Friday, December 28, 2018
Another thing that we learned from the book of Matthew is that God expects us to use the things we have been blessed with, our talents, for His glory. I believe this means abilities and resources. God never intended to bless us just so we could keep His blessings stored away simply for our own use.. If we are to be good stewards of the things that God blesses us with, then we must use them for His glory. We can never allow fear of losing something, whatever it might be, to keep us from using the things God blesses us with to accomplish the task He presents us with. We are not to just sit and wait for the return of Christ, but we are to be at work for His kingdom until He returns. We also learned that we are to be prepared for the return of Christ at any moment. When Jesus returns, it will be to late to suddenly realize that we need Him. We must make the decision to follow Jesus in this lifetime and before His return. We also learn that bold professions of faith are not enough if we don't follow through with them. We, like Peter, may claim to follow Jesus even if it cost us our lives, then fail to stay awake to pray for an hour. I believe that most of our tests of faith will come in the little things, and if we fail there, we will most likely fail when the big tests come. We also learn that the crucifixion of Christ was something that He willingly endured. In spite of what some movies may depict, I do not believe that Jesus wavered on the way to the cross. Jesus had already prayed that if there was another way, let it be shown to Him, and the answer was that there was not. There is still no other way today. Then, we learn that the cross and tomb were not the end. The really good news of the book of Matthew is that Jesus arose from the dead and goes before us to prepare a place for us. This is the message that we, as followers of Christ, are to proclaim to the world today. Next, we will look at the book of Proverbs.
Thursday, December 27, 2018
We also learned that many people followed Jesus simply because of the miracles that He performed, and not because they believed that He really was the Messiah. It is not enough to follow Jesus because we have seen a miracle performed in someone's life, without accepting Jesus as the Messiah, the Savior of all who believe in Him. It is easy to get caught up in the miraculous things that we see God doing in the world, but still have doubt about Jesus being the only way to salvation. The crowds that enthusiastically followed Jesus were the same ones who said to crucify Him, and they were led by the religious leaders in calling for Jesus' crucifixion. Being religious, following all the rituals associated with being a Christian, is not enough. Being baptized and being in church is not enough without a spiritual relationship with Christ. We also learn that we are to have compassion for those around us, especially those in need. Jesus was never too busy to help those who came to Him in faith asking for His help and He didn't overlooked the everyday needs of people. Jesus healed the lame, deaf, and blind, but He also feed the multitudes when He saw that they were hungry and had no where to get food. We can rely on God to meet our needs. I don't believe that means that God will heal all our illnesses in this life, but that as long as we reach out to Him in faith that one day all illnesses will be healed. I also believe that sometimes our illnesses will be miraculously healed in this lifetime, but the main point is that our sins are forgiven if we put our faith in Jesus as our Savior and the Lord of our lives. Some people lose faith because they say that they prayed for healing, or anything else for that matter, and they didn't get it. As followers of Christ, we must have an everlasting point of view. Whatever happens before the return of Christ, we are already a part of His everlasting kingdom, where pain and sorrow will be no more.
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
As we move past Christmas, we will continue to look at more of what we have learned from the book of Matthew. We learned that just like John the Baptist, there are some great men, and women, who can point us to Jesus, but they cannot save us. We can only point people to Christ, and as followers of Christ, this is our assigned purpose. All that we do should point people to Christ. We know that Jesus called twelve ordinary men to be His closest disciples. This was not because they were more worthy than anyone else by their own nature or abilities, but they became more because of their relationship with Christ. No matter how closely we walk with Jesus, we can never claim to be better than anyone else based in our own goodness. We can also say that like Judas, not all who claim to be close to Jesus really believe in Him. I know that we could say none of the disciples truly believed until after Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, but the were not following Him simply for their own benefit, as I believe Judas was. There are those today who proclaim that if we follow Jesus we will benefit materially, but all God's word ever promises is a cross and that our daily needs will be met. Relying on God to meet our needs daily is not the same as relying on God to fulfill our wants daily. The disciples left everything to follow Jesus. They did this because Jesus asked them to do so. Though I don't believe that as followers of Christ we need to leave our job, home, or family in order to follow Jesus, we must be willing to do so if He calls us to. We must not allow anything to come between God and us. We know that some of the disciples were more outspoken in their profession of faith than others, but their actions often failed to back up their words when their faith was tested. We need to ensure that we are not the same way.
Tuesday, December 25, 2018
Christmas Gift
Laid in a manger,
When He was born,
His life was in danger,
That Christmas morn.
The miracle of His birth,
Was not yet known,
God come down to earth,
To redeem it as His own.
Though centuries have passed,
Since that first Christmas day,
The Good News will last,
'Til the world passes away.
Christ is still the reason,
To celebrate the season.
