Matthew

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Excuse me – part 2

His preparations were complete and the invitations were delivered. But each friend began to make and excuse not to attend this elaborate supper.

The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ Luke 14:18

Who would buy a piece of land without seeing it first? That’s just crazy. For all he knows he could have bought 20 acres of prime, Grade-A swampland!

Land is an investment. Other investments include homes, businesses, stocks, bonds, gold, silver, 401K’s, and mutual funds.
Some invest in racecars, racehorses, or sports teams. For the most part people invest in something that will make money or increase the value of something else.

However to take an investment of land or otherwise to the extreme of missing out on God’s blessing is going way overboard. And that is exactly what so many are doing.

Investments in this life are temporary.

Jesus said,

“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matt 16:26

Your best investment in not in things of this world,

where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matt 6:19-21

Don’t let your possessions become an excuse to not serve God, not go to church, and not help others.

Abba, all I have belongs to You. I am just a steward. I want to be invested in You. In Jesus name, YES&AMEN

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Christmas Gift

Nearly every nativity scene contains three wise men. Though this story is not included in any other Gospel other than Matthew and follows immediately after the birth of the Christ.

It is unlikely that the Wise men showed up at the birth since the star was over a house and Jesus is called a young Child.

One thing for sure,

And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matt 2:11

Of course, gifts are given at Christmas and justified by this story. More than that, the gifts are evidence of God’s provision.

The little family will be traveling to Egypt to escape the tyranny of King Herod, who orders the killing of all male children two-years old and under.

A trip to Egypt could not have been cheap; plus the time spent living there. Like you, they may have had some money to live day to day but a sudden trip is an extra expense. The gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh could have been used to finance such a trip and stay.

God provides!

I have many stories of Him providing for us and I am not alone. I have heard many stories of providential provision.

I like to give gifts. I love to make someone happy with a small gift. But if I pray earnestly before getting a gift for someone, I would find myself getting a gift of provision by being led by the Holy Spirit.

Abba, Your gift of Salvation through the Babe of the manger is the best ever. YES&AMEN

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The Funeral

I’ve done many funerals in my time as a pastor. Each varies in length with how much the family tells me about someone, how much I know about the deceased, and what God lays on my heart.

I like to honor the one that has died, which is easier and much more joyful when the person knew Jesus as Savior.

It’s really not much different from a sermon – taking anywhere from twenty to forty-five minutes.

So I was a bit surprised by the amount of time the Bible spent on the death of a great man of God – a Patriarch of the Hebrews, Abraham.

Just forty-three words.

This is the sum of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years. Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. Gen 25:7-8

But when you think of the words of Jesus, who said,

“Have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” Matt 22:31-32

Abraham did not have a funeral – but a homecoming!

And so it is with all that die in this life to wake up in NEW LIFE!
Death is not the closing of one’s eyes and seeing the darkness – it is closing your eyes and seeing the Light!

And Abraham’s life speaks for itself in the descendants he left behind, including a Child born into his family under the family of Judah – Jesus!

Abba, when I die, may the words at my funeral be “He lived for Christ!” YES&AMEN

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What do you want Me to do for you?

So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” Matt 20:32

This question was asked to two blind men. Can you guess their response?

That’s an easy answer. They’re blind and want their eyes opened so they can see.

They didn’t ask for impractical things. They didn’t ask for a new car or a large home.
Their request wasn’t for great riches or three meals a day.
They didn’t ask out of excess – they asked out of honest need.

What do you want from Jesus?

Some want healing, while others may want a job or better marriage. Someone might want a blessing for some homeless person or salvation for a family member.

Still there are those that want God to help them win the lottery, promising to give a portion back to Him.

Jesus granted the blind men their request and it says,

they followed Him. Matt 20:34

They had already declared that Jesus was the “Son of David”, that is, the Messiah!

They believed in Christ, the Savior.

Though after this story nothing more is said of these two men, I am willing to believe they spent their days declaring what Jesus had done for them.

You can do the same thing today – declare what Jesus has done for you!
It’s not so much what the Savior can do for you, but what He has already done!

Abba, I too often forget the many, many blessings I have. I will speak of Your great goodness toward me. In Jesus name, YES&AMEN

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Nothing New!

Christians are unpopular; viewed as haters, hypocritical, intolerant, bigoted, smug, and self-righteous.

Teaching about sin is unpopular and is viewed as judgmental.

What I find ironic is the amount of hatred that is directed toward Christians by the same one’s that call them haters.

And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. Matt 10:22

And the hatred is far surpassed by anything a Christian might be guilty of doing. After all, if I preach what the word of God says about fornication and perhaps there is a couple living together outside the bounds of marriage, then I am told that I am passing judgment and out of touch with the way the world is now.

The way the world is now is not new. Sin is sin and has existed since that day in the Garden of Eden when the first couple decided to go against God’s word and will.

God gave commandments concerning adultery because it existed and was a problem.
Paul talked about fornication because it existed and was a problem.

God reveals:

there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us. Eccl 1:9-10

Hypocrisy is not new. Gossip is not new. Murder is not new. Cursing is not new. Child molesters are not new. Homosexuality is not new. Alcoholism is not new. Bestiality is not new. Drug abuse is not new. Nothing is new – it has already been done.

But sin will kill those that commit it.

