My Bible notes explain that Psalm 74 is from the time of the exile, after the nation of Israel had been destroyed and the temple left in ruins and the promised land completely ravished. The first half of the Psalm is a recounting of how the sanctuary of the Almighty was decimated by the enemy. The second half of the Psalm is a cry out to God to do something about it. Verse 12 is the pivot point between the two halves.
As I read Psalm 74, my inner first-born older-sister voice says something like, “Well, what do you expect? Your insolent behavior was basically an invitation to the enemy to come and wreak havoc. You opened the door to the temple wide open with your disobedience. And now you realize your mistake and want God to fix it???”
As if I never did anything foolish. Not once have I been disobedient. And I never have had to deal with the consequences of my poor choices. Nor have I ever asked God to come to my rescue and defend me when I got in over my head. Nope, not at all. Not me.
Maybe this Psalm hits a little too close to home. Because there have been so many times when my disobedience has left me on my knees. I said something that shouldn’t have been said; I ignored God’s voice telling me to walk the other way; I refused to forgive; I thought too highly of myself. And when I realized what I got myself into, the only thing I could think of doing was crying out to God for help.
While God fully desires us to be obedient, he knows our human nature and capability to mess things up from time to time. He wants us to call out to Him. He longs for us to recognize our need for Him. So even when we open the door of our hearts to something less than God’s best and our lives are turned inside out and upside down, He will come and restore us to who we are meant to be.
Thank you God, for being full of mercy and grace and hearing me when I call out. Thank you God, for not turning your back on me when my mess is a result of my foolishness. Thank you God, for loving me unconditionally, that even though I may have to suffer the consequences of my actions, you redeem me.
-Bethany Ligon
Reflection Questions
When has your disobedience caused the need for restoration?
Is there an area of your life that you have already experienced God’s restoration? What did it look like when it was in ruins? What does restoration look/feel like?
What has God revealed about Himself in today’s Bible reading?
My parents tried very hard to treat me and my sisters equally. Especially when it came to spending money or giving gifts. The idea that one might get more or better than the other, or perceived more or better, has made gift giving stressful for them. And now there are grandkids and great grandkids! We chose to handle gift-giving a little differently. Of course, we try to be close in what we spend, but if a gift is found that someone really wants or needs we go with it. Whether it’s a little more or less than the others.
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul tells us of God’s gifts. The first important thing to note is that it says in verse 7 that “to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit..” Everyone who is part of the body of believers has been given Spiritual gifts. That means you if you have accepted Jesus as your Savior. The end of verse 7 tells us why. It says, “…for the common good”. We are to use the gifts given to us for the common good of the church – to support, encourage, build up, protect, provide for, teach, etc. This chapter describes many of these gifts. We are told that there are many gifts, but that they all come from the same Spirit. Verse 18 says, “But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.“ As he chose. He gives us what we need, what he wants us to have, not what we want or wish for. Think for a minute about your church and the people in it. This verse is telling you that God chose each member, that he arranged them (gifted them) just how he wanted. Now think for a minute about where you might fit in. You see, God’s plan only works when everyone does their part; when everyone uses the gifts God has given them for the common good of the body.
Our passage in Leviticus demonstrates another parenting thought. When we wanted our kids to obey a specific command, we let them know what good things would happen if they chose to do so (we really built it up big). We also told them what would happen if they chose to disobey (we tried to make this choice sound horrible). We learned that oftentimes it is in the presentation. God wants his children to obey Him at all times. In Leviticus 26 God says, “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you….”. He lists rain in season, abundant harvests, security, peace, victories, and His presence (verses 3-13). He goes on to tell them, “But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments, if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant, then I will do this to you:…”. He then tells them that they will deal with panic, wasting disease, enemies eating their harvests, wild beasts, and be scattered among the nations (verses 14-33). The list for disobedience is long and nasty. It seems like such a “duh” decision. Of course they, and we, want the blessings and good stuff. But they didn’t always choose to obey. We don’t always choose to obey. Thankfully, God also provides a way for us to change our minds and make the right choice. Verses 40-45 say, “But if they confess their iniquity….then I will remember my covenant with Jacob…and Isaac…and Abraham…that I might be their God…”.
-Todd and Amy Blanchard
Reflection Questions
There are a lot of Spiritual gifts “tests” online. And they can be fun to take. However, one of the best ways to know what your gifts are is to try some different ministries or acts of service. Which ones fill you up? Which ones drain you? Notice I didn’t ask which ones you were best at. God will help you learn. God will help you find courage. He will provide opportunities for you to grow in your gifts, so you don’t need to worry about doing it really well right away.
