Matthew 9- Perfect Perception

 

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.

Matthew 7- Good Gifts

 

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!

Matthew 6- Motives Matter

 

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!

Matthew 5- Seeking Jesus

 

This is a simple statement, but a powerful one.  Jesus sits down and the disciples went to Him…seeking Him…ready to listen to Him…wanting to understand Him.  They intentionally placed themselves in His presence and humbled themselves into submission to His teaching.  Lord, help me to be ready to submit to You in every way.

Matthew 4- Follow & be Transformed

 

Jesus powerful words to the disciples are not “follow Me, and work hard to be fishers of men”…but rather “follow Me and I will make you fishers of men”.  That is a big difference!  How easy it is to fall into the trap of self motivated change, working hard to do the right things, and all the while feeling like a fisherman in a disguise as an evangelist. 

Lord, allow me to be surrendered to You in every way so that You can transform me.  You must do the work to make me into the person perfectly suited for Your calling on my life.  Help me to see when I am trying on my own and hand that over to you.

Matthew 1- Intentional Redeemer

 

What a gracious God to intentionally place these 5 women into the lineage of Jesus the Messiah!  God uses all of our own messy story to ultimately highlight His own grace and mercy.  Only God can take our jacked up lives and turn them into a beautiful tapestry woven together into a masterpiece…just like He does in the genealogy of Christ by highlighting these women.  Lord, help me to trust that you continue to be at work in my life and in the lives of my children…

Daniel 11- God Appointed

 

As Daniel is watching this world drama unfold, unimaginable power is on display by their vast armies and wide sweeping conquests.  Yet several times in this chapter God puts a bit of reality into the conversation reminding Daniel and the reader, that only He is in charge and has appointed all of these things.

The reminder for me is that God has appointed times for my life as well, not only for kings, but for His servants.  God is sovereign and cares about every detail of life.  Lord, give me the strength to trust you with every large or small detail of my life!