Scripture

“God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.”

Application.

The world wants us to boast about ourselves. We are told to sell ourselves, to put ourselves out there to be seen. We can live our lives out loud on social media, letting people know what awesome lives we are living.

Celebrities seem to compete to see how much of their bodies they can expose in public. They literally live as if the flesh is the only thing that is important.

Jesus commands us to be humble, because he is humble. The Son of the Living. God is humble and meek. The one who carries the glory of deity hides it in a body of flesh.

We don’t have to make a big deal, clamouring for the attention and the accolades of people. The approval of God should be enough for us.

We don’t have to selling ourselves for the best jobs and positions because God’s assignment for us is way better.

In the end, it is not the proud, the haughty, and the arrogant ones who will inherit the Earth. They will pass away. Those who are humble, who follow Jesus in all that they do, they will inherit the Earth.

We don’t have to scramble for fame and fortune. The Lord will give us all that we need

Prayer

Father, thank you for the acceptance and love that come to me from you. Thank you that I never have to prove myself to you. Amen.

Scripture.

“God blesses those who mourn for they will be comforted.”

Application.

The feelings surrounding grief are complex and beyond explanation.

Grief can catch us unexpectedly sometime, such as when an experience, a smell or a place, remind us of a person we miss.

Somebody has said, that grief is the price we pay for love. In other words, if there were no love in the world, there would be no grief. That would not be a better place.

God promises that those who mourn will be comforted. I can testify to this. In one very sad episode of my life, both my wife and I experienced what we came to describe as glimmers of joy. What should have been, and was, a very tragic experience gained redemptive power because we met God in the darkness.

This is very powerful. Grief is an inevitable part of life, and God does not promise to take us out of suffering and grief.

But He does promise to go with us through the darkest, most anguish-filled times.

Those who walk with the Lord will be comforted in their times of mourning.

Prayer

Lord, I thank you for all my experiences of your presence. In the midst of suffering and of loss. Amen.

Scripture.

“God, blesses those who are poor and realise their need for him. For the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.”

Application.

The sermon on the Mount is introduced by very powerful statements about the nature of God’s Kingdom. These statements are often called the Beatitudes.

The poor are blessed when they realise their need for God because they will receive God’s kingdom.

This statement reverses the values of the world. Most people think the rich are the blessed ones because they have lots of stuff. They can get quality care when they need it and they enjoy life’s luxuries.

Jesus says, it is the poor who are blessed. It is not that material poverty is a blessing in itself. In fact, Jesus does not say the poor are blessed because of their poverty. He says, “Blessed are those who are poor and realise their need for God.

The rich are less likely to recognise their need for God. The poor have fewer options.

Even so it is not uncommon to be poor and to not recognise your need for God. These people will not receive the Kingdom. It is when we realise that we cannot trust in our own abilities, resources, or talents to give us eternal life that we are forced to throw ourselves into God’s arms and trust Him to save us.

Prayer

Please help me Lord to trust in you and you alone. May your Kingdom come in my life and those around me. Amen.

Scripture.

From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God. For the kingdom of Heaven is near.”

Observation.

Jesus hears that John has been put in prison so he goes to Galilee. He returns to Nazareth first, but then moves to Capernaum.

Matthew says that this fulfils the prophecy of Isaiah, “In Zebulun and Naphtali and in Galilee, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light. “

Jesus begins to preach his message that people are to repent and turn to God for the kingdom of heaven is near.

Application.

The gospel message is a call that has three parts.

1. We are to repent of our sins. Too often people want to have a bit of God while holding on to their sins. That is a form of religion in which we go through the outward actions, but refuse to let God change our hearts.

Repentance is hard because nobody wants to admit that they are a sinner.

2. Turn to God. If all we do is live a respectable life with no recognition that we owe our lives to the Lord, then we can be easily become self-righteous.

There are many good people in the world, but that does not make them acceptable to God. We must recognise that any goodness we have comes from God and not from ourselves.

3. We must recognise that the kingdom of God is here. Jesus is the king. He is king of my life, every part of the things that I do, my values and my ambitions; all of it must be subject to his Reign.

Prayer

Lord Jesus. I lay myself at your feet. I declare that you are my king. Please give me grace to be able to surrender completely to you. Amen

Scripture

“Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him. ‘”

Observation

The devil comes to Jesus in the wilderness in order to tempt him.” If you are the Son of God, tell those stones to become bread.” Jesus responds with the scripture that says, “man does not live by bread alone, but by the words of God.”

Satan, then tells Jesus to prove himself by jumping from the temple and having angels protect him. Jesus, again, responds with scripture about not putting the Lord to the test.

Finally, Satan offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus will worship him.

Jesus again responds with scripture and tells satan to leave.

Application

The temptations that we face every day are of a similar kind to those faced by Jesus, although at a much smaller scale.

The underlying issue is, who do I trust?

Who do I trust for my physical needs?

Who do I trust to meet my needs for significance”

Who will I trust, worship and put at the focal point of my life?