What choices are you currently facing? Do any of them have the “duh” right answer?
What traits did you find in today’s reading that describe God?
What is the worst food you’ve ever eaten? There’s been a few in my life. Gamey lamb. Bad goat cheese. Beets. Eggplant. I can easily say I detested those things. I wanted to spit them out, whether it was from taste or texture. Detest – that’s a pretty strong word for not liking something. Other translations for this scripture say abhor, felt disgust, loathe.
Leviticus 20:23 says, “And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them.” (ESV). Our nation, our world, has a lot of customs (statutes, practices) that God hates. There are many customs/practices that God detests. There are the things we consider the “biggies” – abortion, homosexuality, pre- or extra-marital sexual relations – that our nation/culture says are good. They say that they are right. God says they are very wrong. Leviticus 20:26 says, “You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.” God says that if we have chosen Him, He has separated us from the peoples. He has set us apart. He expects us to be different. But, before we get on a soapbox on the “biggies”, consider what other things are practices in our world. Consider things like gossip, envy, untrustworthy, unmerciful, disobedient to parents, boastful, jealousy, discord, and selfish ambition (Romans 1:29-31, Galations 5:19-21). These are in the same list as sexual immorality, idolatry, witchcraft, and murder. The Galatians passage says that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Wow! That is how much God detests worldly behavior.
So, how do we live like God has set us apart, separated us from the peoples? We know, living in this world, we will be surrounded by things detestable to God. Verse 8a of Leviticus 20 gives us an answer for that. “Keep my statutes and do them”. Sounds simple, right? Simple, yes. Easy, no. If you read the other passages for today you will find some help. In 1 Corinthians 9 Paul tells us that we need to exercise self-control and discipline ourselves. Psalm 56 tells us to trust God.
I often say that people cannot meet your expectations if you don’t let them know what your expectations are. God has given us His Word, His expectations are there for us to find. When we accept Jesus as our savior and are baptized, we receive the gift of His Spirit. His Spirit IS in us. That’s what we need in order to act like we are separated from the peoples. But we get to choose. Every day we have to make choices. We choose many times a day whether to follow God and His expectations or to follow the world. Choose to run the race for the prize. To discipline your body – your thoughts, attitudes, actions.
-Todd & Amy Blanchard
Reflection Questions
Paul’s description of an athlete in a race creates a picture of commitment. Running a race takes lots of training. Disciplining our bodies requires consistent effort. Reading these devotions daily, and the Scriptures that go with them, is a great tool. What other things are you doing consistently to be able to finish the race? Are you surrounding yourself with others who are running the same race? It’s not a competition, we need to encourage one another.
What worldly attitude or action do you struggle with most? Note that to struggle is an action; struggling with something means you are actively trying to overcome or change it. What will it take for you to win the struggle?
What did God reveal of Himself to you in today’s reading?
Romans 5 talks about God’s amazing grace, and how we can be made right with God despite our ugly sinful past, because Jesus’ death paid for our sins. Romans 6 starts by asking a ridiculous question, “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” Paul then answered the question in verse 2, “By no means!”.
Paul went on to say that when people really accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they die to sin, just like Jesus physically died. And since Jesus was raised up to a new (eternal) life, our life should be radically different – a new life to be lived for God. Romans 6: 11-12 says, “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.” This means we must actively resist sin in our lives, and instead deliberately choose to live a life pleasing to God. This isn’t just a good idea, it’s required for true Christians.
Paul offered an analogy that everyone in his day would have been very familiar with: slaves. Slaves must obey their masters. A person living a life of sin is in rebellion against God and is a slave to sin, and therefore can’t follow God. By accepting Christ and dying to sin, a person can then be a slave to God. Paul then made the argument that, since you’ve been freed from slavery to sin, you can’t serve sin anymore – sin is not your master any more. God is now your master, so you must obey Him.
Romans 6:21-22 goes on to say, “What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
This is a pretty stark contrast. Your life used to be filled with sin. You did lots of things you are now ashamed of. And oh yeah, the result of that lifestyle is death. God has liberated us from sin to become a slave of God – which causes us to live a holy life, with the result culminating in eternal life in the coming Kingdom of God.
