Author: David Short

Matthew 22:37-40

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Personal Challenge

It can be very difficult at times to be willing to do what God commands us. We can be very stiff-necked. I guess that is one of the consequences of being given free will. Sometimes we try to blame our defiance on God claiming that He never really gave us a rule book to follow. But that is a lie fabricated by Satan, himself. Jesus summed up everything that we need to do to glorify and honor our Lord with these two commandments. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind and love our neighbor as ourself. If we do this we will need no other rules to live by. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

“Be strong and courageous, for you will divide this land which I swore to your fathers to give them. Be strong, therefore, and courageous to guard yourself and to do as Moses My servant commanded you; then you will not turn away from them, to the right nor to the left. In this way, you will have understanding in whatever you do. The book of this law shall not depart from your mouth, and you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may have the understanding to do all the things written therein. Then you will both prosper, make your ways prosperous, and have understanding. Behold, I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous. Do not be cowardly or fearful, for the Lord your God is with you in all things, wherever you go.”

Personal Challenge

No matter what our age or our background is, we all have a land that we are being asked by God to conquer. It may be sin in our life that we must overcome, or the loss of a loved one that we are mourning, or the loss of a job or a church family that we have grown in, or any other number of battles in our lives that we are called into. Whatever the situation, God encourages us to be strong and courageous and to look to Him to be our fortress and our strength. We must lean on Him and His teachings to lead us through, for He cares for us. Glory be to God!

Matthew 22:31-32

But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”

Encouraging Words

Life is short. Life is hard. We are given two dates, a beginning, when we are born, and an ending, when we fall asleep. What we have in the middle is a dash. What we do when we are alive during that dash is so very important. Only God, our loving, gracious, merciful God, knows where we stand with Him after that dash is completed. We pray over and over again to out God, “Lord, have mercy on me, the sinner!”, in hope and faith, that He will show us his mercy through the work that our Lord Jesus Christ did in His incarnation, death, and resurrection to redeem as from our sins. We see from this passage that through God’s love and mercy, our lives do extend beyond this earthly dash. Our eternity is in His hands. Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy on me, the sinner!

Dedicated to Mike…May your memory be eternal!

Joshua 1:5

No man shall be able to oppose you all the days of your life, and as I was with Moses, thus I will be also with you. I will not forsake you nor disregard you.

Encouraging Words

When Joshua was charged with leading the people of God into the holy land, God promised that He would be with Joshua and guard and protect him. When Jesus departed this earth, He promised to send us the Holy Spirit to do the same. God does not expect us to take on the battles of this earth alone. He is with us and will not forsake us or disregard us. Glory be to God!

Matthew 21:21-22

So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Personal Challenge

Jesus promised us that if we have faith and no doubt, then whatever things we ask in prayer, believing, will be granted to us. This sounds pretty open-ended. We often ask that if this is true, then why aren’t our prayers answered. Isn’t that question in and of itself an expression of our underlying doubt? Shouldn’t we also be aware that if we are following in the footstep of Jesus, becoming more like Him, then the things that we will be asking for in prayer would be the things that He would pray for. Our God is not a vending machine that we put a prayer into expecting an answer. He is our Father. We are to be in relationship with him through Jesus. In that relationship we will be asking for those things that would glorify Him and not us. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Deuteronomy 31:23

Matthew 19:21

Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

Personal Challenge

There is absolutely nothing that we can do in our earthly life that will bring us to a place of perfection. Perfection only comes in and through Christ. He is the one who works in and through us to bring us to a form of righteousness before our God. Here we have a young rich man who believes he is doing everything needed to be seen as a perfect person in the eyes of God. However, Jesus informs him that there is one more thing to do. He must sell everything that he has, give the proceeds away to the poor, and follow Jesus. This expectation cuts to the quick of his life. As a rich, young man, this is too much to give up. Where are we on this spectrum? Are we trying to achieve, or earn, perfection in the eyes of God by doing things, going to more and more services, singing in the choir or teaching Sunday school, serving on another committee, all the while holding onto the riches of this earth? If we have not been willing to give it all up for Jesus, then we are no different than this young man. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Deuteronomy 31:8

But the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not be afraid, nor be terrified.”

Encouraging Words

If we are truly following Jesus Christ and loving him with all our being then there should be no fear in our lives. If we lose our jobs, God will provide. If we get cancer or some other harsh sickness or disease, God will take care of us. This does not mean that we live reckless lives or abandon good sense. It means that in whatever happens in our temporal lives, God has us in his eternal hands. We can turn to Him for comfort, for help, for peace. This also means that as followers of Christ, if we see a fellow human being going through a difficult time in their lives then we are to be the hands and feet of God and be encouraging, supportive, and helping in their time of need. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner!