Matthew 15-19

Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?" -15:3

This reminds me of a verse Paul wrote that really stuck out to me in Colossians 2:8, "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ." That's why I want to challenge you, don't take anything for granted. All the traditions that we practice as Christians, explore the motivation behind them. Are they glorifying Christ or are there ulterior motives?


He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."
"Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."
Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted."
            -15:26-28

I've never really understood this passage, if you understand I'd appreciate your explanation!


Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done." -16:24-27

A really important passage to pray about.. I'd like to point out one thing. Jesus says, "reward each person according to what he has done." At first I was going to talk about the importance of this verse because it says what he has done and not what he has believed; because it's not just enough to believe, if someone truly believes their life will show it in what they have done. But looking at it again, maybe it could be taken another way... maybe Jesus meant he to be the Son of Man(himself), because essentially, their is nothing we can do to be worthy of Christ's love and forgiveness except one thing: accept it. Let me know what you think.


"I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." -17:20-21

Such a powerful verse...


"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." -18:19-20

Don't forget the importance of fellowship and group prayer, you can't do it on your own; trust me, I've tried.


Make sure you take time to understand the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (18:21-35) and remember how insignificant the things that we struggle to forgive are compared to the forgiveness God has given us through our Savior, Jesus Christ.


"I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." -19:23-24

Notice He doesn't say relatively rich to the rest of America... we tend to use Bill Gates and Donald Trump as excuses for ourselves. Before we can truly live our lives for Christ, we have to come to terms with this concept, we have so much more than we need. We spend so much time and money worrying about meeting our wants, we forget that there are those out there that can't even meet the bare minimum of their needs. I love how Dave Matthews put it in his song "Seek Up," for the price of a coke or a smoke, I could keep alive those hungry eyes. 




"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." -19:26

Wow.

Next read: Matthew 20-23