Message: Today I saw Genesis 27 and Matthew 27 parallel each other. In Genesis, Rebekah manipulated her son Jacob to deceive her husband and cheat her son out of his blessing. It worked and she got what she wanted out of it, but it caused a lifetime rift between her sons. I felt torn as I read this because on one hand, this was a terrible manipulating situation, but it was prophesied years earlier when she was pregnant with her twin sons and it was spoken that she had two nations in her womb at war with each other and that the older would serve the younger. I couldn’t help but wonder if she was trying to fulfill this prophesy on her own, or whether the prophesy was spoken to reveal what would eventually happen. Regardless, we will always know God as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-even though Esau was the rightful older son. In Matthew 27 Judas Iscariot, a disciple of Jesus manipulated when he went to the elders and priests and asked what they would pay him to give up Jesus. He would later hang himself from the guilt of realizing the gravity of what he had done, but once again, this was spoken prophetically and was part of the plan of God for Jesus to sacrifice himself.

Command: Serve God with honesty and trust him to bless in the time and the way that he chooses.

Promise: God’s ways and his promises for us are for our good-even if it appears that people have manipulated situations to cheat or deceive us and have even gotten away with it.

Warning: Trying to manipulate people and situations has a heavier price than we will ever want to pay.

Application: This passage reminds me to be aware of my tendency to want to manipulate situations, and it also reminds me that regardless of the situations where I feel I have been deceived or cheated, God has a bigger plan in mind and his plans for me are good.

Message: Despite our best intentions and our most passionate devotion, we can’t comprehend the ways of God with our small minded thinking, and our flesh is weak and is prone to crumble under the weight of the pressure. Over the course of his ministry, Jesus brought up a lot of old prophecies, and he spoke them out as they were being fulfilled. Even though the disciples and the crowds would have been familiar with these prophecies and probably heard them read in the temples their whole lives, it doesn’t seem like anyone really realized they were actually being fulfilled right in front of them in real time. As Jesus recalled these past prophecies, he also spoke prophetically about the things that were going to occur over the next several hours and days. He had been preparing his disciples for his crucifixion and resurrection for quite some time but they weren’t emotionally prepared to hear it nor were they spiritually mature enough to receive it.  I can almost see them glazing over just trying to comprehend this. Peter even pulled Jesus aside and tried to rebuke him earlier on when he told them that he would have to die, and Jesus had to rebuke Satan for his influence. So here they were just hours before it all. The disciples are comfortably reclining at the dinner table with Jesus as he w

arns them all that one of them will betray him and he even identifies the betrayer. They are all so appalled by the idea that one of them would be capable of betraying him that seem to obsess over that idea and deny the possibility. Then he quotes the prophecy that the shepherd will be struck and the sheep will scatter and he warns them ALL that they will all run away- so not only will one betray him, but really, they all will when they abandon him. They are still not listening and they all deny it and Peter, with all of his passion emphasizes that even if they all do that he will not. What stood out to me the most was that even after all of this warning and denial going on they are still so comfortable. When they got to the garden of Gethsemane and he tells them to stay awake and pray with him. They are clearly not comprehending that this is all going down right now. They drift off to sleep a few times and when Jesus wakes them up to pray, it is not for Jesus’s benefit but their own. He tells them “Stay awake and pray so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” This really grabbed my attention because I feel like we spend a lot of time trying to pray for or against things that are probably all part of a plan that we don’t understand, when we really need to be praying and asking God to help us to withstand the pressure of it all. For him to help us to see with spiritual eyes so that we aren’t expending all of our fleshly energy trying to stop something that God is doing.

Command:  Stay spiritually awake and pray so that I don’t enter into temptation.

Promise: There will be a whole lot of unrest, and a lot of things will happen that I have been warned about in scripture. Things that I have heard, but I will not understand. But in the end, God has promised that he is coming. He is faithful when I am not and if I stay spiritually awake and pray through this,  God will be faithful to help me in my time of temptation, and to show me what my spirit is willing to see, but my flesh is too weak to handle.

Warning: If I am not willing to stay spiritually awake, and I insist on trying to walk this out with my fleshly passion, I will be swept up by temptation and I will not comprehend the things that are going on spiritually.

