God's Word For Every Day

“Jesus said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old” ( Matthew 13:52 ). We are travelling towards “the kingdom of heaven.” As we journey towards God’s Kingdom, He is teaching us many lessons. We are to treasure the lessons which come to us from the Word of God in the power of the Spirit of God. There is nothing more precious than this: “We have received … the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God” ( 1 Corinthians 2:12 ).

In the New Testament, we read much about Peter, We read about him in the Gospels. We read about him in the Acts of the Apostles. His name speaks of both failure and triumph. Peter was a man who denied his Lord. He was a man who won thousands of people for his Lord. In the story of Peter, walking on water (Matthew 14:22-33), we see both faith and unbelief.  * In Peter, we see faith - real faith. While the other disciples hung back, wondering what to make of this mysterious figure, walking on the water, Peter launched out in faith - "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water" (Matthew 14:28). This was an act of faith - real faith.  * Peter's faith was not perfect. His faith was weak. Nevertheless, it was real faith. His faith was mixed with unbelief. Yet, there was faith in Peter's heart - faith that would grow strong as Peter learned to look to Christ, faith which would overcome the unbelief in Peter's heart, faith which would win the victory. This...

“Every man did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). This sad situation is with us still. May God give us grace to pray, “Not my will, but Thine be done” (Matthew 26:42).

In his discussion, "Election and the Hiddenness of God" in Divine Election (Chapter Four, pp.102-131), G. C. Berkouwer emphasizes that God's hiddenness is not to be set over against His salvation. He rejects a concept of God's hiddenness which "separates the God of revelation from our lives and mitigates the absolute trustworthiness of that revelation" (p. 125). Even in confessing God's salvation, faith acknowledges that it does not know everything about God (pp. 120-121, especially  the reference to Isaiah 45:15 - " Truly You are a God who has been hiding Himself,  the God and Saviour of Israel."). Although our knowledge of God in Christ is confessed to be true and reliable, we must not presume upon complete knowledge (p. 124 - especially the reference to John 14:9 - "He who has seen Me has seen the Father."). The attempt to attain to complete knowledge is admonished for its spiritual pride, when Christ speaks of these things which...

A Journey with Christ ( Matthew 1:5-6 ; John 8:1-11) (1) Christ’s Journey through history   Before we even reach the opening chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, the Old Testament proclaims this message of hope: Christ is coming. The journey through the Old Testament  paves the way for the coming of Christ. The first 17 verses of Matthew’s Gospel gives us a brief outline of Old Testament history as a preparation for the coming of Christ. These verses present us with a family tree. It’s not particularly interesting reading. For this reason, these verses are often overlooked. There are, however, important lessons which we must not miss! Here are two interesting names in Christ’s family tree - Rahab (Matthew 1:5) and Solomon (Matthew 1:6). Who was Rahab? - a prostitute! Who was Solomon? - a child born out of an adulterous relationship! How did  they  get into Christ’s family tree? Was there some kind of mistake? - No! It must be stresses that the names of ...

"Come, let us kill him" (Matthew 21:38). This is the human story of Christ's crucifixion. He was "put to death by wicked men." There is also the divine story - "the deliberate plan and foreknowledge of God"(Acts 2:23). The wicked men thought that this was the end of Jesus. They were wrong! - "God raised Him from the dead." Could it have been any other way? Could the evil scheming of men have prevailed over God's plan of salvation? - No! "I t was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him" (Acts 2:24).

"Com e and see what God has done ... Come and listen, all who fear God,   and I will tell you what he has done for me ... Let everyone give thanks to You, O God. " (Psalm 66:5,16; Psalm 67:3). If we want to see what God has done for us, what's the best place to look? - The Cross of Christ. This is where we will see how much the Lord has done for us. This is where we will see how much the Lord loves us.  When we come to the Cross of Christ, we come to look and listen. From the Cross, Christ speaks to us some wonderful words.  Here are some of His words:  * "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34). Here, we see Jesus taking our sin upon Himself.  * "It is finished" (John 19:30). Here, Jesus declares that He has completed the work that needed to be done for us to be saved.  * "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do" (Luke 23:34). Through Jesus' death for us, we re...

