260 in 2012 DEVOS

I am once again reading thru the new testament together with students this year (and any of y'all who would like to) and I'll be posting a devo for each chapter. 1 chapter a day, 5 days a week, reflect on weekends. We started in the book of Matthew last week so this first post will include last week (Matthew 1-5) and today's devo. May God daily conform us to HIS image as we read, learn and be transformed together!~

Introduction:
Of the four Gospels, Mathew, Mark, Luke & John, the book of Matthew:
- Has the most amount of Jesus’ teachings
- Contains more references (50) and illusions (75) to the old testament
- Has more references to money than the other three
- Has the most instructions to the disciples
Matthew was a disciple of Jesus and a tax collector, which was an occupation that was hated because they were seen as traitors to the Jews. Matthew writes to a primarily Jewish audience and presents Jesus as King. The problem was that the Jews were looking for a political king who would bring an external (release from Roman rule) kingdom. Jesus was and is a spiritual king who is bringing an internal (character/heart change) kingdom. This book presents Messiah King who is Revealed, Rejected and will Return. In it we are given life-changing lessons on discipleship!

Matthew 1: The King’s Ancestry & Arrival
If you’re ever looking for some names for your kids, these first 14 verses may be helpful……or not. Hey – they were ALL part of Jesus’ family, not good enough for you?!~! Genealogies can tend to be boring, but we have to remember that in Jewish culture, tribal identification and line of descent were of major importance! Anyway – chapter one records two basic things: Jesus’ family tree and how he came to earth.
FIRST – Jesus’ Ancestry. As we read this, Jesus was both a legal descendant of David through Joseph and a blood descendant of David through Mary, making Him perfectly qualified. Interestingly we see God choose sinners to be such a part of Jesus’ lineage! Mary, his mom, was a sinner (Luke 1:47), David & Abraham who both had issues, and then did you notice the only other three women mentioned? Tamar (a harlot), Rahab (a prostitute) & Ruth (a pagan with no “right” to be a grandma to David). Is God gracious or what?!~!
SECOND – The whole virgin birth thing. Even if you’re somewhat new to the whole having babies thing, you know that “virgin” and “birth” don’t go together! Yet this was Jesus’ DIVINE lineage! The first 17 verses explain his human descent, verse 18 explains his divine descent. It’s a miraculous truth! Joseph didn’t get it (wanted to divorce her) and I would not have either. But we have to remember that not understanding something doesn’t disqualify truth. Jesus is God and this was the divine, amazing plan of the trinity! “Immanuel – God with Us” – what an wonderful promise!
SO WHAT?!
*What is your family background? Godly heritage or not really? Jesus’ family background was filled with scars & outcasts and yet God used Him! How much more can God use you & me & any who will surrender their lives to the Lord! Sweeeeeeeeet!!!!
*Jesus was both Human & Holy! God wants us to strive for the same. The human part we’ve got down, it’s the holy that needs work! No perfection, but direction. How does it show in your life & mine that we desire to live a godly life for Christ? What are you & I giving up to do so?
*Ever feel alone, discouraged or abandoned? Then the good news of Jesus being Immanuel, God with us should pump you up! He will never leave or forsake His kids! Are you one of His? Putting your trust & faith in Jesus alone for the forgiveness of your sins makes you the Kings kid! If you’ve never done that, what’s stopping you from doing that right now? If you are His kid, then know He’s with you ALWAYS!