Paul closed the chapter with a verse that is likely familiar, Romans 6:23, which says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
When we work, we earn wages. We deserve what we get paid because of the work we did. Similarly, we will get “paid” for the life we live. If we persist in our sin, the wage we can expect is death. Thanks anyway, but I’d rather accept God’s gift. But we can’t get God’s gift just because we want it, we must turn from our life of sin, and become God’s slave. Only then can we receive His gift of eternal life.
So, the choices are sin and death, or a life of service to God and eternal life. Some consider this a tough choice. Which will you choose?
-Steve Mattison
Reflection Questions
What are you a slave of? Are there any changes in your life that ought to be made?
Are you prepared to receive the wages of your sins? Or have you accepted the gift of God? If so, how and what difference does that make in your life?
What does God reveal about Himself and His heart in today’s Bible reading? What kind of Master is He?
For me, the theme of today’s reading was obedience in the face of fear. If God is calling us, the only right answer is obedience. In yesterday’s reading of Matthew 28, we read about the agony Jesus experienced on the cross and how he alone had to bear the crushing weight of humanity’s sins. Jesus felt fear on the cross, but that did not stop him from responding with obedience to God’s plan. In Exodus 1 and 2 we learn that Israel is becoming a formidable threat to Egypt. Pharaoh tries to minimize this threat by ordering the Hebrew midwives to kill any newborn boys right after they are delivered. The Hebrew midwives would not hear of taking part in such an abomination. They were obedient to God’s laws and the result was victorious. In Exodus 1 we read,
20 So God was good to the midwives, and the Israelites continued to multiply, growing more and more powerful. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. (NLT)
We read about more bravery in Exodus 2 when Moses’ mother kept the baby Moses hidden for three months. She then concocted a plan to place him in a basket among the river reeds. Moses’ sister Miriam hung out to see what would happen. As the story goes, Pharaoh’s daughter finds him and takes pity on him. I have to think Moses’ mother and sister had to have been afraid when they went to execute their plan, but they felt the fear and did it anyway.
I think the acts of boldness of the Hebrew midwives and Moses’ mother and sister demonstrated that they must have had a healthy and reverential fear of God as David did.
In the first two verses of Psalm 29, David highlights God’s splendor, glory, power and might.
1 Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings;
honor the Lord for his glory and strength.
2 Honor the Lord for the glory of his name.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. (NLT)
Following God often requires boldness and not letting our fears overshadow what God has called us to do. We have a special reminder in verse 11 of Psalm 29 that God equips us during hard times:
The Lord gives his people strength.
The Lord blesses them with peace. (NLT)
If we trust in God’s goodness, we know that He has our best interest at heart and will supply us with the strength we need. Therefore, feel the fear and be obedient anyway.
-Kristy Cisneros
Reflection Questions:
Do you struggle with being obedient to God’s calling? Do you feel fear overshadows doing the right thing? Pray to God to deepen your trust. As we learned in yesterday’s reading, it is important to trust in God’s timing and goodness— even in the face of fear.
What do we learn about God and His character in our Bible reading today?
Abraham was a man of incredible faith. God made astounding promises to Abraham, and Abraham believed God – and this was credited to him as righteousness. Abraham lived a long and faithful life of service to God, then, as recorded in Genesis 25, Abraham died.
We’re picking up the story in Genesis 26 – after Abraham was dead and gone. Genesis 26 starts by telling about a famine in the land that was so bad that Isaac (Abraham’s heir) had to move to have enough food to eat.
Then we find this amazing encounter in Genesis 26:2-6, “The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.’ So Isaac stayed in Gerar.”
God promised:
To give Isaac and his descendants all these lands
To confirm the oath God has sworn to Abraham
To make Isaac’s descendants as numerous as the stars of the sky
To bless all nations on earth through Isaac’s offspring (Jesus)
And did you notice why God extended all of these promises to Isaac? “Why” is recorded in verse 5: “because Abraham obeyed me and did everything (emphasis added)I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.”
Did you catch that? Isaac was promised that he would receive incredible blessings because his dad had obeyed God and had done everything God required.
A couple of years later, in Genesis 26:24, we read, “That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”
Again, God extended blessings to Isaac because of Abraham’s faithfulness.
And oh yeah, most of that obedience to God was before Isaac was even born.
We’ve heard about the blessings for ourselves if we follow God – especially eternal life in the Kingdom of God. We don’t often think of the blessings for our descendants because of our faithfulness to God.
