Category: Gospels
Rest in Revelation!
Scripture reading for January 15th: Genesis 36-38, Matthew 11
Key Scriptures: Matthew 11:25-28 “At that time Jesus declared, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Jesus prayed to His Father and thanked Him for the revelation of His sonship to ‘little children’! The disciples were not considered ‘wise’ or ‘understanding’ among the culture of that day. They were simple fishermen, tax collectors, and common men. Through Jesus comes revelation of God the Father and His Son. In Genesis, Joseph’s family had trouble discerning God’s vision in his dreams!
Genesis 37:3, 9-11 “Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. . . . .Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him. . .”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, may I keep a child’s heart towards Your Word. Reveal Your will and character to me in visions and dreams and as I meditate on Your Word! Amen
Jesus brings spiritual conflict!
Scripture reading for January 12th: Genesis 32-35, Matthew 10
Key Scriptures: Matthew 10:34-38 “”Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.””
Jesus was talking to His disciples after He had sent them out two by two to the land of Israel. He warned them of the spiritual conflict they and future generations of believers would face. Our love for Jesus must surpass all other relationships! Conflict is inevitable! God will protect and bless His own!
Genesis 32:9-11 “And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,’ I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that You have shown to Your servant. . . . .Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. But You said, ‘I will surely do you good . . .'”
Prayer: Lord, we are weak when it comes to facing opposition, especially from our own family. May we be encouraged and made bold through Your Word and example. Protect our family by Your blood. Amen
Faith comes from the heart!
Scripture reading for January 11th: Genesis 29-31, Matthew 9
Key Scriptures: Matthew 9:20-22 “And Jesus rose and followed him, with His disciples. And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His garment, for she said to herself, “If I only touch His garment, I will be made well.” Jesus turned and seeing her He said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.”
Jesus was responding to a ruler whose child had died and had asked Jesus to come to his house. On the way, a woman reached out and touched Jesus’ robe. Jesus felt the touch and responded to her with an encouraging declaration. “Your faith has made you well.” Faith starts in the heart and comes from hearing God’s Word. Faith moves the possessor to believe, act and receive.
Genesis 31:11-13 “Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’ And he said, ‘Lift up you eyes and see, all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to Me.”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I believe in You and Your Word. Teach me to walk in faith and keep my heart trusting in You. May I touch You each day as I pray for my needs and others who need You! In Jesus’ Name! Amen!
Digging a well of faith through prayer!
Scripture reading for January 10th: Genesis 25-28, Matthew 8
Key Scriptures: Matthew 8:1-3 “When He came down from the mountain, great crowds followed Him. And behold, a leper came to Him and knelt before Him, saying: “Lord, if You will, You can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”
Matthew records an unclean leper coming to Jesus and asking for healing. This man knelt before Jesus in reverence and stated that he believed that Jesus could heal him. He was not sure if Jesus was willing to do it. Jesus, even though it was against the law of the Pharisees, reached out His hand and touched the man showing and telling him that God was willing and able to heal him! Faith “digs a well” and opens up the blessings of God in healing and multiplication!
Genesis 26:24-25 “And the Lord appeared to him (Isaac) the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake. So he built an altar there and called on the Name of the Lord and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.”
Prayer: Lord, thank you that you are willing to heal and provide when we come to you. Teach us dependence, humility and faith and deliver us from fear! Use us to bless others by allowing Your gifts to flow in us! In Jesus’ Name! Amen!
God tests the heart!
Scripture reading for January 9th: Genesis 22-24, Matthew 7
Key Scriptures: Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and do many mighty works in Your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'”
Jesus warned His disciples that superficial religion and good works were of no value without a personal relationship of faith and obedience. We may profess His Name, but not know Him. We may do mighty works, but God will not be fooled about the true condition of our souls. All faith and works will be tested by God’s seeing eyes!
Genesis 22:1-3 “After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac.”
