Author: David Short

Matthew 7:21

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

Personal Challenge

Christianity is quickly becoming a label that we apply to ourselves because we find it easy and beneficial for us. Jesus makes it clear here that we are not His followers just because we proclaim it so. We are His followers if we follow Him. We must be doing the will of His Father, which will almost always be contradictory to the things of this world. If we are not loving our neighbor and caring for those in need, then we are not following Him. If we are doing whatever we want, whenever we want, and not submitting to Him, then we are not following Him. He wants us to practice what He preaches, not just preach it. Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on are, the sinner!

Matthew 7:15-16

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?

Personal Challenge

We are warned by Jesus to be on our guard for those who will come into our churches and seek to disrupt them for their own gain. We often take this warning to be talking about major false prophets who are obvious in their attacks on the church, however it is those who take on little aspects of the church and attempt to change them to their own liking that are the more dangerous ones. They are more subtle in their approach, which easily deceives those who do not keep up their guard. We are to be on our guard at all times and to be careful not to fall prey to these perverters of the truth. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Matthew 7:7-8

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Encouraging Words

Jesus is not proposing a prosperity gospel here as many are in the habit of proclaiming about this passage. If we have chosen to follow Christ and are sincerely pursuing Him with the intent to be like Him, then we will be in the process of being transformed in respect to our desires and wants. We will not want the things of this world, but we will want the the things of His Kingdom. We will be asking for those heavenly things, seeking Ham and His Kingdom, knocking on His doors in pursuit of Him and His righteousness. These are the things that will be given to us, that will be found, the doors that will be opened, and that which will be found. Glory be to God!

Matthew 6:31-34

Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Personal challenge

Why is it that we so often seek the wrong thing in life. We focus so much on the things of this world, food, drink, clothing, basically, stuff. God wants us to seek Him and His Kingdom. He is the one who will provide for our true needs. He is the one who gives us life. Glory be to God!

Matthew 6:30

Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Encouraging Words

Every one of us has basic needs that have to be taken care of to survive. Beyond those needs, everything else becomes a want. Jesus is telling us here that God knows what our needs are and He will provide for those needs. Where the challenge comes in is when my definitions of those needs are different than His definition. The more that we can align with God and how He chooses to meet our needs, the more I will be satisfied with what He is providing. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Matthew 6:14-15

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Personal Challenge

Only God can fully forgive sins. However, the degree to which we experience His grace and mercy in our lives because of His forgiveness, is truly impacted by how much we are willing to forgive those who have trespassed or sinned against us. If I hold on to their trespasses and do not free them as I am capable of doing, those acts of unforgiveness will come between God and me as He forgives me of my trespasses. We are to behave like Him if we want to be like Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Matthew 5:37

But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

Personal Challenge

Our modern world has become so comfortable with ambiguity. This is the kind of world that makes it easy to promulgate falsehoods as if they are the truth. This then makes it easy for people to lie and cheat because they can always find something out there that supports their sin. Jesus made it very clear to us that there is no room in the Christian life for pursuing falsehoods. We are to be true to His calling and true to those around us. We must always speak in such a way that people know that they can trust us to stand by our words and our beliefs. Anything else is from the evil one. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Matthew 5:23-24

Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Personal Challenge

As I read through this expectation set by Jesus, it appears to me that He is describing reconciliation is truly a one-sided event. If there is something amiss between my brother or sister, whether they are at fault or I am at fault or we are both at fault, if I want to be able to effectively worship my God, then I must go to that person and initiate reconciliation. There is nothing said about the other person choosing to be a part of that reconciliation: It is my duty, my responsibility, to seek and pursue reconciliation. This is hard to do because our pride kicks in and tells us that the other person needs to contribute, if not be responsible for the reconciliation. Jesus never said that being a Christian was easy! Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Matthew 5:17

Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.