Tag Archives: Faith

Spiritual Genetics

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“You are the salt of the earth … You are the light of the world.”                    Matthew 5:13a &14a ESV1

Read Matthew 5:13-16, Mark 4:21-25, Luke 8:16-17 & 11:33-36

I was first introduced to contemporary Christian music in the late 1980s when a friend gave me Amy Grant’s album, The Collection.2 I was so excited to have “cool” music that glorified God I listened to that tape over and over again until I had all the words to all of the songs memorized. On that album was the song, “Father’s Eyes.” The chorus to that song contained these words: “She’s got her Father’s eyes, her Father’s eyes; Eyes that find the good in things, when good is not around; Eyes that find the source of help, when help just can’t be found; Eyes full of compassion, seeing every pain; Knowing what you’re going through and feeling it the same. Just like my Father’s eyes.”3

I was so touched by those words I prayed that God would help me emulate His character by making me a woman who had her Father’s eyes. I remember exactly where I was when I prayed that prayer because it was one of those times when I felt like God answered me with, “Yes! That I will do.” At the time, if I had known through how much darkness I would need to walk to encourage others that there is hope on the horizon; how much struggle I would be required to endure to meaningfully help others; or how much hurt I would have to experience to identify with others in pain, I am not sure I would have prayed that prayer.

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Who Told You That?

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He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father, who is in Heaven.”  Matthew 16:15-17 ESV1

Read Matthew 16:13-23, Mark 8:27-33 & Luke 9:18-22

What do you believe about yourself? Who told you that? What do you feel about others? Why do you feel that? What do you think about right and wrong? How did you come to that conclusion? What do you believe about God? Why do you believe that? Who do you say Jesus is? Why do you say that?

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We’ve Got a Problem

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For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die,’ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” he need not honor his father.’ Matthew 15:4-6a ESV1

Read Matthew 15:1-9 & Mark 7:1-13

We’ve got a problem in the church, at least in the United States of America. Wives are lonely, and children are being neglected so husbands and fathers can hold leadership positions. Children are running unsupervised through church buildings several nights a week so their mothers can practice with bands which must perform at three services each weekend. Young mothers are living in exhausted frustration because they have no help and no mentors. Retired people are squandering their time in coffee clutches and meaningless activity only to feel utterly useless. Seniors are forsaken, wasting away in nursing homes. The list goes on.

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Sure and Ready

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Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” Matthew 17:19 ESV1

Read Matthew 17:14-20, Mark 9:14-32 &            Luke 9:37-43

“And Jesus went on with His disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi” (Mark 8:27). “And after six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves” (Mark 9:2). Much of spiritual significance happened on the mountain near Caesarea Philippi, but our focus today will be on what happened in the valley.

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Stay or Walk Away

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“Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?” Mark 8:17b-18 ESV1

Read Matthew 16:1-12 & Mark 8:11-26

Jesus spent most of His time during His earthly ministry near the Sea of Galilee. “The sea’s location makes it subject to sudden and violent storms as the wind comes over the eastern mountains and drops suddenly onto the sea. Storms are especially likely when an east wind blows cool air over the warm air that covers the sea. The cold air (being heavier) drops as the warm air rises. This sudden change can produce surprisingly furious storms in a short time.”2  In this next account, an “east wind” was blowing, and a storm was brewing, but not in the physical sense.

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Weathering the Storms

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“Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” Matthew 8:19 ESV1

Read Matthew 8:18-27, Mark 4:35-40, & Luke 8:22-39

“When Jesus saw a crowd around Him” (Matthew 8:18), He said to [His disciples], ‘Let us go across to the other side of the lake’” (Luke 8:22b). “And leaving the crowd, they took Him with them in the boat, just as He was. And other boats were with Him” (Mark 4:35-36). On their way to the boats, “a scribe came up and said to Him, ‘Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head’ (Matthew 8:19-20).

When this sincere scribe made his declaration, he was serious. He probably expected Jesus to be pleased. So, he was no doubt disheartened by Jesus’ reply. But I don’t think Jesus wasn’t discouraging him from making such a commitment, He was just warning this scribe that things are often not as simple as they may at first appear. This scribe, and the others who followed Jesus wherever He went, could not have conceived of the difficult situation they were about to encounter.

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I Can’t. He Can

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He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve Him.   Matthew 8:15 ESV1

Read Matthew 8:14-17, Mark 1:29-34 & Luke 4:38-41

Have ever heard the call of Jesus but realized you just didn’t have what it took to do what He asked? Have you ever felt overwhelmed by a need but didn’t see how you could possibly help? Have you ever wanted to obey Jesus but felt like you had to say, “I just can’t!”? If so, you may be able to identify with the account recorded in these Scriptures.

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Noble Joseph

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Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.   Matthew 1:20b NLT1

Read Matthew 1:1-25

As he worked in his carpenter’s shop, did Joseph ever ponder the fact that he was a descendant of the great King David? His ancestors, for fourteen generations, had been kings of Israel, the leaders of God’s chosen people. Did he ever wonder how his life would have been different had Israel faithfully served God and still had a king on the throne? He could have been raised as a prince, not a pauper. He could have been preparing for the throne instead of building a blue-collar business.

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