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Matthew 2:1-12

04 Jan

2 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. 4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
    are not least among the ruling cities of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
    who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. 8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”

9 After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

Matthew 2:1-12

Dear God, it’s always interesting when we meet these characters in stories and then we don’t hear from them again. In this case, we get these guys from the East, and they were following some sort of sign. I don’t think we are ever told the source of their knowledge for the sign, but here they are, and they are right. Now, they are a little clumsy about it. They just kind of brazenly go in making it a public thing when you had kind of gone out of your way to make it more low-key, and their clumsiness tipped off Herod which caused problems of tragic proportions, but they were just earnestly looking for this child. Why they wanted to worship him, I don’t know. In fact, I checked different translations, and they all use the word “worship.”

So they found him. The worshipped him. The gave him/Mary gifts. And then they left. It’s important to note here that you spoke to them and warned them to go home a different way. You knew they were there, and they were worthy of your attention and care. Of course, you were also protecting Jesus, Mary, and Joseph by keeping them away from Herod as well, but still, this is just another example of how you loved Gentiles, spoke to Gentiles, and let Gentiles know about your plans. Jesus was for them too.

Father, I’m a Gentile sitting here grateful to be your servant. Worshipping you, Three in One. My Father. My Jesus. My Holy Spirit. As Christmas comes to a close, I thank you and commit to walking with you this year. Beyond Christmas. You are my God. I am your grateful child. Part of your creation. You have my worship. Show me how to love you and how to love others.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 4, 2026 in Matthew

 

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John 1:29-34

03 Jan

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ 31 I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”

32 Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. 33 I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.”

John 1:29-34

Dear God, Jesus and John had an interesting relationship. I wish I knew more about how they knew each other over the previous 30 years. We never see them together before this, but I’m sure this isn’t the first time they met. After all, their mothers were cousins and they certainly would have sought each other out over the years. So I wonder what kinds of conversations John and Jesus had as they grew up. The way John describes it here, John knew Jesus but it hadn’t been revealed to him who Jesus was until he had the prophecy fulfilled that you had given to him. It took the Jesus he knew and made him Jesus the Messiah. It all changed.

I’m also impressed that his leadoff description of Jesus is that he said Jesus was about taking away the sins of the world. He didn’t say, “Here comes our conquering Messiah!” He called him the “Lamb of God,” your lamb. He might not have completely understood how this would all play out because later, when John is in prison, he will question if Jesus is the Messiah or if there is someone else coming (Luke 7:20). But he also seemed to know that there was more to this Messiah thing than making Israel great again. He knew you were trying to rewrite the covenant between you and your creation. He just didn’t have the picture of what that would look like.

So I don’t know what you’re doing either. I mean, I think I know what you were doing through Jesus, but even that gets convoluted in our modern Christianity. Some would say that Jesus came to save us from hell and eternal torment and damnation. To save us from suffering by forgiving us of our sins. But that seems ridiculous to me now, even though that’s what I was sold as a child. Not that there won’t be a sorting one day. Jesus was clear there would be. But if you wanted to save us from eternal damnation you’d have just let our souls die when we die and be done with us. No, you wanted relationship with us. I don’t understand why, but you want to love us and you want us to love you. You want relationship with us. You took away my sin not so that I would get a great perk after my death, but so that I could learn to walk through the narrow gate.

Father, I give you this day. I’m about to spend a few hours with a friend. Sharpen him through me and me through him. My wife and I will spend time together this afternoon. Sharpen us through each other. We will spend some times with friends over dinner. Sharpen us through each other. We are about to start working with a couple who is contemplating marriage. Make our relationship with them part of all of our journeys. Teach me to walk this narrow path through this narrow gate. Oh, and I just learned yesterday that a friend lost her brother to death. I’m so sorry for her. Please comfort her and her family through this tragedy. Show me how to be her friend through this. Raise up people around her who will love her with your love.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 3, 2026 in John

 

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John 1:19-28

02 Jan

19 This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Temple assistants from Jerusalem to ask John, “Who are you?” 20 He came right out and said, “I am not the Messiah.”

21 “Well then, who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?”

