Shalom,

We read Matthew 27 in our Bible Reading Plan today. We mentioned this when we looked at Psalm 22 a few days ago. I encourage you to go back and look at that again as you read and study Matthew 27 today! We will be looking at Psalm 27 today:

¹THE LORD is my Light and my Salvation--whom shall I fear or dread? The Lord is the Refuge and Stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?

How can we fear anything in this life when we KNOW that we are on God's side?! Remember Romans 8:31:

³¹What then shall we say to [all] this? If God is for us, who [can be] against us? [Who can be our foe, if God is on our side?]

Then do what David did in verses 2-3! He reminded himself of the times when God delivered him in the past:

²When the wicked, even my enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.

³Though a host encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, [even then] in this will I be confident.

Then, encouraged by that, he spoke out what he desired to have the Lord do for him:

⁴One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, to behold and gaze upon the beauty [the sweet attractiveness and the delightful loveliness] of the Lord and to meditate, consider, and inquire in His temple.

⁵For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; in the secret place of His tent will He hide me; He will set me high upon a rock.

⁶And now shall my head be lifted up above my enemies round about me; in His tent I will offer sacrifices and shouting of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

⁷Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; have mercy and be gracious to me and answer me!

⁸You have said, Seek My face [inquire for and require My presence as your vital need]. My heart says to You, Your face (Your presence), Lord, will I seek, inquire for, and require [of necessity and on the authority of Your Word].

Then he exhorts US to have this attitude in times of tests, trials and tribulations:

¹⁴Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.

Great advice from the man who consistently went AFTER God's own heart! Make loving HIM, pleasing HIM, waiting on HIM and serving Him be your first priority. Then you will have the same confidence in the Lord that David had! And YOU have a BETTER covenant, based on better promises, than David had (Hebrews 8:6)! Meditate on THAT until it becomes real to you! Fear will leave, boldness will come, and then you're off and running!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Two things really stood out to me in reading Matthew 26 today. Verse 1-2 say:

¹WHEN JESUS had ended this discourse, He said to His disciples,

²You know that the Passover is in two days--and the Son of Man will be delivered up treacherously to be crucified.

It has always been amazing to me that Jesus actually TOLD the disciples what was going to happen to Him, and they didn't respond at all! At least no response was recorded here. No questions, nothing! It appears that it went right over their heads! But remember, they were not born again yet. They had no way of of understanding Spiritual things, YET!

Then we have verses 6-7:

⁶Now when Jesus came back to Bethany and was in the house of Simon the leper,

⁷A woman came up to Him with an alabaster flask of very precious perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at table.

This woman gave something of great value! You would think everyone would be happy to see Jesus so blessed and appreciated! But that was NOT their reaction! Here is what they said:

⁸And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, For what purpose is all this waste?

⁹For this perfume might have been sold for a large sum and the money given to the poor.

Isn't it funny how easy it is to tell OTHER people what they should do and how to do it! It's much easier for some people to always talk about doing and giving, but never actually DO anything! I LOVE the reply that Jesus gave to them! Verses 10-13 :

¹⁰But Jesus, fully aware of this, said to them, Why do you bother the woman? She has done a noble (praiseworthy and beautiful) thing to Me.

¹¹For you always have the poor among you, but you will not always have Me.

¹²In pouring this perfume on My body she has done something to prepare Me for My burial.

¹³Truly I tell you, wherever this good news (the Gospel) is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will be told also, in memory of her.

Jesus was very touched by what this woman had done for Him. It revealed a heart of love for her Lord! Let's be believers that give of ourselves (in EVERY area) to and for Him, loving Him "From The Inside Out"!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I just love studying the Word of God. The Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan is such a good tool for doing so! I want to share 2 verses from Psalm 25 today, and then a couple from Job. Psalm 25:5:

⁵Guide me in Your truth and faithfulness and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You [You only and altogether] do I wait [expectantly] all the day long.

