Today's reading: Matthew 4:12-25

"And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” - Matthew 4:19 ESV

So much happens chronologically between verses 11 and 12 that Matthew doesn't record, but we'll get to that as we read through Mark, Luke, and John (another reason it is great to have four of them).

This wasn't Peter and Andrew's first interaction with Jesus (see John 1:41-42).

It was important for Jesus to come to them at their workplace to layout their call. From these four would come His top three. It seems as though Andrew wasn't quite brash enough. Jesus seemed to do the best work with those who were extra rough around the edges.

I find it helpful to break down Jesus' call to these four:

1) FOLLOW ME >> This is the invitation for us all to let Jesus start calling the shots in our lives. For these four, it meant a complete rearranging of their lives. It means the same for us today.

2) I WILL MAKE YOU >> Feel inadequate to follow the resurrected and glorified Savior? You should. At the same time, you need to know that God can make you what you currently aren't.

3) FISHERS OF MEN >> How many have you caught so far? Jude preferred the phrase "snatching them from the fire" (Jude 1:23). God will bring (or has already brought) people into your life that He wants YOU to reach. Are you ready?

If you haven't noticed, this is a high calling and requires us to enter into holy living. Nothing worse than a hypocritical fisher of men (and women).

What will your answer be to Jesus?

Today's reading: Matthew 3:7-17, 4:1-11

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry." - Matthew 4:1-2 ESV

The reality of temptation is something that we all have to grapple with daily. What makes it especially difficult is that the Devil custom fits it for our existing weaknesses.

At the age of 30, Jesus bursts onto the scene to be baptized by John, sees the Holy Spirit, and hears the confirming voice of His Father. We see that account, and we are encouraged, uplifted even. Then the very next verse, we see that this same Holy Spirit will lead him into the wilderness to be tempted by our enemy, our accuser. To top that off, Jesus goes without food for forty days to set up the time of testing.

Jesus could not have been weaker physically.

Have you ever felt so weak that it seemed like you stood no chance at resisting temptation?

The difference between Jesus and us, at this moment, was that he was ready. He had three passages from Deuteronomy that were locked and loaded (8:3, 6:16, 6:13). This was important because the Devil also had one ready to twist (Psalm 91:11-12).

What scriptures are you currently working on memorizing? Maybe take one a week? Think about having 52 at the end of this year to use as you head into times of testing. May we let God help us!

Today's reading: Matthew 2:13-23, 3:1-6

"Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins." - Matthew 3:5-6 ESV

In today's world, we laud the instantaneous. We have guaranteed two-day shipping and tiny, high-powered computers in our pockets. Things that take too much time are a bore and an unnecessary annoyance.

So, we may not fully appreciate what God did in preparation for Jesus' arrival. All of the Messianic Prophecies He laid down beforehand (over 300). I mean, we see three in just our reading today (perhaps 4 if you count 2:23).

We also may not understand the purpose of John the Baptist. Why does he need to eat bugs and honey in the wilderness, being clad in camel threads? Couldn't Jesus have just kicked down the door of the Temple in Jerusalem and got to work? Why the wilderness for John? Why have the Messiah be raised in Nazareth (a hated town, John 1:46)?

ALL of this is to show us that Jesus was legit. God had been orchestrating this before the world existed (see 1 Peter 1:20).

No one beats Jesus' resume.

What do you think? Can you trust Jesus, the proven Messiah, in 2021? The data says, "Yes, yes, you can."

Today's reading: Matthew 1:1-25, 2:1-12

'She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” - Matthew 1:21 ESV

As you peruse the genealogy of Jesus, you see a slew of people who were trying desperately to save Israel (and themselves) from their enemies. Many of them failed, and those who succeeded provided only temporary relief.

Jesus' name means "the Lord saves," and it is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua. Even Joshua didn't completely save his people as they entered the promised land.

Philistines. Assyrians. Babylonians. Persians. Greeks. Romans. Israel had its fair share of enemies throughout time. The Messiah would obviously be saving them from their oppressors, right?!

Matthew clearly records that the angel declares that Jesus would "save His people from their sins." Whoa, that is different from what the Jews were wanting (and expecting) in a Messiah (a Christ). The word used for sin here is hamartia, and it can also be translated as "failure."

How many failures did you have in 2020? Jesus came to save you from them all. May we walk in His salvation fully in 2021!

Today’s reading: Isaiah 43:1-28

With this year being a Leap Year, the last day of the year is a flex day for the One Year Bible reading plan. One of the passages I try to go to at the end of each year is Isaiah 43. The context is dealing with the Israelites being in Babylon (as captives), but promised that they still had a hopeful future.

The captivity of the Israelites was self-imposed. They did not “call upon” God, instead they were “weary” of their Creator (verse 22). Have you ever gotten so off track that you felt this way? You may have seen your Christian faith as a burden instead of a blessing (and privilege).

In this chapter, God declares truth over the Israelites’ true identity. And though this wasn't originally written to us, it is definitely still written for us.

I thought it might be helpful to list some of these truths in Isaiah 43:

• “Fear not, for I have redeemed you.” (verse 1)

• “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.” (verse 2)

• “You are precious in My eyes, and honored, and I love you.” (verse 4)

• “Fear not, I am with you.” (verse 5)

• “Whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” (verse 7)

• “You are my witnesses.” (verse 10)

• “You are my servant whom I have chosen.” (verse 10)

• “Remember not the former things.” (verse 18)

• “I am doing a new thing.” (verse 19)

• “The people I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.” (verse 21)

• “I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” (verse 25)

May we take all of these truths with us into 2021, ready for whatever God has ready for us. Will we go through difficulty? Yes. Will it overtake us? No. We are more than conquerors (Romans 8:1).