When I was young, my dad would have us memorize scripture. One of those verses he had us memorize was Psalm 37:25 which says, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.”
I think the point my dad was trying to make was that we needed to be righteous, and God would never forsake us. But I remember thinking something like this at the time: “I’m glad my dad is righteous, because in spite of my not necessarily being righteous, I will be blessed because of my dad’s righteousness.”
Now that I’m old, I recognize that the decisions I made, and the example I demonstrated had an impact (for good or for bad) on my kids. As a result, they have picked up both some of my good traits and some of my bad traits. I wish now that I had demonstrated more good examples and fewer bad examples – not only for my own benefit, but also for the benefit of my children.
Now let’s talk about you. It doesn’t matter if you’re a teen, a parent, a grandparent, young, or old. The most important thing you can do with your life is to obey God, and do everything He requires. This will guarantee you eternal life in God’s coming kingdom, and may also give you many blessings in this life (not necessarily including health and wealth). But in addition to your blessings, you may also pass along an inheritance of faithfulness to God to your kids – even those unborn. And then they too can have incredible blessings.
So, if you love your kids, obey God.
-Steve Mattison
Reflection Questions
What are all the benefits/blessings you see to obeying God? Which have you already enjoyed? Which are you still looking forward to?
How are you doing in the faithfulness department? Will God be able to tell your descendants that you obeyed Him, did everything He required, and followed His laws?
God had promised Abraham, in Genesis 17:19, “Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.”
At this point, Abraham was over 100 years old, and had faithfully followed God. In Genesis 12, Abraham obeyed when God told him to leave his country and family. Abraham allowed Lot to take the lush land around Sodom in Genesis 13, and trusted God to provide for his own flocks and herds on barren mountains. In Genesis 15, Abraham trusted God’s promise that he would have a son in his old age, and God counted that faith as righteousness.
In Genesis 22:2, we find God commanding Abraham, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”
This doesn’t make sense. God had explicitly promised that God’s promises to Abraham would be passed down through Isaac’s descendants, and now God was commanding Abraham to sacrifice him – apparently destroying the promise He had made to Abraham.
By this point, Abraham had developed a very close relationship with God. In fact, we’re told 3 times in the Bible that Abraham was God’s friend (2 Chron 20:7, Isaiah 41:8, James 2:23) – and as far as I know, Abraham is the only person in the Bible of whom this is said.
We’re told in Hebrews 11:19 that Abraham reasoned that God was able to raise the dead, and that He was going to keep His promise.
So early the next morning, Abraham took Isaac and 2 servants and left for the place God told him to go. When they got close, Abraham told the servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and we (emphasis added) will come back to you.”
As they got even closer, Isaac asked his dad, “The fire and wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Can you imagine how this must have broken Abraham’s heart, looking down into his son’s questioning face, knowing that in a few minutes he would be killing his beloved son, who would be the offering? Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb.” (Actually, God had provided Isaac – as a miracle baby in his parent’s old age.) When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar, arranged the wood, tied up Isaac, and laid him on the altar.
As he was getting ready to kill Isaac, the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and stopped him. Abraham then saw a ram caught in the brush by its horns, and sacrificed it instead. God then promised Abraham, as recorded in Genesis 22:16-18, “I swear by myself, declared the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore… and through your offspring, all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
I could point out all the similarities of Abraham’s being willing to sacrifice his son Isaac, and God being willing to sacrifice His Son, Jesus. I could point out the significance of another quote from this chapter, “Jehovah Jireh – on the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” (This was the mountain where Soloman’s temple was built hundreds of years later.) I could point out the importance of obeying God, and the benefits that result.
Instead, I want to comment on who, when, where, how, and why of God’s provision.
Who: God tested Abraham with a very difficult test even after a life of serving God. We see that God provided the ram in this case only after Abraham trusted and obeyed God – even though it didn’t make sense. Assertion: God provides for those who trust Him and obey Him.
When: God provided for Abraham at the very last minute, not before. We’re told in Hebrews 4:16 that we will “receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Assertion: God provides precisely when we need something, not when we think we need it. (i.e. according to God’s timing.)
Where: God provided for Abraham only after Abraham went where God told him to go, and after he obeyed everything God told him to do. Assertion: God will provide if we are where He wants us to be. We should have no expectation of receiving God’s provision if we aren’t where He wants us to be.
