Matthew 6 - 7.6.26

S - Matthew 6:25-27

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body. what you will wear.  Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life.”

O - This is a tough one for me.  Jesus tells us not to worry about physical life, but when you worry, so much anxiety creeps in and fractures our ability to make good decisions and degrades faith.  Jesus tells us how God has already given us life and a physical body, and we can trust that He will take care of the smaller things.  In these scriptures, He explains the  irrationality of worry.  There are no positive results of worry.  No return on our investment.

A -  I am personally going to weigh the options on how this worry is going to cost me in regards to keeping faith and trading if for fruitless anxiety.

P -  Lord I pray that you intervene when I become anxious and I pray for your wisdom in all situations.  Please remind me how ineffective it makes us when we devote time to an unworthy cause.  I also pray for calm in the midst of the storm. Amen

- Brian Moen

Exodus 20 - 7.3.26

Scripture: Exodus 20:8-11 

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

Observation

This is the fourth of the 10 Commandments, and one our generation seems to overlook. This is a commandment and not a suggestion. If we go to Genesis 2:2-3 "By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that he had done."  The creation ended with rest. In Charlie Kirk’s book, “Stop in the name of God”, Charlie stated "The rest is not due to fatique, but to fullness. It is not the withdrawal of power, but the crowning of meaning. It is the devine punctuation mark at the end of the most magnificent sentence ever spoken. It is the declaration that the created world, imbued with devine speech and rediant with order, is not merely functional but good-and that its goodness is worthy of joy." 

Application

Keep the Sabbath Holy. This day is to be set apart from all other days. God blessed it, so it is highly favored. We are to work six days. We give our best in those six days, whether it be for an employer or at home. The seventh day is rest. Not a day to rest from God, but to reflect and honor and give Glory to our Father in heaven for His creation. A day of Worship. A day free from work. We also know God wants to refresh us. Our bodies are recharged with a day of rest. A day spent with God will refresh us.

When it comes to the Sabbath day, many people, including the Pharisees, put their own spin on how we should apply this day to our lives regarding what you can or can't do. The best thing for us is go to the scriptures and let Jesus show us.

Matthew 12:8 - “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” He is the authority of the Sabbath.

Matthew 12:9-12 - "Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Luke 13:10-17 - “On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath. ”The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.”

Colossians 2:16 - "Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. “ Do not worry about what other people do on the Sabbath. How is God directing you? 

Prayer

Lord Jesus, creator of all things, on the seventh day you rested and blessed that day. You asked us to remember and to keep it holy. Forgive me, Lord, for not remembering and keeping the Sabbath Holy. You set that day apart for me to worship, honor, and glorify you and to give me rest. Amen

- Robert Oberg

Matthew 2 - 7.2.26

SCRIPTURE - Matthew 2: The Return to Nazareth

19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

OBSERVATION

The book of Matthew’s focus is on:

·        Visit of the Wise Men/Magi (philosophers/astronomers) from the East who followed a star and fulfilled the prophecy of the birth of Jesus as the promised Messiah. 

·        King Herod's fear of losing power when he heard of the prophesy and when he couldn’t find baby Jesus, he ordered that all babies born in the past two years be killed. The massacre of the infants reveals the harsh realities of Herod's tyranny and the cost of God’s divine purpose to send our savior.

·        Joseph, the father of Jesus, and how God spoke to him in protecting his “son”, and he took Mary and baby Jesus, and escaped to Egypt then to Nazareth.

·        And after Herod had died again God spoke to Joseph and he brought them back to live in a town called Nazareth which fulfills the prophecy that Jesus would be called a Nazarene, emphasizing His humble beginnings.

APPLICATION

When we think about that time in history:

Gift of prophesies: Given to only certain men God chose who believed and searched for the promised messiah.

Birth of baby Jesus, the promised Messiah:  It is hard to imagine living under rulership of a satanical king that ordered killing babies when he heard of the birth of the Messiah.

Joseph's obedience that demonstrates faith and protection for his family: fleeing/moving to Egypt then Nazareth.  A country where, perhaps, no family or friends lived and having to find work to support his family.

AND today I think of all the responsibility husbands and fathers have in protecting and leading their families-- and how mothers take great care of their children and their homes and help by working, as well. 

Children are our blessings.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, such a precious story of how welcomed YOU were into the world and how your family took such great care of you. And of the “wise” men who believed in the books your prophets had written.  I am humbled on bended knees of all you and your family went through.  A precious baby boy that grew up in hearing GOD’s word in the temple; taught GOD’S word; healed people who asked or that you found in your journeys.  And how you knew what would happen to you to complete the prophesy of our savior. Thank you Lord Jesus, let me never forget all you went through.  And all your family and your disciples went through.  ALL WITH SUCH PASSION.  Lord Jesus, I want passion to tell others of you! I love your precious words in our bible.  Lord, I want to hear you, I want to KNOW YOU MORE!  I love this song.

Lord, I Want To Know You -- (words and music by Luke Mercer)
I really want to know You.  I really want to know You, know You, know You, Lord in a very real way.

LORD, thank you for the blessings of my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. I know you are with me, and my family as we go into our day…thank you my Father! 

AMEN

- Charleen Zakarian