The Savior Comes, Day 23 What do we want for ourselves? Read Matthew chapter 23. When we think about our goals for ourselves and the types of things that we are trying to attain, what are we seeking? So often, especially for so many people that Jesus talks about in this chapter, the goal was power and esteem and to be thought well of by other people. Jesus explains that if those are the types of things that you are seeking after, you are going to miss them. If you are seeking after authority and esteem and to be thought well of, then you will end up being humbled. If…

The Savior Comes, Day 22 Love God. Read Matthew chapter 22. What is our responsibility to God? As you read this chapter and we continue to see the various people who are questioning Jesus, he makes the statement that we are to love the Lord our God with our heart, soul, and mind. We are to demonstrate our love of him in these areas so that our obedience is active. Obedience must be more than just a thought or an intention. Obedience and love of God must be acted out through every area of our life. Does our entire life reflect our love of Christ?

The Savior Comes, Day 21 What happens when you don’t like Jesus. Read Matthew chapter 21. Jesus enters the town of Jerusalem triumphantly. The people praise him and everyone wants to be around him. He is the height of popularity. However, his message hasn’t changed. He is still sharing the gospel and still sharing that he is the Son of God. Those religious leaders are outraged. But, he’s so popular they don’t know what to do about it. When people disagree with the message of Jesus, how do they respond? Often they get indignant and angry, just like these religious leaders did. And often, they wait to see whether the…

The Savior Comes, Day 20 What do we ask Jesus? Read Matthew chapter 20. I would admit, when I was younger, I struggled with this passage because I didn’t really understand why the mother would do this. Now, I have kids and I understand wanting Jesus to do great and amazing things for and through my kids. However, when we are bringing our requests to Jesus about our children, we must remember that the goal is to glorify God. Our requests are not about trying to glorify ourselves or our children. Our requests must be about glorifying God. Sometimes, our children have to go through struggles in order for God…

The Savior Comes, Day 19 Be child-like. Read Matthew chapter 19. What does it mean to be child-like? Innocent, trusting, faithful, believing. We are to all be like children when we think about our relationship with God. We are to trust him with no reservations. We are to be faithful and believe that he will do all that he has said here would do. Are we child-like in our faith of Christ?

The Savior Comes, Day 18 Sharing our blessings. Read Matthew chapter 18. This story has always been an interesting one to me. The man receives a blessing. His debts are erased and he is forgiven. However, when he has the opportunity to do the same for another person, he doesn’t share that blessing with others. When God blesses us, do we share that blessing? Do we bring others along with us and help them to experience the same blessing of God that we experience? We should not be stingy with the blessing of God in our lives. We are to share with others.

The Savior Comes, Day 17 Listen to Him! Read Matthew chapter 17. God speaks to the disciples and identifies exactly who Jesus and exactly how they should respond to him. They are to listen to Jesus. We may truly understand that Jesus is the Son of God, but does that knowledge translate into action? Do we actually listen to what he says and do what he tells us? If we truly believe that Jesus is the Son of God then why do our actions so often not line up with that belief? We are to make our decisions based on his leading and direction in our life. How are we…

The Savior Comes, Day 16 Do we recognize the Savior? Read Matthew chapter 16. If we say that we follow the Savior, would we know him when we saw him? The people were talking about Jesus. The entire community was very taken with everything this amazing man was doing. But they didn’t know who he was. So Jesus asked his disciples. Peter gives the monumental statenent made in verse 16. When we are asked who Jesus is, how do we respond? Do we recognize the Savior and his holiness? Do we share who he is with others? When we are given the oppretty to share and testify to who Jesus…

The Savior Comes, Day 15 Where are our hearts? Read Matthew chapter 15. Throughout this chapter, Jesus has several run-ins with the Pharisees and others who don’t believe in him. Jesus quotes this verse from Isaiah about these people. Jesus explains that they are honoring him with their lips but their hearts are far from him. God sees our heart and he knows whether what we are saying is actually what we mean or not. God wants to know where our hearts are? God wants our heart to truly be reflected in everything that we say and do. When we say that we love God and seek to honor and…

The Savior Comes, Day 14 What are we bringing to Jesus? Read Matthew chapter 14. Reading the familiar story of the feeding of the 5000, it’s interesting to see that there is a distinction between what the disciples have, and what they bring to Jesus. They tell Jesus what they have, but there is a separate moment where they have to actually bring it to him. What we are offering Jesus? Do we bring it to him? Are we offering to him everything that he has asked of us? What has Jesus asked of us? Are we just telling Jesus what we have to offer, or are we actually offering…