Today's reading: Revelation 22:1-21

'Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.' - Revelation 22:14 ESV

The Bible has finally come full circle with the close of Revelation. When Adam and Eve made their self-exalting decision in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:24), God drove them out of the garden and away from the tree of life. He said if they ate the fruit from the tree, they would "live forever" (Genesis 3:22).

One of the things I am looking forward to most is seeing Jesus' face (Revelation 22:4). I wonder what the expression on his face will be. Perhaps it will be the look of a friend that you haven't seen in such a long time, which flows nicely into a giant bear-hug.

All of the time that God cherished with Adam and Eve in the garden will be restored as it was in the beginning. Not only that, but this new house will be full of so many diverse people that decided to "wash their robes" in the blood of the Lamb.

We may well hear Jesus, in the end (which is really a beginning), say something like this to us:

‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ (Matthew 25:21)

Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

Today's reading: Revelation 21:1-27

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." - Revelation 21:4 ESV

Isn't it limitations that frustrate us so much in this life? We have limited time and energy. We can only go so long before making a mistake (we've made many). We are limited on how many days we can go without food and water. We have a limited amount of time with those we love. Even when it comes to creativity, we could be on such a great roll, yet we run out of material, daylight, or stamina. When we are mourning or crying, it is impossible to focus on anything else; it feels like we are in the mud.

As John writes, he leans heavily on language from Isaiah 65 (see especially verses 15 and 17). It is wild to think that God has known what the new heavens and new earth will look like from the beginning, but now John is allowed to get a greater picture that was first revealed, in an even smaller part, to Isaiah.

The picture given is that when we are (on that glorious day) fully in the presence of God, all of our limitations will be removed. Everything will be new and ready for us to praise, create, love, and focus, without the fear of danger or our own weaknesses. Not to mention that our enemy, the Devil, won't be around to start this cycle all over again (see our post from yesterday).

Why doesn't God call it all quits and start this "new" activity today? (He might!)

Verse 8 is the key. There are more within all of these lifestyles now being given more time to repent (2 Peter 3:9). May we not waste this time. May we be ever-reaching those who are currently rejecting Jesus.

Today's reading: Revelation 20:1-15

'Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.' - Revelation 20:6 ESV

This chapter in Revelation (like many others) has had many interpretations, but the main point in all of them rings true: all of us will one day be judged. Everything we are currently doing is being noticed and recorded (see verse 12).

SIDE NOTE: It is interesting to compare Ezekiel 37-48 to Revelation 20-22.

Many authors and teachers have said the following:

"Those who are born once will die twice, but those who are born twice will die only once."

When we decide to confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior, when we repent of our sins, when we get baptized, and lock-in for a lifelong faith commitment to Jesus -- we are crying out to God for Him to regenerate our souls. That is, we are re-born (see John 3:1-5). At this point, we have "put on" Christ (Romans 13:14) and are not intimidated or afraid to come face to face with our Creator in judgment.

Jesus will be there advocating for us.

As we said yesterday, it is His blood that prepares us by washing us white as snow.

Today's reading: Revelation 19:1-21

"He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses." - Revelation 19:13-14 ESV

As we have seen before, heaven (as it is now) is not a somber or a quiet place. There is an unending focus on praising God. The angels and those who have died in Christ are constantly erupting in worship, day and night.

Yet when Rome (the prostitute) would be overthrown (400 years from John's writing), heaven was especially loud.

Then our reading for today fast forwards to a time when Jesus leads a charge against the forces of evil at the end of time (He will deal with the Devil in tomorrow's reading). It is almost a Braveheart scene of forces. Yet the war is over before it starts. Jesus wins.

For me, the most powerful scene in the chapter is when Jesus appears on a white horse. But He's making a mess of the white horse with his robe that is dripping with blood. This blood, though, is leaving a trail of white behind Him (verse 13). What a merciful Savior we have. He is committed to making us worthy.

May we continue to make ourselves (collectively) ready for His coming (verse 7).

Today's reading: Revelation 18:1-24

'Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.' - Revelation 18:4-5 ESV

What compromises would you be willing to make in order to succeed financially? Who would you be willing to step on? How much would it take for someone to entice you to recant your faith in Jesus?

Our passage for today marks the antithesis of what Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21 when He encouraged us to store up for ourselves treasures in heaven. As we see in Revelation 18, they will eventually fail. John prophesies of a time when Rome will fall, 400 years before it takes place.

Even slaves are mentioned in the list of marketable items. There were an estimated 10 million slaves in the Roman Empire, which accounted for 16-20% of its population. John tags an abolitionist-like ending onto it: "human souls." They mattered to God.

This chapter in Revelation is a funeral for Babylon (Rome, or any nation that sets itself against Jesus). Some are rejoicing (heaven, Jesus followers), and some are mourning (those who were getting rich off the commerce).

Verse four is the reverse of Micah 7:18-19, where it says that God will "tread on our iniquities" and that he will "cast our sins into the depths of the sea."

Nothing is worth enough to exchange it for the grace that God has given us. It has paid off for us, and it will continue to pay off for all of eternity.