May 1 - Great Physician

Matthew 9:10-13

While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’  For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

This passage caused me to chuckle a little as I read it through several times.  Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”  My, how we've changed our perspectives. The healthy spend an awful lot of time with their doctors in order that they not get sick.

But, anyway …

The Pharisees didn't know what to make of this man in their midst. Many of them denied that he was from God, others considered that he might be a teacher, but when he came close to claiming a special relationship with God, they were furious. Others were simply frightened of him and didn't know what to make of his claims, his miracles or his teaching.  But, what they could not deny was that people listened to him.

They could never corner Jesus, so this time they went after his disciples, asking them why their teacher would demean himself by eating with people who were of no particular consequence. In fact, they were the scourge of society; the worst of the lot.

Now, if Jesus had wanted to play the game and make himself known to the glitterati, he would have done things very differently. He would have spent evenings with those who were celebrated in the Temple courts and walked along speaking of the esoteric business of the Law with the Pharisees who saw themselves above the rest of society.  He could have created a very safe life for himself among that group of people and maybe after fifteen or twenty years in ministry, he could have retired to the countryside and lived for many years.

But, Jesus was interested in playing at ministry. He was God. On earth. He had come to bring salvation to all of humanity. Those who were righteous didn't need him to wander the courts of the Temple with them … they didn't want him to do that.  He didn't need to eat lunch with them or attend quiet parties in their homes.  He needed to meet with those who needed him the most.

April 30 - Matthew 7:24-27

April 30 - Matthew 7:24-27

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

I remember standing at the front of the church, talking to the organist, who was also a fairly close friend, about the immense tumble of feelings that were occurring within me. Mom had died on Friday, it was Sunday morning and after an incredible late March blizzard, we were going to have the funeral that afternoon.  One of the things I said to her was that I could see how easily a person’s faith could be disrupted with the overwhelming pain of loss. Of course she assured me that my faith was strong and she was right, but that wasn't the first, nor would it be the last of the events in my life to test me.

My heart, passions, loves, furies, emotions … all of those things are woven together and reside fairly close to the surface. If you know me, you know what I’m feeling and you know what I believe. When storms threaten me, I don’t easily weather them as if they don’t exist. I am buffeted by the storms and I react all over the place.

Notice that this passage doesn't say anything about the windows or the roof, the things hanging on the interior walls or the furniture and contents of the house.  It only says that the house did not fall because of the strength of its foundation.

The strength of my foundation is in Jesus Christ. Of that I’m certain. However, once you get past that foundation for the house, things are a little different. Windows break, artwork falls off the walls; sometimes the walls might crack a little as well. Furniture gets moved around; sometimes to shore up a door so nothing can break in. Books come crashing off the walls, piles of blankets become a hideaway for a breaking heart, and sometimes nothing is safe inside that house.

But, the house remains. Even when everything else on the outside and on the inside have reached epic storm proportions, the house stands, because the next day will more than likely bring sunshine and warmth and a reminder that there can be peace.

The very core of who I am, the very foundation of my soul finds strength in Jesus Christ and it is that foundation that allows me to survive every storm and continue to find love and give love.

April 29 - Matthew 7:21-23

April 29 - Matthew 7:21-23

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

We live in a state of grace right now, whether we believe it or not.  Our sins have been redeemed by Jesus Christ.  He died on a cross in order to save us and he offers us eternity in heaven with the Father.

As you read the Revelation, though, you discover that this state is not one that will last forever. There will finally come a day when it is finished, when the harvest will be brought in and the grapes will be taken from the vine.  On that day, everything changes.  The Lord will enact the justice that we so well deserve.

It is unimaginable to me that there will be people who will see hell, but on that day, that will be their eternal reality.  Those who refuse to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and who refuse to obey the will of God.  I’m not talking about those who make mistakes and screw things up, but still desire to live by God’s will.  That’s called being human.

However, those who steadfastly believe that their will is better than God’s, who may do things in God’s name, but do not allow him to be part of their lives.  Wholesale slaughter was done in the name of God during the Crusades, but they were certainly not obedient to God.  Slavery was performed in the name of God. Even today, hate crimes are enacted using God’s name.

God is a God of Love. God is Love. Being obedient to God’s will is living in love. It’s that simple.

We don’t know when that day will come; we don’t know if it will come globally or individually for each of us, but it will come.  Will you be crying out, “Lord, Lord …” or will you rest, confident in knowing that you have loved and lived within the will of the Father.

April 28 - Matthew 7:15-20

April 28 - Matthew 7:15-20

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”

I was talking to a friend the other day about some fruit trees that she has planted in the past. They are all gone now and she wonders if the soil at her house is a problem. Some lasted two or three years, some longer, some shorter periods of time.