Application: Lord Jesus, please help me to put on humility, and not rely on my own fleshly passions. As much as I want to believe I will be faithful, I need you Lord to keep me faithful because my flesh is weak. Help me to see what you are trying to show me is happening in real time-right before my eyes and stop just assuming that I can rest comfortably without a plan for the future.

Message: Our appetites can be so strong in the moment, but we have to keep them in check. An unchecked appetite can take on such a powerful influence that we give it an improper priority in our lives.  This can cause us to devalue other important things because in the moment of our emotionally driven state, we rationalize the priority. Esau sold his birthright to his brother Jacob for a bowl of stew. He was hungry and emotional and he rationalized in the moment that a birthright wouldn’t do much good for him if he died of hunger. I don’t know how long he had been out hunting and missed meals, but as dramatic as that sounds, we have been just as foolish, if not worse in moments of strong appetite.

Command: Keep my appetites in check.

Promise: God has promised a lot of blessings to us as a reward to us for a life of surrender and  obedience. The bible is full of promises!

Warning: If I allow emotional appetites to run rampant in my life, I risk forfeiting the bigger blessings that God had otherwise intended for me.

Application: Lord Jesus, please help me to keep my appetites in check! Help me to manage my emotions and deal with daily needs consistently so they don’t become unmanageable and overtake my life. Show me the smaller things that I tend to ignore on a daily basis that have the potential to get out of control. Grief, stress, offenses, impulsive shopping, impulsive eating, impulsive outbursts of emotions, procrastination. Help me to realize that any of these unchecked things can cause me to sacrifice my influence or my purpose.

Message: There will be signs that we will recognize when the end is close and the coming of the Lord is near. These signs will include lawlessness, wars and rumors of wars among many  others. We should recognize the signs but we are not to be alarmed by the signs or distracted by them. They are meant only as a way to measure the time.

Command: Don’t get caught up in the signs and ignore the work we are supposed to complete. Jesus cautions us to remain faithful and obedient keeping in mind that he could come at any time so we want to be found faithful and attentive when he does.

Promise: Jesus is coming back for us!

Warning:  We need to be aware of the signs, but not caught up in them. The bible cautions us that these are supposed to take place so we can’t allow them to serve as a distraction from what we’re supposed to be doing. We also can’t ignore them and allow ourselves to drift off course.

Application:  Lord Jesus, help me to recognize the times we are in so that I’m aware and anticipating your coming, but help me to stay focused on the tasks you have assigned to me so I can be found faithful when you return.

Message: Obey the authorities but don’t follow their hypocritic example. Do what is right because it is right, not as a PR show. Jesus was telling the people that because the scribes and Pharisees were occupying the “seat of Moses” by teaching the law, they needed to honor and obey the law, and the position of authority, but not to follow their example of corrupting the law. Needless to say, Jesus was not impressed by their religious show, and he was angry with the way they had created layers of impossible manmade rules for the people to follow while also doing evil and corrupt things that were hidden from view. He criticized them for creating a religious outer impression while doing evil things in secret.

 As much as this was directed toward leaders and people of authority during that time, I see a huge parallel of this happening within the current American church. Not just with leaders (but certainly not excluding) but Christians as a whole in America are upholding an exterior appearance of godliness by pushing for biblical laws to be upheld in the laws and the courts of the land. At the very same time, many of the same Christians are not living godly lives themselves. They are criticizing unsaved people and trying to hold them to the standards of the word of God in the form of governmental law, but while doing so they are violating the very principles of the word of God in the way they treat people. I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t vote for laws that reflect our spiritual convictions. What I am saying is that if our spiritual convictions cause us to despise people who don’t agree with it or live it, then we are seriously missing the point of it all.

Command: Obey the word of God and live a godly life without trying to polish an exterior PR type of reputation. Living a godly life will speak for itself and people will see that while not perfect, I am living a life consistent with what I say I believe while constantly evaluating and changing.

Promise: If I focus on living a godly life from the inside, this will show on the outside. My humility will increase and so will my compassion.

Warning: If my focus and concern is on my outer appearance and reputation, I will ignore important matters of the heart in my efforts to be seen. This will also increase my pride and decrease my compassion for people.

Application: Lord Jesus, please show me the things in my heart that are corrupting me. Help me to be more concerned with the things you are showing me, than how other people perceive me. Help me to change from the inside out and obey the things that you are showing me to do-regardless of what anyone else is saying or doing.