Someone shared this verse with me as a prayer a very long time ago and I like to pray it before I read the Word! It is giving HIM glory for Who He is and then asking Him to teach me what the Word is saying to me in my own individual life! A prayer according to His will (His Word) is one that He hears and I have! Thank , You, Jesus! AMEN! The other verse I want to share is verse 14:

¹⁴The secret [of the sweet, satisfying companionship] of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its [deep, inner] meaning.

Unbelievers and unbelieving believers cannot understand how we can have such an intimate fellowship with the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! But that's' exactly what HE wants to have with us! I choose to fear (revere and worship) Him and He reveals Himself to me by His Spirit and through His Word! Then He reveals the mysteries and secrets of His Word to me as I pray in the Spirit and meditate on the Word! What a wonderful, blessed life He gave us!

We always begin the year with Job because it was one of the earliest books written. If you read the Book of Job with the understanding that Job's three friends haven't the slightest knowledge of Who God is, which colors every thing they say and makes it untrue and unacceptable! When God reveals Himself and makes things clear to Job, he (Job) repents, prays for others and is delivered! Let's look at these verses in chapter 42 as we end the Book of Job today:

¹⁰And the Lord turned the captivity of Job and restored his fortunes, when he prayed for his friends; also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.¹¹Then there came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they sympathized with him and comforted him over all the [distressing] calamities that the Lord had brought upon him. Every man also gave him a piece of money, and every man an earring of gold.¹²And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys

When Job prayed for his friends, God turned things around for Him! He was blessed with more wealth and abundance than he had before! Then verse 17 says:

¹⁷So Job died, an old man and full of days.

We should all be as blessed as Job was at the end of his days on earth. To have a very full, productive life and an abundant entrance into Heaven! Hallelujah!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

We will be looking at Psalm 24 today. Verses 1-2:

¹THE EARTH is the Lord's, and the fullness of it, the world and they who dwell in it.^{²For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the currents and the rivers.}

I LOVE this verse! The earth is the Lord's! It ALL belongs to Him! I want to establish that Truth with a few more verses:

^{John 1:3All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.}

^{Haggai 2:8The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine, says the Lord of hosts.}

^{Psalm 50:10}For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills or upon the mountains where thousands are.

All of this belongs to God, AND, because we are coheirs together with Jesus of Nazareth, we have a great stake in it, too! The last part of verse 1 also says that the PEOPLE of the earth belong to God! Psalm 2:8 shows what our attitude, AS coheirs with Jesus, should be concerning the people of the world.

⁸Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

This should be our prayer, as born again believers, for the unbelievers of the world. We KNOW this is the will of God because we have His Word on that, too, in 2 Peter 3:9:

9The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

How exciting to know that the SOVEREIGN God, Who is still in control, has set this all up because of His great love for us! How can we not give Him first place and priority in our lives? I love verse 10 of Psalm 24, also!

¹⁰Who is [He then] this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah [pause, and think of that]!

THAT is our god! Hallelujah! Praise Him!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I want to look at Psalm 23 today. I have always loved this Psalm and it is part of my daily confessions of who I am "IN HIM". I will mostly be sharing MY take on it and hope that you will gain some insight from that! We'll go verse by verse:

¹THE LORD is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack.

That's what a shepherd does! Having grown up on a sheep farm, I am familiar with all of the care that sheep require. We had to provide food and water, we had to lead them to where the food was, we had to protect them from outside predators as well as sickness and disease. My confession of this verse is: "You Lord are my Shepherd and I DO NOT lack any good or beneficial thing". Verse 2:

²He makes me lie down in [fresh, tender] green pastures; He leads me beside the still and restful waters.

