January 15

GENESIS 31:17-32:12

MATTHEW 10:24-11:6

PSALM 13:1-6

PROVERBS 3:16-18

Jesus brings a sword.

In Matthew chapter 10 we find Jesus saying some things that always got me to scratch my head.  I understood some things but others seemed a bit harsh.  Verse 34 says "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." That verse and the verses that followed always had me wondering and thinking.  Until I finally understood what Jesus was talking about.

In the time of Jesus the people thought Christ came to give them wealth and power in the world.  Christ says "no" He did not come to give temporal peace or an outward appearance of peace.  Peace with God- yes. 

Then Christ says he came to bring a "sword".  I understand that to be the sword of the Word.  That same sword which His disciples fight against the world.

Then verse 35 really blows my mind.  "For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, a man's enemies will be the members of his own household."

I realize something else, the effects of peaching the gospel is not the fault of the gospel, but of those who do not receive it.  

When some people believe the things that are spoken and some do not, the faith of those that believe condemns those that do not believe, and, therefore, they have enmity against them that believe.

Christ tells His disciples what they would suffer, and these were hard things to deal with.  But if they, if we, could bear these things, then we can bear anything.  

I love how Christ deals with His disciples very fairly and faithfully, he tells us the worst that can happen in our following of Him, so we can then count the cost and see if we would truly be faithful to Him.

January 13 & January 14

GENESIS 28:1-29:35

MATTHEW 9:18-38

PSALM 11:1-7

PROVERBS 3:11-12

GENESIS 30:1-31:16

MATTHEW 10:1-23

PSALM 12:1-8

PROVERBS 3:13-15

The 12.

When He had called His twelve disciples to Him: The main feature of this list is its diversity. Jesus chose His disciples from a variety of backgrounds and life experiences. About all they had in common was it seems that none of them were privileged or from backgrounds of high status. 

This is in the spirit of 1 Corinthians 1:26-29: For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.

God calls ordinary people to do extraordinary things.  I've always felt that passage in Corinthians was talking specifically about me.  

Jesus did not only call the twelve. He also gave them power to do what He had called them to do. The same principle holds true today: whom God calls, God equips. The equipping may not be completely evident before the ministry begins, but it will be evident along the way.

These twelve (excepting Judas, of course), have an important place in God’s plan of redemption, including some particular role in the future judgment (Matthew 19:28), and in the founding of the church (Ephesians 2:20). The Bible promises that their position and work will be remembered through eternity (Revelation 21:14).

This is the first and only time in Matthew that the twelve are called apostles. “The word apostle literally means one who is sent out; it is the word for an envoy or an ambassador.” (Barclay) 

“Called here for the first and last time apostoloi, with reference at once to the immediate minor mission and to the later great one.” (Bruce)

There are four different lists of the twelve in the New Testament. Here in Matthew 10:2-4, and also in Mark 3:16-19, Luke 6:13-16, and Acts 1:13. 

In these lists, Peter is always listed first and Judas is always listed last. The two pairs of brothers (Peter and Andrew; James and John) are always listed first. In the lists they are arranged in a way that suggests that they were arranged in three groups of four, each with a leader.

·      In each list Peter is first mentioned, followed by Andrew, James, and John.

·      In each list Philip is fifth mentioned, followed by Bartholomew, Thomas, and Matthew.

·      In each list James the son of Alphaeus is ninth mentioned, followed by Thaddaeus/Judas brother of James, Simon the Zealot, and Judas.

They are called disciples in Matthew 10:1 and apostles in Matthew 10:2. “It is worthy of notice, that those who were Christ's apostles were first his disciples; to intimate, that men must be first taught of God, before they be sent of God.” (Clarke)

January 12

GENESIS 26:17-27:46

MATTHEW 9:1-17

PSALM 10:16-18

PROVERBS 3:9-10

Confidence in God.

Psalm 10:16-18 The Lord is King forever and ever; The nations have perished out of His land.  Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear, To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may oppress no more.

The Psalmist began this Psalm with almost despair in his times of trouble; he ends with calm confidence in the reign of the Lord as an eternal King.

If David wrote this Psalm (especially during a time of persecution from Saul), the words the Lord is King forever and ever would have special meaning, recognizing the reign of God even over the troubled and dysfunctional reign of Saul.

He then says that the nations have perished, remembering the past victories of God against the cruel enemies of His people (in this case, the Canaanites who occupied His land).  This gave the Psalmist greater confidence regarding the present help of the Lord.