Matthew 2: King Jesus: Prophecies, How He Was Received & God’s Sovereignty
Ok, let’s define some words: Prophecies are “predictions” made specifically about Jesus. Sovereignty means that God is in control of everything: people, circumstances, etc…
As we read today’s chapter, there are three additional evidences that Jesus has legitimate, unique and absolute royal right to be King!
1. Wise Men Worship Jesus: “Magi” were men skilled in astrology, interpreting dreams etc… and THESE magi recognized Jesus as the Messiah.
2. Fools are either Hostile or Indifferent to Jesus: It “disturbed” Herod that people were worshipping someone other than him! So he plotted to eliminate Jesus by getting the magi to tell them where he was so “…I too may go and worship him.” Ha! God sovereignly overruled by telling the magi in a dream not to go back to Herod. Yeah, that torqued him off! So he figured he’d just kill ALL the babies 2 years old & under, but again we see God’s sovereignty as he told Joseph in a dream to leave.
3. Fulfilled Prophecies: These predictions should certainly convince the skeptical.
a. Verse 6 = Micah 5:2
b. Verse 15 = Hosea 11:1
c. Verse 18 = Jeremiah 31:15
SO WHAT?
*What is your response to Jesus? Hostility? Indifference? Worship? We all have to choose to do something with Jesus. His #1 desire is for our worship – not service, not sacrifice, but first & foremost worship. How are you and I involved in worship of Jesus? Not just Sunday mornings, but throughout our daily lives. Take some extra time today and tell God how awesome He is! Then make it a part of your daily routine!
*Who have you recently brought to worship? Wycliff missionary Greg Carlson said, “Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” Being God’s rep here on earth means leading people to worship! Who have you shared Christ with recently? Who have you invited to church or student ministry lately? These are invitations to worship!

Matthew 3: John the Baptizer, Repentance & Jesus’ Baptism
What makes a person great? Fame? Wealth? Family heritage? Earning & having $? Academic degrees? Expertise? Athletic ability? Artistic talent? Military office? Potential? If you use these measurements, Jesus was not great. And John was even worse, yet Jesus said of John, “I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist…” (Matthew 11:11) So what makes a person great?
John’s greatness was related to his calling. He faithfully fulfilled his role of pointing people to Jesus! His message was REPENT – an inner change of heart leading to an outer change in direction. His motive? “The Kingdom is near” – this phrase appears 32 times in Matthew! In other words, “Hey, get your hearts right with God because He’s coming back soon!”
What also made John great was radical lifestyle. The clothes he wore & the food he ate were of little importance. He was on a mission for God and his message was powerful. He addressed everyone and confronted the “religious make-believers” – those who only outwardly spoke of Jesus. “Brood of Vipers” was not a compliment and yet he offered hope, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” True inner repentance always shows itself outwardly.
What made JESUS even GREATER? His greater calling! He too faithfully fulfilled his calling of laying down His life for you & me!!! He is about to begin the ministry He is called to and we see the trinity at work in His Baptism: God the Son: Is baptized, not because he needed to repent but to validate His ministry. God the Holy Spirit: Descends from heaven and gives light. God the Father: Audibly speaks and says, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Up to this point, no old testament sacrifice had ever truly pleased God (because they covered sin, but had not removed it), but now God is pleased, in advance, with the sacrifice His Son would make! Whoah!~ Cool God Stuff!
SO WHAT?!
*All of us want our lives to count, we want to be great in some way or another. So what measurements do you use to determine greatness? Man’s (listed above) or God’s? Use mans and you’ll be disappointed, but use God’s and you can be sure of a life with impact for eternity!
*Jesus & John both fulfilled God’s calling on their lives. Believers in Jesus all have the same calling – To Know Jesus & Make Him Known! Take a sheet of paper and write that phrase at the top. Draw a line down the middle and begin to list on the left side the ways you are working at Knowing Jesus. Then on the right, list ways you are currently working at Making Him Known. How does your list look? Long? Short? Out of balance? Ask God to help you in the needed area so that you can better fulfill your calling!
*Repentance is at the heart of the free forgiveness Jesus offers. The call to Jesus is a call to different thinking & different living. How can you & I “produce fruit in keeping with repentance” today?

