Today's reading: Matthew 10:24-42, 11:1-6

'So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.' - Matthew 10:32-33 ESV

We (and our culture at large) put so much stock in what others think of us. Our reputation seems to be the thing we hold onto the tightest.

Would you be willing to put your reputation at stake by letting someone know that you follow Jesus?

Our reading today is pretty clear. Claiming Jesus as Lord and Savior is going to cost us. The book of Revelation fleshes this out even further. We will not benefit, in the end, financially or in notoriety.

Jesus will bring peace in us, but He will bring a sword to everything that is not bringing honor and glory to His name.

Don't let people intimidate or discourage you. As your days on earth increase, your faith will not fail. You may lose business, friends, family, or fame, but you will gain what matters most. Go ahead, lose this life, and find an eternal one.

Today's reading: Matthew 10:1-23

'Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.' - Matthew 10:8 ESV

We ended our reading yesterday with Jesus asking all of us to ask the "Lord of the harvest to send out" workers. Now we get to see Him model that with the official choosing of his 12 disciples. Luke (6:12) records that Jesus preceded this choosing with an entire night spent in prayer.

It is interesting to note that Jesus doesn't just choose these men to fill positions. He chooses them to send them. He gives them the authority to be extensions of the work He had started.

Jesus has chosen to scale His kingdom through disciples like you and me. Honestly, I am a little intimidated by this thought. Yet, Jesus knows what He is doing.

Just like the original 12, we aren't sent out as ill-equipped workers. God gives us everything we need to do this work (see 2 Thessalonians 1:11).

Freely we have received. May we freely give.

This won't be easy, but it will be worth it.

Today's reading: Matthew 9:18-38

'When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”' - Matthew 9:36-38 ESV

Our reading for today is crammed with examples of healings that no modern faith healer can touch. I love how wide-ranging they are. From the ruler to the unclean woman to the two blind men to a mute demoniac, there was nothing Jesus couldn't do. No disease or affliction was outside of His ability to cure.

I also love how these healings happen in everyday settings. The backdrop was not an inspiring synagogue service with choice selections of songs from the Psalms. The lighting didn't have to be just right. The environment was earthy.

Yet, at the end of all this, Jesus declares that more laborers would be needed. He would only be in the flesh for so long. The end game was not for Jesus to stay and make this earth into heaven. In Revelation 21, we see the opposite taking place (this place will need a major renovation by fire).

Instead, Jesus sees us as part of his plan to see transformation take place right where we are (until He returns).

Are you a laborer in this harvest Jesus speaks of? Do you spend time asking God each day to send out more workers for His kingdom?

There is so much work left to do!

Today's reading: Matthew 9:1-17

'But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”' - Matthew 9:12-13 ESV

Jesus is getting hounded for his close association with notorious and hated sinners of His day. In response to that criticism, He says the words above, including a quote from the Greek translation of Hosea 6:6 (Septuagint). Yet listen to what the verse reads like from the Hebrew translation:

For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

The Jewish religious leaders had their methods down to a science. They knew when to offer the sacrifices, and they knew the ins and outs of all 613 commands found in the Torah (Genesis-Deuteronomy). Externally, they seemed flawless, but Jesus saw through all of that. If we are perceived as flawless, we are probably concealing too much.

The Apostle Paul (quoting Psalm 14) wrote in Romans 3:10 that "there is no one who is righteous, not even one."

Jesus can only help those who realize how much they need His grace.

Are we relying on flawless religious activity to save us, or are we leaning on the everlasting arms to drive us into a steadfast love for our Savior?

Today's reading: Matthew 8:18-34

'And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm."' - Matthew 8:26 ESV

After a long day of ministering to crowds of those who needed healing or authoritative teaching, Jesus was seemingly exhausted. Even though Jesus was God, he also had a body like ours that required sleep. This, though, seems to be the only reference to our Savior catching some shut-eye.

The storm that arose on the water was troubling to the disciples. It was probably the "swamping" of the boat by the waves that did the trick. They cry out, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing!"

Their fear is apparently something that they could have done something about, and its remedy was their faith (trust).

The phrase "of little faith" is one word in Greek: oligopistos. It is used five times in the New Testament, and always by Jesus speaking to his disciples.