You have heard the desire of the humble . . . You will prepare their heart . . . You will cause Your ear to hear: This continues to express the calm confidence of the Psalmist. God will not abandon the poor and needy, but will help and bless them.

“David does not say, ‘Thou hast heard the prayer of the humble;’ he means that, but he also means a great deal more. Sometimes, we have desires that we cannot express; they are too big, too deep; we cannot clothe them in language. At other times, we have desires which we dare not express; we feel too bowed down, we see too much of our own unrest to be able to venture near the throne of God to utter our desires; but the Lord hears the desire when we cannot or dare not turn it into the actual form of a prayer.” (Spurgeon)

I love the phrase "you will prepare the heart" the Psalmist reminds us that the spiritual preparation of the heart is a great gift, an answer to prayer, and a mark of God’s blessing. 

“Surely none but the Lord can prepare a heart for prayer. One old writer says it is far harder work to raise the big bell into the steeple than to ring it afterwards. This witness is true. When the bell is well hung you can ring it readily enough; but in that uplifting of the heart lies the work and the labor.” (Spurgeon)

The Psalmist ends with assurance of God’s justice applied to the wicked. What began with a sense of despair in times of trouble has ended with calm confidence in God’s justice and victory.

This is our hope and our faith in God.  Be blessed today!

January 11

GENESIS 24:52-26:16

MATTHEW 8:18-34

PSALM 10:1-15

PROVERBS 3:7-8

Jesus in Ministry.

As we see Jesus in ministry I find it so intriguing that as Jesus increased in popularity He did not follow the crowds or even seek to make them bigger. In some ways he seemed to avoid the great multitudes that followed Him.  

In verse 19 it says: Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”  

With the miracles associated with the ministry of Jesus, following Him might have seemed more glamorous than it really was. Jesus perhaps received many spontaneous offers like this.  I can see many people wanting to be in Jesus' "entourage."

Jesus' response was very unique.  He says "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

Jesus often responds to things and people with what seems like the oddest answers.  I can't imagine what I would've thought if He had said that to me.  But as I think about it I can see the picture that Jesus is trying to paint.  

Jesus didn’t tell the man “No, you can’t follow Me.” But He told him the truth, without painting a glamorized version of what it was like to follow Him. This is the opposite of techniques used by many evangelists today, but Jesus wanted the man to know what it would really be like.

The reason this man turned away from Jesus was because Jesus lived a very simple life by faith, trusting His Father for every need and without reserves of material resources. 

This is just the kind of thing that would make Jesus more attractive to a truly spiritual man. Here is a man who lives completely by faith and is satisfied with few material things; I should follow Him and learn from Him.

Let that be our life and prayer, to follow Jesus no matter how un-glamourous it is.  The truth of the gospel is the cross.  We will find out soon enough in the gospels how hard following Jesus really is.  This walk and journey is tough, but if our God is for us, than who can be against us.

Be blessed today saints!

January 10

Genesis 23:1-24:51

Matthew 8:1-17

Psalm 9:13-20

Proverbs 3:1-6

Trust in God.

Proverbs chapter 3 gives us, perhaps, the most famous portion of the book in verses 5 and 6.  For good reason, many have remembered the words of Solomon in this Proverb.

I love verse 3, "Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart."  Never forfeit love and faithfulness, but live up to them, preserve them, and be an example of them.

We keep what is most important to us in our hearts, Solomon is saying, take pleasure in applying these things to your life.  These should be an extension of who we are, we should always love and we should forever be faithful.

And then the famous words in verses 5 and 6, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

Trust God in all of our ways, in all of our life.  Every aspect of who we are should be placed in God's hand.  We must believe that He is able to do what he promised and that He is wise to do what is best.  

The problem is that so often we say we trust in God with our mouths but our actions tell a different story.  Another problem we have is that we trust God with some things and not others, but Solomon is saying trust in the LORD with all of your heart.

Whatever you fear the most reveals what you value the most, but there is another side to that statement, what you fear the most reveals where you trust God the least.  What are your biggest fears?  What worries you the most?  What keeps you up at night?  What stresses you out?  Give that to God, trust Him with it and He will guide you.

My prayer and desire is this, that we would truly trust in God with ALL of our heart and never think that we have obtained enough knowledge to figure things out on our own.  

Don't worry God is in control!

January 9

GENESIS 20:1-22:24 

MATTHEW 7:15-29 

PSALM 9:1-12 

PROVERBS 2:16-22

Abraham and Isaac.

After a long period of time, Abraham and Sarah are blessed with the arrival of their son, Isaac.  Perhaps, not at the time they would have set, but God is always punctual to His time.

