Read the Bible in a Year (07OCT19)

DAILY REMINDER – Today, October 7’s Bible reading is Matthew 13-14.

NEXT DAY REMINDER – Tomorrow, October 8’s Bible reading is Matthew 15-17. May God bless you with the reading of His WORD.

MATTHEW MOMENT – (07OCT19) “Jesus told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.  But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared’” (Matthew 13:24-26). Jesus told this parable of Him being the Sower who planted good seeds of kingdom people in the world. The enemy came, however, and planted his wicked people amongst them. Nevertheless, upon His return, He will have His angels to pick the harvest. All who are not wheat will be bound and thrown in the lake of fire, but those who are wheat will inherit eternal life.

Jesus gave this parable of the sower to help the people understand that we are not wise enough to pluck people out of the harvest on our own, because we may be plucking a wheat while thinking that it was a weed. Wheat and weeds look so closely alike that it is difficult to distinguish between the two unless you are well-trained. The Bible says: “But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16k:7). God told this to the Prophet Samuel when he was choosing a king for Israel to succeed King Saul to the throne.  We can sometimes judge a person wrongly based upon their looks, education, financial status, etc., when God may have actually chosen that person to do a work for Him. Then we can sometimes look upon a person with favor because they present themselves well, while God has rejected them. Jesus, even though He said to test the fruit, lets us know that the final harvesting will be done by Him and His angels. Therefore, we should treat everyone with great care because your weed may turn out to be a wheat. 

QUESTION OF THE DAY - (07OCT19) “And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.’ And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith” (Matthew 13:57-58). Jesus was not what the people expected out of their leaders. He was son to a carpenter and had not been trained by the theologians of their day. They could not understand how it was that He talked with so much authority and wisdom. They looked at the outward shell instead of listening to the Word that was coming from Him. These were people from His own hometown, but they were dismissive of Him. Therefore, Jesus did not do all the wonders which He could have there because of their unbelief.

There are times when we become Christians or our walk in God grows, the people who have known us, grew up with us, or used to associate with us are the ones who have trouble with our transition the most. They remember the person who you used to be and not the person who God has grown you to be. The Bible says: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). You may know that you are a new creature in Christ, but sometimes family, friends, and old acquaintances have a hard time catching up with that fact. You will oftentimes find that it is easier to minster to those who do not know your past like strangers and/or new acquaintances. So, what do you do? The main thing that you can do is pray for them and set an example for them. The Bible lets us know that spiritual things are spiritually discerned, so you cannot expect those who do not have the Spirit to discern the Spirt in you. Therefore, you must show them. Only by your example will many of them see, and for the rest, turn them over to the Lord so He can handle it. Something to ponder….

MATTHEW MOMENT – (07OCT19) “And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed” (Matthew 14:35-36. Word had spread about Jesus’ teachings and the miracles that He had done. People from everywhere came so that they could be healed. Some thought in advance that it would be difficult to get a one-on-one with Jesus because of all the people around, so they figured that if they could just touch the hem of his garment, they would be made well, and indeed they were. They brought with them a measure of faith and their faith made them well.

What measure of faith are you bringing to Jesus? Do you believe that He can do wonders in your life even if you do not always feel Him or hear Him? Sometimes the Lord is silent as He watches us in operation. He tests our faith muscles to see if we will give up or continue along the path which He has provided for us. The Bible says: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). The people in the above story could not know for certain in the natural that their touching of Jesus’ garment would heal them, but their faith spoke into existence those things without having experienced it for themselves. This is the type of faith that the Lord desires for us to have. The Bible says: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Whatever you are believing God for, you must believe that it has already been done in Jesus’ name and He will do all things in accordance to His will. Something to ponder….