Matthew 17 "Jesus Predicts His Death"

And while they stayed in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again." And they were exceeding sorry. (vv. 22-23)

Knowing the future, Jesus Christ was willing to accept what was to come, to suffer and die on the cross for the sins of the world, many of whom would reject His deity even though He defeated death through His resurrection. Sad then, and just as sad over 2000 years later.

While none of us will probably ever face such a death, we will one day face it. And during that moment, or other difficult seasons in life, may we learn to; endure the path we must walk, endure the pain that comes our way, and to be content with His will in our lives. For a New Heaven and a New Earth awaits those who believe on Him.

The Truth: “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

Matthew 16 "Who is Jesus?"

Here in chapter 16 Jesus asks two questions of His disciples; 1) Whom do men say that I am? and 2) Whom do you say that I am? One could ask the first question of people today and get a similar variety of answers His disciples reported over 2000 years ago; a teacher, a prophet, a healer, even a good man.

Simon Peter answered the second question correctly when he responded, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v.16). Typical of Peter, straight and to the point. Anything short of that would have been the wrong answer. Today the eternal question remains the same, who do you believe Jesus is? Is He a teacher? A prophet? A good man? Or, is He the Christ, the Son of the living God. Your answer will determine your eternal future.

As we enter the Christmas season, a holiday set aside to recognize the Savior's birth, a time when everywhere you go some will say, "Happy Holidays" but others "Merry CHRISTmas." Do yourself an eternal favor and recognize the One we sing about this time of year; the "King of kings", the "LORD of lords", Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.

The Truth: “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” (1 John 4:15)

Matthew 15 "Matters of the Heart"

 “It is not what goes into your mouth that defiles a man; but what comes out of it.” (v. 18)

Here in chapter 15 Jesus teaches on matters of the heart. While doing so He completely disregards some oral Jewish traditions, infuriating the Scribes and Pharisees who stand more on tradition than scripture. Here in our text He is teaching it is more important to wash your heart than your hands. Why? “Because the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9).

The solution to defilement then is to cleans the heart not the hands. As King David wrote in the Psalms we should, "hide God’s word in our hearts, that we might not sin against Him” (Psalm 119:11). How is defilement avoided? By God’s Word, purifying our hearts, certainly not by ceremonially washing our hands.

May we be more concerned with what goes into our hearts and eventurally comes out of our mouths.

The Truth: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” (Psalm 1:1-2)

Matthew 14 “Keep Our Eyes On Jesus”

Peter said, Lord, if it is you, bid me to come to you on the water. And Jesus said, “Come." But when Peter saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and he began to sink, and he cried, saying, Oh, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, why did you doubt?” (vv. 28-31)

The lesson for all of us here is to keep our eyes upon Jesus and not on our circumstances. When we start looking around at our problems we can begin to sink. Every one of us faces daily situations that could sink us, if we allow ourselves to get caught up into our circumstances. We just need to keep our eyes on the Lord, the Master over the wind and the waves of our daily lives. Then, like Peter, who when looking at Jesus was able to walk on water, so shall we conquer our our daily trials in like manner.

Yes we can all become distracted by the wind and waves around us. But, even in our moments of "little faith” God is there, ready to comfort and help His children - Even when we are doubting Him.

The Truth: "If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13)

Matthew 13 "The Wheat and the Tares"

"The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while he slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way." (vv. 24-25)

The parable of “The Wheat and the Tares” (vv. 24-30), is a story many in an Agrarian society could identify with. The good wheat coexisting along side with the bad tares sowed by an enemy. And the wisdom of the master in allowing them both to grow together until harvest time, at which point the difference would be manifested. The tares then would be gathered into bundles and burned, but the wheat would be gathered and placed into the barn.

In this parable the field is the world, the wheat the sons of the kingdom, and the tears are the sons of the wicked one. This world was created (planted) by God and for His good pleasure, and He (the master) has allowed the good to flourish along with the bad in it. However, like all creation, this world will have an end. Then, at the end of days, there will be a great harvest-day, a day of judgment. During that harvest, all is ripe and ready to be cut down. Some to be burned with fire, while others will be gathered and placed into His Kingdom.

At that time, better to be the wheat than the tares.

The Truth: And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” (Revelation 14:15)

Matthew 12 “The Unpardonable Sin"

"Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven men. If you speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven: but whosoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come." ( vv. 31-32 ).

Basically, the unpardonable sin is the refusal to adhere to the work of the Spirit in your life. The work of the Holy Spirit is to convict men of their sin, by revealing to man the answer for his sin, Jesus Christ. God has made only one provision for our forgiveness, one provision for the putting away of our sin, and that provision is in and through His Son. The Spirit of God then comes to bear witness of this fact to us. If one continually refuses that work of the Holy Spirit in their heart, there is no forgiveness.

The Truth: “There is no other name (Jesus Christ) given among men, whereby we must be saved."     ( Acts 4:12 ).

Matthew 11 "Jesus Gives True Rest"

“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (vv. 28-30)

Here in chapter 11, Jesus is chiefly addressing the poor, lost, ruined sinner: the man "burdened" with a consciousness of his transgressions, and seeking deliverance. For such who truly repent, there is relief. Jesus tells them to come to Him, to believe in Him, and to trust Him, and Him only, for salvation. Doing this, He will bring them rest for their souls, from their sins, from the terrors of the law, and from the fears of eternal death.

Today, you too can find rest from your fears, from the terrors of the past, and have victory over your sin. Simply come unto Him, accept Him, give Him Lordship over your life, and you shall find "rest" for you soul. (See connect with God to the right on this page)

The Truth: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Matthew 10 “Confess Christ Before Men“

"Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” (vv. 32-33)

One day we will all stand before God, but those who have stood for Christ here on earth, will not stand alone before God in heaven. Those who have confessed Jesus Christ before men, when their name is called to stand before God, Jesus will step forth and confess them before the Father. As Jude said of Jesus, "To Him (give glory) who is able to keep us from stumbling, and to present us "faultless" before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 1:24).

However, if a person denied Jesus Christ before men, they will stand alone before God. And in that sobering moment may even turn to Him and say, "Lord, Lord," but He will shake His head and say, "I never knew you.” Wow! what a fearful thing to stand before the living God with no advocate. Better to confess Him now, willingly, and save your soul, than to confess later, on your knees, before the living God, and have no advocate to save you from eternal judgment.

The Truth:  "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’” (Romans 14:11)