25 Dec 18
JBD
Laid in a manger,
When He was born,
His life was in danger,
That Christmas morn.
The miracle of His birth,
Was not yet known,
God come down to earth,
To redeem it as His own.
Though centuries have passed,
Since that first Christmas day,
The Good News will last,
'Til the world passes away.
Christ is still the reason,
To celebrate the season.
25 Dec 18
JBD
As we celebrate Christmas, we will continue to look back on that first Christmas, though not all will come from the book of Matthew. The book of Luke gives us a more detailed account of that first Christmas, including why Mary and Joseph were in Galilee, by the order of the government, and the fact that there was no room in any inn for them. We also learn about the shepherds being the first ones to receive the good news of the birth of Christ. We might have thought that the announcement would have gone to the leaders of the world, or at least to the religious leaders, but it went to a group of lowly shepherds instead. The message of Christ today goes first to an individual, or a group of individuals, who are just as lowly as those shepherds before God, no matter how much they may possess of the things of this world. The gospel will never come from the dictates of the leaders of this world, but will always spread outward from individuals. The shepherds believed the message of the angels and went to see this miraculous birth for themselves. Ultimately, that is what each individual must do, and what better way to celebrate Christmas than to go see Jesus for ourselves. We, as followers of Christ, must keep Christ at the center of Christmas. As we celebrate Christmas, with our trees and decorations, gifts and dreams of snow, let us not forget that the day is a celebration of the birth of Christ first. We need to still marvel at the fact that Jesus came to earth to die for the sins of all people. The only gift we can really offer Him is our life in obedience to His will. So, this Christmas, may those who are followers of Christ reach out to those around them with the gospel of Christ and the love of God, which is what we are called to do.
Monday, December 24, 2018
Since we are in the Christmas season, which seems to get longer and longer, but not from worshipping Christ more, we will spend a little more time looking at the events around the time of the birth of Jesus. As stated, the wise men first went to Herod to inquire about Jesus. I am not sure if the star stopped moving or if the wise men simply thought they must be close and decided to find Jesus on their own. If we are looking for Jesus, God will lead us all the way to Him if we simply follow His leadership by faith. The wise men had come out of curiosity about a star, but they left having met the Savior. Herod wanted the wise men to come back to him and tell him where Jesus was, supposedly in order to worship Jesus himself, but really so that he might kill Him. People have been attempting to destroy Jesus and His message since shortly after His birth. Though Jesus was crucified, His message and purpose on earth, to be the only way to redemption, never will be. This Christmas, as there always has been, there will be many who are attempting to destroy the message of Christ and those who follow Him, but they will never be successful. Some of these attempts will come from individuals, and some will come from governments. What we cannot afford to do is to allow ourselves, as followers of Christ, to destroy the message of Christmas. If we fail to emphasize the day or season as being a celebration of the birth of Christ, then we help to destroy the real message of Christmas. Christmas is a time to be thankful that Christ came to earth to restore all who believe in Him to a right relationship with God. Now we, as followers of Christ, are to work to present the message of Christmas to the world, keeping Christ at the center of the celebration.
Sunday, December 23, 2018
We will now review some of the things that we learned from the book of Matthew. As we approach the celebration Christmas, the birth of Christ, some of the first things we learn are about the miraculous birth of Jesus, He was of the lineage of David. The promised Messiah was to be a descendant of David, and Jesus was. Also, the birth of Jesus was miraculous because Mary was a virgin, which was also prophesied in the book of Isaiah. We also have to acknowledge the faith of Joseph. He was ready to put Mary aside quietly, but when the angel told him not to, he believed and obeyed. That first Christmas was not about trees, presents, and decorations, but about the Savior of the world being born in a difficult situation in a difficult time. We still face difficult times today when we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord. This is especially true in some parts of the world. Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem right before Jesus was born. This was not an easy journey and was not to a luxurious hotel. Though Matthew does not tell us all the conditions of the birth of Jesus, we know from Luke that there was no room for Jesus in the inns, so he was born in a barn, basically. There is still no room for Jesus in many homes today. We are told that the wise men came to see Jesus after following a star to where He was. Wise men and women today still seek Jesus. These wise men first went to the rulers to attempt to find exactly where Jesus was, but this was not successful. I believe that we can say that in order to find Jesus in our life, we must come to Him by the call and direction of God. The world will never lead us to Jesus. Only faith in God's call will. We often call them kings, some even name them, and we have them there that first night with the shepherds, though none of this is from the Bible. Even the fact that their were three wise men is not stated. As we celebrate Christmas, we need to make sure that the emphasis is on the birth of Christ, and not simply on all the traditions that may have grown up around it. We can say that all wise men, and women, will seek Jesus and bring Him gifts when they find Him. We can also say that God, and not earthly rulers, will lead us to God, and that there will always be those who want to destroy the message of Jesus.
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