Satan craves our worship. He is a false god and intruder.

If he can’t have our worship directly, he will deceive us into worshipping anything or any person other than the Living God.

He promises us bread, significance, or even the kingdoms of this age.

But God promises us eternal life.

Prayer

Lord, please grant me discernment to recognise when I’m being led astray from worshipping you, the one true God. Amen.

Scripture

A voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

Observation

Jesus goes to the Jordan River to be baptised by John. John argues with Jesus saying, “You should be baptising me!”

Jesus says that it is necessary to do all that God requires. So John baptises him.

As Jesus comes out of the water, the Holy Spirit descends on him in the form of a dove. A voice from heaven says, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

Application

I am a son of the Most High God. Despite my many failings and sins, He counts me as a son who brings Him great joy.

My children are all grown up now, but they have been sources of joy over many years. I count their births as the most joyful events of my life. Seeing them pass various milestones, grow up, and mature into adults has also brought me great joy.

Sure, there have been times of sadness, but even in those times there have been glimmers of joy and hope.

If my earthly children give me great joy as a father, why is it so hard to believe that I bring joy to my Heavenly Father?

We have a faulty view of God, I think. We think that expects total perfection and flawless obedience all the time, and when we fail we fear that He will withhold His love and blessings from us.

God loves us despite our sins. He doesn’t stop loving us when we fall short of his glory. No, He gives us grace to keep walking.

God is full of joy at His family, even me.

Prayer

Thank you, Father, for the assurance that I give you great joy. I confess that I often feel like I don’t give you joy at all, but I believe that this is true despite how I may feel. Amen.

Scripture

” I baptise with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am – so much greater that I am not worthy to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

Observation

John the Baptist appears in the wilderness of Judea and preachers a radical message of repentance. People come from all over the country to listen to John. They confess their sins and are baptised by him.

John warns the Pharisees and Sadducees that they cannot flee God’s wrath by being baptised. They must repent of their sins and produce the fruit of repentance like everybody else.

John says that he baptises with water, but one is coming who will baptise with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

Application

The message is the same and has never changed. We are all sinners and we need to turn back to God. He will forgive us because of the sacrifice of Christ.

Jesus is the one who baptises us with the Holy Spirit and with fire. When we give our hearts to Christ, the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts. Every believer can experience the fullness or the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

There is a very severe warning here. Being religious is not good enough. It’s not enough to look good on the outside – the Pharisees and Sadducees were experts at that. We all need to repent from the heart and allow God to change us from the inside out.

The really good news in all of this is that God’s grace has no limits. We can come as often as we need to drink deeply of his love.

Prayer

Lord your grace never runs out. Thank you for this wonderful gift. Amen.

Scripture

That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, and they stayed there until Herod’s death.

Observation

An angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream and warns him to take his family to Egypt as Herod wants to kill the boy.

Furious, Herod orders all the boys in Bethlehem under two years old to be killed.

After Herod’s death, an angel again appears to Joseph to tell him that it is safe to return to Israel.

When Joseph learns that Judea is under the control of Herod’s son Archelaus, he takes the family to Nazareth in Galilee.

Application

In some ways, the life of Jesus reflects the history of Israel. Just as the nation fled to Egypt and then was called out of that land much later, Jesus and his family were forced to flee to Egypt to escape the ruthless tyranny of Herod. He later returned to grow up in Galilee in the village of Nazareth.

Matthew reminds us that this is to fulfil prophecy. Jesus was not an accident or a human invention. Much of His life, death, and resurrection were foretold by the Old Testament prophets

Herod tried to prevent a rival king taking his position. When God moves, no person, not even a powerful king, can resist Him.

Whatever plans God may have for my life, nobody can prevent them from coming to pass.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I confess that you are greater than human power. Thank you for the assurance that your ways will overcome every opposition. Amen.

Scripture

They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Observation

Some wise men from the east come to Jerusalem asking where is the newborn King. They had seen His star, and have now come to worship Him.

King Herod is disturbed by this, so he calls the priests and religious teachers together to tell him where the Messiah is to be born. They tell him that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem

Herod sends the wise men to Bethlehem instructing them to return and to let him know the child’s location so he can worship Him too.

The wise men go to Bethlehem where the star leads them to Jesus and Mary. They open their treasure chests and give the child gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Application

We don’t normally think of a baby as worthy of worship, certainly not a baby of less than perfect pedigree.

These wise men saw that Jesus wasn’t just an ordinary baby. They were looking for a newborn king, and naturally assumed He would be found in a palace. Instead, they found him in an ordinary home.

They saw beyond the circumstances to recognise that this baby was no ordinary baby. So they worshipped him.

When we see Jesus, the only appropriate reaction is worship. He is the son of God, and so is worthy of our praise.

Our culture is dismissive of, even hostile to, the person of Christ. We need to swim against the current, bring ourselves to the throne of Christ, and worship Him.

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, you are worthy of my praise and worship. Help me to seek you and glorify you each and every day. Amen.