My take on the fresh, tender, green pastures is that He has always led me to where I could find His Word being taught! I feed on the Word of God like the sheep feed on pasture land! I believe the still and restful waters refer to the Holy Spirit and His ministry in my life. He IS my Helper, my Comforter, my Counselor, my Intercessor, my Advocate, my Strengthener, my Standby, my Leader, Teacher and Guide (John 16:7)! My confession: "You make me lie down in fresh, tender, green pastures where I feed on Your Word. You lead me to those still and restful, Living waters of Your Spirit". Verse 3:

³He refreshes and restores my life (my self); He leads me in the paths of righteousness [uprightness and right standing with Him--not for my earning it, but] for His name's sake.

He refreshes and restores my life, by the Holy Spirit within me! This refreshing and restoration comes from feeding daily on the Word of God and being filled continually with His Spirit. He ALWAYS leads me in righteousness! He shows me how to operate as a righteous person, one who has right standing with God because of the precious blood of Jesus of Nazareth! My words: "You refresh and restore my life, my self, my soul. You lead me in paths of righteousness, uprightness and right standing with You - NOT for my earning it, but for Your Name's sake! (Because of Who You are!)". Verse 4:

⁴Yes, though I walk through the [deep, sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort me.

The deep, sunless valley of the shadow of death is our life on this earth! The curse is operating in the earth and I need to know how to walk above it where I am NOT subject TO it! It is His Word and His Spirit that lead, guide and direct me, teach and correct me, that bring me to the place of maturity where I can absolutely fear NO evil thing! My words here are the same as the Amplified! Verse 5:

⁵You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my [brimming] cup runs over.

The "table" prepared for me is the sustenance that He provides through the Word and then the anointing of the Holy Spirit. My confession: " You've prepared a table for me right here in the presence of my enemies, and I choose to FEAST at that table spread for me. I eat the Bread of Your Word, the Milk of Your Word, the Meat of Your Word, the Bread of Life, the Bread of Healing, the Fruit of Your Spirit. You have anointed my head with oil of Your Spirit and my brimming cup of Your blessing overflows"! Verse 6:

⁶Surely or only goodness, mercy, and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and through the length of my days the house of the Lord [and His presence] shall be my dwelling place.

He CAME that I may have life, in abundance, to the full, till it overflows (John 10:10 AMP)! He leads and guides me moment by moment, day by day. No one can EVER snatch me out of His hand! My confession: "Surely and only, goodness, mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell eternally in Your presence and in Your house - FOREVER"!

Meditate on this Psalm and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you individually about it! You will have your very own confession from it!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

In the Bible Plan today we are going to move from Matthew to the Psalms. Psalm 22 is what many believe that Jesus was quoting while on the cross. (Matthew 27). the title of this Psalm in the Amplified Bible is:

To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] Aijaleth Hashshahar [the hind of the morning dawn]. A Psalm of David.

Aijaleth Shahar means: hind of the morning. The hind is a symbol of one persecuted to death (Isaiah 13:14), a symbol of loveliness (Song of Solomon 2:9) and also a symbol of innocence. What perfect pictures of our Lord and Saviour! Then we see this in verses 7-8:

⁷All who see me laugh at me and mock me; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

⁸He trusted and rolled himself on the Lord, that He would deliver him. Let Him deliver him, seeing that He delights in him!

We will read about this in an couple of days when we get to Matthew 27 in the Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan. We will see this in verses 14-15:

¹⁴I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; it is softened [with anguish] and melted down within me.

¹⁵My strength is dried up like a fragment of clay pottery; [with thirst] my tongue cleaves to my jaws; and You have brought me into the dust of death.

Then this in verses 16-18:

¹⁶For [like a pack of] dogs they have encompassed me; a company of evildoers has encircled me, they pierced my hands and my feet. ¹⁷I can count all my bones; [the evildoers] gaze at me.