“No,” he replied.

“Are you the Prophet we are expecting?”

“No.”

22 “Then who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?”

23 John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah:

“I am a voice shouting in the wilderness,
    ‘Clear the way for the Lord’s coming!’”

24 Then the Pharisees who had been sent 25 asked him, “If you aren’t the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet, what right do you have to baptize?”

26 John told them, “I baptize with water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not recognize. 27 Though his ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal.”

28 This encounter took place in Bethany, an area east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.

John 1:19-28

Dear God, the thing that struck me this morning as I read this passage is that John denies being Elijah when Jesus says John is Elijah (Matthew 11:14). Is this false modesty? Is this him not being willing to claim something for himself and feeling like someone else (namely Jesus) needs to be the one to bestow that label on him? Is he still trying to figure out exactly who he is in your plan? He knows he’s the voice crying in the wilderness. He knows Jesus is the Messiah. But how much more does he know.

One thing that also stands out to me this morning is that he had a great responsibility to speak your words to the crowds. He had an important message for the people. For all of the people, including the Pharisees. My wife and I are going to be starting some premarital…I don’t want to call it counseling because we aren’t counselors. Let’s call it curriculum. We are going to be taking an engaged couple through a pre-marital curriculum that will give them a lot of things to think about, talk about, and work through as they prepare to get married. It intimidates me to have such an important responsibility, and I don’t think I’ve spent enough time in prayer, preparing my heart for our time with them or even praying for them and their hearts. I’ve prayed a little, but not enough.

Father, I’m no Elijah. I’m not a voice crying in the wilderness. But you have put people in my path, and you have messages for them through me as well as having messages for me through them. Give me ears to hear, eyes to see, a heart to discern, and wise words to share. And prepare my wife’s heart in the same way. Help her to have an insightful heart as we go through this process. And help them couple to come in with hearts that are open to hearing from you. Let your Holy Spirit be in the room with us today. Guide the four of us through this process. Give us all breakthroughs in our lives and use this process to draw each of us closer to yourself as individuals as well as closer to you as couples.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 2, 2026 in John

 

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Jonathan Roumie Quote

30 Dec

“And if I never did anything else again in entertainment, I would be sad, but I would be content knowing that I said yes to this very very intense, long mission–it will be ten years by the time it’s all released from the time I started–and I will feel like, okay, I’ve done something with my life…I’ve seen what this kind of storytelling, and what’s at the heart of it, how it can literally change people’s lives…You see it. They go from non-belief to belief. They go from no being active in the sacraments to all of a sudden going to confession, and going to mass, and taking communion again. And that the difference between life and death. Spiritual life and death. And there’s nothing that’s going to be more important for me than affecting an individual’s relationship with their creator. It trumps everything. It is the top priority in everybody’s life if they acknowledge that there is a relationship like that to be had. And once you know you’ve somehow been a touch point for that person’s journey, it’s like, well, what else is there? What else matters in my work as an artist? Nothing. Nothing does.” (5:15 mark of the video)

Dear God, I listened to this interview from yesterday at least a couple of times, and this is quote is the part that spoke to me the most. I think it comes down to the heart of everything we are called by you to be. And I bolded the part that really touched me with the rest to set the context for Mr. Roumie’s statement: “And there’s nothing that going to be more important for me than affecting an individual’s relationship with their creator. It trumps everything. It is the top priority in everybody’s life if they acknowledge that there is a relationship like that to be had.”

I can’t help but think about the narrow gate. Jesus references it in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:13-14: 13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to [destruction] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. I think I’ve found the narrow gate. And it’s frustrating to try to help friends decide to find it and have them turn me down. Family too.

So what does the narrow gate look like to me? How would I describe the narrow gate? I think answering this question might be different for a lot of Christians, and there are parts of this that I’m better at than other parts, but here’s what I’m thinking off of the top of my head.

  • Humility: Admit I am powerless and I need the God of the universe to restore me to sanity (combination of the first two steps in AA).
  • Make a decision to turn my life and will over to you, repent before you and others, receive your grace and love through Jesus, and turn my life over to you, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit to start to remove my character defects (steps 3-7 in AA).
  • Seek you through prayer and meditation (step 11 in AA).
  • Love others and carry this message to others (step 12).