Message: In Genesis 22 God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son. This is such a widely known story and I have heard this story unpacked with more angles than I can count. It’s uncomfortable and it’s inconceivable and I believe that is the intended point. Since we don’t like the discomfort, I feel like our tendency is to want to read this in such a way that softens the edges. I have heard many narratives that point out the conversations that happened before he took his son up the mountain. Abraham told the men that were with him that he and his son were going up to the mountain to worship and that “they” would both return. He also had the conversation going up the hill when his son noticed that they had everything they needed for the sacrifice…but he asked his father  “where is the sacrifice?” To that, Abraham responded that the Lord would provide. Many have concluded that Abraham had the faith to believe God would provide another way and that he knew God was going to provide a sacrifice. While I believe that is true, the point of this whole thing is that Abraham was also 100% prepared to sacrifice his son. If he wasn’t, then this story is nothing but theatrics. As difficult as that is to accept, and as uncomfortable as that is to ponder, we can’t explain it away to pacify our own discomfort. God had made Abraham a promise that he would make him the father of nations and multiply his seed like the stars in the sky and the sands of the earth. When it didn’t happen in a timely manner, he had already made the disastrous mistake of listening to his wife by trying to make it happen through Hagaar and he paid the price for it when he later lost that son after God told him to send him away. He had endured the very long wait for their promised son to come through Sarah, and now God was testing Abraham once again. This test was beyond just proving whether he loved his son more than God. This test was directly related to the promise God made to Abraham. They were old, and after that long to get Isaac, he knew he couldn’t just have another child. This child WAS the promise and God was testing it. Abraham got all the way to the point where he bound his son to the altar and reached for the sacrificial knife. At this point Isaac was fully aware and I can only imagine the fear and the horror coming from Isaac as he lay bound to that altar before the angel stopped Abraham and provided the ram in the thicket.

Command: Every promise God has made to me has to be released back to Him.

Promise: God is faithful to fulfill his promises.

Warning: I can’t make the promises happen by trying to control them, or by hanging onto them with a death grip.

Application: I have heard many people try to relate to this story by trying to imagine sacrificing their own child. We simply can’t relate to it. God made that promise to Abraham and Abraham only and a promise that great required an obedience and a trust even greater that God would do it his way. To me this story reminds me that for whatever promise I firmly believe that God has made, I have to also be willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice of that very promise to completely release it. Do I want eternal life? I have to be willing to offer my life as a sacrifice no matter how much it screams to be lifted off of that altar. I think we tend to get in the habit of trying to “help” God fulfill his promises so we try to preserve things that God is flat out telling us to give up and release. Once I give it up, he is able to trust us that I will do it his way. What dreams and plans or ideas am I holding onto with a death grip? What things in my life have I been clinging to so hard that God is waiting for me to put on the altar of sacrifice?

Message: We are not obligated to respond to every question asked of us about the gospel. Some questions are formulated with hidden motives. The scribes and Pharisees did this to Jesus constantly because they were trying to set him up to answer in a way that would contradict Moses or the law. They hoped to discredit him by proving that Jesus was contradicting Moses. Jesus was never in opposition to Moses or the law but it would almost appear that way by watching the things he was deliberately doing. He healed on the sabbath and it absolutely infuriated the Scribes and Pharisees because they had taken the laws of Moses and added their own rules to it as a means of control over the people. Jesus was turning all of that on it’s head in order to bring clarity back to what the law had intended to be. So when they came with their sneaky questions, Jesus saw right through them and often answered their questions with other questions- exposing their motives. I’m not suggesting that we treat every question we are presented with hostility, but we don’t have to accept a question in the form it is presented. It’s ok to ask follow up questions to determine what the person is really trying to ask. In the case of Jesus, he rejected their original question of “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority?”. This really was a “who do you think you are?” type of question and he didn’t come there to prove he was the Messiah. In fact, the opposite was true and he even quieted the demons who recognized him and reacted. Jesus was on mission to bring redemption to the world and he didn’t let anyone distract him from that mission. In this case, he answered their questions with parables. The parables were very telling and exposed the motives of the scribes and Pharisees.

Command: Stay on mission!  Our mission is to share our personal testimony of our encounter with God and provide the opportunity for others to be saved.