Jesus was not surprised when these things happened to Him! He KNEW the Word of God. He KNEW what was ahead of Him and STILL He made the choice to go ahead with this for US! He said that no one TOOK His life from Him, but that He laid it down! He could have called for angels at any time and been delivered from the horrifying death that He went through (Matthew 26:53), but He didn't! What He did, He did for YOU! And the future that Jesus saw BEFORE He went to the cross? Verses 25-31:

²⁵My praise shall be of You in the great congregation. I will pay to Him my vows [made in the time of trouble] before them who fear (revere and worship) Him. ²⁶The poor and afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; they shall praise the Lord--they who [diligently] seek for, inquire of and for Him, and require Him [as their greatest need]. May your hearts be quickened now and forever! ²⁷All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall bow down and worship before You, ²⁸For the kingship and the kingdom are the Lord's, and He is the ruler over the nations. ²⁹All the mighty ones upon earth shall eat [in thanksgiving] and worship; all they that go down to the dust shall bow before Him, even he who cannot keep himself alive. ³⁰Posterity shall serve Him; they shall tell of the Lord to the next generation. ³¹They shall come and shall declare His righteousness to a people yet to be born--that He has done it [that it is finished]!

IT IS FINISHED!!! We NOW have a new covenant, based on better promises! We, as believers in Jesus of Nazareth, live as new creatures, with the Spirit of Almighty God living IN us! Keep meditating on the Word of God until it becomes MORE real to you than anything else in your life! THEN you will REALLY live!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

There are so many different things we could look at in Matthew 21, but we will just be looking at verses 10-15 today:

¹¹And the crowds replied, This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.

¹²And Jesus went into the temple (whole temple enclosure) and drove out all who bought and sold in the sacred place, and He turned over the four-footed tables of the money changers and the chairs of those who sold doves.

¹³He said to them, The Scripture says, My house shall be called a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of robbers.

¹⁴And the blind and the lame came to Him in the porches and courts of the temple, and He cured them.

¹⁵But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He did and the boys and the girls and the youths and the maidens crying out in the porches and courts of the temple, Hosanna (O be propitious, graciously inclined) to the Son of David! they were indignant.

All of the ordinary people were excited to be able to see this One they had heard so much about! They were stirred up because they WANTED to believe that God was really the way Jesus was presenting Him and NOT the way the religious leaders had. Most of those religious leaders were so jealous that the attention was no longer on them (remember Jesus teaching about the chief seats and their long-winded prayers?), that they tried to trip Jesus up at every turn. Shouldn't these leaders of the people have been overjoyed to see people set free and God getting all of the glory? They had never healed anyone and instead of glorifying God for what had happened, they wanted to do away with Jesus because He showed them up for what they were!

We see here that these same religious leaders had let all sorts of ungodly things go on right in the temple area! They were more upset that Jesus turned over the tables and kicked out the merchants than that so many of the people were sick and hurting. The Scripture that Jesus was referring to is found in Isaiah and Jeremiah. Isaiah 56:7:

⁷All these I will bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples.

And then Jeremiah 7:11:

¹¹Has this house, which is called by My Name, become a den of robbers in your eyes [a place of retreat for you between acts of violence]? Behold, I Myself have seen it, says the Lord.

These religious leaders were robbing the people of their opportunity to know God! There are people today, "religious" leaders and "laypeople", believers and unbelievers, who would rather argue about what they think the Word says and complain about what different ministries are teaching, than to actually find out what the Word of God says and live it like it's true! AND IT IS!!! Don't be one of those, and don't even give them your valuable time! The Word of God says if you lack wisdom, then ask of God, and HE WILL give it to you! James 1:5:

⁵If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him.

Make it your goal to learn something new from the Word of God, and about Jesus, everyday! You'll be amazed at how much you'll grow!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I hope you are enjoying reading, studying and meditating on the Word of God through the Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan or your own plan! I enjoy it more every year! Today we will be looking at Matthew 20:29-31:

²⁹And as they were going out of Jericho, a great throng accompanied Him.

³⁰And behold, two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, Lord, have pity and mercy on us, [You] Son of David!