"Jesus said absolutely nothing in him in reply, so the governor was very surprised" (Matthew 27:14). Jesus had not come to escape death. He had come to die. Pilate was surprised. He did not understand. This was not the normal response. Jesus could not be understood according to the thinking of other people. He was a special person. He had a special purpose. He was heading to the Cross. The place of His suffering was to become the place of our salvation. Thank You, Jesus.

Matthew 1:18-25 Before Jesus is born, there is a revelation from God. God tells us who Jesus is. He is Emmanuel: God with us (Matthew 1:23). God tells us why Jesus has come to earth. He has come to be our Saviour (Matthew 1:21). In this divine revelation concerning Jesus, our Saviour / Emmanuel, God with us, we have the message of the Gospel. Jesus is more than a man. He is God with us. Jesus is more than a prophet. He is the Saviour. When we consider the remarkable beginning to Jesus' life on earth, it should not surprise us that His whole life is so very special.

In Matthew 21:1-22, we learn that Jesus is a very different King from the kings of this world. He is the King of love. There is no tyranny, no dictatorship, no reign of terror. Alongside His love, there is His holiness. We see this in the cleansing of the Temple. He is looking for us to be fruitful. This is the lesson of the cursed fig tree. May God help us to be fruitful - in holiness and in love.

"Beware lest any man spoil you through  philosophy  and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ" (Colossians 2:8). On the one side, there is philosophy. On the other side, there is Christ. The two are very different. Philosophy begins with man - "after the tradition of men." When we speak of Christ, we begin with God - "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son ..." (John 3:16). Sometimes, philosophy may try to find God. In philosophy of religion, we hear about the arguments for the existence of God. When these arguments are discussed, it soon becomes clear that it is questionable whether such arguments can be regarded as 'proofs' for God's existence. There are arguments. There are counter-arguments. We're left wondering, "What does all this really prove? - Neither side of the debate is likely to convince many on the other side. There may be some who will move from one...

"For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, a nd those who escape from Mount Zion.  The  zeal of the  Lord  of hosts will do this" (Isaiah 37:32). A remnant - When Isaiah was called by God to the prophetic  ministry, he was given a warning. He was told that only a small minority of his hearers would respond positively to his message. If Isaiah was expecting the majority of his hearers to welcome his preaching, he would have been discouraged by the poor response that he received from so many people -  The land is utterly desolate ... a nd the forsaken places   are   many in the midst of the land" (Isaiah 6:11-12) .  Isaiah needed to receive encouragement from the Lord. This is the encouragement he was given - " But yet a tenth   will be   in it ...  As a terebinth tree or as an oak, w hose stump   remains   when it is cut down.  So   the holy seed   shall be   its stump" (Isaiah 6:13). If we read...

"This is My blood of the   new  covenant,  which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28). Early on in my Christian life, I read James Denney's book, The Death of Christ.  Reading this book gave me a real sense of the importance of the death of Christ. This has stayed with me over the years. It helped me to understand why the Apostle Paul said, "we preach Christ crucified" (1 Corinthians 1:23),  " I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2) and "God forbid that I should ever boast (or glory) except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6:14). It helped me to understand what John the Baptist when he pointed to Jesus and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Many year have come and gone since I read James Denney's book. It is still my great desire to join, with John the Baptist, i...

The choices that we make while we are here on earth will decide whether we we will spend eternity with him or apart from Him. This is the message of Matthew 7:13-14. "False prophets ... vicious wolves" will seek to lead us away from the Lord (Matthew 7:15-16). We must pray that the Lord will deliver us from paying lip-service to Him without living our whole life for Him (Matthew 7:21-23). How are we to live for the Lord? - We must hear His Word and obey it (Matthew 7:24). Obedience to God's Word begins with hearing His Word. Hearing God's Word leads to obeying His Word. May God help us to build on Christ, always receiving His Word as the Word that speaks to us with His authority.