Matthew 4: Ministry: Temptation, Purpose & People
This chapter is a biggie for me as it reminds me of what I need to remember in ministry: That temptation is everywhere, that I must always come back to God’s purpose for my life and that life is about people & relationships, not stuff!
Right out of the “starting ministry” gate, Jesus spends 40 days fasting and then God allows Him to be tempted by Satan!
First Temptation – (Physical) Make the stones into bread = You’re hungry, go ahead, provide for yourself, act independently of God. Jesus’ answer: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Second Temptation – (Power) Satan basically says “Toss yourself off this mountain, God will catch ya’ and hey, here’s a Bible verse to back me up!” Jesus’ answer: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
Third Temptation – (Authority) Worship Satan & get authority. Jesus’ answer: “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”
Jesus was tempted at his weakest moment but each time replied by quoting (properly) scripture! Note to self, remember this one!
Next we see Jesus begin to fulfill his purpose as He “began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." The long awaited (since Genesis 3:15) good news of the promised deliverer has now come!!! YOU THE MAN JESUS!!!
And who is this good news for? People, like you and me! And so Jesus begins recruiting a team whom He will train and use to convey that good news when He is gone. So who ya’ gonna’ call??? (No, not ghostbusters) The smart, good looking, rich, talented, etc…. Nope. Some fisherman. He calls them to follow HIM. Not to follow a program or a church but the person of Jesus! And with that call, he gives them a purpose – “Come, follow me…….and I will make you fishers of men." These 4 along with 8 others would be the first whom God uses to spread this good news to ALL people!
SO WHAT?!
*TEMPTATION will always lurk as you seek to love & serve Jesus. And it will hit you at you weakest points! You & I must guard our hearts & lives from falling to these. Sex, money, fame, power & passivity are just some ways we get distracted and fall. The answer? Spend time in prayer and in the Bible knowing how to fight these. And get some accountability with people who will ask you the tough questions.
*Remember your PURPOSE! Whatever career you have or choose, as believers, we all have the same purpose of Knowing Jesus & Making Him Known! Let’s not rationalize why we aren’t fulfilling our God-given purpose, but instead, let’s be creative in how we can better fulfill it!
*There are no Lone Rangers in ministry. The first two things I’ve done at both churches I’ve served at is to get every student prayed for every day and to build a team o adults to work with students. A team can accomplish much more than any individual. Besides, even the Lone Ranger had Tonto. Are you serving on God’s team?
*Only Two Things last forever: God/His Word and PEOPLE. Spend time with people. All of us will die with a to-do list! Let’s spend time with our kids, our family, our friends, etc… instead of always trying to get everything done. In the end, relationships will always trump accomplishments!

Matthew 5: THE Best Sermon Ever! – Part 1
So since I like math, I thought I’d run the numbers, and the average churchgoer will hear over 2500 sermons in their lifetime (50 years x 50 weeks). That number goes up if you add in Sunday school lessons, Bibles studies, sermon mp3’s, etc… So depending on how long you’ve been a believer and how old you are, take a moment and do your math. What did you come up with? I became a believer in October of 1982 and because I listen to lots of sermons as I drive I know I’m up over 5K! So here’s the question I have – how many of them do you remember? Good question huh? I believe this first recorded sermon of Jesus would have made your list, and I’m guessing you’ve heard the sermon on the mount preached before too! Which finally leads me to my disclaimer – Chapters 5,6 & 7 could take months to fully go thru, and I’ve got 3 devos. So I’ll be hitting some points and leaving others out.
The Sermon On The Mount shows the absolute necessity of God in our lives. There is no way we can live the way taught in these chapters without God!
The BE-attitudes – emphasis on BE. The Christian life is first about BEing, then DOing. We were meant to be human beings, not human doings. These are a series of condition blessings Jesus states. Humility, meekness, passion for God, mercy, purity & suffering are all priorities in God’s Kingdom!
Salt & Light – Living this way allows a believer to be an impact in a world that is often tasteless and dark. God wants to transform us to lead others to Him.
The Law – It’s always been good, even though the keeping of it was never meant to determine our acceptance before God!
Murder, Adultery, Divorce – I am heartbroken by these. Hating others, cheating on others. I’m sure God is much more heartbroken. If stats are right, half of you reading this are either divorced, or come from a divorced home, or (sadly) will some day get divorced. Here is a Biblical way to think: How about just keeping your promise? How about from the get-go not having divorce as even an option. I’m not saying that if you are being abused to keep taking it. I’m saying make Christ the center of your marriage and persevere.
Keep Your Word – (Read Proverbs 10:19) Our pastor has been preaching out of James on the tongue and it’s been major convicting! Let’s keep that thing in our mouths! Let’s be like Horton (Dr Suess) who said, “I meant what I said and I said what I meant, an elephant’s faithful 100%.”
Treating Others – Let’s not be a revengeful bunch. Hate those who love you = the work of the devil, love those who love you = the work of man, love those who hate you = the work of God!
SO WHAT?
*When you hear a sermon, what do you do with it? Deposit the knowledge in your memory bank? Forget about it by that evening? Take notes so you can pray about it and apply it later? Talk it over at lunch with your spouse & family? Why note take some extra time this week after you hear the word of God and hash it over – you’ll be blessed!