³¹The crowds reproved them and told them to keep still; but they cried out all the more, Lord, have pity and mercy on us, [You] Son of David!

One of the things that amazes me is how this crowd, who has been following Jesus to hear Him teach and see Him perform miracles, doesn't want these blind men to "bother" Jesus! Human nature at work! Left to ourselves we would all gather in our little exclusive groups and try to shut out those who we feel don't belong! Not so Jesus! Here's what He did:

³²And Jesus stopped and called them, and asked, What do you want Me to do for you?

³³They answered Him, Lord, we want our eyes to be opened!

³⁴And Jesus, in pity, touched their eyes; and instantly they received their sight and followed Him.

He met their needs and then allowed them into His "group"! The great Good News is that Jesus invites WHOSOEVER WILL to join HIS group, HIS family, HIS church! Hallelujah! Don't ever let peer pressure keep YOU from calling out to HIM for anything and everything you need! If you draw close to Him, He will draw close to you right back! You've got His Word on it! James 4:8 says:

⁸Come close to God and He will come close to you.

The more we know Him, the more faith, trust and confidence we will have in Him! He desires a deeply intimate fellowship with you! How awesome is that?!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

In Matthew 19 today we see the story of the rich man that came to Jesus and asked what he needed to do to possess eternal life. After discussing the commandments, Jesus gave the young man something that he could do:

²⁰The young man said, I have observed all these from my youth; what still do I lack?

²¹Jesus answered him, If you would be perfect [that is, have that spiritual maturity which accompanies self-sacrificing character], go and sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; and come, be My disciple [side with My party and follow Me].

²²But when the young man heard this, he went away sad (grieved and in much distress), for he had great possessions.

²³And Jesus said to His disciples, Truly I say to you, it will be difficult for a rich man to get into the kingdom of heaven.

The young man was sad about what he heard and left. WHY? Because he didn't possess riches, the riches possessed him! Because he was so money-minded, he didn't even hear Jesus properly! Jesus told him to sell what he had (possessions that would tie him down) and GIVE to the poor. Notice that Jesus did NOT tell him to give it ALL to the poor! What Jesus was actually saying to the young man was to liquidate his assets! Then give SOME of the money to the poor. He just said give, not "give it all"! The young man could have brought his money with him, been a support for Jesus and the disciples in ministry and perhaps would have been the natural replacement for Judas! But his riches OWNED him! He just couldn't imagine himself parting with ANY of what he had! Notice the reaction of the disciples:

²⁴Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go into the kingdom of heaven.

²⁵When the disciples heard this, they were utterly puzzled (astonished, bewildered), saying, Who then can be saved?

²⁶But Jesus looked at them and said, With men this is impossible, but all things are possible with God.

Why do you think they were amazed? Because they HAD riches of their own and knew many others who did also. But Peter asked the right question:

²⁷Then Peter answered Him, saying, Behold, we have left [our] all and have become Your disciples [sided with Your party and followed You]. What then shall we receive?

²⁸Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, in the new age, when the Son of Man shall sit down on the throne of His glory, you who have [become My disciples, sided with My party and] followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel.

²⁹And anyone and everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for My name's sake will receive many [even a hundred] times more and will inherit eternal life.

³⁰But many who [now] are first will be last [then], and many who [now] are last will be first [then].

Don't hold on to things! Your Heavenly Father well knows that you have need of things in this life! But become a giver the way God is a giver and you will never lack again! Isn't God's Word good!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

We will be looking at Matthew 18:19 today. The KJV Bible says this:

¹⁹Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

We talked a little about this yesterday in Adult bible Study at The Spoken Word church. We talked about what "agree" means, and the fact that the prayer of agreement is only as effective as it's weakest link! A look at these same verses in the Amplified Bible will shed some light on this:

¹⁹Again I tell you, if two of you on earth agree (harmonize together, make a symphony together) about whatever [anything and everything] they may ask, it will come to pass and be done for them by My Father in heaven.