Promise: If I share the good news of the gospel and live it out, those who are legitimately searching will respond and be saved.

Warning: Don’t get tripped up by arguments and hot button topics. I personally don’t discuss what sin is or isn’t with unbelievers. These types of questions are not purposed with the intent of learning and becoming obedient to the gospel. Most of the time these types of questions are designed to discredit, disprove or unleash a “cancel culture”. In fact, if they are coming from unbelievers these questions do not even matter until they become believers. They can’t be saved through morality and obedience to a gospel they don’t believe, so until they are saved- why does it matter to them what our stance is on sin?

Application: This application is so simple, yet we make it so hard. We live in a world that is in constant outrage. There are opportunities everywhere we turn to engage in these debates and arguments. We weren’t called to engage in this stuff. We were called to share the GOOD NEWS of the gospel that Jesus came to save. The apostle Paul shared his testimony with the unsaved, and provided the opportunity for salvation. He discussed sin issues with only the church, not the unbeliever. If we follow this example we will stay on mission.

Message: Comparison is the thief of joy. When the landowner hired the workers in verse 2, they were in agreement to work the whole day for one denarius. At the end of the day they saw the other workers receive the same pay as them for less work. This caused an expectation in their minds that they would and should receive more than they agreed on. When it didn’t happen they became angry and they fought with the land owner. This is such a tough story, and also a very real one. The land owner represents God in this story. I believe the interpretation for this story is really about salvation. At the end of the day, those who have been saved and living in surrender for one day will receive the same eternity as those who have lived a surrendered life for 50 years. I don’t know about anyone else, but this is not necessarily the point of contention for me. For me the comparison struggle comes when I know God is requiring something of me, while someone else is seemingly getting away with bad behavior toward me. When I know that God is requiring me to humble myself and apologize to someone else who is living unrestrained in their behavior and is not sorry about it even a little bit. This is where the “it’s not fair” wants to rise up in me. It could also be looking at blessings that other people receive, or maybe it’s hardship and struggle. It’s tempting to look around and make comparisons with other people and feel like God owes us something. This internal angst rises up and causes us to feel like we have not been given a fair shot, or like God is withholding something from us. Our minds are way too crafty though, so we will never admit that we are mad at God. We convince ourselves that we’re mad at people who we feel have held us back or robbed us of blessing or opportunity.

Command:  Live life in obedience to God without comparison, but also keep those expectations in check! I know that God is a fair and just God, but even if he wasn’t -God owes me absolutely nothing and has the right to bless whomever he chooses. My response to that is a direct reflection of the condition of my own heart.

Promise: God delivers on what he promises, and he is more generous to me than I will ever deserve!

Warning: Comparisons lead to expectations, and expectations lead to discontentment.

Application: This is a daily heart check. I have to stay focused on my own walk with God and where he is leading me. I can’t be distracted or tripped up by what is going on with anyone else, except to be either inspired by them, or to be an encourager and to empower other people who are also walking this out. When I feel that quiet distance from God creeping in I need to address it immediately and not allow it to continue. That quiet distance is a result of discontentment and I need to address the expectation behind it.

Message: We can’t earn eternal life based on good works because it would be impossible for us to accomplish. Jesus emphasized this truth very clearly when the rich young ruler came and asked what good he must do when he answered with “Why do you ask what is good? There is only one who is good.” Then he told him to keep the commandments. I love how the man asked him “which ones?” and then answered like oh yeah! “I have kept all of these. What else do I lack?”. I’m just speculating here but it seems to me that he really believed he was all good and I can’t help but wonder if he asked these questions with the motivation of putting himself on display thinking Jesus would commend him. Instead, Jesus reached for the heart issue that was holding him back when he told him to sell all of his belongings and give them to the poor and then follow him. This was not a new command that Jesus was giving us to follow. It was a command that he gave this man that revealed the non-negotiable thing in this man’s heart.

Command: Live out the commands from the heart, and not by the letter of the law.  Doing this will shatter the tendency to look for loopholes and qualifications because my heart and motive change.

Promise: Heart change is far more satisfying than living religiously.

Warning: Religion leads to self-righteousness. If am concerned about fulfilling rules and laws without addressing the motivation behind these things I can completely miss the point and deceive myself.

