SCRIPTURE: Matthew 7 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: (Read my reflection from 2008) Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. [Matthew 7:13-14] If Jesus were a…
worship or worry?
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 6 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: (Read my reflection from 2008) No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. [Matthew 6:24] There seems to be two sections in this chapter, about worship and worry. The first part deals with giving,…
flying right-side up!
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 5 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: (Read my reflection from 2008) Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. [Matthew 5:11-12] Jesus’ words…
working for Jesus!
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 4 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: (Read my reflection from 2008) “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. [Matthew 4:19-20] It was an ordinary day at work for Simon and Andrew, until Jesus came along. Their lives were both typical and predictable, until…
Spirit and fire
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 3 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: (Read my reflection from 2008) “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his…
God’s anger
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 2 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: (Read my reflection from 2008) When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what…
God with us… forever!
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 1 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: (Read my reflection from 2008) All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). [Matthew 1:22-23, Isaiah 7:14] Ever since humanity rebelled against God, we have lost our ‘face…
a forgiving heart
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 50 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: (Read my reflection from 2008) But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you…
words of blessing or warning?
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 49 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: (Read my reflection from 2008) Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come. [Genesis 49:1] These are father Jacob’s last words to his sons. We might have expected warm and fuzzy last words, but not so. In a…
something really happens
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 48 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: (Read my reflection from 2008) May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly on the earth.” [Genesis 48:16] So what really happens when one person ‘blesses’ another? What kind of power is released when the blessing is given? How is it…