Category: Uncategorized

Re:Verse reading–Matthew 16:13-26 (day one)  “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (vs 16)  “Never, Lord!” he said, “This shall never happen to you” (vs 22)  It was a spectacular start and an equally spectacular stumble.  Peter had just identified Jesus as the Christ.  Already thinking higher and clearer than most of his contemporaries, he still had some learning to do.  When Jesus began to talk about the cross and the resurrection, Peter’s reaction was less commendable.  His reluctance is instructive.  None of us should confuse one spiritual step (even a successful one) with the whole race.  It is possible to pass first grade and fail second–especially if we refuse to learn or do homework.  “I buffet my body. . .lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified” said Paul.  (1 Corinthians 9:27)  Want to follow Jesus?  Don’t stop with one step.  Every step is a commitment to continue with the next. Follow all the way!

RE Verse reading–Matthew 9:35-10:31 (day seven)  “When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (vs 36)  These are sobering words for me.  Having heard from the Lord early in my life, “if you love me, feed my sheep”, I am challenged to be what I need to be so that people can have what they need from God.  I am not be alone in this responsibility.  All of us have shepherding roles.  Parents to children.  Fathers to families.  Friends to friends.  Churches to cities.  Like it or not, we ARE our brother’s keepers.  If we love them, we will lead them to safe places.  May the Lord help us to see our opportunities.  May He send us to prayer and then out into this “ready harvest”.  People need a shepherd!  Our job is to point them to Him.  I will look for you in a few hours.   Don

RE Verse reading–Matthew  9:35-10:31 (day six)  “Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave” (vs 11)  Even with persecution coming, Jesus knew one thing.  Not everyone would be angry. Some would be willing to help.  Some (in every town. . . almost) would offer hospitality.  A worthy person (axios–“weighty, respectable”) would recognize the integrity of the message and give assistance.  The disciples were told to ask for it.  Sometimes, we make ministry too one-sided.  We are strong.  “They” are weak.  We have answers. “They” have only confusion.  Not only is this prideful perception false, it divides us from the kind of friendships upon which the kingdom is built.  Like Jesus on the cross, we are to say ” I thirst” in the face of a heartless world.  This vulnerability will raise ridicule from some. It will identify others who are willing to help.  Is it possible to be too self-sufficient?

RE Verse reading–Matthew 9:35-10:31 (day five)  “If anyone does not welcome you or listen to your word, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town” (vs 14)  Such practical advice!  Such powerful help!  The disciples learned early to “shake the dust off” from experiences of failure or rejection.  They were to discard every reminder of the experience.  “Forget it!” said the Lord.  Don’t brood over it.  Don’t rehearse the hurt or wonder what you could have done differently.  It is a waste of energy.  Paul learned the same lesson.  “FORGETTING what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead” (Philippians 3:13)  How would your life be better if you stopped thinking about the failures and hurts of the past?  Jesus calls us to a fresh start, to accept His forgiveness, to leave vengeance (and even the need to be understood) behind.  Shake the dust off!  Get forward into the new adventure that God has for you!

RE Verse reading–Matthew 9:35-10:31 (day four)  “I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement than for that town” (v 15)  It is a stretch for us.   A supernatural vision of a day of judgement is unfamiliar territory to us. We have been raised with a material/scientific world-view.  We rarely think about it.  Jesus thought about it constantly.  He thought about the choice the cities of Israel would soon make–to listen to the disciples or not, to welcome them or not.  He thought about the eternal consequences of such choices.  Sodom was a notorious, historical example of the judgement of God.  What kind of insight into the Mind of God caused Jesus to  consider the rejection of light a more serious crime than the practise of darkness?  To be bad is bad.  To refuse to get better is worse. “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men. . .” (2 Corinthians 5:11)

