, of course, who were watching. They were the people who were worried because they had never been able to give people happiness before. Why? What was the difference in the Pharisees’ teaching and John’s preaching? A few words come to mind: grace, mercy, love. John expected no less of the people than did the Pharisees. He expected them to repent and sin no more. But he added something that I don’t think any of them had ever seen–a symbolic cleansing. Come and be bathed as an outward expression of true repentance. Don’t just ask for forgiveness. Turn and sin no more. Abandon yourself. Humble yourself. Let go of yourself and live! Let me say that again–Let go of yourself and live! 

Father, as I finish my outline and get ready to be your ambassador, move beyond my weaknesses. Move beyond my failings. Use me despite how evil and selfish I can be. Use me beyond reason. Yes, I guess I’m asking you to work a miracle this morning. Use this vessel to reach that one person who needs to hear about the happiness you have in store for them.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

 
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Posted by on December 8, 2019 in Matthew

 

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Matthew 3:1-12

02 Dec

In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. ” The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!’” John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire. “I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.”
Matthew 3:1-12

Dear God, who are these people that came out into the wilderness to hear John? What were they looking for? Why were they baptized? I’ve never really thought about them before. I know they were repenting, but why? What were they gaining from it other than a clean conscience?

What I’m about to say are all assumptions because Matthew doesn’t really tell us why. But if I had done what they did, this might be why.

  • I was miserable in my first-century, Roman-ruled life and I was looking for some hope.
  • I was looking for the Messiah and John seemed to know about him.
  • When I got there, John made my life about me and my attitude towards you. He did the old “ask not what God can do for you, but what you have been doing for God” routine.
  • I made a recommitment to be Jewish and clean my own life up as a result of listening to John.

Father, I guess I have two things coming out of this passage. First, I’m sure there are things in my life for which the Holy Spirit is trying to convict me. I can think of a couple right now. I’m truly sorry. I do need you to forgive me. I am very sorry.

Second, as I prepare to preach at a local church this Sunday, give me the words you want this congregation to hear. Lay your truth on them through me. Speak through me so that your Spirit might enter the world through them.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 2, 2019 in Matthew

 

Matthew 5:11-12

01 Oct

“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.
Matthew 5:11-12

Dear God, it’s important that the context of these two verses are the beatitudes. Jesus had just said that the poor, the mourning, the hungry for justice, the humble, the merciful, the pure of heart, the peace makers and the persecuted are all blessed. But here’s a question. What does it mean when you “bless” us? What does that blessing look like?

I don’t have a really great answer except that maybe it all goes back to the fruits of the spirit. The more I think about them (love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness, kindness, and self control), there are two that are different that the others. I’ve long pointed to peace as a litmus test for how I’m doing, but joy is a lot like it. All of the others are things that I can will myself into action on. I can will myself to love, be patient, be faithful, etc. I can’t, however, will myself to joy and/or peace. Those are things that grow from within and I think those are the things that you give to us in your blessing. When we are mourning, you are there. When we are persecuted, you are there. When we are poor, you are there.

Holy Spirit, be at home in me so that the Father might live and reach others through me. Jesus, thank you for loving me and for your sacrifice. I confess that I still don’t appreciate you or understand what you did for me as I should. And Father, I adore you. Please let your blessing be on me so that your kingdom will come and your will will be done on earth as it is in heaven through my life.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 1, 2019 in Matthew

 

Matthew 6:31-34

27 Sep

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
Matthew 6:31-34

Dear God, the verse of the day was the “seek first part,” but I want to focus on the line, “Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Yes, it is.

A lot of what I’m about to say (and remind myself of) is what you taught me through C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters--the 15th letter, to be precise. He has a couple of lines in there that you used to change my life. It’s all about the future and the demon trying to preoccupy his human “patient” with it based on the argument that the present is the one point in time that interfaces with eternity (and you).

The biggest problem (and there are many) with being anxious about the future (which is exactly what I prayed to you about a week ago this morning) is that I will likely miss your calling for what you want me to do today. But I have enough to solve today. I have work to do for my day-job. I have a wife to love. I have children, family and friends to pray for. I have rehearsal for the play I’m in.

One of the tricks for me today is getting caught up in the latest headlines regarding President Trump. My life can have zero effect on the outcome of what’s happening in D.C. right now, but I’m allowing myself to be distracted by the news this week more than I normally am. Sure, I could say that I could contact my senator or congressman, but I don’t even know what I’d like them to do today. But Satan uses these distractions and divisions to keep our hearts out of this present moment and away from you.

Father, help me to stay in the moment today. Love through me. Live through me. Speak to others and bless/serve them through me. And thank you for everything.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 27, 2019 in Matthew

 

Matthew 16:24-27

27 Jun

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.
Matthew 16:24-27

Dear God, when my wife and I were praying together this morning, we talked about laying down our bitterness—the wrongs people have done to us that stick around in our minds. Forgiveness.

She told me about a great novel she read that, towards the end has one last argument between a husband and wife. The wife is pious but unforgiving and bitter. The husband is not pious at all. Just before he leaves to live alone for the rest of his life, he calls her on it. Paraphrasing: “I’m not pious, but you are. But you don’t forgive. What good will your piety do for you on the other side when you’ve never forgiven others?”

I think that feeds into this passage. “Give up your life for my sake.” That means giving up the hurt and the bitterness too. It means embracing the role you have for me to play in this world instead of caring about what role I have for me to play in this world. It means seeing another person’s offensive behavior for what it might be beneath the surface and disregarding how it impacted/impacts me. Not that I should allow myself to be abused. But once I’ve removed myself from the abusive situation, I think you call me to let go and prayerfully consider what actions you would have me take for that other person’s good.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, please guide me. Teach me. Holy Spirit, pray for me. Pray for those who are on my heart as I type this out. And I also want to pray for the two people today I know who are experiencing memorial services/funerals for their loved ones. Please ease their pain. Comfort them. They are people of faith in you. Please meet them and strongly support them.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 27, 2019 in Matthew

 

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Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

13 Jun

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
Matthew 13:1-9,18-23

Dear God, sometimes the only way to take rocky soil and turn it into good soil is to take a jackhammer to it. Sometimes the only way to get rid of the thorns is to take a tool and completely rip the soil up so that I can get the weeds out by the root. Well, when it comes to my heart, I need you to be my jackhammer and my plow. If I want to have fertile soil in my heart into which you can plant your seeds then I need to be ready to have you deal with the parts that are not fertile.

For the first eight years of my Christian life, I had no fertile soil. I was young and my I didn’t know what suffering really was yet. I just knew that I was a sinner and I needed you to forgive me and make me clean. But the part of having the Holy Spirit come and take up residence in a fertile heart that would allow deep roots took something special.

Well, over 30 years later, I am still finding the rocky places that need attention. They need your hammer and your plow. And then I have friends and family members who need the same thing. As I am understanding this concept more and learning to connect the Holy Spirit’s power and authority in my life and the type of soil that my heart provides for the Holy Spirit to live in and grow, I can see how that plays out in others’ lives as well. It is giving me some clarity for them and ways to pray for them that I haven’t before. For the new Christian. For the scorned wife. For the person who has experienced tragedy. I am finding myself praying for them in different ways now.

Father, you know the individuals on my heart this morning, including myself. Make all of our paths straight so that they will lead straight into your presence. And when that soil is ready, we will then be able to have the Holy Spirit growing fruit in our lives (love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, faithfulness, kindness, self control) that bring you glory and help your kingdom to come and your will to be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 13, 2019 in Matthew

 

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