We would do well to pray something like this today: "Father, grow my faith. In your great power, eradicate fear from my life as my trust in You increases. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen."

Today’s reading: Matthew 8:1-17

“And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” - Matthew‬ ‭8:3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

So, how does Jesus really feel about us? Are we those that He tolerates because His status as God demands it? Or does Jesus feel obligated to care for us? What motivation does He draw from?

When I read about this leper, I often find myself relating. Many times I am not “boldly approaching the throne of grace.” (See Hebrews 4:16) I mostly approach Him, hoping that He will find it in His heart to forgive me.

Yet He is willing.

This means the door for grace is always open for me to walk through.

Leprosy was viewed as incurable (see 2 Kings 5:7). Lepers in Israel also had to abide by the strict quarantine rules of Leviticus 13-14. Something you can relate to during this pandemic? Know that Jesus doesn’t want you to keep your distance from Him. He longs for you to draw near; because one touch from Jesus sets everything right.

May we draw near today.

Today's reading: Matthew 7:15-29

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock." - Matthew 7:24 ESV

There is nothing more fortifying than choosing to obey the teachings of Jesus. They are not just quaint sayings to apply when we feel like it. Instead, they are a commitment to the best lifestyle imaginable. It is one that makes life worth living now and prepares us for eternity.

The picture Jesus gives here of "building your house upon the sand" was an ancient shortcut in construction during the first century. Building upon the rock meant digging down deep, beyond the sand, to the bedrock underneath. Sure, building upon the sand is time-efficient and incredibly easier, but it is disastrous in the long term.

Remember what Jesus said in our reading yesterday?

"The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." (Matthew 7:13)

Jesus wants what's best for us. He always wants to help us make decisions today that will benefit us forever.

Today's reading: Matthew 6:25-34, 7:1-14

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?" - Matthew 6:25 ESV

Even this morning already, I had someone ask me, "I wonder how much they make." I responded as I usually do when I hear that competitive and comparative tone: "When we are in our 70s, it won't matter at all." We spend so much time worrying about finances and advancement that we let the Devil distract us from what really matters.

Being wealthy will not matter as we go to draw our final breath. Yet, we insist on trying to position ourselves to become prosperous.

So, if life is "more than" what we can accumulate, what is it about?

Jesus lays that out in 6:33. We are to seek first HIS kingdom and HIS righteousness. We may do well to take a trip back to the beginning of Matthew 5 and soak in Jesus' definition of success.

May we position ourselves to be eternally in God's presence, not to be temporarily at ease.

Today's reading: Matthew 6:1-24

"But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing." - Matthew 6:3 ESV

Jesus goes right after the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. They were the supposed experts, and they weren't shy about flaunting their expertise. Their giving, their prayer lives, and their fasting became nothing more than a show. Everything was right on the outside, but everything was wrong on the inside.

Beware of the experts. Those that thrive on notoriety.

One thing that really strikes me in today's reading is that Jesus doesn't just give us examples of giving, praying, and fasting; He makes assumptions that we will be actively involved in doing them. He says, "when you," not "if you."

It seems that in an effort not to overburden those that follow Jesus, we soften the expectations. We say things like, "if you have time," or "it only takes five minutes." Is this the kind of faith that Jesus has called us into?

Those that follow Jesus will be generous. They will pray with ferocity. They will deny themselves through fasting. We won't do it so that others can see us; we will follow through because we know that God sees us.

Today's reading: Matthew 5:27-48

'You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.' - Matthew 5:48 ESV

Many of us may read our passage for today, put down our Bibles, and let out a big sigh. This is because we know when we've looked too long. We have seen marriages (maybe even our own) fail. We all have given not-so-straight answers when we feel defensive. We've all held onto grudges for far too long. We may have even wished harm to our enemies, definitely not going out of our way to bless them.

We have all fallen short of God's standards (which are apparently higher than we thought they were, see Romans 3:23).

So, is it time to find a hole to crawl into? Or is it maybe time to give up on following Jesus? I mean, there is no way we will be able to "be perfect" as God is perfect.

King David was someone who was far from perfect, but he knew the one who was able to make things perfect when he wrote/sang:

"God arms me with strength, and he makes my way perfect." (Psalm 18:32)

The same Jesus who calls us to a high standard is the One who went to a cross to ensure we could reach wholeness by His blood.