To "agree" in God's eyes is to be harmonious and in complete accord. The dictionary definition of harmonious says to have equivalence and equilibrium, to be perfectly balanced. Two people cannot "make a symphony" together in prayer for healing if one person has strong faith for healing and the other is "a hoping and a praying". The prayer of agreement will be as strong as the weakest link. There is no shortcut for developing strong faith. Romans 10:17 tells us where to get strong faith for any situation! We need to find out what the Word of God says about each situation we face, and then continue to hear the Word on it until faith grows strong. How long will that take? As long as it takes! Only YOU will be able to know when it's enough and faith is strong for you. THEN, in order to STAY strong in faith, you must CONTINUE hearing the Word!

What a wonderful God we have! He hides everything in the Word FOR us to find out. When we do, we can have the same results that Jesus had when He spoke the Word! Let's be doing it! AMEN!!!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Since I have been teaching on Proverbs in my Adult Bible Study class, I have grown to appreciate, understand and desire Wisdom more than anything! If you have been reading along in the Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan, then you KNOW where this is headed! JOB! Job 17:12-19:

¹²But where shall Wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

¹³Man knows not the price of it; neither is it found in the land of the living.

¹⁴The deep says, [Wisdom] is not in me; and the sea says, It is not with me.

¹⁵It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price of it.

¹⁶It cannot be valued in [terms of] the gold of Ophir, in the precious onyx or beryl, or the sapphire.

¹⁷Gold and glass cannot equal [Wisdom], nor can it be exchanged for jewels or vessels of fine gold.

¹⁸No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; for the possession of Wisdom is even above rubies or pearls.

¹⁹The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare with it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.

We see here that Wisdom is the most valuable thing! We still don't know where to find it! Verses 20-23 should help:

²⁰From where then does Wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?

²¹It is hidden from the eyes of all living, and knowledge of it is withheld from the birds of the heavens.

²²Abaddon (the place of destruction) and Death say, We have [only] heard the report of it with our ears.

²³God understands the way [to Wisdom] and He knows the place of it [Wisdom is with God alone].

Okay! Now we know where it is NOT and have found that only GOD knows where Wisdom is to be found! Verses 24-28:

²⁴For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.

²⁵When He gave to the wind weight or pressure and allotted the waters by measure,

²⁶When He made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the thunder,

²⁷Then He saw [Wisdom] and declared it; He established it, yes, and searched it out [for His own use, and He alone possesses it].

²⁸But to man He said, Behold, the reverential and worshipful fear of the Lord--that is Wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

There's our answer! Wisdom is found in the place of reverential and worshipful fear (reverence, respect and awe) of the Lord and understanding comes when we depart from evil! Don't mess around with evil! Leave it alone and be WISE!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

At the start of Matthew 16 we have the Pharisees and Sadducees STILL following Jesus around! They asked for a sign that would prove that He really was who He said He was! This is AFTER they saw miracles and healings everywhere! You see, that's the problems with signs. They do not bring faith! Signs and wonders and miracles are to get the attention of the people (unbelievers) so that they can believe and receive Jesus as Lord and personal Saviour. As believers (who have received the "measure" of faith), they need to continue on in the Word of God in order to increase their faith in every area! Romans 10:17 tells us:

¹⁷So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

That's what Jesus was talking about when He spoke to Peter in Matthew 16:15-18:

⁵He said to them, But who do you [yourselves] say that I am?

¹⁶Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

¹⁷Then Jesus answered him, Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. For flesh and blood [men] have not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven.

¹⁸And I tell you, you are Peter [Greek, Petros--a piece of rock], and on this rock [Greek, petra--a huge rock like Gibraltar] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades (the powers of the infernal region) shall not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it]

Peter didn't really LEARN that Jesus was "the Christ, the Son of the living God", it was REVEALED to Him! That's what Jesus was referring to when He said YOUR name is "Petros - a little piece of rock", and on THIS "Petra - a MASS of rock" I will build My church! He was referring NOT to Peter (as SOME denominations believe) but to the REVEALED KNOWLEDGE OF GOD'S WORD! Even the disciples didn't remember the feeding of the multitudes (a sign) when they needed to! Signs will not bring faith, only the revelation knowledge of God's Word brings faith for every situation!