Application: Instead of asking questions like “is it wrong to…” and need to rephrase questions to ask things like “is it beneficial to…” When I ask these questions I need to include more people than myself when considering if it’s beneficial. This will expose selfish motives.

Message: The disciples asked Jesus “who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Jesus called a child to him to stand as an example and he told them “unless you are converted and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child-this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Typically I have heard this scripture used to emulate a childlike faith in believing, but as I thought this out further I realized there is so much more to this example. A child is under the authority of parents so he is required to obey without question, and a child is vulnerable and completely dependent on his parents for everything. A child has no rights to be able to  do anything without the permission of his parents.

Command: Relinquish my “right” to autonomous living. This is not a pick and choose situation. I have to completely submit myself to the vulnerability of obedience at all costs, complete dependent and with the trust that God is for my good even when it is difficult and painful. I have to allow God to teach me, guide me and help me mature.

Promise: My complete childlike surrender is what will give me a place in heaven. Not just my belief, but my belief that is demonstrated by my surrender and obedience.

Warning: I can’t believe and enter the kingdom of heaven without my obedient surrender and dependence.

Application: Lord Jesus, please help me to really grasp the gravity of these words. That my surrender and obedience are not negotiable or just for my good. They are required to enter your kingdom. My life is not my own and I need to live this out without pretending this is an option.

Message: God came to Abraham and told him to “I am God Almighty. Live in my presence and be blameless”. Then he told him he would establish a covenant with him and “multiply” him greatly. Abraham’s response was humility. He was facedown as God spoke with him and told him he would be the father of many nations, that his name would change and that he would be so fruitful that nations and kings would be born from him. He gave him the land that he was living in and then explained that his side of the covenant was to circumcise himself and all of the men in his household whether born of him or slaves purchased by him throughout all of his generations. Abraham raised his questions and God answered, As soon as God left Abraham took immediate action and he had everyone in his household circumcised- beginning with himself and his son Ishmael.

Command: Live in the presence of God and be blameless. (Not sinless- but a life free of disobedience) God gave Abraham instructions to circumcise himself and the males of his household. Abraham did not hesitate to obey God. He did it immediately- that very day.

Promise: God will fulfill his promise to make me fruitful.

Warning: If I do not live blameless in his presence, I will not be fruitful.

Application: Living blameless and in his presence is to live a life of obedience and surrender with nothing kept back that God can’t touch. If I am doing this my life will flourish and be fruitful. If I refuse to be obedient in any area of my life, I can’t expect God to bless it. Lord Jesus, please show me any areas of my life where I have disobeyed or delayed my obedience for any reason. Help me to own the issues and walk in obedience to you without excuse and without delay. Thank you for making me fruitful.

Message:  Throughout Matthew 16 we see lots of confusion over signs and interpretations of all kinds. The Pharisees (with insincere motivations) asked Jesus to show them a sign from heaven and Jesus responded by telling them that although they know how to interpret natural signs for things like weather, they don’t know how to interpret spiritual signs. Then when Jesus and the disciples were in the boat he cautioned them about the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees and they thought he was scolding them because they forgot to bring bread. They didn’t understand the spiritual interpretation that Jesus was trying to show them about the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees. But then a while later Peter has this miraculous moment when Jesus asks them who they think he is. Peter blurts out that he is the Messiah and Jesus confirms that not only was he spot on, but that this was revealed to him only by God. Just six verses later after Jesus reveals that he will have to suffer, die and will resurrect we see Peter pull Jesus aside and rebuke him telling him “never Lord” and Jesus rebukes Satan in that moment for his influence. My point in all of this is that our own understanding can’t be trusted. We judge situations as good or bad based on how they make us feel, or the pain it will cause. We base our judgment upon our own perceptions, emotions, experiences, pain or even joy. This is why we have to be so careful about how and what we pray. Most of the things that have happened for our good, we would have never chosen for ourselves because our flesh nature is to avoid discomfort. This is why Jesus followed his rebuke of Peter by telling them (and us) that whoever wants to be his disciple must deny himself, take up his cross and follow him because whoever wants to save his own life will lose it in the pursuit, but whoever loses their life for his sake will end up finding it. This is so backwards and upside down to our instinct.

Command: Don’t trust my own interpretations of things apart from the Holy Spirit because my flesh is prone to reject pain and discomfort and it doesn’t always discern the difference.