I know I talked recently about a book that talked about the spiritual significance of the 12 steps in AA, and I think they ring pretty true here. I think if I walk in these steps then I have found the narrow gate. The one thing that is missing that, frankly, I’m not good at, is the intercessory prayer part for others. I think it’s important to pray for others and have them on our hearts, but outside of carrying the message to others there isn’t much in the 12 steps on that. But it’s important, and it’s something that my wife is so much better about than I am.

Father, make a difference in the world through my life. Today. In this moment. Of course, I want it for tomorrow too, but I just want to be in this moment today. Help me to be a man who continuously chooses the narrow gate and then guides others through it. Not so they can be saved from hell, but so they can know the peace and joy of relationship with you. And please forgive me for how I hurt others, myself, and you, and help me to know in the moment when I am doing something harmful and guide me out of it.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 30, 2025 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Fr. Mike Schmitz Interviews Jonathan Roumie

29 Dec

Dear God, I watched this interview this morning as I got ready for work, and it really struck me. I think a better word is humbled. It humbled me. I fight against it, but there are so many times that I get a bit full of myself and my “spiritual maturity.” The truth is, I’m an idiot. I don’t have anything to say. I don’t have anything to teach. I’m such a fool. I just need to listen and learn and appear foolish instead of opening my mouth and removing all doubt.

So I listened to Mr. Roumie’s experience playing Jesus–especially having just filmed the crucifixion–and it struck me how much I still take this for granted. How much all of us do. And we can’t, we simply can’t appreciate what you experienced during those 18 or so hours 2,000 years ago. He said he asked you for just a small taste, and even that left him overwhelmed and something that he might have to work through for the rest of his life.

Yeah, I just don’t get it. And I don’t know that I have the courage to ask you to help me get it. I almost prefer to insulate myself from really getting the depths of what you experienced through your incarnation, life as a human, brutal death, and resurrection. Can I just say that I get it and move on?

Father, thank you for fellow believers who inspire me. Fr. Mike and Mr. Roumie are people who inspire me. My young niece and her husband are believers who inspire me. I have young men I know through Christian Men’s Life Skills who inspire me. All of this makes me better. I love you, Lord. And I lift my voice to worship you. Oh, my soul, rejoice! Take joy, my King, in what you hear. Let it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ears. With my foolish ignorance and all, let it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ears.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 29, 2025 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Matthew 2:13-23

28 Dec

13 After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

14 That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, 15 and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”

16 Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. 17 Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

18 “A cry was heard in Ramah—
    weeping and great mourning.
Rachel weeps for her children,
    refusing to be comforted,
    for they are dead.”

19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. 20 “Get up!” the angel said. “Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.”

21 So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother. 22 But when he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod’s son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee. 23 So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

Matthew 2:13-23

Dear God, I’m not sure I’ve ever really pondered the idea that Joseph’s intent seems to have been to return to Bethlehem instead of going home to Nazareth. I guess from a practical standpoint it was easier to get to from Egypt (I think they are 80 or 90 miles apart). But I also wonder if there were just fewer questions in Bethlehem than Nazareth. Fewer people whispering about the timing of their marriage and Jesus’s age. But this would also seemingly put Jesus closer to John the Baptist, and Mary closer to Elizabeth, as they all grew and aged.

I honestly don’t know where I’m going with any of this except appreciating the lives that Joseph and Mary had to live, the decisions they had to make, and the warnings they had to follow as they raised Jesus. I don’t think that we, in general, appreciate the sacrifices they made for our savior and our salvation. I can certainly understand why Catholics venerate Mary. She made all these sacrifices and she carried Jesus. He is flesh of her flesh. But I want to throw Joseph in there too. He offered his life as a living sacrifice for your plan. He considered his life worth nothing to him. He did it right. I know he wasn’t perfect, but I have him as my favorite biblical character for a reason.