Before we even reach the opening chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, the Old Testament proclaims this message of hope: Christ is coming. The journey through the Old Testament  paves the way for the coming of Christ. The first 17 verses of Matthew’s Gospel gives us a brief outline of Old Testament history as a preparation for the coming of Christ. These verses present us with a family tree. It’s not particularly interesting reading. For this reason, these verses are often overlooked. There are, however, important lessons which we must not miss! Here are two interesting names in Christ’s family tree - Rahab (Matthew 1:5) and Solomon (Matthew 1:6). Who was Rahab? - a prostitute! Who was Solomon? - a child born out of an adulterous relationship! How did they get into Christ’s family tree? Was there some kind of mistake? - No! It must be stresses that the names of Rahab - a prostitute - and Solomon - the child of an adulterous relationship - are found in Christ’s ...

“Come, let’s kill him” (Matthew 21:38). From Jesus’ parable, we look to His death. The crucifixion of Jesus has a human explanation: “wicked men put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross” – but that’s not the whole story! In the death of Jesus, we see God’s “plan” of salvation – His eternal plan (Acts 2:23). When Jesus’ enemies thought that they had succeeded, they couldn’t have been more wrong! Jesus’ death was followed by His resurrection: “God raised Him from the dead.” In Jesus’ resurrection, we see His mighty triumph over death: “it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him” (Acts 2:24).

"The river of God is filled with water" (Psalm 65:9). What a superabundance of blessing there is in the river of God! We read more about the river of God in Ezekiel 47. We read about the amazing increase of God's blessing - " The water came up to my ankles ... The water came up to my knees .. . The water came up to my waist ... the water had risen so much that it became a river which I couldn’t cross. The river was too deep to cross except by swimming" (Ezekiel 47:3-5). When God gave this vision to Ezekiel, He asked him, "Son of man, do you see this?" (Ezekiel 47:6). This is the question that the Lord puts to each one of us: 'Do you see what I'm showing you?' What happens when we're learning to swim in the river of God? -   " Wherever the river flows, there will be many fish and animals. The river will make the water in the Dead Sea fresh. Wherever the river flows, it will bring life" (Ezekiel 47:9). We read abo...

In Matthew 13, we see Jesus, the Storyteller. His stories are ordinary stories - with an extarordinary message. The stories are human. The message is divine. They are stories about people. They are stories about God. Following on from Jesus' parables, we have His return to "His hometown" (Matthew 13:54). The people were "amazed" at His teaching (Matthew 13:54), They did not, however, look for a divine explanation. They looked at Jesus in a human way. They said that He shouldn't be able to speak like this. They denied Him the right to speak with divine authority. They did not hear and receive what He said to them. What did Jesus say about them? "The only place a prophet isn't honoured is in his hometown and in his own house" (Matthew 13:57). What was the result of their refusal to recognize Jesus' authority? His power was not released among them: "He didn't work many miracles there because of their lack of faith" ...

“Then Jesus prayed this prayer: O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever, and for revealing it to the childlike” (Matthew 11:25). “So wise and clever” – Is that what we think we are? Do we think that we ‘know it all’? Jesus cuts us down to size! How much do we really know if we don’t know the one thing that really matters? – Jesus loves me.

Enthusiastic and energetic - sometimes, these are the words churches use to describe the minister they're looking for. Enthusiastic and energetic - these are words that could be used to describe the crowd at a sports event or music concert. Is there anything inherently spiritual about looking for a minister who is enthusiastic and energetic? It's good to be enthusiastic and energetic - but we must ask where does the enthusiasm and the energy come from? Does it come from ourselves - from an extrovert personality? or Does it come from the Lord - from believing in the Saviour and being committed to serving him? I would suggest that, when we're speaking about the Lord's servants, we should use two other words - also beginning with the letter "E" - Evangelical and Evangelistic.  Evangelical and Evangelistic - Committed to the Saviour and Committed to winning others for him: These words sum up Jesus' call to His first disciples - "Follow me" - and h...