January 6, 2014 – Matthew 4 – Overcoming Temptation

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

What Does this Passage Say?

• After Jesus is baptized by John He heads alone out into the wilderness to spend forty days and night fasting and praying. Jesus baptism marks the beginning of His ministry. But before He can do ministry He must first test His strength. Like Israel before entering the promise land, Jesus spends forty days confirming His ability to stand against Satan. If He can stand against Satan and his temptation, then nothing will overcome Him as He carries out the mission He was born for.
• Satan temps Jesus three different ways. Temptation #1 is the Lust of the Flesh. Temptation #2 is boastful pride of Life. Temptation #3 is the Lust of the Eyes. Jesus overcomes all three of these temptations by quoting scripture.
• When Jesus proves He is stronger than Satan He is ready to begin His public ministry. John has been arrested, and Jesus knows His mission is similar so He leaves the hotbed of Judea and heads home to Galilee where Nazareth, Jesus hometown, is located. It is here He bounces around the region to various towns. Again Matthew reminds his Jewish audience that Jesus is fulfilling prophecy. Jesus message is similar to John’s. It too is a message of repentance.
• Jesus knows that His time on earth will be limited. He must leave His mission and message in trustworthy hands. He does so by calling disciples. The first disciples He calls are fishermen. Jesus uses a neat play on words and tells them He will make them fishers of men. After calling Andrew and Peter He finds more fishermen, James and John, and calls them too. The first four disciples have been selected.
• Jesus ministry is not the ordinary ministry of other Rabbis. Jesus certainly teaches, but he also preforms miracles, healing disease and illnesses, casting out demons, and healing the paralyzed. This drove crowds to Jesus from all over the Jewish territories. Jesus was a popular man.

  What is this passage teaching?

• This chapter gives us some insight into the early days of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus stood strong against the temptations of Satan giving Him a firm foundation to stand against the struggles that the role of Messiah would give Him.
• The early days of any mission are often faced with both ups and downs. Jesus left Judea because of the pressure His relative John was facing. Back home He experienced the glory of the mission … calling disciples and attracting crowds.

 How can I apply this passage to my life?

• When you face temptation how do you respond? Do you give in to it believing you do not have the strength to stand strong? Do you walk away, but in your mind long for the temptation? Do you stand strong? If so how do you do it? Jesus was tempted in ways you and I are tempted … lust of the flesh, boastful pride, and lust of the eyes. Each temptation Jesus fought with Old Testament scripture. We would be wise to learn from Jesus. The first step to living that out is committing to memory the Word of God. Maybe a good action step for you is to make it a habit to learn one new verse each week. If you do so, at the end of the year you would know fifty-two more verses then you did last year and your arsenal of defense would be a little more loaded

January 4, 2014 – Proverbs 1 – Steering Clear of Sinful Men

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

What Does this Passage Say?

• On Saturday’s and Sunday’s we will pause from our reading of the New Testament and read through the books of Psalms and Proverbs. Some Saturday’s we will read through Proverbs and all other weekend days we will read through Psalms.
• The book of Proverbs was written by Solomon the third true King of Israel, the son of David, born to Bathsheba. Solomon ruled over Israel during an amazing amount of peace and was able to lead the nation into great wealth and prosperity. Solomon was also privileged to construct the Temple of God.
• Proverbs are often short statements sometimes standing alone giving wisdom and guidance. Proverbs begins by sharing its purpose. It then moves on into advice concerning wisdom.
• Our thirty-one day (that’s how many chapters are in Proverbs) may not follow the new structure of the Bible reading plan. That will be due to the random nature of Proverbs. However, there will be one thought that I will typically pull from that days reading.

 What is this passage teaching?

• The first couple chapters of Proverbs will concern wisdom. Wisdom is an import part of life. Seeking sound wisdom is important. In our reading today Solomon warns us to be wise against the invitation of Sinful Men. This invitation is often the destruction of many. What a brilliant place for Solomon to begin.

 How can I apply this passage to my life?

• How often do you fall into sin simply on your own? It may happen on occasion, but often the sins we struggle with, the sins we stumble upon have been introduced to us by others. Solomon warns it is wise to not let sinful men entice you, to not give in to them. What wise advice. Steer clear of situations where you may be tempted. Steer clear of friends that may drag you away from serving and following God with all you are. There is profound wisdom in the words of Solomon.  

January 3, 2014 – Matthew 3 – Let the Evidence be your Life

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

What Does this Passage Say?