Father, I was talking with my brother yesterday about what it means to be a man for your wife, and how it is hard as you age to not be able to be those things for her anymore. I see friends who are older than me who can no longer be what their wives need. They need care instead of being able to care. Or their limitations make them less than they were just a few years ago. And now I’m at a point where I can still be a man and husband for my wife. I can care for her. But the day will come when I won’t be able to do it, and that will be hard. It will be hard for her, but it will also be hard for my ego. So guide us. Thank you for the example you’ve preserved here in Matthew of Joseph and the kind of man he was for Mary and Jesus. Thank you for the salvation you give me/us through Jesus. Thank you for your love and wanting a relationship with me. Help me to be who you need me to be today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 28, 2025 in Matthew

 

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Acts 6:8-10

26 Dec

8 Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. 9 But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. 10 None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.

Acts 6:8-10

Dear God, I need some wisdom. Not only in the words that I speak, but the actions I take–or should not take. I woke up this morning so frustrated with a couple of people. Why are they acting the way they are acting? Why are they making this harder than it has to be? And I’m really afraid they are making decisions now that they won’t be able to undo later and that they will regret. Pain now. Regret later. I can see it now and I can see it coming. And I know that behind it all is pain and injury of some kind. Secrets that are being protected. Shame that is being clung to.

I’m praying about this from this passage because sometimes I am compelled to reach out and say something to them, but I never know whether it is the right thing to say or the wrong thing to say. Should I remain silent? Should I pray for your words to share with them? Should I just pray that you will raise up people in their lives who will give them your words.

Father, I guess I’m praying myself into the serenity prayer from AA and the 12-step programs: Father, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. That is my prayer today. Give me serenity (peace), courage (strength), and wisdom (discernment).

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 26, 2025 in Acts

 

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Matthew 1:1-17

17 Dec

1 This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham:

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac.
Isaac was the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.
3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar).
Perez was the father of Hezron.
Hezron was the father of Ram.
4 Ram was the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the father of Salmon.
5 Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab).
Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth).
Obed was the father of Jesse.
6 Jesse was the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah).
7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam.
Rehoboam was the father of Abijah.
Abijah was the father of Asa.
8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram.
Jehoram was the father of Uzziah.
9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham.
Jotham was the father of Ahaz.
Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.
10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh.
Manasseh was the father of Amon.
Amon was the father of Josiah.
11 Josiah was the father of Jehoiachin and his brothers (born at the time of the exile to Babylon).
12 After the Babylonian exile:
Jehoiachin was the father of Shealtiel.
Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel.
13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud.
Abiud was the father of Eliakim.
Eliakim was the father of Azor.
14 Azor was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Akim.
Akim was the father of Eliud.
15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar was the father of Matthan.
Matthan was the father of Jacob.
16 Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah.

17 All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.

Matthew 1:1-17

Dear God, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, Mary. The five women Matthew calls out as being part of Jesus’s lineage:

Tamar: Judah’s daughter-in-law who had to pretend to be a prostitute to get him to sleep with her and conceive a child because her husband had died and Judah wouldn’t follow through on his responsibility to have one of his sons marry her.

Rahab: I’m assuming this is the prostitute who hid the spies before Joshua led the Israelites against Jericho (although the lineage doesn’t quite fit with Boaz because of the gap in years, but there seem to be a lot of gaps in years here).

Ruth: The Moabite widow who followed her mother-in-law Naomi back to Bethlehem and ended up marrying Boaz. Frankly, the most obviously noble of the women so far, although that’s probably an unfair judgment of Tamar and Rahab.

Bathsheba: Should never have been part of this lineage if David hadn’t sinned so greatly, slept with her, killed her husband, and then married her. It’s interesting that the baby she got pregnant with died and so it was another baby (Solomon) who became part of the lineage when it was the baby Tamar had by tricking Judah who is part of the lineage.

Mary: Probably the youngest of the four. The most innocent. The virgin given an incredible assignment.

So what does this tell me this morning. The first thing I see is that none of these women had things turn out the way they dreamed. Tamar widowed and desperate. Rahab afraid of being killed by the Israelites and betraying her people. Ruth, widowed and having to leave her home. Mary, a dream of a normal life with Joseph. But look what you did with all of these lives. You redeemed mistakes. You loved. You provided. Most of it is so ugly, but that’s what you do. You take the ugly and turn it into something beautiful.