Let's continue to meditate God's Word daily and faith WILL come. Then we'll be able to DO the Word and be pleasing to our Father!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

There has been so much to meditate on in Matthew this time through our Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan! We're looking at a couple of verses again today, starting with verses 1-3:

¹THEN FROM Jerusalem came scribes and Pharisees and said,

²Why do Your disciples transgress and violate the rules handed down by the elders of the past? For they do not practice [ceremonially] washing their hands before they eat.

³He replied to them, And why also do you transgress and violate the commandment of God for the sake of the rules handed down to you by your forefathers (the elders)?

The scribes and Pharisees were ALWAYS following Jesus around trying to trip Him up or find something to use against Him! If they would have actually HEARD what He was teaching, their lives would have been changed forever! Instead, many of them just kept accusing Him, as these did. They accused Jesus and His disciples of breaking the rules handed down by their forefathers. Jesus asked them why they were so good at keeping man-made traditions handed down by their forefathers, and NOT good at obeying the actual Word of God! In fact, He said that they even set aside the Word of God in order to obey these man-made traditions! Let's look at verses 6-9:

⁶So for the sake of your tradition (the rules handed down by your forefathers), you have set aside the Word of God [depriving it of force and authority and making it of no effect]

⁷You pretenders (hypocrites)! Admirably and truly did Isaiah prophesy of you when he said:

⁸These people draw near Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts hold off and are far away from Me.

⁹Uselessly do they worship Me, for they teach as doctrines the commands of men

The really sad thing is that people today are doing the same thing! They sit in churches thinking that they are saved because they've always gone to church, or because their parents were believers, or because they try to be a "good person", or even because they believe that their IS a God! James 2:19 tells us that even the devil believes that God IS, and that belief is going to do him no good! What must be done? John 3:16-18 in the Amplified Bible tells us that we must cleave to, trust in and rely on Jesus as our Saviour! Romans 10:9 tells us that if we believe that Jesus rose from the dead and confess Him with our mouth as Lord and Saviour, we will be saved! Not only that, but as a believer you can get to know the Word and walk in the same power that Jesus did! He said so in John 14:12:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

The other sad thing is when those who really are born again still sit in church and follow the traditions of their particular denomination and never find out what belongs to them as a child of the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! They don't understand that Jesus said this in John 15:7:

⁷If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.

Don't be one who does something JUST because you've ALWAYS done it that way! Find out WHY you do it. If it's according to God's Word, keep it up! If it's not, STOP IT! Find out what belongs to you as a child of Almighty God and start living in the promises, bringing glory to HIS Name! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

The Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan takes us to Psalm 14 and Matthew 14 today. Here is the first verse from Psalm 14:

¹THE [empty-headed] fool has said in his heart, There is no God.

Enough said about that one! Just don't BE one! :) Then Matthew 14:22-33:

²²Then He directed the disciples to get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent away the crowds.

²³And after He had dismissed the multitudes, He went up into the hills by Himself to pray. When it was evening, He was still there alone.

²⁴But the boat was by this time out on the sea, many furlongs [a furlong is one-eighth of a mile] distant from the land, beaten and tossed by the waves, for the wind was against them.

²⁵And in the fourth watch [between 3:00--6:00 a.m.] of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea.

²⁶And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified and said, It is a ghost! And they screamed out with fright.

²⁷But instantly He spoke to them, saying, Take courage! I AM! Stop being afraid!

²⁸And Peter answered Him, Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.

²⁹He said, Come! So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and he came toward Jesus.