• John the Baptist is some sort of relation to Jesus. Some speculate cousin but we have no idea. We know that John’s life was announced by Gabriel to his father who was a priest while he was serving at the temple (Luke 1). It is to John’s parents house that Mary, Jesus mother, runs to when she finds out she is pregnant (Luke 1). It is John who leaps in his mother, Elizabeth’s, womb when he hears the voice of Mary arriving at the house.
• John is given the mission of preparing the way for Jesus. He did this by teaching a message of repentance and by baptizing with a baptism indicating that repentance. His mission was prophesied about by Isaiah as part of the coming of Jesus. John preached and baptized in the Jordan Valley in the Jordan River.
• John’s appearance was strange. He wore camel hair clothes, ate locust and wild honey, and probably had long hair. There is a lot of speculation in the scholarly community that he identified with a group called the Essenes. The Essenes were another religious group within Judaism. They were an isolationist group living in the southern cave regions of the Jewish territory. They were known for their Nazirite vowel way of life. They also were the scribes of the Jewish community. They spent a large portion of their time copying the text of the Old Testament. It is the Essene community we credit with creating and preserving the historical find of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
• John was not reserved with his words. In fact he confronted the ruling religious leaders of the day: the Pharisees and the Sadducees. These two groups controlled the religious teaching in the Jewish community. They were seen as the spiritual leaders often held higher than the priest. Many in this group have become power hungry and have made observance to the Mosaic Law incredibly difficult to follow. It is with this understanding we can connect to the harsh words that John has for this group.
• Jesus himself shows up to be baptized by John. To be honest this is still something I am trying to understand myself. I take it for faith that Jesus had to be baptized by John. I know this; it is the public beginning of Jesus ministry and a time that God verbally and visually presents himself by sending a dove and speaking words of praise.

 What is this passage teaching?

• In verse eight John the Baptist looks at the Pharisees and Sadducees and says … “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.” (Matthew 1:8 NLT) What a powerful reminder for us. We are saved by the blood of Jesus. We are saved by His doing not ours. We are saved once, not over and over again. God has forgotten our sin and invited us to spend eternity with Him. But that does not mean we can continue sinning. Sure, we are going to sin. Yes we are going to stumble. And yes we are still covered by God’s grace. But our lives should reflect the truth that we have repented. Our lives should reflect the truth that we have turned to God. Our lives should reflect the truth that we are children of God.

How can I apply this passage to my life?

• Are you going to navigate life without sin? Absolutely not! There we are times when weakness takes over. There will be times when struggles present themselves. Fortunately in those moments we are still saved by grace. What we must work to avoid is the temptation to openly sin. While God does not weigh sin, and neither should we, we also should never take for granted God’s grace. When we openly sin we are essentially spitting in the face of God’s grace. We are telling God that his grace and mercy and gift of eternal life is of little value to us. Work to rid your life of sin. Work to remove even the times you succumbed to weakness. 

January 2, 2014 – Matthew 2 – Trusting the evidence.

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Matthew 1. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

What Does this Passage Say?

• Jesus was born in Bethlehem a small hamlet in the region of Judea. Bethlehem is a bedroom community for the city of Jerusalem five miles away.
• Some wise men, how many we do not know, who come from eastern lands, more than likely the land of Babylon which had been conquered by the Medes and Persians (modern day Iraq), see a star in the sky and they follow it to Jerusalem looking for a king.
• It is interesting that they know what they are looking for. There is a lot of speculation about these wise men. These men are possibly the religious teachers of their day. They were the primary scholars of their day. With these roots they would be knowledgeable in astrology, astronomy, medicine, math, and natural sciences.
• With their educated backgrounds these men may have been experts in many different types of religious literature. The writings of the Jews would certainly be known to them since the Jews were once conquered by and lived under Babylonian and Persian rule. In fact several Jews had high ranking positions within Babylon and Persia … remember Daniel, Shadrach (Hananiah), Meshach (Mishael), Abednego (Azaria), and Ester (Hadassah).
• There is also a chance that these wise men that came had Jewish ancestry. When the Persians allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem during the times of Nehemiah and Ezra not all returned. Some had pretty good lives established in the land of captivity. Instead of returning many continued to live their lives in the new land. We do not know for sure, but some of these wise men may have been Jewish. This would give reason for their desire to worship … however, you did not have to be Jewish to worship.
• These wise men understood something that the Jews would later struggle with, they were expecting the birth of Jesus and they were looking for it. They were watching because they understood the words of the prophets and they believed them. When the wise men come looking for the child they begin by going to Herod, the King (Not really the king since Rome was in charge, but a title the Roman’s allowed him to keep).
• Herod struggled with this because he felt threatened. Now the Jewish priest and teachers of the Law understood the scriptures but they missed all the sings. This will be a theme of theirs for Jesus entire life.
• Herod sends the wise men on their way, to the town where the Priest said He would be born. He also tricks them making them believe he too wants to worship this new king. Fortunately for Jesus we learn that God intervened because Herod had other intentions.
• The wise men find Jesus just after following a star that lead them right to Him. Jesus was not in a stable and probably still not in a manger. Time has passed. The census that we learn of from Luke has passed and Mary and Joseph are now possibly the invited guest into someone’s home, home owners themselves, or renting a place (Joseph a carpenter would be able to find work in Bethlehem). There is a chance that Jesus is nearly two years old by this point. Later we learn that Herod wants all baby boys in and around Bethlehem that were two years or under killed. This possibly gives us Jesus age.
• The wise men present Jesus with an offering of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. People have speculated about various spiritual implications of these gifts connecting them to Jesus life and mission, but we will not do that here. We do know this; there was a lot of value in the gifts they presented Jesus and His family with.
• When the wise men leave they do not go back to Herod because God directs them not to. Herod becomes furious and decides to kill all boys two and under. Jesus is not one of them, because God had already sent Jesus and His family to Egypt. The gift of the wise men would certainly help fun this journey.
• The family lives in Egypt until Herod dies and then they are lead to return home. The young family decides to return to their hometown, Nazareth to avoid any more threats on the child’s life from Herod’s son.