Promise: We are promised that if we lose our lives in pursuit of following him, we will end up finding it.

Warning: If we trust our own interpretations for things we may find ourselves working against the plans of God, and if we live in pursuit of trying to preserve our own lives (chasing happiness, comfort and security etc) we will lose it.

Application: Lord Jesus please reveal to me the evil motives in my heart that are working against your plan and the things I am still chasing after instead of you. Thank you Holy Spirit for being my teacher so I don’t have to trust or rely on my own interpretations for things. Help me to come to you first before taking on a prideful humanistic view.

Message: The Pharisees asked Jesus why his disciples broke the traditions of the elders, so Jesus turned it around on them and asked them why they  broke God’s commandments because of their tradition. The nature of mankind is to look at rules of law on a superficial level because the heart level is way too convicting and difficult. Our superficiality create loopholes within the wording to justify doing the things we want to do. Our loose and superficial interpretations tend to create our own system of sub-rules based on those superficial interpretations. Those sub-rules become so integrated within the culture that they are taught as doctrine and are upheld at a higher degree than what the law actually says so much so that we often don’t even remember what the original law was. The law of God was never meant to be interpreted this way and where it appears that Jesus was rebelling against the law when he came to the earth, he was actually refuting the manmade interpretations of the law of Moses. An example of this was their application of the command to “honor the sabbath and keep it holy.” This law which was intended for them to set aside work  for that day to worship and honor the Lord, somehow became a rigid set of rules telling them that they couldn’t do any form of work. They criticized Jesus for healing on the sabbath and used things like that to build their own case against him in an effort to disqualify him. To this day, the sabbath rules apply in Israel and they even have “Shabbat Elevators” that are programmed to stop on every floor on during the sabbath so that they don’t have to break the rules by pushing a button- because that would be “work”.

Command: Get to the heart of the matter. What are these laws really about? Jesus summed it all up in just a few lines. Love the lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. If we were to really live by the bible’s definition of love, there would be no additional rules needed. We know that the word “love” as defined in 1 Corinthians 13 is patient, kind, not rude, not envious, not boastful or proud, not dishonoring or self-seeking, not easily angered, does not keep record of wrongs, does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres and never fails. If this is was the filter that we lived by, there would be no need for interpretations and loopholes. Is what I am doing honorable, respectful, truthful?

Promise: There are tons of promises for each law that exists. “If you do this, I will do that” kind of promises. If we obey these promises at the heart level and not just at the superficial level, we will see the rewards that are promised.

Warning: If we ignore the heart level and obey rules on the superficial and man-made level, we get rigid and unsatisfying religion. There is no love in that at all.

Application: Lord Jesus! Please help me read your word and love the law at the heart level as King David wrote about. Let your law be my delight because love is the motivator of it all.

Message:  In Matthew 14 Jesus had just heard the news that John the Baptist had been beheaded, so he tried to withdraw by boat to the wilderness to be alone. The crowds were like paparazzi and they followed him anyway using  routes on foot from the towns. When he saw them he had compassion and healed the sick. The disciples observed what was going on and started thinking ahead. They came up with a plan and approached Jesus with it. They brought up three obvious points to alert Jesus of the problems they foresaw, and then proceeded to instruct Jesus as to how to solve it.

1. This place is a wilderness (Thank you Captain Obvious, Jesus was aware. He had picked that place to be alone.)
2. It’s already late.
3. The people will be hungry.

Their solution:  “Jesus, send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus rejected their plan and instead told them “They don’t need to go away. YOU give them something to eat.” I love how he completely turned this around on them, which forced them to point out another obvious: “But we only have five loaves and two fish here.” Jesus commanded the crowds to sit down, he blessed the 2 fish and 5 loaves and then broke the loaves before handing them to the disciples to feed 5000+ people. There were still only 2 fish and 5 loaves when he told them to start passing it out. This did not change until they were obedient in the instructions of Jesus. They had to start passing it out and they had to continue passing it out until everyone was fed and full. THEN they counted 12 baskets FULL of leftover pieces!

Command: It’s ok to observe the obvious, but leave the solution to Jesus.

Promise: Jesus has solutions that defy the obvious. He is not limited by the problems that we see, and his view always encompasses a larger picture than the one we are observing. His ways are higher than ours.

