'Gospel of Matthew' Tagged Posts
Keeping Promises | Advent Devotion
Keeping Promises Daily Devotion for Advent 2019 | Wednesday, December 4 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call His Name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). Matthew 1:22-23 Back in the late 1970s, my future husband was in a prison camp in Vietnam with a friend of his, Ben. Ben was a jeweler, and he promised that one day, if they both…
Hosanna | HOLY WEEK Devotion
Hosanna Daily Devotion for Holy Week | Palm Sunday, April 14 Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise. Matthew 21:16 After Jesus cleared the temple of the people who were selling animals, people who were blind or lame started coming to Him there to be healed. There were little children in the temple that day, too, probably there with their parents to worship. The little ones began shouting praise to Jesus: “Hosanna to the…
A Death That Gave Life | Lent Devotion
A Death That Gave Life Daily Devotion for Lent | Saturday, April 13 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. Matthew 27:52-53 What a shock it must have been. Imagine a family in Jerusalem, busy at home a couple of days after Jesus’ death, when a knock comes at the door.…
The Son Of God? | Lent Devotion
The Son Of God? Daily Devotion for Lent | Friday, April 12 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” Matthew 27:54 The centurion and his soldiers were keeping watch over the dying Jesus. As the hours wore on, they heard those words mentioned again and again: “The Son of God … the Son…
Standing By | Lent Devotion
Standing By Daily Devotion for Lent | Wednesday, April 10 “Do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once send Me more than twelve legions of angels?” Matthew 26:53 When we think about the people involved in Jesus’ arrest, suffering, and death, we often forget the invisible ones—the ones behind the scenes watching. But Jesus reminds us when He says to Peter at His arrest, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to…
Living Among Holy Things | Lent Devotion
Living Among Holy Things Daily Devotion for Lent | Friday, March 22 They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” Matthew 27:4 What kind of men are these? Though they are priests—chief priests!—they seem to feel no shame at all about offering silver to Judas to betray his master. I hope they at least had the decency not to use money that came out of the temple offerings! And when Judas shows up later, full of remorse,…
Doing His Job | Lent Devotion
Doing His Job Daily Devotion for Lent | Wednesday, March 20 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.” Matthew 25:21 It was an odd thing for Jesus to say: “Look for a man carrying a jar of water.” This was Judea; men didn’t normally carry water, that was a woman’s job. The disciples must have wondered. Still, they were used to Jesus by then; they did it without arguing. I also wonder about the man carrying…
A Strange Turn Of Phrase
A Strange Turn Of Phrase Daily Devotion for Advent | Thursday, December 6, 2018 … And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah … (Matthew 1:6b) “By the wife of Uriah.” Why not just call her by name—Bathsheba? Why use a description instead? For that matter, why not just write “David was the father of Solomon” and end the statement there, as with most of the other steps in this genealogy? Why even bring up the…
A Long Time Coming
A Long Time Coming Daily Devotion for Advent | Wednesday, December 5, 2018 Abraham was the father of Isaac … (Matthew 1:2a) “Abraham was the father of Isaac …” If there’s one verse in the New Testament Abraham would have loved to read ahead of time, it’s probably this one. God reached out to a childless man in the ancient Middle East and promised, “I will make of you a great nation” (Genesis 12:2-3). God kept that promise when Isaac…
Who Cares?
Who Cares? Daily Devotion for Advent | Tuesday, December 4, 2018 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Matthew 1:1) The book of Matthew starts with an odd choice of subject matter—42 generations of Jesus’ genealogy, all the way back to Abraham. Some people find this fascinating. Other people are probably yawning and saying under their breath, “Who cares?” Apparently, God cares. God cares enough to give us a list of…
Sponge and Stick
Sponge and Stick and Sour Wine Daily Devotion for Lent | Friday, March 23, 2018 Read John 19:28-30. A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to His mouth. (John 19:29) Just before Jesus’ final moments, He said, “I’m thirsty.” Someone took a sponge and filled it with the sour wine the soldiers brought to drink. Then they put it on a stick…
Pain Killer?
Pain Killer? Daily Devotion for Lent | Thursday, March 22, 2018 Read Matthew 27:33, 46-50. And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered Him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when He tasted it, He would not drink it. (Matthew 27:33-34) The Roman executioners were not complete monsters. Before they nailed Jesus to the cross, they offered Him wine mixed with gall—a painkiller, probably a bitter-tasting plant like opium poppy.…
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