Matthew 6: THE Best Sermon Ever! – Part 2
Jesus continues with His sermon and addresses a number of topics. Verse one introduces the first 18 verses that have to do with “hypocrisy.” A hypocrite was a Greek actor who pretended to be what he was not. Wow – that’s a good definition! (not mine)
1. Don’t show off as you give (1-4) There were unbelievers pretending to be believers and true believers who are sinners pretending not to be. And all of this “to be seen by” = Theaomai = Theatre (English). It was showing off in front of everyone! “When” you give reminds us too that giving is expected. Non-hypocritical giving is from the heart, sacrificial and humbly done.
2. Don’t show off as you pray (5-8) – i.e. Not focusing on self! WOW! “To be seen by” (again) It’s not wrong to pray (a) standing, (b) in synagogues or (c) on street corners. But motive is wrong = “to be seen” = theatre = put on a show! When a person dies this they have “Received reward in full” = if prayed “to be seen” then that’s what you get! Instead, go to a private place, shut off distractions and don’t babble! “Unseen” = show off to God not men!

3. The Disciple’s Prayer (9-15) – That’s what I call this. This was given as a model of how to pray. Prayer was the spiritual air Jesus breathed every moment of His life and the supreme purpose of prayer is to glorify God. Here are some things I saw in this: Father = Dad/child relationship. “In Heaven” = our resource. “Hallowed” = holy, revered, honored. “Your Kingdom/will be done”– Die to my wants. “Like it is in heaven.” His will WILL be done there! “Give us today” → day by day grace. “Daily bread” → essential needs. “Forgive us debts” = moral and spiritual debt against God (i.e. sin). Prerequisite = “as we forgive” (also vs. 14-15). Keep one from temptation and evil = i.e. I’m weak, I’ll sin Lord.
4. Don’t show off as you fast (16-18)
Don’t mope around/tell everyone. Do it as unto the Lord! Look like you do any other day so you don’t draw attention to self. And again it says “when” not “if.”
5. Treasure in Heaven (19-24) (verses materialism)
Don’t treasure up treasures for yourself because they become idols. Nothing we own is completely safe. Heavenly security is the only absolute security. “Treasure is = heart also” – Our most cherished possessions and deepest motives are inseparable. And why do we store up stuff here on earth? Because we worry!
6. Overcoming Worry (25-34) “Do not worry” = stop doing this! Have we forgotten who our Father is?! Worry and anxiety shows little faith. Contentment is seeking the things of God.
SO WHAT?!
*Ever pretend to be someone you’re not? Yeah, me too. It’s one thing to be an actor in a play, it’s a whole different thing to be one in life. Be real – with your spouse, with your family, with your friends and most of all, with God. He knows who we really are anyway, and here’s the deal – HE LOVES US regardless!
*Why pray if God knows what I need? I mean really, isn’t He saying “yeah, yeah…. I know…”? No - He wants us to ask of Him, commune with Him, develop a relationship with Him and He wants to hear us!
*Finally, what do you & I treasure? Here are some ways to know: Where do I spend my time? Money? Resources? Energies? And where ever that is, that’s where our heart is! Is what you & I treasure the same as what God treasures?