After he had been blessed with his promised son, after all the difficulties he had gone through, after all the hardships he had endured, God tested Abraham's faith.  

I could not imagine what must have been racing through Abrahams mind.  Doubt, fear, sadness, confusion, yet through all that he was obedient to God.  Scripture says that Abraham got up early the next morning to prepare himself to sacrifice his son.

That is unparalleled obedience, Abraham doesn't wait, he doesn't stall, he doesn't delay, he wakes up early and saddles his donkey.  Side note, those that do the will of God should do it with all of our heart and with quick responses to God's command.  Those that delay lose time and their hearts are hardened.

This story is a symbol of what is to happen to our Lord Jesus Christ.  Note a similarity in verse 6, Abraham obliged Isaac to carry the wood for the sacrifice, the same way Jesus carried His own cross.

Now, after Abraham had prepared the altar he was ready to go through with it, with the same resolution of mind, and after many thoughts in his heart, he applies himself to completing the sacrifice.  And what seems to be a tragic story takes a sudden turn when the sky clears up, the sun breaks out, an Angel of God appears, and Isaac is rescued.

I've learned a few things in this story, 1. God desires that we love and obey Him more than anything on this earth.  2. God's time to help and relieve His people is when they are brought to the greatest extremity   The more imminent the danger the more wonderful the deliverance.  3. The best evidence in our fearing God is our being willing to serve and honor Him with what is dearest to us.  

Obey God, give up what he asks of you and find comfort in Him.  

January 8

GENESIS 18:16-19:38 

MATTHEW 6:25-7:14 

PSALM 8:1-9 

PROVERBS 2:6-15

Wisdom.

Today, I want to rest in the book of Proverbs.  A book full of wisdom and insights that we can live by.  A book that we should not gloss over, but read with attentive ears and open hearts.  

Proverbs gives us foundational goals in our walk with Christ.  Those goals are fearing God and the knowledge of God, and in the pursuit of those two goals we should desire wisdom.  Proverbs 2 gives us a glimpse of where we find wisdom and how we may get it.  

The beginning of this chapter tells us that if we are looking for wisdom, truly searching after wisdom, that we would understand and find the knowledge of God.  In verse 6 scripture says that the Lord gives wisdom.

I find it intriguing that this is the same day we read in Matthew  to ask, seek, and knock, Solomon and Jesus are in agreement that if we would search after God for something we will find it.  

And one of the things that we fail to ask God for is wisdom.  We must recognize that not only is the Lord wise himself, but he gives wisdom to those who ask.  

So, no matter where you are in your life look for Gods wisdom.  For everyday tasks as well as life changing decisions, you need the wisdom of God.  And the best news is that if we would search for it, he will give it to us.  

As you continue to read scripture pray for wisdom concerning His word.

January 7

GENESIS 16:1-18:15

MATTHEW 6:1-24

PSALM 7:1-17

PROVERBS 2:1-5

Prayer.

Today, I stay in the book of Matthew because of Jesus' teaching on prayer.  I was actually preparing to speak on the covenant between God and Abraham. But, I feel God leading me to write on prayer.

Here we have Jesus' account and instructions on how to pray.  We know this as the Lords Prayer.  But the Bible is flooded with the concepts and results of prayer.  The scriptures are very serious about prayer.  Allow me to give you scriptures on prayer and encourage you to pray.  

One of the most interesting verses on prayer is when the apostles acknowledge that prayer is difficult.  Paul says, "Labor with me in prayer. (1 Cor. 14)" That is such an interesting choice of words, work with me at prayer.  It's almost as if he is saying, this doesn't come easy to most of us, so labor with me, work with me at prayer.

Scripture tells us to pray at all times, with perseverance.  Pray without ceasing.  Devote yourself to prayer.  Be watchful in prayer.  

Isaiah 62: 6-7 I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.

That scripture tells me that God loves being bothered by His children.  It says, "give Him no rest.."  Don't stop asking Him, don't stop petitioning Him, don't stop begging Him, don't stop crying out to Him.  Give Him no rest.  

One version says, Give Him no rest till He completes His work.  Scripture says, you do not have because you do not have.  Ask. Seek. Knock.

Pray!  Live life in Christ and pray.  If you do not know how follow this guide:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name, 

your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one."

January 6

GENESIS 13:5-15:21

MATTHEW 5:27-48

PSALM 6:1-10

PROVERBS 1:29-33

Love For Enemies.

Jesus ends his sermon on the mount with one of the foundational ideas of Christianity.  Jesus unloads a crazy command, that till this day, is something many people struggle to perfect.  Love your enemy, and pray for those who persecute you.

