Matthew 12 - 11.18.25

Scripture:

“Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.” Matthew 12:29

Observation:

These words of Jesus were spoken to the Pharisees because they claimed He was casting out demons by the power of Satan. He is letting them know Satan can’t remove Satan only Christ Himself can. This beckons back to Isaiah 49:24-26:

“Can the prey be taken from a mighty man, Or the captives of a tyrant be rescued? Indeed, this is what the Lord says: “Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away, And the prey of a tyrant will be rescued; For I will contend with the one who contends with you, And I will save your sons. I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh, and they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine; And humanity will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

The Lord is our protector. He is the strong man. Through petitioning the Lord while in bondage, He storms through the gates of hell to rescue His children from all types of oppression and torment. He tears down strongholds on our behalf. There is no other way to do this without Him. It is at His name that every knee bows and confesses that He is Lord. When we find ourselves bound up, we call upon His name to be rescued.

In Colossians 2:13-15 the Apostle Paul writes to the church in Colossae because they needed to be warned about dangerous false teachings that were undermining the supremacy of Christ. He said “And when you were dead in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” To quote Paul once more “where oh death is now your sting?” Christ’s sacrifice on the cross bound up Satan, and rendered him powerless against those who are in Christ. It is through Christ that we find our victory, salvation and freedom.

Application:

When I find myself in various times of trouble, I call upon the Lord. I have walked through lots of tough seasons in my life from mental health issues, to physical health issues, to personal sin, and allowed my mind for a time to wander and the enemy took a seat at my table. Until I called on God and postured my heart toward Him, seeking safety and provision, He rescued me each time from those circumstances. We should call out to God not just with our mouths but with our hearts, fully seeking to be saved, prepared to repent and confess when necessary, or lean on community to be guided back to the cross, where the work is truly done at the feet of the Lord. Remember when Christ binds up Satan, we should submit ourselves to Him who is able and not return to captivity.

Prayer:

Lord, You are the God who saves. You are Jehovah Nissi, the Lord our banner. You fight for us day and night. You neither sleep nor slumber. You have showed yourself over the ages to be a God who loves and cares for His children. Your hand is not too short to save, and Your eyes to see the injustices we face. Incline Your ear to us as we follow in Your statutes. Answer us when we call and when we pray, according to Your will, lead us into your blessings. As Christ said in Matthew 6:13 “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Keep Your hand upon us as You guide us through life’s trials. Thank You for interceding for us, thank You for loving us, and thank You for choosing us. Amen

- Shanese Hamilton

Matthew 11 - 11.17.25

Scripture

Matthew 11:28-30

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Observation

“These last three verses of Matthew 11 are called the Great Invitation. Those invited are "all ye that labor and are heavy laden." Christ's teaching has a special appeal for the poor, the downtrodden, the despised, rejected, and suffering of earth; but it is incorrect to assume that only these are invited. Rather, ALL people are invited to fly unto Jesus for peace and redemption; and, in one sense or another, at one time or another, by some means or another, every soul ever born into this world is "weary," "heavy laden," and troubled by the common sorrows and calamities to which flesh is heir. In this larger view of the unmitigated sorrow in which all men dwell, the Great Invitation excludes no one. The common burden of sin, sickness, death, doubt, disillusionment, and sorrow is an invariable heritage of every man coming into the world. Reasons why men (and women) should come to Christ are: (1) for the rest He will give, (2) for the rest they will find, and (3) because Christ is meek and lowly in heart, thus fully qualified to provide sympathy, love, understanding, and whatever else may be required to alleviate human distress and to provide eternal life.” (Reference: Coffman Commentaries on studylight.org)

True rest comes from Jesus Christ alone. 

Sometimes I hear people say that they need a vacation from their vacation. This just proves that external rest never satisfies the way internal rest with the Lord does!

We find rest, refreshing and a lifting of the burdens from our souls by being with the Lord, knowing that we are loved, forgiven and cherished by Him just because He chose us first. 

Application

Take a break with Jesus. We are LOVED by Him just because we are His beloved child. 

None of us were created to run 7 days a week! I used to do that when I was younger and it literally caused my body to shut down! 

We need to get off the hamster wheel and stop to reflect once a week. For me, that means getting off of social media for a bit and not answering any emails, texts or phone calls unless it’s an emergency. I need to quiet my mind and soul down to read His Word, journal, listen, pray and fast. I need to be with Him with no distractions. On my Sabbaths, I also give myself permission to do other things that I enjoy, like reading and playing music, unrelated to work.  The work will always be there the following day and it’s healthy for people to not be dependent on us every single day. 

Pastor Levi did a great sermon on rest, titled “No More Bricks.” Here’s the link to it if you missed it: https://youtu.be/k2XU4b-iu8s?si=5v3a5LWgnaHJa37Z

What does rest look like for you? What needs to change in your schedule to make sure resting in Jesus becomes a priority? Praying that we all seek true rest for our souls through the Lord. 

Prayer

Dear Lord,

Thank You for Your gift of rest. I am reminded that Jesus went away OFTEN to be with you. (Luke 5:16) I pray that I would not just set aside a day of rest, but also go away with You often everyday to refresh and recharge. Thank You that I don’t have to work for Your love and affection, but that I work as a result of Your love and affection for me. I pray for everyone reading this that they would also set aside time to rest with You. Help us to stop carrying around weights and burdens that You have never called us to carry. We surrender and release it to You Lord. Amen.

-Michelle Gaddi

Matthew 8 - 11.14.25

Scripture: Matthew 8:5-13

5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

7 Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.

Observation:

I have often been drawn to this passage. I am in awe of his faith, how someone who is not a Jew, and in a position of authority humbled himself for the sake of his servant. What stood out as I read this is Jesus asking the centurion, “Shall I come and heal him?” The man was obviously wanting Jesus to heal his servant.  Jesus by asking opened the door for this man to express his faith, a faith that Jesus later said was greater than any he had seen.  Then Jesus talks about the feast and subjects of the kingdom being thrown out.  As I went back to read this, for a moment I thought I accidentally copied part of Jeremiah. :-).   This part seems a bit out of place.  I’m guessing he did this to show that not only Jews would be present in Heaven.  If fact, some would not be admitted.  Then, he told the centurion to go home, he granted his request just as he believed.

Also notable is the centurion calling Jesus “Lord.”  He had come to believe in who Jesus was.  He was a man of authority and humbled himself.

Application:  

Are there times in my life when Jesus gives me a question to answer so I can come to a realization and declare my faith?

What do I believe?  How do my words and actions show it?

How can I handle times of questioning differently?  Times of trials?  Do I humble myself acknowledging Jesus as Lord and asking Him to move?

Jesus was amazed and declared to everyone that the centurion’s faith was greater than any He had seen.  Are people today looking at my faith that way?  Are outsiders looking at how I live my life and believing in a God who can do miracles?

I want to be a light for his kingdom.  I want to have faith that believes so strongly in Jesus and His power that God is amazed by my faith.

Prayer:

Father God, Jesus declared, “Nothing is impossible for you.”  Am I walking in faith like that?  Am I letting you work through me to do what is impossible for man, but easy for you? Lord, please help me keep your greatness at the front of my mind. So, I can walk in faith. May the worries of the world not choke out your truth.  You are mighty and holy, so awesome in power.  The centurion observed you working as an outsider and came to you.  Lord, we do not know who is watching.  I pray I am being a good example that draws others to believe like this.

Thank you for all you’ve done in my life and are yet to do.

Amen

- Cindy Howard