You say you want a Revolution, Well, you know, We all wanna change the world. You tell me that it’s evolution, Well, you know, We all wanna change the world. John Lennon sang these words in 1968 in the Beatles’ classic, Revolution. Our country (and much of the world) was going through turbulent times—not a lot different than today in manyContinue reading “Revolution”
Category Archives: Matthew
The Challenging Beatitudes
Matthew’s gospel alternates between six narrative and five teaching sections (5-7,10,13,18,23-25). Each of the teaching sections conclude with a statement to the effect of when Jesus had finished saying/teaching (all) these things (7:28,11:1,13:53, 19:1,26:1). Some think that Matthew laid the teaching of Jesus out in five sections to mirror the five books written by Moses. That mayContinue reading “The Challenging Beatitudes”
Jesus And Virtue Signaling
Dictionary.com defines virtue signaling as “the action or practice of publicly expressing opinions or sentiments intended to demonstrate one’s good character or the moral correctness of one’s position on a particular issue.” Although social media has certainly provided the means for this to be done on a larger scale than ever before, there is absolutelyContinue reading “Jesus And Virtue Signaling”
Aaahh, Joseph!
The angel tells Joseph that his beloved Mary is pregnant not by another man as he has supposed, but by the Holy Spirit of God (Matthew 1:20). Matthew lines their situation up with Isaiah’s prophecy, “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son,” (1:23/Isaiah 7:14). Joseph has two things to do: accept MaryContinue reading “Aaahh, Joseph!”
A Sandcastle Faith
There will be storms for the disciple. When Jesus speaks of them in Matthew 7:24ff, it is a when rather than an if type of statement that He makes. This shouldn’t surprise us, the Scripture promises believers will have their share of difficulties and hardships (Acts 14:22; 2 Timothy 3:12, etc.). They are part of the tapestry of our faith. Continue reading “A Sandcastle Faith”
Fishing for Taxes
The account of Jesus paying the temple tax is a brief story tucked away in the last part of a chapter (Matthew 17). Furthermore, it is greatly overshadowed by the account of the Transfiguration of Jesus and the healing story in the first part of that chapter. When we finally do zoom in on theContinue reading “Fishing for Taxes”
Forward By Backward
The Torah (law) came through Moses. The call to return to the law came through the prophets. Men such as Elijah called Israel away from their idols and back to God (see 1 Kings 18). It’s no coincidence that after John appeared on the scene, Jesus identified him as the Elijah who was to come and restore all things (Matthew 17;Continue reading “Forward By Backward”
When Jesus Sang
It’s one of those “orphan” verses in the Bible. You know, the kind that sit by themselves, alone, isolated—usually because what comes before or after grabs our attention. In fact, it might be one of those verses that someone unfamiliar with the Bible would notice before a regular Bible reader because regular readers tend to read inContinue reading “When Jesus Sang”
Speaking The Truth In A White Lie World
“You have my word on it.” Does that mean anything today? Hopefully, it does. We’d like to think it means that you meant what you said, you can be trusted, others can count on you. The sad truth though is that we live in a world where the truth isn’t always the truth. We live in aContinue reading “Speaking The Truth In A White Lie World”
You Are The Treasure That I Seek
Jesus has been discussing seeking God through giving, praying, and fasting in Matthew 6:1-18. He’s instructed His disciples to “do not” in regard to certain practices of the Pharisees (v. 2,5,16). In 6:19ff, He takes up another “do not,”—do not seek earthly treasure. Once again, the Pharisees are the entry point of the discussion. They were lovers of moneyContinue reading “You Are The Treasure That I Seek”