I heard about a young man yesterday morning who is walking a difficult path. He’s 18, still finishing his senior year in high school, but he’s been kicked out of the house by an alcoholic father. My wife and I reached out to the couple helping him to give them some support, but what he needs is so much more. Father, move in his story and redeem it. Redeem it and make the pain count for everyone he touches. For him. For his parents. For the family helping him. For those I cannot see.

Father, there are all kinds of stories that need redeemed. I have a story and pain that needs redeemed. Be with me and help me with this pain. Comfort me and everyone involved. Love others through me. Use this pain and make it count. Help me to lean into this pain and grow from it. Don’t let any of it be wasted. Use the scars from this pain and use them to make us all stronger.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 17, 2025 in Matthew

 

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Matthew 21:28-32

16 Dec

28 “But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway. 30 Then the father told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go.

31 “Which of the two obeyed his father?”

They replied, “The first.”

Then Jesus explained his meaning: “I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do. 32 For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins.

Matthew 21:28-32

Dear God, oh, how I hope I’m counted, from a character standpoint, with the tax collectors and prostitutes who repented. This reiterates to me that it’s not our actions as much as the states of our hearts that drives your compassion for us. For me. If my heart is humble before you and I’m just trying my best to serve you then you have some mercy for me. But if I just try to do it right and then condemn people who don’t live up to my standard then I’m falling so short.

Today, I am going to a funeral for a friend’s husband. Not a close friend, but a good woman who has actually had a tough go of it the last three years. And now she’s lost her best friend. And it was a long, hard death. Help me to know how to be your presence to her today. Help her friends to know how to be there for her. Give her a sense of your presence. Draw her closer to yourself.

Father, I want to be the son that’s not mentioned here. The son who accepts the assignment and then follows through. Is that possible? Does that son exist? I hope so, and I hope it is me. But I am sorry for what I have done and what I have failed to do. It was my fault. It is my fault. It will be my fault. So I ask that you forgive me and show me your path forward.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 16, 2025 in Matthew

 

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Matthew 21:23-27

15 Dec

23 When Jesus returned to the Temple and began teaching, the leading priests and elders came up to him. They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?”

24 “I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question,” Jesus replied. 25 “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?”

They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, he will ask us why we didn’t believe John. 26 But if we say it was merely human, we’ll be mobbed because the people believe John was a prophet.” 27 So they finally replied, “We don’t know.”

And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.

Matthew 21:23-27

Dear God, I was asking yesterday about the purpose of John’s ministry as it relates to Jesus and wondering if he was more for the moment or for us now. I kind of concluded it was more for that moment than for us (although it’s impossible to know how much he actually does impact me), and this certainly affirms that his ministry was important in Jesus’s time.

I wonder what the answer to the question was. Did they each have a different answer? Did some believe he was from heaven? Did some, like Nicodemus, secretly repent and believe? Were they just blowing John off and trying not to anger the people by blowing him off privately?

The truth is, John’s authority was from heaven. And Jesus’s authority was from heaven. John was from you. Jesus was of you. He was you. I really don’t envy the Pharisees back then because I would probably have been skeptical too. I wouldn’t have readily trusted you. At best, I would have been like Nicodemus and secretly believed and followed you, but I know I wouldn’t have just openly followed you in the moment. It was too strange of a plan. I’d never have been able to get my mind around it.

Now, Father, I pray for this day. I have work to do. I have some work to do that is critical to helping our patients. I have some work to do that is important to others. I have some work to do that I don’t want to do. Help me to do it all well. Help me to be your servant and to work cheerfully in everything. Help me to get done what you need me to get done today. And I’ll confess that my performance, or lack thereof, with the man I saw in public while I was praying who was seemingly homeless, is still haunting me a bit. I’m sorry for my inaction. I’m sorry for my fear and my dread. Help me to do what you need me to do in those circumstances.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 15, 2025 in Matthew

 

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