July 18: Matthew 12:38-42
Key Verse: Matthew 12:41
The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.
Devotion:
Sometimes when I read verses like these, I wonder whether the Pharisees and Teachers of the law realised the gravity of what was being said directly to them, or whether they just dismissed it all because it did not agree with what they wanted to hear! I also wonder what they thought after Jesus died, was buried and raised again as He had told them or whether they dismissed it all again because it still did not agree with what they wanted to hear!
We can look back and think how silly they were for not accepting Jesus as their Messiah; we can ask questions about why this and why that – but we were not there at the time and we were not under their rule as were the Israelites at the time!
The more we study what happened, the more we can piece things together and realise what went wrong and when – but if we are going to be honest we will also see how we have strayed away from Jesus’ teaching just because we got carried away with something worldly ourselves!
Jesus wants us to remember the things of old, study the scriptures He has given us and apply them into our lives. It is no use looking back and blaming others or judging other if we are not going to turn away from similar things in our lives. We still do have the people who try to turn us away from Christ just because it does not agree with what they say. We still have the doubters who turn us away because they can convince us of their stories more than we listen to Christ’s teachings...
Points to Ponder:
Are you quick to judge others where they go wrong?
What do you do about things you do wrong?
July 17: Luke 10:38-42
Key Verse: Luke 10:40
But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’
Devotion:
This is one of those passages where we see the difference between people and how God reacts to those differences. Martha was a woman who wanted to make sure everything was right physically for Jesus in that she was making sure all the preparations were done to please Jesus as a guest of the house. This is often what we get caught up in doing in our own lives – we focus on the things we can change or do and we try to make sure they are done to the best of our abilities.
We even go as far as saying this is what God wants us to do and we justify what we do by saying this. But are we actually getting it right? That is the difficult question to answer and one who we have to take everything into consideration before we even attempt to answer that!
As I have said a few times over the last few weeks, Christ wants us to focus on Him and not too much on the world. He wants us to be able to live our lives by including Him in everything and trying to listen to what is actually needed and not the physical responses we are so used to following or fulfilling; we do this by listening more to the Holy Spirit and less to the world. We cannot say this is what was happening here because we don’t have insight into Mary and Martha’s personal lives and relationships with Jesus.
Jesus has warned us about judging others and this also highlights how we do this all the time. Martha was a bit upset by the lack of preparations Mary seemed to be doing, but totally missed Mary’s intentions – Jesus on the other hand did not miss Mary’s intentions. Mary was trying to focus on getting the most out of Jesus while He was with them. Martha was trying to put the most into the time Jesus was with them...
Points to Ponder:
Do you focus on what you do for God or what you get from God?
Will you try to balance your life with God?
July 16: Matthew 12:14-21
Key Verse: Matthew 12:15
Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill.
Devotion:
No matter what the people were up to Jesus knew He had to continue to make sure God’s promises stood firm and came to pass! The Pharisees continued to try and entrap Jesus, plotting against Him wherever they could but Jesus remained one step ahead all the time. Even when the end seemed like it had come Jesus remained firm and stood up to make sure God’s Word was kept!
When Jesus knew bad things were going to happen, He side stepped them until He knew the time was right. During this time when these words were coming true, Jesus side-stepped the Pharisees plans and continued to heal and care for the ill. He continued to show mercy even in the sight of danger… but He did ask the people not to spread the good news of them being healed so there would be a delay between what happened and when the Pharisees found out!
These words were foretold by the prophet Isaiah many years before when he told Israel they would see a servant king come to bring justice to the poor and needy and He would not use wars and injustice to bring about the justice – that would be man’s way!
As human beings we do get things terribly wrong at times – we bring injustice to the table so we can see when justice is done, we use evil to prove good exists. Jesus was very different and used love and hope to show how good exists. Jesus continued to bring hope and show mercy all the time He was amongst us on earth. He then showed absolute humility and gave His own life for us so we could know the goodness and righteousness of God.
Points to Ponder:
What do you do to show people goodness and mercy?
Will you share Christ’s love through goodness and mercy?
July 15: Matthew 12:1-8
Key Verse: Matthew 12:5
Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent?
Devotion:
It is very easy to get carried away with the pomp and ceremony in any church service; normally people point fingers at the high church services, but there is ceremony in all services and people tend to do what has always been done or do what is supposed to be done instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to move freely amongst the people.
When Jesus was pulled up about the disciples picking and eating corn from the field, He reminded the people about what David had done and many more since – they broke the strict letter of the law but it was done out or urgency and not out of spite. Jesus wanted them to see the difference and to know that God will allow you to do things out of urgency or need rather than having to stick to the strict laws of the church.
The church services we go to are typically in celebration of what Jesus has done for us and how He gave everything so we can live! The purpose of the service is to worship God in three persons and not to see how close you can to getting things done perfectly in line with the law! Our purpose is to worship God with everything we have, not to try and impress Him how well we can stick to the laws!
Jesus wants us to have a loving relationship with Him, not a master/servant relationship where we have to do everything exactly right in order to get by. Jesus spoke freely and told the people He desired mercy and not sacrifice; this means showing mercy to people who get things wrong because they cannot help it and not sticking to what is lawful and stopping people from getting what they need!
Points to Ponder:
Do you stick to the law or stick to what is right?
The law should be right, but following God is more important?