As we talked about this, I remember my mom desperately wanting to plant different types of fruit trees and having them all fail within a few short years, long before we got to enjoy whatever fruit they would bear.  We even tried growing an indoor lemon tree once … to no avail.

I’m by no means a gardener, but I know that growing fruit trees isn't simply a matter of putting seeds in a ground, watering it once in a while and waiting for it to shoot up and bring forth good fruit.  Maybe that happens in different climates than what we have in the Midwest, but they require a lot more effort and work than many other types of trees.  You have to care for them and ensure that they receive the right amount of water and sunshine. You have to protect them when they’re young from the elements.  You prune them and encourage them to grow. You invest time and effort.

You wouldn't do this if you knew it was a bad tree and would never produce fruit. You’d start over. If you knew that the tree would produce good fruit with a little effort and better fruit with more effort, you would extend yourself to assure its success.

Not only does Jesus tell us here to be aware of false prophets, those who look like good trees on the outside, but only tell lies; but he tells us that we can see by the fruit they produce whether or not they are worthwhile.  And once we recognize that, we need to quit expending effort encouraging those who aren't worth our while and ensure that we care about those people who are producing excellent fruit.

April 27 - Matthew 7:13-14

April 27 - Matthew 7:13-14

“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.”

I really believe that while we attempt to understand this when we are younger, it becomes easier with age.  When I was in high school, college and my early twenties, it seemed as if everything was available to me and nothing could go wrong.  My focus wasn't terribly tight and everything interested me.

Year by year, with learning from losses and successes, I began to understand how narrowing my focus enabled me to learn something well.

I still have a desire to do a multitude of things; that will never change. I still strain against limitations that are placed on me and push past them as often as possible in order to try new things, but I think I am beginning to understand what it was Jesus spoke of in these verses.

The narrow gate isn't at the end of the easy road. When I began avoiding prior mistakes because of what I’d learned, or focused my attention on something because of a success; or when I began to recognize the power of loss and struggle and the satisfaction that comes from overcoming those things, little by little, I approached the narrow road with more understanding. A lifetime of learning helps you comprehend the importance of the narrow road, even if you veer off just as often.

Jesus asks us to focus on Him. It won’t be the easy road or even the popular path, but in the end; all that you have learned and all that you have overcome will be worth it.  That gate will open and there he will be … waiting.

April 26 - Matthew 7:9-12

April 26 - Matthew 7:9-12

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

When I got into high school, I remember sitting around Christmas eve with my family and talking about gifts we had received as children. I had the hardest time remembering any of the specific gifts, but I remembered the feelings of excitement.

Mom loved Christmas, but because Dad didn't make a lot of money, she had to work quite a bit harder to make them fun for us. Just after Thanksgiving, one of the extra bedrooms upstairs would turn into a workshop for her.  I have an image of the three of us little kids sitting in the doorway, leaned up against the closed door, listening to her sew away.  We talked to her through the door, while she kept telling us to go play.  We just knew she was whipping up amazing creations in there and they would be wrapped and placed under the tree by Christmas morning.

Every year she made sure that each of us had the same number of gifts and would let us pull out the gifts and count them.  The giving was the most important part of that holiday for her.  She had created extraordinary gifts for us and she couldn't wait for us to open them and enjoy them.  As she made each gift, she thought about us, about how we would rip the paper off and smile or squeal or laugh and then hug the gift close as our own little minds considered how much fun it would be to play with it.

Those gifts meant as much to Mom as they did to us. She didn't have much money to work with, but she ensured that Christmas was always special.  She knew how to give good gifts.  When I consider the verses for today and Mom’s love of gift-giving, I am reminded of how much God loves us and the joy He must have in giving good gifts to us, too.

April 25 - Matthew 7:7-8

April 25 - Matthew 7:7-8

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

What do you suppose is the one thing God wants most?

It isn't simply obedience to His Law or to follow the moral imperatives in Scripture. It isn't for us to be good or to pray or go to church once a week. It isn't for you to read your Bible every day or tithe your money. It isn't missionary trips or teaching Sunday School.

What God wants most is to have a relationship with us.

If you ask for Him to be your God; he will. If you seek him, you will find him. If you knock on the door of heaven, that door will open up to you.  God wants nothing more than to be part of your life and have you be part of his kingdom.

Those other things become part of who you are once that relationship begins. Those other things tell the rest of the world that you are in a relationship with God.

We choose our relationships.  Sometimes we make poor choices, but when we choose God, he promises that he will always be there.  When we ask him to be close to us, we receive peace. When we look for him in the darkest hours of the night, he brings comfort and when we stand before him in the throne room of heaven, he flings open the door and invites us in.

Today is a good day to begin this relationship.