Jesus: Uncut Blog
Posted July 30, 2010 0 comments
Today’s Reading Section: “28When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. ” – Matthew 7:28-29
Comments/Questions for Reflection:
Now that we have finished reading the sayings of Jesus from His Sermon on the Mount, are we just as amazed as the original crowd? What are we doing with our amazement? Let’s not allow the amazement to paralyze us. We have heard His teaching and according to 7:24, 26, those who truly believe in Jesus will act once they’ve heard from Him. True followers put what He has told us to do into practice. His instructions are the rock solid foundation we base our life on. Let’s spend the last devotional prayerfully asking if what He has instructed us to do in the past 11 weeks is our foundation. Here are questions written by Sam Storms to help us do just that:
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Posted July 29, 2010 0 comments
Today’s Reading Section: “26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” – Matthew 7:26-27
Comments:
In Matthew 7:21-23 we saw how people who make a verbal confession that Jesus is Lord and do not obey His instructions will be sent away from Jesus forever. Now, in 7:26-27, we see people who hear Jesus’ teachings, i.e. have intellectual knowledge of Jesus’ commands, and do not obey Him. Let’s quickly note that people who have knowledge of Jesus’ instructions but disobey those instructions have the same fate as the people who only confess Jesus is Lord. The great crash of their houses show that.
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Posted July 28, 2010 0 comments
Today’s Reading Section: “24Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ” – Matthew 7:24-25
Comments:
Jesus is describing people who hear His words and put them into practice. (This is in direct contrast to people who hear His words and don’t put them into practice, but more on these people tomorrow). We should note two realities for people who put His words into practice:
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Posted July 27, 2010 0 comments
Today’s Reading Section: “22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” – Matthew 7:22-23
Comments:
You might have noticed that during the Sermon on the Mount Jesus doesn’t command people to prophesy in His name. Jesus never implores the listeners to exorcise demons. Neither does Jesus say that performing wondrous miracles is evidence that “Jesus is my Lord.” But those behaviors are what many people will say to Jesus on the day of judgment. They will look to justify themselves based on a verbal profession and what they think are successful deeds. What they lack is a transformed life full of truth, love, and obedience. In other words, they lack everything.
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Posted July 26, 2010 0 comments
Today’s Reading Section: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. – Matthew 7:21
Comments:
We are now at the end of Jesus’ description of who His followers are and what they do. It is fitting that He finishes His discourse with an emphasis on the importance of people actually doing what He teaches. Just verbally affirming who Jesus is, e.g. calling Him “Lord,” means nothing. Even the demons believe and shudder (James 2:19). Jesus makes the people who rely on only a verbal profession of His Lordship for salvation look ridiculous by simply saying, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.”
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Posted July 23, 2010 0 comments
Today’s Reading Section: “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.” – Matthew 7:19-20
Comments:
These are sobering words, and worthy of some meditation. Just the words “thrown into the fire” bring such horrible things to mind, that we must do what we can to follow the heart of God that “would that none would perish.” We have the spirit of life within us, and it is to spill out on those in our sphere of influence. He gives us the ability to recognize truth—He does this to provoke us to ask for the wisdom to deal with what we recognize. Co-laboring with God in His plan lends more fulfillment to the human heart than any other endeavor.
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Posted July 22, 2010 0 comments
Today’s Reading Section: “A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.” – Matthew 7:18
Comments:
Earlier in this chapter, the Lord told us to take the log out of our own eye first, but then said to take the speck out of another’s eye. We aren’t to be fruit inspectors until we’ve been self inspectors, but the time does come when the spiritual man does appraise all things. It’s interesting that the Lord uses the word “cannot” in this verse. When we see that there is bad fruit or no fruit at all, we can ask the Lord for how we might approach the person to help facilitate their salvation and healing.
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Posted July 21, 2010 0 comments
Today’s Reading Section: “So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.” – Matthew 7:17
Comments:
It is a biblical norm that each begets after its own kind—fish, fish; sheep, sheep; etc., so also do we pass on what we are. If we are considerate, gentle, kind and understanding, we leave those traces of ourselves in the people we are surrounded by—our children, disciples, and friends. If we are quick tempered, selfish, angry or fearful, we’ll start to see those same traits in our children—even if we tell them the right way, read them the Scriptures, and correct them when we see them being like us. If not for ourselves, let’s seek the fruit of self-control, so that we might pass on a better legacy.
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Posted July 20, 2010 0 comments
Today’s Reading Section: “15Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” – Matthew 7:15-16
Comments:
It’s always hard to want to believe that someone who calls themselves your brother or sister could be a false prophet, but they’re out there. There are many who are involved in the church for selfish gain, rather than the love of God, and some are simply deceived, but either way, they’re there. The wonderful truth is that you will recognize them. Discernment is a gift from God that is available to every believer, and all you must do is ask. Many times it starts working even before you ask, because the Spirit within you is not bearing witness to what’s being said or done. Here’s an opportunity to enter through the narrow gate, and not fall in to the seduction. Simply look at the fruit.
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Posted July 19, 2010 0 comments
Today’s Reading Section: “13Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. ” – Matthew 7:13-14
Comments:
We’re following someone who came into a culture that was stuck—religiously and politically—and walked as one not bound by normalcy (or actually showed what a normal life in God would look like). He looked like a rule breaker, yet never violated anything godly. Walking against the flow is never easy. Luke’s account of this verse (Lk.13:24) tells us to strive to enter the narrow gate—the word in Greek meaning agonize. It’s worth the struggle to break out of the bondage of being accepted by the masses, to enter into a relationship that transcends. The beautiful thing is the reward that awaits on the other side of that gate.
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Posted July 16, 2010 0 comments
Today’s Reading Section: “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. – Matthew 7:12
Comments:
Finally today we land on the Golden Rule. You may very well have learned it when you were a child and had no idea that it was in the Bible, never mind that Jesus Himself spoke it. It’s so remedial to living the Christian life, but is often the last rule we think of when making a decision be it well thought out, or snap.
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Posted July 15, 2010 0 comments
Today’s Reading Section: 7Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! – Matthew 7:7-11
Comments:
What a great change of pace for today! Promise after promise as Jesus looks you and me in the eye and says, “My Father loves you and He has everything you need with leftovers. Just ask.” It’s so good and comforting to know that we are the children of He who is the very best father in every way.
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