What a horrific passage to read for the 100th time…never seeing myself so clearly described before. I didn’t see it at the time, but my pride was in full bloom years ago as I had these prideful motivations while in full time ministry. Lord, help me to serve others well…would all that I do for Your kingdom bring You alone glory!
How awesome to see Gods persistence in bringing people into His feast…all are invited, yet each person gets to choose if they will participate. Even better Jesus provides us all the proper clothing for the feast, we are to put on Christ and be recognized as His. Shockingly, some will reject His covering and demand to wear their own efforts…only to be tossed out.
Lord, clothe me in your salvation and help me to depend on You alone for my entrance into Your kingdom.
What a promise! Jesus calls us to go to Him, accept His yoke and learn from Him…our response: rest for our soul. Not just relaxation, but our entire self- head, heart, bones and body will experience REST… Lord, I need that today!
Strengthen me to:
-go to You in prayer.
-accept Your guidance, direction and presence.
-learn Your way, see Your fingerprints around me.
I don’t know why it is comforting to know that the trials we face were expected, but Jesus knew that His disciples would get put in some pretty uncomfortable spots…yet in the midst of all of that, He reminds them (and us) that the Spirit will guide AND the hard moments will be a testimony to the watching world. Lord, thank You for Your presence and guidance even through trial.
It’s incredible that Jesus looks at our actions and perfectly knows what motivates us and drives us. Hebrews 4 talks about the Word of God doing the same thing. Lord, help me not to hide these things from myself, because You already know.
What a great illustration of Gods character. He compares God to a human father and reminds us that if fathers give good gifts God is able to do way better. He has none of the weakness or constraints of human fathers, knows perfectly what we actually need and Loves us perfectly!
On repeat in the sermon on the mount, Jesus tells us that why we do things is maybe more important than what we do. He knows if we do good things because we want others to see or if we want to please the Lord. Hebrews 4 tells us that “…the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Lord, help me to recognize the motives in my heart and submit them all to You!