It is almost certain that if you follow Jesus there will be people who hate you for it.  Christ was treated this way, and if you follow Him the way you should, then you will, at one time or another, be persecuted for His name sake. 

With that in mind Jesus says love your enemy, pray for those who persecute you.  Why would we do this?  The times we are being persecuted, hated, cursed, and ridiculed are opportunities to show our example of Christ.  When we follow Christs command we are being made like Him, and in being made like Him we are different from the rest of the world.  

If you only love those who love you than you are no different that the rest of the world.  Following Christ is a call that causes us to be different.  How would our world look if we truly grasped this concept of love.

We cannot expect the rewards of Christians if we do not live at a higher standard than every one else.  Jesus ends this section with an exhortation; "be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect." 

This in no way is meant to as sinlessness, we must understand this, it is the duty of all Christ followers to desire and aim toward perfection in grace and holiness.  This portion of scripture gives us the first steps in living a life that is pleasing to God.  

Take Matthew 5 and hold it in the walls of your heart and allow this to be a guide for your walk in Christ.  Blessings!

January 5

GENESIS 11:1-13:4

MATTHEW 5:1-26

PSALM 5:1-12

PROVERBS 1:24-28

Beatitudes

Jesus starts the sermon on the mount with blessings on us.  He gives us 8 characteristics of blessed people; which represent to us the principle graces of a Christian.  On each of them a pressent blessing is pronounced; blessed are they; and to each a future blessing is promised, which is variously expressed, so as to suit the nature of grace that is recommended for this walk of life. 

Blessed...

Poor in Spirit- Those who are burdened or heavy laden, are the poor in spirit, and they shall find rest in God.

Those who mourn- This is a gracious mourning, which qualifies for blessedness, by the grace of God working in it and sanctifying the afflictions which make us mourn.

The Meek- The meek are those who quietly submit themselves to God and to His Word.  Those who follow His direction, and comply with His design, and are gentle towards all.  

Hunger and thirst for righteousness- Those who hunger and thirst after spiritual blessings, are blessed in those desires, and shall be filled with those blessings.  It is God, and God alone, who can fill our emptiness.

The Merciful- We must have compassion on the souls of others and help them.  

The pure in heart- Those who are inwardly pure, show themselves to be under the power of God.  True Christianity lies in our heart, so our hearts must be pure.

Peacemakers- We must be serviceable to others bringing each other to peace.  The children of this world love to fish in troubled waters, but the children of God are peacemakers.

Persecuted- Suffering is often times correlated with the Gospel.  Because we have taken our cross, we welcome hardships and troubles, but we will be blessed by God.

January 4

GENESIS 8:1-10:32

MATTHEW 4:12-25

PSALM 4:1-8

PROVERBS 1:20-23

Noah Leaves The Ark.

I find it very interesting that though God told Noah when the flood would come, even to the day (7:4), God did not give him an account through revelation at what time, and by what steps, the flood should go away.

Maybe, it was because the knowledge of the first part was necessary to his preparation of the ark.  But the knowledge of the floods ending would serve only to gratify Noahs curiosity, and by concealing it from him would be the needful exercise of his faith and patience.  

This is such a small fact in this story yet it has such significance in our lives.  That God would, at times, show us a part of a plan in our lives, in hopes that our faith in Him would grow, and in that growth he would reveal to us the rest.  

Noah serves as a great example of what it means to be in Gods will and plan and to trust in Him even though there seemed to be no finish line.

Noah was a man that we can all desire to be like, even in his removal from the ark, he still waited for God to say the word.  A prime example of trusting in God and acknowledging Him in all of our ways.  Our coming in and our going out should be surrounded by the blessing of God.

It had been over a year since Noah was prisoner to the ark, yet he found himself preserved there, not only for a new life, but a new world.  And as far as we can tell, we saw no signs of complain or resentment towards God, but a confidence in Him that seemed to grow.

At many moments in our life we can see that God is leading us in a certain direction, but fear and doubt creeps in because we only see part of the plan.  Be encouraged by Noah's life today.  God gave him the direction and steps that he needed and Noah had to trust God for the rest at a later time.  

God may give you a glimpse of what he desires from you but he may not give you the whole story.  Be patient, trust in God, and listen to His voice.  

January 3

GENESIS 5:1-7:24

MATTHEW 3:7-4:11

PSALM 3:1-8

PROVERBS 1:10-19

God- My Shield.

Many times, I feel an immense pressure and attack from the enemy.  If you are like me, than you too have had momentary feelings of extreme doubt and fear.  In those times, I find comfort in the book of Psalms.  