How: God didn’t send an angel from heaven with an offering for Abraham to sacrifice, God provided a normal ram, caught in a normal thicket, by it’s normal horns. And God didn’t send a whole flock of sheep, just one ram, because that was all that was needed. Assertion: God will usually provide in ways that are very natural – don’t look for miracles.
Why: In times of testing, it’s easy to only think about our problems, and focus on, “why is this happening to me?” I think there may be two general reasons why trials come. First, we are told in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Note that this only applies if we are living according to His purpose. Also note that trials are by definition difficult, and won’t seem to be beneficial at the time. Second, ultimately, everything is for God’s glory. Isaiah 43:7 says, “everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory…” We see an example of this with God destroying Pharaoh and his army for God’s glory in Ex 14:4, 17. Assertion: God allows trials and gives provision for our good and for His glory.
The bottom line is, if we are faithfully following God, times of testing will come. If we remain true to God, if we are where He wants us to be, and if we are obedient to Him, he will provide what we need (not necessarily what we want), at the very last minute, usually through normal means – and this is for our good. If we aren’t following God, the times of testing may just be to bring Glory to Him. I’d rather be in that first group. How about you?
–Steve Mattison
Reflection Questions
Abraham’s thoughts and feelings aren’t recorded much in Genesis, what do you think he may have been thinking and feeling on that 3 day trip to where God wanted him – and after? What similarities do you find in Psalm 11?
How and when has God provided what you needed? What did you learn about God from that experience?
Is there anything that you may be holding onto too tightly, loving more than God? How can you practice trusting and obeying God and not withholding from Him?
What did God reveal about Himself to you in your reading of His words today?
Dr. Albert Mehrabian, a leading researcher in the field of body language, estimates that over half of our social communication is done through nonverbal cues. Where we place our hands and feet, how or where we choose to stand or sit, the angle at which we hold our head, or even in the position of our eyebrows communicate our desires, our emotions, and our confidence (or lack thereof). Additionally, about one-third of how we send our message is with the tone and inflection in our voice, not the words themselves. In fact, less than 10% of our social cueing has to do with our spoken word choices. The conclusion of the study is similar to the first verse of Psalm 1: where we choose to sit, where we choose to stand, and where we choose to step communicates our posture to our Heavenly Father and the world around us vastly more than words alone.
“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers. but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.” – Psalm 1:1-3
There is a good chance that today holds a contrast to where your feet landed yesterday. Most likely, this Monday represents a return to work, school, or some other social role you will have to step into, stand up in, or sit through. As you enter the threshold, who or what are you walking towards or away from? Where and what are you standing beside or standing in the way of? How and who do you find yourself sitting beside, dwelling with, and meditating upon? Take note not only of the words you say aloud, but the thoughts and signals you send with your body because God doesn’t want a tithe of lip service; He desires the whole of your soul as a living sacrifice.
There is a blessing for living close to the commandments of our Creator. Those who put their roots down with God are the direct recipients of the Living Water He provides. When we walk in His ways, when we stand on His promises, when we sit and meditate on His statutes, it completely changes our body language. We don’t wither, but we become confident in the hope we have. We are not empty vessels filled with cliche Christianism, but we bear the fruit of the Spirit for others to see. We can simply sit and delight in the joy of the Lord because we serve a God of promises and follow-through. Our posture, our actions, and our words stem from the refreshing source from which we draw life more abundantly. Wherever we step, stand, or sit, let the Living Water flow and the Kingdom of God flourish.
– Aaron Winner
Reflection Questions
Compare and contrast the person in Psalm 1:1-3 to the person in verses 4-5? How would you describe each and what makes them different?
Who or what are you walking, standing, sitting amongst? What do you find delight in? What are you meditating on? Are there any changes that ought to be made in order to be where you want to be at the end – of 2023, or of this life?
What do we learn about the LORD God in Psalm 1? Mark it in your margins, journal it, pray to the God of Psalm 1.
AND -in preparation for tomorrow, when we will begin a chapter by chapter New Testament reading – here’s a little…
Introduction to the Book of Matthew
Before we introduce the book of Matthew, let’s quickly contrast it with the book of Genesis and the whole Old Testament.
The book of Genesis begins the Old Testament (and the Bible). The theme of the Old Testament can be summed up in Genesis 5:1, which says, “This is the book of the generations of Adam…”. The rest of Genesis 5 has another recurring theme, “… and then he died”. The Old Testament was the story of Adam, his sin (and the consequences of that sin), and his descendants. It illustrates the truth that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). The Old Testament contains many of God’s promises – waiting for fulfillment.
