Author: Larry Soape

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 14:14-21 (day four)

This miracle must be a very important lesson!  It is the only one included in all four Gospels.  When the disciples came to Jesus with the need to feed the people, Jesus must have felt some sadness.  The disciples had been with Him for about two years now and they did not think about the fact that Jesus could provide the solution Himself.  The ‘truth’ of the situation to the disciples was that there was not enough food to feed the multitudes (possibly as many as 25,000).  Just like the storm at sea appeared to them to be their death until Jesus spoke, the truth of the miraculous provision was not evident until Jesus spoke.  The ‘Truth’ was that Jesus was the Bread of Life.

How much time have you spent with Jesus?  Have you walked with Him just a short time or has it been a lifetime?  Do you recognize that the Truth is not known until Jesus weighs in?  It is not just what Jesus can provide for you…it is who He is and the salvation we have through Him!

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 12:9-13 (day four)

It was a trap…an ambush!  The Jewish religious leaders were trying to catch Jesus into saying something they could use against Him.  It reminds me of Wylie Coyote trying to catch the Roadrunner.  A new plan, a new trick, a new device to help him to outsmart and catch the elusive Roadrunner…but it never worked!  Each scribe, each Pharisee, each lawyer, or each Sadducee…they all had a plan to trip Jesus up…but it never worked!  Jesus always saw through their deception and His wisdom and ability to go directly to the heart or truth of the question never failed to silence His would-be accusers.

Have you ever wondered how someone could come up with such wise responses to today’s problems?  Wisdom comes from spending time in God’s Word.  In Acts 4:13 it says, “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.”  So you haven’t been spending time with Jesus?  Do you believe it is too late to start now?  Start now…read Scripture daily…it’s never too late to start!

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 9:20-22 (day four)

There is not one instance in Scripture when Jesus said for something to happen and it didn’t happen.  Whether it was calming a storm, sending out a demon, or healing a sick person, whatever Jesus commanded…happened!  His sovereignty and His power were evident over the physical world and the spiritual world.  The disciples were constantly amazed at His demonstrated authority.  Now, in our passage this week, we see that power flows out of Jesus in response to faith on the part of this woman.  The world had never seen someone like Jesus.

Throughout Scripture we have promises where God (aka Jesus) tells us that He will do something, or heal something, or make something to happen.  Often, the requirement for us is to only believe.  If we have this full and complete message of Scripture that tells us that God will work in our lives, can we believe Him?  Can we believe that He has the power to do it and that He will do it when He says so?  The character qualities of faithfulness, truthfulness, immutability, compassion, and authority find their source in the character of God.  They are some of our greatest gifts!

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 9:18-19; 23-26 (day four)

It is Christmas morning as I write this blog post…a day when the birth of Christ is foremost in our minds and hearts.  The question is, “will I remember Him so readily the rest of the year?”  The miracles we have studied this week and the past several weeks have shared a common denominator…Jesus has attributed the miracle to faith.  When a need arises, often my first thoughts are…”how can I solve this need?”  If Christ is foremost in my mind, I would go to Him just as Jairus, the Synagogue official did.  Maybe the ‘miracles’ we see in Scripture would be common-place in our lives if we walked by faith.  “Only believe”…that’s what Jesus said.  Only believe and you will see the power of God work in your life.  Only believe and people will be drawn to Christ because they saw Him at work in you.  Only believe and you will be walking in obedience.  Only believe!

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 8:23-27 (day four)

What are the waves that are crashing around you?  As the disciples looked around them, all they could see was the wind and the waves of the Sea of Galilee.  Their circumstances overwhelmed them…they believed that they were going to die.

Jesus’ question to them when they awoke Him was ‘where is your faith?’  The disciples had not seen Jesus’ command of the natural elements yet.  They had seen Him heal the sick and cast out the demons, but this was different.  Their practical knowledge of the sea dictated to them that they were going to drown.

We can be overwhelmed with our circumstances and fears too.  Maybe our waves are financial needs or relationships in our family or failing health…whatever they are, we are overwhelmed.  Where is our faith?  Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Light…” (John 14:6)  Ask Jesus, “What is the Truth of my circumstances?”  Don’t doubt, trust in Him in faith!

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 8:14-17 (day four)

This passage marks the third miracle identified in chapter 8.  Matthew includes the miracle in order to point out that Jesus is fulfilling prophecy.  He quotes the prophet Isaiah from chapter 53, the Suffering Servant passage.  Jesus is not just making sick people well, Matthew is equating their physical illnesses with their spiritual sins.

Jesus came to bring spiritual healing to the world.  His fulfillment of prophecy about the coming messiah was a proclamation of His divine identity.  Isaiah foretold the death of the Christ and His redeeming work of bearing our sins on His own, so that we might live.

If asked, can you tell someone who Jesus is?  The three questions every believer should be able to answer are:  1) Who is Jesus?  2) Why did He come?  3) What does it mean to us?  If you are struggling with any of these questions yourself, check out Christianity Explored at www.fbcsa.org.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 8:1-4 (day four)

As Jesus came down from the mountain, He was met by a humble leper.  The leper demonstrated some unusual qualities.  Whatever Jesus chose to do, this leper was willing to accept.  Sounds like three other men in Scripture…Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael.  These three friends of Daniel’s were going to be thrown into a fiery furnace unless they bowed to worship king Nebuchadnezzar’s gods.  In Daniel 3:17-18, these men said, “…our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire, …but even if He does not, let it be known to you O king, that we are not going to serve your gods…”

Do we have such faith?  Are we willing to follow Christ, even if we don’t get what we want?  Do we demand the ‘correct’ answer to our prayers?  May our faith match that of Daniel’s friends and of this leper…whatever your will is, Lord, I accept it!

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 4:1-11 (day four)

Today is Thanksgiving!  It is a day in our nation when families gather and usually share a meal together.  And this is not just any meal…it is generally a feast of major proportions.  It is difficult for us to comprehend what Jesus must have felt after 40 days of fasting and then becoming hungry.  [Esau was willing to trade his birthright for a bowl of stew after only a few days of hunting.]  Humanly speaking, Jesus was at a very vulnerable time for temptation.

Satan is a formidable enemy.  He knows when and where we are the weakest in dealing with temptation.  We may be at a spiritually high, mountain top spiritual moment and we don’t even recognize the temptation…and think we are invincible spiritually.  Or, we may be at our lowest spiritual moment when we have what seems to be no hope at all.  Exhausted, busy, trying to make a good impression…wherever our weak point is, that is where Satan will strike.

When temptation comes, claim 1 Corinthians 10:13.  If Jesus lives in you…you can resist the temptation!