So many questions, so many laments, so many doubts, so many fears.  I find comfort that heros of the faith have experienced the same things that we experience today.

Psalm 3 is a favorite of many people facing peril and hardships because of the expression of sublime trust in God's protection.  

"O Lord, how many are my foes!How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” David was growing frustrated with his enemies, and he gained comfort looking upward remembering the benefit of trusting God.

What I admire about David is that his troubles always brought him to his knees, and in all his difficulties and dangers, he had been enabled to acknowledge God.  "But you, God, shield me on all sides;You ground my feet, you lift my head high; With all my might I shout up to God, His answers thunder from the holy mountain."

I pray that I may be like David, that even in the midst of pressures, failures, disappointments, and heartaches that I would have the conviction to cry out to God.  To remember the goodness of God even in life's gloomiest days.  

David says in verse 4 that he cried to God and God answered him. How beautiful is that!  The Creator of the universe hears our cry.  I implore you to always remember that God is our shield and our protector in times of trouble and need.  

You may have been let down by people around you, but our God is always attentive to the cry of His people.  If there was an underlying theme that could be taken from this Psalm, it is this: Whenever I call, He answers!

January 2

GENESIS 3:1-4:26

MATTHEW 2:13-3:6

PSALM 2:1-2:12

PROVERBS 1:7-1:9

Sin enters the world.

In Genesis 3, we see the beginning of sin as Adam and Eve fall to temptation.  One of the most significant verses in this portion of scripture is found in Genesis 4:7, " If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."  This is right after Cain kills his brother Abel. 

God sets before Cain life and a curse. If we do what is right in the eyes of God, we will not miss His mercy and grace.  That is a hope that we can hold on to, that if we live rightly before God he will accept us and offer us forgiveness and victory.   There is, however, a stern warning urging the sinner to control themselves.  "The way of sin is down-hill, and men go from bad to worse.  Those who do not sacrifice well, but are careless and remiss in their devotion to God, expose themselves to the worse temptations; and perhaps the most scandalous sin lies at their door" (Matthew Henry Commentary).  

If sin is harboring in your life then the curse of sin awaits at the door.  Ask yourself a question (and be honest) what sin is lingering around the door of your heart?  What sin is haunting you?  What are you struggling with?  

Whatever the answer to those questions, take heed of this promise, do what is right in the eyes of God and He will accept you. Be careful because the enemy wants nothing more than to see you fail. 

I end today with this quote from St. Augustine "This is the very perfection of a man, to find out his own imperfections."   We are not perfect, we sin, we fail, but do not let sin overtake you.  The last portion of the verse says "...you must master it."  Master sin! Whatever struggles you have, you must present it before God and fight the good fight so you can overcome them.  There is no sin, no struggle, that is too hard for God to see you through it.  

God bless and have a wonderful day.

January 1

GENESIS 1:1-2:25

MATTHEW 1:1-2:12

PSALM 1:1-1:6

PROVERBS 1:1-1:6

New Year. New Chapter. New Page. New Day.  

January first always comes with a sense of newness like no other day in the calendar.  We leave a year behind and look forward to the year that is ahead.  2013 may be a time of hope if 2012 did not go the way you dreamed it would. Or 2013 could be a time of euphoric expectancy if you had a wonderful year and are waiting for more. 

New years always come with new resolutions.  Raise your hand if you kept any of your resolutions from last year.  I know I can shamefully admit that I did not keep all of mine.  But now we have a new window of opportunity to do something fresh.  If you are reading this, then you are accepting a very big challenge in 2013 and committing yourself to several things.  First, you are committing yourself to the Mighty Warriors, to actively serve and honor this ministry.  Second, you are committing to reading through the entire Bible. It's not going to be easy but it will be fun and life changing.  And third, you are committing yourself to pursue God like never before.

As we look at today's readings, it is so fitting that Genesis and Matthew give us accounts of beginnings.  In Genesis we see God transforming chaos into the beauty of creation.  Dark into light and dust into man, we serve a God who's creative genius runs at the very core of who we are.  

And then in Matthew we see the genealogy of Jesus.  It is very easy to skip this portion of the Bible, but we have to understand that this is the start of the fulfilling of so many prophecies from the Old Testament.  This genealogy proves the "Messiah-ship" of Jesus.

So, as you read today, understand that God is a God of new things.  I don't know if 2012 was filled with joy or horror for you, but you now have the opportunity to put that behind and move forward.  I don't know what 2013 holds, but I know who holds 2013.  God makes all things new and in this new year let us trust Him like never before.