Prayer: Lord, I want to truly know you. Through Your all-seeing eyes, bring my hidden sins and evil motives to light that I might walk with You in truth. Amen
Pattern for prayer!
Scripture reading for January 8th: Genesis 18-21, Matthew 6
Key Scriptures: Matthew 6:9-13 “Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and for give us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.””
Jesus, in teaching His disciples how to pray, gave simple instructions. He laid out a pattern for them. God was addressed as ‘Our Father in heaven’, implying family relationship. Really, the term ‘Father’ is more like ‘Daddy’! The priority was to His will being done, not ours! We were to acknowledge our dependence on Him for everything: provision, forgiveness, and protection from evil and the evil one.
Genesis 18:23-25 “Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will You then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked. Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?””
Prayer: Father, thank you for Your simple instructions and the ability of Your people to come before you and ask questions and declare our needs! In Your Holy Name, Amen.
The God who asks questions!
Scripture reading for January 5th: Genesis 15-17, Matthew 5
Key Scriptures: Genesis 16:7-10, 13 “The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” . . . .”So she called the Name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of Seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen Him who looks after me.”
God asked Hagar two questions, but not because He did not know the answer! “Where have you come from?” has to do with our past and reveals underlying motives or hurts. God wants us bringing them to Him. “Where are you going?” reveals present plans and often our failure to stop and seek God for His will and direction. Prayer searches our hearts and motives.
Matthew 5:21-22 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.””
Prayer: Lord, search my heart for deep hurts, impure motives, and sin that brings fiery judgment. You are a God who Sees and looks after me! Amen.
Blessing of obedience!
Scripture reading for January 4th: Genesis 11-14, Matthew 4
Key Scriptures: Genesis 12:1-3 “Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””
God chose Abram and gave him amazing promises tied to his willingness to walk with God and follow His instructions. This is faith working through love and blessings are the result of pleasing God in this manner. Jesus, God’s Son and the promised “seed”of Abraham, left heaven and went to earth in obedience to the Father. He did this to obtain blessings for all the families of the earth! He obeyed every Word of the Father and all nations are blessed through Him!
Matthew 4:1-4 “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But He answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
Prayer: Father, in Jesus’ Name, help me to live by every Word coming from Your mouth and make me a blessing! Amen.
Building an altar
Scripture reading for January 3rd: Genesis 8-10, Matthew 3
Key Scriptures: Genesis 8:14-17,20 “In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth had dried out. Then God said to Noah, “Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh–birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” . . . “Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.”
The Lord gave Noah instructions upon entering and now upon leaving the ark. God’s Word was critical to success in escaping the destruction of the flood and now in entering a new world, washed from violence by the flood. Noah and his family built an altar to worship God and offer acceptable sacrifices. When God smelled the offerings, He was pleased and made a covenant with Noah, promising blessing and no more water judgment! Baptism is a symbol of water judgment on sins!
Matthew 3:1, 11-12 “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”. . . “I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier 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 and, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for clear instructions to our forefathers warning of coming judgment and taking them through. Cleanse my heart, by Your Holy Spirit, and make it an altar where You dwell and we meet each day. Amen.
Prayer empowers our walk!
Scripture reading for January 2nd: Genesis 4-7, Matthew 2
Key Scriptures: Genesis 6:9-14 “These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth and behold it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood.””
In just a few generations from Adam and Eve, mankind had become totally corrupted and were corrupting the earth with violence. God took note and told one righteous man, Noah, about His planned judgment. God instructed Noah to build an ark as a means of escape and protection for himself, his family, and the animal creation. Noah walked with God, heard and obeyed, saving himself and mankind through His obedience!
Matthew 2:19-20 “But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Rise, take the child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.”
Prayer: Lord, give me sensitivity to Your voice through the Holy Spirit, dreams, and angelic ministers. Keep me walking with you and protect me and my family from the traps of the devil in these last days. Amen.