RE Verse reading–Matthew 9:35-10:31 (day three)  “Behold, I send you out as sheep among wolves” (vs 16–not printed in our curriculum book)  It was a shocking image.  Notice the word behold. (ie look here!)  A shepherd NEVER sent his sheep out among wolves.  He spent his life defending against such a possibility.  Why would the Lord do so?  It was His love!  In verse 9:36, Jesus “saw” the multitudes, and realized their desperate condition.  His love moved Him to act, to risk, to sacrifice.  Paul would later report the same.  “The love of Christ CONTROLS us” (2 Corinthians 5:14).  The Lord had no illusions that ministry would be cost free.  Jesus knew that His apostles would sometimes be ignored (vs 14) and eventually persecuted (vs 17).  He knew that His own life would be forfeit to this grand enterprise. It was still worth it the Him. May God give us such love.  May we say, at our worst moment, “He sent me here.”

RE Verse reading–Matthew 9:35-10:31 (day two)  “And Jesus summoned His twelve disciples. . .(and) sent  them out after instructing them”  (vs 1, 5)  Matthew 10:5-15 is a specific plan for a specific moment in time.  It is not a paragraph of timeless missionary principles.  At this moment, the disciples were to avoid contact with Gentiles.  This would later be changed in the Great Commission (“go to all the world”)  At this moment, the disciples were to “take no bag. . .or extra tunic or sandals” (vs 10)  It was a short-term mission project and the Lord did not want time wasted on unnecessary preparation.  It is a mistake to conclude that all missionaries of all times are bound by the same rule.  The timeless truth of this passage (the one bearing on all disciples for all time) is in verse 38.  When we pray, the Lord will reveal a specific plan for harvest effectiveness.  He is the “Chief Harvester”.  He knows what will work!  Now, about prayer. . .

RE Verse reading–Matthew 9:35-10:31 (day one)  “Ask the Lord of the Harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.” (vs 38)   Was this a trick?  Were the disciples instructed to ask God to “send workers” to soften them up for their own mission assignment?  No.  Unless we care for the whole harvest, we are ill-prepared to accept responsibility for any part of it.  Until we can pray “Thy kingdom come” (and mean it for every nation and every church)  we cannot pray “Here am I send me” and avoid the self-centeredness that sometimes cripples mission efforts.  We are part of a large and godly enterprise!  Part of our weekly worship at FBC is an invitation to pray for lost friends.  Until we earnestly desire their salvation, how can we be useful to God?  Calling us to pray for workers is no trick!  The way God brings in His harvest is to teach the church to pray.

RE Verse reading–Matthew 8:18-22 (day seven)  “Follow me.” (vs 22)  The value of this story to modern believers will largely depend on an early interpretive decision.  Is “following Christ” a metaphor for ministry or for salvation?  What did it mean to Jesus?  What did He think was at stake for those men that day in Capernaum?  For us?  Following Christ clearly implies ministry.  “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men” (Mark 1:17)  However, the larger reality (the truth out of which ministry rises) is union with Christ.  “Let him. . . follow me. For whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it”  (Matthew 16:25)  Do you notice the connection between following and finding life?  Neither Jesus nor the Scripture conceives of a soul that is safe apart from union with Christ.  He is our strong tower.  He is our righteousness.  Following Christ (staying with Him) is not an option.  It is central and synonymous with salvation.

RE Verse reading–Matthew 8:18-22 (day six)  “The Son of Man has no place to lay His head” (vs 20)  We are reminded this week by the words of Christ  to the eager scribe.  Ministry is costly.  Changing the world (are we holding on to this dream?) will cost us our lives.  Those who are unwilling to pay the price disqualify themselves.  Does this sound harsh?  It is a truth that challenges one of our deepest instincts–the desire for safety.  Ironically, to save us (rescue us from sin, restore us to God, use us as intruments of righteousness) Jesus must regularly make us unsafe (subject to uncertainty, hunger, criticism)  Only in our weakness do we discover supernatural strength.  Only in loss do we realize true gain.  Because it runs so contrary to our immature desires, we tend to forget this truth.  To save us, He must make us unsafe.  Faith means following even in the moments when this truth becomes clear.