The soul who sins shall die. Ezek 18:4

The wages of sin is death Rom 6:23

But praise God for His gift to us – eternal life through Jesus!

Abba, give me wisdom to always say the right thing to share the Gospel message of salvation in a loving way. In Jesus name, YES&AMEN

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Feeding

Yesterday, at the radio station, a listener stopped by bearing gifts of deer sausage, both link and pan. He had heard the morning show make a reference to it on the air a day or two before.

This morning I cooked the sausage and eggs and Susan brought biscuits. Top it off with some ribbon cane syrup and we had a feast at KSWP.

I have never met Thomas, the listener that brought the sausage. And I may never run into him again. But he blessed us! Not only with the sausage but just his generosity in driving to the station to deliver his own sausage.

I saw some scripture in a new light.

Jesus and the disciples had just finished breakfast when Jesus asked a question of Peter.

“Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” John 21:15

That can be spiritualized and you can say that Peter was to “feed” the word of God – to preach and teach the doctrine of Christ.

A missionary once told me that people hear the Gospel better on a full stomach.
There is a lot of truth in that.
The church should not limit herself to just preaching but in also feeding others. And if the church does not have the resources to do it alone then she should give aid to those that do.

This has been on my heart lately. It’s not just food and preaching the word, but clothing and basic toiletries also.

When Jesus commanded us to

Go therefore and make disciples Matt 28:19

I believe the method in doing that is in His example of feeding, healing, and preaching!

Abba, I want a servants heart to feed Your lambs. In Jesus name, YES&AMEN

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Listen to the Holy Spirit

Right after the gentleman died of Ebola in Dallas, I saw a report on Facebook that a family of five were diagnosed with the disease, thus quarantining an entire town in Texas.

I saw this same story shared over and over, which seems to give credibility to it.
But it was a false report.

We tend to believe something we hear over and over, especially from different sources.

This can even take place with false information about the Bible. All it takes is some pastor doing some studying online and seeing the same comments made about a subject.

Recently I taught on the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16-26. It ends with Jesus mentioning an eye of a needle.

For the last few centuries it has been commonly taught that this refers to a small gate in the city that travelers had to stoop to get through and a camel had to get down on it’s knees to get through.

For years it has been taught as gospel but for me something just wasn’t right about it.

The Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; Heb 10:15

I believe the Holy Spirit checks our spirit and bears witness to us. The Holy Spirit will lead you to the truth.

My thought is why a small door would be necessary. Of course there was an answer for that but that didn’t make since either.
Why a small door that would cause animals such difficulty to enter with their owners?

The main thing that bothered me about the story is this – it wasn’t impossible for a camel to enter such a gate; it was just difficult. It could be done.

When Jesus made the statement that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, the disciples wondered who could be saved!

In my entire ministry I have never taught the small gate theory. Today there are many commentaries that give no evidence that such a gate ever existed.

So listen to the Holy Spirit when you study your Bible. And listen when you read about things outside the Bible.

Abba, give me guidance to discover the truth so I may teach others Your perfect truth! In Jesus name, YES&AMEN

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Narrow & Broad

Everyone wants it easy.

Women once scrubbed clothes on a rub board to get them clean and hung them outdoors to dry.
Men chopped wood by hand to fuel a wood burning stove for cooking or to heat the home by fireplace.

Many modern conveniences were created to make life easier. Washer, dryer, dishwasher, microwave, electric or gas stoves, and chainsaws and wood splitters make everything easier and more convenient than before those items were created.

Look around your home right now and you will see many things that did not exist fifty years ago and probably a lot of things that did not exist five or ten years ago.

The problem is that people want an easy and convenient way to God.

Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matt 7:13-14

When I think of narrow and broad, I think of a gymnast on a four inch wide balance beam doing handstands and flips. The balance beam is about the width of a landscape timber.
I certainly couldn’t do it. I would need something more broad like a 2×12.

In the same way, many evangelists and preachers have replaced the balanced beam way to salvation with a wider 2×12 doctrine – widening their “so-called” way to salvation.

Their way has become too easy and all inclusive.

The way of salvation doesn’t need to be made any simpler than what it is – faith in the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus.

Once you take that step you will realize the narrowness of the way. Yet the Lord will help you become sure-footed!

Abba, Your way is perfect and does not need me to improve or change it. I pray I will always tell others of THE way of salvation! In Jesus name, YES&AMEN

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Chronicled

Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 1 Kings 14:29

Can you imagine having every act you do chronicled? A chronicle is like a daily journal or a diary.

It’s one thing for you to write about yourself, “Dear Diary, I was awesome today! …”

It’s another thing to have someone else writing about you with your good days – AND YOUR BAD DAYS!

In the case of most rulers, their people were only allowed to mention the victories and great accomplishments with long paragraphs of praise. The losses of war and the agonies of defeat were given a mere mention.

But you don’t have a choice of how your life is written up. God is keeping a record of everything.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 2 Cor 5:10

Your deeds will follow you – even what you say!

I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. Matt 12:36

But Jesus says,

“Behold, I make all things new.” Rev 21:5

Trusting in Him as your Lord and Savior will erase the past –

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Cor 5:17

Accept Jesus as Savior and change what is recorded about you.

Abba, thank You for Your grace and mercy that wipes away my horrid past. Thank You for the fresh start in Jesus. YES&AMEN