 What is this passage teaching?

• Throughout this passage Matthew references the prophetical writings of the Old Testament. Matthew established in our chapter one that Jesus had a strong linage from Abraham and David. Now in chapter two He established Jesus divine linage. Jesus just was not some child that was randomly born. His life was planned and the events of His life foretold through the prophets; the place of His birth, the result of His birth leading to weeping in Bethlehem, and His growing up in Nazareth. Matthew wanted His audience to understand Jesus was from God and all along part of God’s plan.

 How can I apply this passage to my life?

• Friends … Jesus wasn't a mistake. God had a plan for Jesus all along. He sent His son to us in a prescribed way giving us a lot of evidence to make faith in Him something easy. God never wanted salvation to be something hard … if He did, He would have made it something we had to do. No Jesus came so that He could save us from our sins. Do not beat yourself up and do not struggle trying to save yourself. Jesus has done that for you. He asks us to have faith, confess and repents our sins, accept Him as Lord and savior, and then die a death in the watery graves of baptism. What I love about God is He gives us so much evidence to believe in Son!

January 1, 2014 – Matthew 1 – Establishing the Veracity of Jesus

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Matthew 1. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

What Does this Passage Say

• The writer of this book … Matthew (The name of the books is not overly creative) … begins by listing the genealogy of Jesus. This is sort of a boring way to begin a book of the Bible, especially the first one in the New Testament. However, when Matthew wrote it he never knew he would get the opportunity to write the opening lines of the New Testament. Had he known that, he still probably would have started his book this way.
• Matthew’s audience was first century Jewish people who had converted or Jewish people they were trying convert to a life changing relationship with Jesus Christ. Jewish people loved geologies for a multitude of reasons.
• Genealogies gave them belonging. Their heritage made them receipts of the promise that they were God’s people.
• Genealogies also gave them rights and access to their family inheritance in the Promised Land.
• If they could not trace their genealogy, they were often discounted from the nation of Israel, which was a pretty big deal.
• By listing a genealogy Matthew established that Jesus was in fact a Jew and that he descended from the line of David. The David part was a big deal because God promised to David that his heir would reign forever and the prophets predicted the Messiah would come from David.
• In verse eighteen we find the traditional Christmas story.
• A young girl named Mary is engaged to a man named Joseph.
• She conceives in an unconventional way … through the Holy Spirit
• Instead of shaming Mary, Joseph decides to quietly divorce her (Engagement in first century Israel could only be broken by death or divorce) until an angel appears to him in a dream.

What is this passage teaching?

• The rest of Matthew, and for that matter the rest of the New Testament, is going to focus on the life of Jesus and all that means to the world. This genealogy leaves little doubt that Jesus was indeed Jewish and a rightful heir to David’s throne. It establishes the veracity for everything else this writing will contain.
• We learn a valuable lesson from Joseph. When he found out that his fiancée was pregnant and he knew he was not the father it must have been a hurtful blow. But Joseph did not overreact. He could have had Mary put to death for adultery (Leviticus 20:10). He chose a noble route … to quietly divorce her. This would have made things less messy. This is a noble and righteous attitude that we would be wise to learn from. Now his choice is negated due to the visit of the angel, but still he had a noble reaction to hurtful news.

How can I apply this passage to my life?

• How do we react when people have wronged us? How do we treat them? Do we humiliate them? Joseph chose to be noble, to do what was right instead of what was wrong. We would be wise to slow down, take time to think, and allow God to speak to us. More than likely he will not send an angel to our dreams, but He might just speak to us through other ways especially His written word. 

I will return January 1st 2014

I have taken a break over the last month. My schedule has not allowed me the time or energy to write. I apologize for this. I am planning to return for 2014 with a daily commentary on our new reading plan here at West Side. I have already included a link to the 2014 reading plan. I hope you will journey with me again next year.