The book of Matthew begins the New Testament. Matthew starts with, “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham.” This begins the story of Jesus, and reveals “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23b) The New Testament describes the fulfillment of God’s promises made in the Old Testament.
Matthew was one of Jesus’ 12 apostles, whom Jesus called from being a tax collector (read hated outcast) to being in the inner circle of the Savior of the world. Many years after Jesus’ ascension, Matthew wrote the book of Matthew to convince a Jewish audience that Jesus was (and is) the Messiah – God’s chosen and anointed deliverer for His people – who fulfilled so many of the prophecies in the Old Testament.
Even though the Bible doesn’t contain anything that Matthew himself said, the book of Matthew which he wrote reveals Jesus as the Messiah promised and sent by God. May the book of Matthew speak to you and reveal God’s great gift, Jesus the Messiah, to you in a whole new way as we seek to grow in Christ together this year.
-Steve Mattison
Download and print the 2023 Reading Plan below. You can choose to follow along in 1,2 or 3 readings a day. If you read all three you will read through the whole Bible in 2023.
Forgiveness. We’ve all been there and have wrestled with this single task. Except, it isn’t a single task is it? Forgiveness happens over and over and over again. Forgiveness can be a hard concept to grasp. It is human nature to want to fall into our sinful desire to repay evil with evil, turn a blind eye to those who hurt us, or to decide that one is simply not deserving of our forgiveness. Luke 17:4 states, “Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent’ you must forgive them.” I find the next verse to be so interesting as the apostles reply back to Jesus as he’s teaching and call out, “Increase our faith!” How easy is it to feel like we do not have the kind of faith that is capable of believing in the teachings we’ve learned, to feel like we simply can’t trust God in every circumstance, or that we don’t have the strength to obey God’s commandments? We are not perfect by any means, but we are able to serve the Lord and fulfill our duty even with the smallest amount of faith.
In this chapter we are encouraged to do many things: to teach little ones, not causing them to stumble or cause a hindrance to their faith, to forgive anytime you can, and to serve with all that you have so that when you return to your master you can tell them that your duty has been fulfilled. Can you imagine the great and mighty things that can be done if we take our faith, no matter how small it may be, and place it into an all powerful, all knowing God? We as humans are not strong enough to bear the stumbling blocks of this world alone. May we rely on the strength that comes from God to overcome such things to live a life that is pleasing according to God’s perfect will.
Romans 12:2
“Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is– his good, pleasing, and perfect will.
– Kayla Elwell
Reflection Questions
Is there currently somebody you need to forgive? Do you feel like you need an increase in faith to do what Jesus has told you to do? What would Jesus say? (Check Luke 17.)
As today is Christmas Eve, consider the faith of those in Luke 1 & 2. Whose faith is an example for you to follow? Whose faith fell short for a time?
Have you ever tried reasoning with someone who just doesn’t get it? After reading Malachi that’s exactly how I felt. At this point the temple is built and the Israelites are settled back into their traditions and way of life. They are now waiting for the prophecies of their Messiah to be fulfilled. But with this wait and settling in came the return of sin, doubt and once again a disconnection and separation from God.
The Israelites began to sacrifice improper animals, they were withholding tithes, they were marrying outsiders, they weren’t obeying and honoring the covenant they had with God. With all this corruption going on they refused to see themselves as the problem. Instead they put the blame on God questioning his very love for them (Malachi 1:2) . Almost desperately God points the finger back at them, reminding them of his great love and his promise of a Messiah. He urges them to take responsibility for their actions and remember to obey the covenant they have with Him.
I found it interesting that the last book of the Old Testament left me with a feeling of desperation. You felt the need for the Messiah and I almost couldn’t wait for him to come, then I realized: wait, Jesus did come! Today we have a new covenant with God, one that is fulfilled by grace through Jesus Christ.
I hope you get it.
-Elleigh Dylewski
(originally posted for SeekGrowLove -then named Grow16 – on April 26, 2017)
Reflection Questions
Verse 13 of Malachi 3 says: “’Your words have been arrogant against Me,’ says the Lord. ‘Yet you say, “What have we spoken against You?’” Have you heard others (or yourself) speaking arrogantly against God? Are there still some who don’t recognize this as an offense to God?
What other offenses are being done against God – in Malachi 3 and today?
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