Category: Matthew

Reading

Audio, Visual

SAA Notes

These passages always search my heart and mind every time I read them. Heed what speaks to your heart today. Jesus calls the Pharisees dogs and pigs. We should never give to spiritual leaders the place that Jesus alone should have!

SJA Notes

* God Above, thank You for Your word to us today. Please open our hearts to hear and obey.

“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”

Jesus cuts right through the to the joint and marrow of our frailty and humanity.

Do we place great weight on our planning for the future, placating our anxieties by making plans?

Jesus says to stop doing that.

What instead are we to do?

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

This can be an incredibly hard word to work out practically in our day-to-day lives.

Because we want to know what’s happening tomorrow!

Jesus tells us straight and true,

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.”

Let us be encouraged to wrestle with this. To ask ourselves hard questions. To take our questions and worries, our concerns and troubles, to the Lord and ask Him for help.

* Mighty God,

We are lost without You, we are frail and broken, we are without hope – Except in You!

Please help us to rely on You for our daily bread, our sustenance, our future, our hopes and dreams.

For You are God – There is none like You! Hallelujah!

Amen.

Reading

Audio, Visual

SAA Notes

It is a struggle to be content with God’s approval for good deeds. We like others to know of our sacrifices and appreciate us. These verses are a challenge to our hearts. When our philanthropy and prayer are trumpeted to the world – we lose our Father’s reward and regard.

SJA Notes

* Loving God, please teach us today from Your word.

“And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Why do we do the things we do?

This is a very important line of questioning.

Are we motivated by a desire to look good in front of people?

Hear the warning Jesus has!

“Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”

Our purpose, the reason we do things, our motivations – They need to be founded in the Lord.

“And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

What is driving our desire to do good things?

Either we choose the reward of being seen and known and praised here on earth (earthly shadow, temporal, frail, will not last).

OR

We choose the reward of God seeing our labour from His throne (heavenly realities, eternal, our promised inheritance).

May we choose wisely!

* Father God,

Your word is clear.

What else have we to do but wrestle with our pride and selfishness and desire to be seen by those around us in the _now_ – And instead to put You first and foremost in our lives, our motivation in the _not yet_.

Please help us be and mark us as a people who are motivated by Your sight and Your reward.

Amen.

Reading

Audio, Visual

SAA Notes

In this section Jesus opposes the teaching of the Pharisees. They began to teach because the priesthood of their day was filled with time-servers and unbelievers. Jesus gives the heart of the Old Testament message in His replies to Pharisee teaching. Notice God’s concern with the inner man.

SJA Notes

* Dear God, thank You for Your word. Please show us today how to live.

“Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.”

The depth of God’s law is made clear here by Jesus.

Remember that Jesus is God in the person of the Son.

Remember that Jesus is God’s word become flesh.

And here is delves deep into the truth of commands given in the old testament.

The commands are not shown to be wrong, or devoid of meaning.

Rather, Jesus shows us just how deep God’s law goes.

Right to the HEART and TRUTH of the matter.

It is the heart of man that the law speaks to, rather than simply the outward appearance.

This is God’s word to us.

Let us flee from wrong thoughts towards those around us.

Let our word be true, and resist the urge to promise this or that.

Let us wrestle with what true love means, looking to how God loved us.

From Romans chapter 5 we read,

“… but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

This is love.

* Father God Above,

Thank You that Your word, from start to finish, is deep and wide with truth and meaning.

Thank You that Your word is valuable to us every day. You write Your word upon our hearts Lord God – Thank You!

Thank You that Your word is our bedrock for every aspect of our lives.

Please help us to be a people grounded in Your word.

Amen.