Warning: When we focus on problems and try to present our solutions to Jesus, we will always come up short. Imagine if Jesus had acted on their instruction to send the crowd away. What a huge miracle they would have missed out on! When we present our perceived problems to Jesus and then try to instruct Jesus in the form of our prayers, we not only miss out on partnering with Jesus for HIS solution, but we also set ourselves up for disappointment as we wait for Jesus to deliver on the orders we gave him. He is not obligated to act on our command.

Application: Lord Jesus! Please forgive me for the prideful act of using my limited observations and abusing my partnership in prayer by trying to manipulate you to move according to MY will. Help me to recognize that the purpose of the partnership of prayer that you blessed me with is to bring YOUR will to pass! Help me to understand your will and your nature as I read your word, so that my heart and attitude, and ultimately my prayers line up with your will. Help me to be a faithful partner when I come to you in prayer so that I am  praying for your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Message:  Our ability to hear and understand the word of God is determined by how we manage the soil of our hearts. If we neglect it, the soil will be rocky and unmanageable. Even if the good seed lands on it, it will not be able to take root and grow until we do some digging and tenderize the ground. This is also true of the people we are trying to minister to. We can give them a healthy word and they may even hear it and receive it, but if they are not managing the soil of their hearts, it will not take root and grow.

Command: To manage the soil of my heart I have to allow God to dig around and examine the contents. I have to allow him to churn things around and expose the junk that lies beneath. I have to challenge my thinking and see if it is consistent with the truth in the word of God. When life comes along and dumps crappy situations on me, I have the opportunity to walk it out in obedience and allow it to fertilize my heart rather than allowing the stench to just dump on top of my heart. As I continue to ask myself honest questions without lying to myself about where I’m really at without making excuses it stirs things around and makes my heart softer. When I write things down and intentionally apply it even if (and especially when) it is hard- that word takes root and grows. I can’t justify myself or compare myself to any other person. I have to follow through and be obedient even when it feels unfair.

Promise: When I allow God to manage the soil of my heart, the word of God is able to get through and be firmly planted with good, healthy roots that grow.

Warning: If I am not allowing God to manage the soil of my heart, it becomes hard, rocky and calloused. Nothing can get through past that hard surface so it just sits on top superficially until it scatters and dies off.  Even if I hear a good word and receive it in that moment, it is not able to take root and grow, because I have not allowed God to prepare a place for it in my heart. Instead it remains superficial and on the surface.

Application: This devotion is an example of tending to the soil of my heart. When I read I ask myself these questions and apply them to my life so that the word is firmly planted in my heart. This will ONLY work if I am honest and truthful about the condition of my soul. God already knows what my condition is, so I am only deceiving myself when I try to play pretend that I am in better condition than I actually am. When I expose the junk that lies beneath it reaches the surface and can be broken down into good soil.

Lord Jesus, please help me to see the things in my heart that I have been intentionally or subconsciously hiding or ignoring. Expose the ugly things to me that I need to deal with. Thank you that you are a gentle and kind gardener and that your kindness is what leads us to repentance.

Message: Hebrews 11 is such a powerful chapter citing several  who died in their faith without ever seeing the promise. As I read each one it really sank in to me that the promise they all shared was not tangible or circumstantial, even though some of them also included measurable results further on down the line. The promise was not hope of a more comfortable life, or anything that would benefit or promote them personally. In fact, it was bigger than all of them because it was literally the coming of Jesus. Sure, Abraham was promised that he would be the father of nations, but when we get down to it, the purpose of that lineage was to bring Jesus. They all believed that God was who he said he was so every one of them acted in obedience. Their obedience was proof of their deep faith that God was who he said he was. Because of that, their motivation came from a holy fear and deep respect. They didn’t consider what was in it for them, or how it might improve their lives. In fact, it was quite the opposite.  Their obedience cost them their dignity and their comfort. We are on the other side of part of that promise. Jesus came, but now we stand on the promise that Jesus came to save the world and he is returning for us all. If we really believe that our motivation will drive us to prepare the world for his coming.

Command: Prepare the world for the coming of Jesus. Obedience to this promise will cost us our dignity and our comfort. Our purpose is not to live comfortably, but to live to help fulfill his promise.

Promise: Jesus came to save the world and he is coming again.

