Tag: bro. Jonathan

Day 15: Matthew 22-24 (NEW TESTAMENT 90)

On By pastorjonathanIn DevotionalLeave a comment

Today’s reading comes from Matthew 22-24 follow the link provided here to read the ESV online.

In the midst of addressing the religious crowd about their hypocrisy, Jesus tells a parable about a wedding feast that illustrates that those who should have been excited about the wedding didn’t take it seriously (22:5) or were completely unprepared (22:11).

A couple of interesting points  for those of you following along with the Ten Commandment series at Little Escambia Baptist Church. The question from the Pharisees about taxes is answered by Jesus holding up on of their coins (he didn’t have one) and asking, “whose image and inscription is this?” (22:20) Then when they reply Jesus says,  “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (22:21) We usually catch on that Cesar’s image is on the coin, but sometimes we are slow to recognize that People are made in God’s image. We owe Cesar the coin, but we owe God our lives.

Jesus summarizes the great commandment, He uses two. Love God and Love your Neighbor. Loving God relates to the first four commandments and loving your neighbor relates to the other six. The reason Jesus doesn’t just say to love God, is because then we would be tempted to think we are loving God even when we neglect our neighbor and vice versa.

In chapter 23 Jesus really doesn’t let up on the scribes and pharisees. What popped out to me was how many times he calls them blind while he pronounces the woes. This leads to his sorrow over Jerusalem and his pronouncement in chapter 24… Hold on to this, because this context is important. I think a lot of people get Matthew 24 a little bit wrong, or misconstrue a few things. It is important to read the chapter in context. There is a tendency to read the entire chapter as an essay on what will the end times be like, but as I have studied this passage I think a great deal of what Jesus says here speaks more directly to the destruction of the temple (notice the context of 24:1-2).

Matthew 24:3, The Disciples ask three questions of Jesus…

1.Tell us, when will these things be,

2.and what will be the sign of your coming

3. and of the end of the age?”

Matthew 24:15-16, The Abomination of Desolation is something that can only happen in the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus warns those in “Judea” to flee… so this is in reference to the destruction of the temple and all that is attached to this passage such as pray that it doesn’t take place on the sabbath, etc. is related to the destruction of the temple.

Matthew 24:23, After this event if someone tells you they are the Christ, or that Christ has returned… be wary.

Matthew 24:27, when Jesus returns you will know it. It won’t be like the first time.

Matthew 24:34, This now appears to be the bookend that ties this all together with the destruction of the temple, “this generation will not pass away.” The temple was destroyed in AD 70 a round about forty years after Jesus made this statement.

The real point to these chapters is that Jesus will return and it will be when we least expect it. He will judge the world and reward those who have been faithful to follow Him. I look forward to His return and I hope to be found me faithful.

Here is how I am praying through this passage today:

FATHER, Thank you for the gift of your word! I pray we would all be prepared for what ever events will unfold in our lifetime. Thank you for what it means to be made in your image and thank you for the gracious commands you have given us to love you and to love one another. I pray that we would continue to grow in our love on both accounts. Today I pray for those who are lost apart from you and are unprepared. I pray that they would come to faith in you. I lift up those who are sick and longing for relief, I pray that you would provide healing. I ask you to keep us vigilant in our anticipation of what you have in store for us. I pray that I do all of my part in presenting everyone complete who you have put in my care as a pastor. IN JESUS NAME, AMEN.

What did you take away from today’s reading? What are your thoughts or questions? Feel free to comment below and enter the discussion.

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Day 13: Matthew 16-18 (NEW TESTAMENT 90)

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Today’s reading comes from Matthew 16–18 follow the link provided here to read the ESV online.

In Chapter sixteen we are forced to contemplate the identity of Jesus. Peter makes the first assertion that Jesus is, “the Christ, Son of the Living God.” Towards the end of the chapter Jesus promises that some of his disciples will see Him coming in His kingdom before they die! At the beginning of the very next chapter they do exactly that as they see Jesus on the mount of transfiguration. This spiritually high event is followed by a low as the disciples are unable to heal a boy by casting out a demon. Jesus challenges their faith and tells them this kind only come out only by prayer and fasting. There is no presumption in casting out of demons, it is an utter and complete dependence on God. 

Chapter eighteen centers on the topic of forgiveness.   Often it is easier to see the sins of our brother than it is to see our own sin and so we condemn them and write them off as being purely evil… while we enjoy the pleasures and benefits of being God’s servant.

However, Jesus says you can’t live that way. You can’t write someone off for their sin against you.  He didn’t write you off.  He went to the cross for you and so for the sake of forgiveness and reconciliation the least you can do is walk across the room and lovingly confront the wrong (notice I said lovingly).