³⁰But when he perceived and felt the strong wind, he was frightened, and as he began to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me [from death]!

³¹Instantly Jesus reached out His hand and caught and held him, saying to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?

³²And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

³³And those in the boat knelt and worshiped Him, saying, Truly You are the Son of God!

I have always liked Peter! He reminds me of ME sometimes! Everyone likes to quote Jesus from verse 31 and laugh at Peter for his doubt. But I would like to point out that Peter was the only one bold enough to get out of the boat in the first place! Peter may have doubted later, being distracted by the wind and the waves, but Peter actually WALKED ON WATER! Just like Jesus! He is the only person besides Jesus that I know of that has ever walked on water (unless it was ice)!

Lets all be a little more bold to get out of OUR boats and see the power of God in action! After all, we're here for the sole purpose of showing forth JESUS to the world! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

We're looking at Matthew 13:10-15 today. Jesus has just finished telling the parable of the sower in verses 1-9 and His disciples want to know why He speaks to the people in parables:

¹⁰Then the disciples came to Him and said, Why do You speak to them in parables?

¹¹And He replied to them, To you it has been given to know the secrets and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

¹²For whoever has [spiritual knowledge], to him will more be given and he will be furnished richly so that he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

¹³This is the reason that I speak to them in parables: because having the power of seeing, they do not see; and having the power of hearing, they do not hear, nor do they grasp and understand.

¹⁴In them indeed is the process of fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, which says: You shall indeed hear and hear but never grasp and understand; and you shall indeed look and look but never see and perceive.

¹⁵For this nation's heart has grown gross (fat and dull), and their ears heavy and difficult of hearing, and their eyes they have tightly closed, lest they see and perceive with their eyes, and hear and comprehend the sense with their ears, and grasp and understand with their heart, and turn and I should heal them.

Every person ever born has the potential to understand the Word of God, IF THEY WANT TO! That's the key! Hosea 6:3 says "then shall you know, IF you follow on to know...". James 4:8 says "Come close to God and He will come close to you." We have to make the first move and then God will see to it that we have every opportunity to know Him! It still will take a daily commitment to the Word to really KNOW Him! Jesus goes on to say in verses 16-17:

¹⁶But blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are your eyes because they do see, and your ears because they do hear.

¹⁷Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous men [men who were upright and in right standing with God] yearned to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Let's be so grateful that it has been given unto us to know Him and His Word! How do we demonstrate that gratefulness? GET TO KNOW HIM! You'll be so glad you did!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

We're looking in Matthew again today. Matthew 12 starts out with Jesus being scolded by the Pharisees because His hungry disciples were eating grain from the field they were walking through. After He dealt with that subject (we may discuss that at a later date) they followed Him into their synagogue where this took place:

⁹And going on from there, He went into their synagogue.

¹⁰And behold, a man was there with one withered hand. And they said to Him, Is it lawful or allowable to cure people on the Sabbath days?--that they might accuse Him.

They were always trying to accuse Him! It amazes me that when these religious leaders saw SO much with their own eyes, they still tried to trap Jesus instead of rejoicing and believing! But He ALWAYS had an answer that ministered to the people who DID believe:

¹¹But He said to them, What man is there among you, if he has only one sheep and it falls into a pit or ditch on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?

¹²How much better and of more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful and allowable to do good on the Sabbath days.

¹³Then He said to the man, Reach out your hand. And the man reached it out and it was restored, as sound as the other one.

¹⁴But the Pharisees went out and held a consultation against Him, how they might do away with Him.

There are still people like that today. People who refuse to believe the Word of God. They would rather suffer in bondage than to believe that the Word is true! AND Jesus is still the same today (Hebrew 13:8)! His response? He left their and continued His work among those who WOULD believe! Let's be about our Father's business, just like Jesus was - teaching, preaching and healing! Presenting the Gospel in all of it's power to set people free! AMEN!!!

Shalom in Him!