Warning: Our own desire for blessings, comfort and prosperity will become a distraction to our purpose. There is a whole lot of blessing that comes as a result of our obedience, but when we focus on those blessings, our purpose gets turned around. Instead of our obedience being motivated by the promise that Jesus came to save the world, we instead become motivated to chase after blessings for our own comfort and enjoyment. We become weary of being obedient when we don’t see results, and our failed expectations cause an internal and sometimes subtle resentment toward God, who owes us nothing, but gave us everything. This is why Jesus warns us throughout scripture that he who tries to find his life will lose it, but he who intentionally loses his life for the sake of Christ will actually find it.

Application: Lord Jesus! Please forgive me for shifting my focus toward what I can gain from you, rather than your promise to save the world. Help me Lord to obey you for who you are and not out of what else I can gain from you. Help me to stop chasing the unending desire for blessings and give me a passion to fulfill your promise by preparing a broken world for your return.

Message:  Everywhere Jesus went, he healed people, and everywhere he healed people there were people with opinions. The crowd was always amazed, but the religious were always critical.  Their religion made them spiritually blind, while ironically, Jesus healed men who were physically blind because they believed.

Command: Our obedience to God is not a checklist obligation. It is a heart matter. This is the difference between being religious and  being changed.

Promise: A heart for God gives us spiritual eyes to see God and all that he does.

Warning: When we live religiously, we become critical and we are blinded to the heart of God. There may be miracles all around us but we won’t see any of it as long as we are spiritually blind.

Application: Lord Jesus, open my eyes to see your heart, and the heart you intended behind my obedience.

Message: There is dishonor in exposing someone’s shame or vulnerability with any intent other than to help and heal. When Noah got drunk, he exposed his nakedness, but he was in the privacy of his own tent. When his son, Ham saw his naked father, he could have simply turned away, or even privately covered him up. But instead he came out and told his brothers about it. Once his brothers were brought into it, they chose to do the honorable thing that Ham could have, but didn’t do. They walked backwards with a blanket and covered him up without looking at him. I don’t believe that this passage is at all communicating that we should enable or ignore toxic situations in the lives of people we care about. Sometimes we have to expose a situation to an authority or to a source that can help. What I think this passage is talking about, is exposing the shame unnecessarily. Exposing it to people who did not need to know about it and could not help with it.

Command: Don’t dishonor people by exposing their vulnerabilities and their shame.

Promise: Ham was cursed for his dishonor, so the reverse of that would be blessing to those who treat people with dignity and respect when they are the most vulnerable.

Warning: If we expose the shame of others in their vulnerability we can count on consequences for that. In Ham’s case, it was a curse on his lineage.

Application:  Thank you Lord that you cover our shame and restore us when we are most vulnerable. Help me to treat other people with the same kind of honor and respect that you show to us when I encounter their shame and vulnerability. Help me to build, restore, honor and cover them with my words and actions.

Message: Jesus healed everywhere he went, and people were amazed after witnessing it, but when Jesus showed up at the Gadarenes it was the demons who recognized him immediately before he had even done anything. They called him out by name and begged and negotiated with him because they knew who he was and the power he had. I find it interesting that the demons tried negotiating with Jesus. I have seen that same kind of behavior with people when they discern they are losing power. After Jesus drove the demons out of the two men and they returned to their right minds, the people of the town were upset and asked him to leave. This has always confused me. I get it that they lost a lot when the pigs drowned in the sea, but how could they see two men be restored and still be upset? It seems to me that they preferred the dysfunction that they were used to living in because it was familiar and I recognize that nature in people too.

Command:  Don’t fight the healing and order that Jesus wants to bring, and don’t try to negotiate out of my healing just because it feels uncomfortable.

Promise: When Jesus comes in he turns chaos into order, and healing and wholeness is the result.

Warning: When Jesus brings order it upsets the norm. We are so bent by the familiarity of our dysfunction that order actually feels like a disruptive chaos to our comfort. It’s tempting to allow those feelings influence us, but don’t miss out on the healing just because order doesn’t feel right to us.

Application: Lord Jesus, please show me the areas of my heart that I have tried to keep you out of- or the things I’ve tried to justify and negotiate with  you about in order to hang onto unhealthy things. Help me to value your order and your healing above my level of comfort and familiarity.