Matthew 16:13-17 – Whom say ye that I am?

Matthew 16:13-17
13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

-When I read this, I can almost hear the emphasis that Jesus puts on His question in verse 15.  It is important what people, in general, think about Jesus, but the most important thing will always be what you think about Him.  Take that mindset into your Christmas holiday; regardless of how many people have turned Christmas into this, that, or the other; no matter how paganized it becomes or how commercialized it becomes, you can still choose to celebrate the birth of the Savior this season.

Psalm 51:16-17 – Obedience, Not Sacrifice

Psalm 51:16-17
16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
 
-We naturally tend to overcompensate for our weaknesses and deficiencies in life.  This can be a good thing depending on the situation, but how often are we guilty of trying to overcompensate in our spiritual lives?  What I mean is, how often do we make choices that we know God does not approve of, then try to justify ourselves by casting light on some other area of our life where we are doing well?  In essence, we are attempting to offer something to the Lord in exchange for holding onto certain sins.  Overcompensation does not work in God’s economy because God never wanted our sacrifices to begin with, only our obedience.  “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice.” (1 Samuel 15:22b) Not only are we not fooling God when we trade one for the other, but we are also in fact widening the gap between us and the Lord.

Matthew 1:18-21 – Blessed Are The Peacemakers

Matthew 1:18-21
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.
20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.
 
-Imagine what must have been going through Joseph’s mind during the start of this.  His wife and love had apparently betrayed him and was now carrying another man’s child.  What a hard decision to leave the woman he loved and move on with his life.  It would have been easy to react harshly and make a public mockery of Mary.  But instead of being despondent and rash, Joseph was patient and discreet.  Let this be a lesson in grace to each of us the next time we feel that we have been wronged.  Even though Joseph seemingly had a case, he still planned to treat Mary with respect and dignity and look at the end of his situation.  A personal revelation from God and the opportunity to help raise the Savior of the world.  “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.  Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” (Matthew 5:8-9)

Amos 5:18-20 – The Day of The Lord

Amos 5:18-20
18 Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.
19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
20 Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

-For those of us who are saved, the return of the Lord Jesus Christ will be the greatest moment in our lives.  But while we should watch diligently for the Lord’s return, let us never rush the coming of that day. The coming of the Lord brings with it the day of the Lord’s judgment against all sin.  It may be easy to think that God should hurry back and smite the evil in the world, but consider the implications for lost humanity- all of the souls that will no longer have a chance at salvation. What would have happened to you or me if Jesus would have returned before we got saved? Living in this world may be difficult at times, but always remember why the Lord is waiting.  He “is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

Romans 15:4 – For Our Learning

Romans 15:4
4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
 
-Have you ever wondered why the mistakes of God’s men and women are recorded in scripture?  David had a nearly unblemished record; why mention his adultery? (2 Samuel 11) Abraham had great faith; why tell us about his attempt to pass his wife off as his sister for fear of an Egyptian Pharaoh? (Genesis 20) The answer is found right here in Romans 15:4.  Often in life, we have to learn hard lessons from our mistakes, but God is giving us the gift of learning from the mistakes of others so that we can avoid the same snares.  A man tempted with adultery can see the end of David’s sin and steer clear.  Someone who is acting out of fear of man can feel Abraham’s shame and learn that God is faithful.  Just think of all the terrible experiences we can avoid simply by taking time to learn from the Bible.

Mark 14:3-6 – Break the Box

Mark 14:3-6
3 And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.
4 And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?
5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.
6 And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.

-How much of yourself do you give to the Lord?  It’s a topic with which even the most dedicated among us can wrestle.  How long should you pray, how much offering should you give, how far should you go to be a witness?  A similar question perhaps burned in Mary’s mind as she approached Jesus with her alabaster box; “how much ointment should I use?”  The ointment is very costly and the more she used, the longer she would have to work to rub it all in.  Maybe she could get away with just using a little bit.  Somewhere along the way, however, the right answer came to her because when she approached Jesus, the first thing she did was break the box open.  Mary decided that she was all in.  She was going to give every drop to Jesus and by breaking the box, she was removing any possibility of backing out once she started.  When weighing your level of commitment to the Lord, remember Mary’s example and go all in.  Jesus gave every bit of Himself for us, it’s only right that we give every bit of ourselves to Him.

Proverbs 22:15 – The Rod of Correction

Proverbs 22:15
15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

-The inclination to misbehave and rebel is rooted deeply within each of us from the day we are born.  This nature can be traced all the way back to Adam and Eve’s sin in the book of Genesis and it should be taken very seriously.  You can’t always bribe a child to do well, you can’t always reason with a child to do well, and you certainly can’t ignore a child and hope that they will do well.  Fortunately, the Bible tells us of a means of controlling and ultimately limiting misbehavior and that is the rod of correction.  Call it what you will (corporal punishment, spanking, whipping), it stands the best chance of teaching children that their actions have very real consequences.  It may seem difficult to utilize such discipline, but if we allow our children to grow to adulthood without it, society will have to take on the job of correcting them and that will be much worse for everyone.

Proverbs 30:26 – Feeble, Yet Wise

Proverbs 30:26
26 The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;

-A “Coney” is an animal native to Palestine that is roughly the size of a rabbit.  In verse 26, they are called “feeble”, while in Leviticus 11:5, they are called “unclean.”  It doesn’t sound like a Coney has too much going for it.  But, Proverbs 30:24 tells us that Conies “are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise.” Why are they considered wise?  Because they build on a rock. (v.26)  Why should that matter to us?  We are feeble and unclean just like the Conies; but as Jesus tells us, it is “a wise man, which [builds] his house upon a rock.” (Matthew 7:24)  We may be a weak people, but Jesus Christ is a strong foundation. (Isaiah 28:16)

Luke 9:51-56 – Lord, Wilt Thou…?

Luke 9:51-56
51 And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,
52 And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
53 And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.

-John reacts here in a seemingly uncharacteristic manner when compared with his actions elsewhere in scripture.  It would be easy to criticize John for his notion to pass judgment on the Samaritans, but his actions really need to be framed in the proper light.  How many times have we passed judgment on someone and may have even carried out the sentence if we had the power?  What did John do?  He asked if it was the Lord’s will for judgment to be passed.  John had to take the rebuke from Jesus, but he also had the privilege of taking a lesson in mercy from Jesus.  The next time we decide to stand in judgment of someone, we would do well to ask the Lord how He wants us to treat that person.  As with most cases, the difference between Godliness and sinfulness comes down to taking the time to seek the Lord’s face.

Psalm 27:13 – The Ever Present Goodness of God

Psalm 27:13
13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

1 Peter 1:3
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

-Think about what David is saying here in Psalm 27.  He didn’t get through the darkest hours of his life by simply believing that the Lord would reward him in Heaven.  Instead, he had eyes that saw God’s goodness on this side- “in the land of the living.”  This is the same lively hope referenced by Peter; a hope that is not just good for the afterlife, but good for our lives right now.  If we had to endure the troubles and heartaches of our present lives with only the promise of good things in the future, we really would faint.  But surely the Lord is carrying our griefs and bearing our sorrows even now.