It’s easy to hate someone in their wrong doing.  You can count the tears, the lives affected, and try to put a value on the pain… but then again Jesus didn’t chose the to go to the cross for you when you were lovable. Don’t pretend like your sins don’t cost too.

You see we don’t forgive because we are commanded to and that is the end of the story.  We forgive because we are forgiven. When you realize your debt before God and what lengths he went to to absorb your debt against Him… well then that bit of unforgiveness in your heart just looks plain silly.

The power to forgive isn’t in you… The power to forgive comes from God alone. You see all sin is ultimately gets paid for… Either in your soul for ever in Hell, or Jesus on the cross.  At the end of the day all of us answer to God.  He is the only one who judges our hearts right.

Matthew eighteen also addresses church discipline. Church discipline is always done in love and in the hope of restoration. Lot’s of folks often quote Matthew 18:20, “Where two or three are gathered there I am also” in prayer gatherings. While it is true that Jesus is where his people are, this verse is in reference to church discipline. It can be such a tough matter to put someone out of the church that it helps to know that when great steps have been taken to restore and individual and they are still unrepentant, that Jesus is there. Trust me, if you have ever had to walk through the heart breaking steps of seeking restoration only to be met with a hardened heart over and over, It is comforting to know that Jesus is in your midst.

Here is how I am praying through this passage today:

LORD,  Thank you that you have made yourself known to us and that we can know you! I pray for my friends who don’t know you yet, and I pray that they would come to know you and trust you soon. I pray that I would continue to trust and depend on you. I thank you for disciplines like prayer and fasting that lead us closer. I pray that whenever sin enters into our relationships that we would seek forgiveness. I pray that I would be quick to repent when I have sinned and quick to forgive those who have sinned against me. I pray for those who are sinning and unrepentant. I pray for families who are being torn apart by sin. I pray for your church to love those who are falling away. Thank you for the calling you have placed on my life to shepherd your people. I pray that I would be faithful to you and accountable to others in every area of my life. IN JESUS NAME, AMEN.

What did you take away from today’s reading? What are your thoughts or questions? Feel free to comment below and enter the discussion.

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Day 12: Matthew 13-15 (NEW TESTAMENT 90)

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Today’s reading comes from Matthew 13 – 15 follow the link provided here to read the ESV online.

Chapter thirteen in today’s reading is a collection of parables concerning the kingdom of heaven.  Most of the parables indicate that not everyone makes it into the kingdom. The difference seems to be that those who take action on the commands of Christ are saved, but those who do not respond to the promises of God are ultimately rejected (because they have rejected God). What really popped out was the parable of the sower. Different people receive and respond to the gospel in different ways depending on the condition of their heart.  This seems to be a reoccurring message in both gospels that we have been doing our reading so far.  It should encourage us to share the gospel all the more knowing that there are some who will believe.

Jesus has another run in the with the religious crowd in chapter fifteen, this time over the issue of his disciples not washing their hands. (This has more to do with a ritual purity than germs at this point). Jesus presses the crowd to look past the “going through the motions” aspect of law keeping and look at the real issue. The real issue is not what you do outwardly, but what you are inwardly. (We’ll see this in the sermon today at Little Escambia. The law of God was not intended to compel us to outward compliance alone, but inward obedience as well… hence the 10th commandment)

Be careful here though. Many have taken this to mean that as long as my “intentions” are good, then I’m good.  The problem is that Jesus isn’t talking about “intentions,” he is talking about our “motive.”  Intentions never seem to get done or fulfilled.  You can have the best of “intentions” and be the laziest person on the planet.  No, what’s at stake here isn’t what you intend, but what drives what your “do.”  The pharisees were driven to “do” the right things with the wrongs “motives.”  Jesus is saying, pure motives drive pure living. Corrupt motives can only make you look clean on the outside. 

Here is how I am praying through this passage today:

LORD, Thank you for how Jesus transforms our lives. I pray that your gospel would continue to transform my life and I would continue to grow in my faith. I pray for those who will hear your word today in so many different churches. I pray for prepared hearts that will be “good soil” for the word of God. I ask for faithfulness for other pastors and myself as we share your word. IN JESUS NAME, AMEN.

What did you take away from today’s reading? What are your thoughts or questions? Feel free to comment below and enter the discussion.

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Day 6: John 16-18 (NEW TESTAMENT 90)

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Today’s reading comes from John 16 – 18 follow the link provided here to read the ESV online.

Thought 1: There were two opposing wills at work in the events leading up to and surrounding the crucifixion. The leaders willed that Jesus would die so they could hold on to their kingdom and keep the status quo (11:50). Jesus willingly went with those who had assembled to take him captive (18:11).  He willingly laid His life down so that He could pick it back up again in resurrection (John 10:18). As we look back and we read these events unfolding, we hear Jesus tell us that while the world schemes to overcome him, that the disciples should not worry, for he has overcome the world (16:33).  

I’m fond of saying that the worst day in all of history was also the greatest day. Sometimes we look at our lives and wonder if God really cares. See the care that Jesus extends to his disciples on the worst week of their life. They will feel left, abandoned, distraught, and seemingly hopeless. Yet, Jesus knowing what He will endure, challenges them to be prepared. What is about to unfold will look like losing, but will really be winning. It will taste sour, but will heal like good medicine. It will be painful, but will produce life (16:20-22).

We will encounter trouble in this life. There will be moments where we feel like we are losing. We will face persecution, loss, perhaps even suffer unjustly at the hands of others and all the while it will be painful, it will hurt, it will make us wonder if God is really there for us. Like the disciples we might feel abandoned and for a moment our world will be spin. But for those in Christ, we must know that we are not abandoned, we are not losing, we are not without hope… He has overcome. Our joy will be greater on the other side of all this trouble.  Even in the death of a believer, there is greater joy on the other side (John 6:40).

Thought 2:  The gospel must spread. Jesus prays in John 17, not just for his immediate disciples, but for those who will believe through the witness of the disciples (17:20). That includes me in two ways. One because I have received the gospel. But, secondly because I am entrusted to share the gospel with others so that they may also believe. We get to take part in making God known to the nations.  We get to bring the gospel light to places of darkness. And we don’t go alone!  Jesus is the one who continues to make His name known!

Here is how I am praying through this passage today:

LORD, Thank you for the gift of faith and belief. I am grateful for those you have put in my life that have been faithful to share your word with me. I pray that you would use me in the lives of others. Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Thank you that He guides me. I pray the entirety of John 17 with you. Thank you for leaving the John 17 prayer in your word so that I might know how you have prayed for me and others who have believed on you. I lift up those who are facing trouble and tribulation around the world because of their faith in you. I ask that they would be encouraged today and strengthened by you. I lift up those I know in my own circles today, friends and family facing hardships, those who are sick and in need of healing, those who are facing their last moments, those I get the privilege of shepherding, those who I will invite to believe on you, and those who have wandered for far too long . I ask that we all would have our greatest joy in you. Strengthen us this day by your Word and your Spirit. IN JESUS NAME, AMEN.

What did you take away from today’s reading? What are your thoughts or questions? Feel free to comment below and enter the discussion.

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Day 5: John 13-15 (NEW TESTAMENT 90)

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Today’s reading comes from John 13-15 follow the link provided here to read the ESV online.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. “(John 14:15-17)

Judas couldn’t have had a better pastor and he betrayed Jesus. The reality of a Judas in the ranks of the disciples should challenge us to examine our own hearts. If He could “follow” Jesus and still not fully believe it is possible for us to be near church but not fully committed to Christ. The realness of Judas should cause us to make our calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10).

Jesus offers another glimpse of the coming Holy Spirit!  As we draw closer and closer to the cross, the message turns more and more towards the Trinity and especially now in these chapters towards the role of the Holy Spirit who has come to us as a “Helper.”

The only power we have to keep Christ’s commandments comes from the Holy Spirit alive in us! How arrogant we are to assume that we are fully capable of fulfilling the commands of Christ on our own. We are like Peter making bold claims about our allegiances when we walk in peace, but running away like a coward when the pressure is on.  The power to obey and follow comes from abiding and walking with Christ on a consistent and daily basis. Continually submitting areas of our life to Christ, not in our strength, but in the power that comes from the Holy Spirit of God.

Here is how I am praying through this Passage today:

LORD, I thank you that you care for me. I ask you to examine my heart and life today. I know that there is nothing that you have called me to do that I can do on my own. I must depend on you. I ask you to prune from my life the things that would distract me from your purpose for my life. Please direct the steps ahead of me. I pray today for those who are wandering, those struggling with acceptance and belonging, those who are seeking you but find the cares of this world difficult to resist, those who know they need to let go of addictions, those who know they are prone to distraction. I lift up the sick, the hurting, those in the process of healing, those who carry sorrow, and worry.  I lift up the people I am charged to lead. I pray today that we would all find ourselves abiding in you. IN JESUS NAME, AMEN.

What did you take away from today’s reading? What are your thoughts or questions? Feel free to comment below and enter the discussion.

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