January 15th ~Matthew 10

Jesus calls His twelve apostles to serve with Him during His ministry and to provide leadership for the church after His ascension. Twelve were probably selected because their number corresponds to the twelve tribes of Israel. 

The terms apostle and disciple are often used interchangeably in referring to these men. But a disciple is a learner or follower, while an apostle refers to one who is sent with a special message or commission. The Twelve were definitely apostles; when Jesus called them He had a specific mission in mind for them-- to carry on His work after He ended His earthly ministry.

We know that we are ALL disciples of Christ. We are followers who are learning and growing in His Word and are representatives of Him as His body on the earth. Before He sent them out, it says in verse 1, that Jesus summoned His disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. This happened while they were yet disciples and not yet sent out with their mission as apostles! That means that while we, too are disciples the same authority has been given unto us and is to be used by us! Praise God! That is Good News, friends!

While we may not have received a commission from the Lord to go to a far off land to preach and heal the sick, we are ALL called to walk in the authority Christ provided for us and to help those closest to us to receive freedom from bondage and sickness! God is ever searching for those He can find who are willing to be vessels for Him to use. We are His hands on the earth, to reach out and let Him meet needs through us. And we must never forget, that while we are here on the earth, we are still a part of His body. As He is "seated in heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named..." (Eph. 1:20, 21) therefore we, too, are seated in that place!

January 7th~Matthew 4

After Jesus was baptized by John He was led by the Spirit to the wilderness and was tempted by the devil. I have always loved reading this account. It shows that Jesus was completely human, like you or me, having to deal with the enemy tempting Him. But the most wonderful part of this excerpt is that it teaches us how to be just as successful as Jesus when dealing with the enemy!

First of all it said that Jesus fasted for forty days. When one is fasting, you become naturally hungry, but more spiritually attuned. Jesus had a lot of time alone, separated unto His Father to commune with Him and become strong in His inner man. The devil tried to be crafty and tempt Him with scripture, yet he did not comprehend that Jesus WAS the WORD. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us! How did Jesus defeat the enemy? By simply quoting the ALL-POWERFUL Word of God right back at him. How can we defeat the enemy? The very same way! When we spend time depositing the Word into our hearts and when we come up against diverse trials it should be the first thing that comes to mind and should come out of our mouths! I once heard it said, when the strong man is robbing your house, that is not the time to go to your weight bench and get strong enough to take him down. We must feed on the Word and exercise our faith muscles daily. Then we will be ready for anything. After all, we are only called to stand our ground. The battle belongs to the Lord and He already OVERCAME. We are called MORE than conquerors!

What are your thoughts about Matthew Chapter 4? Share with us here by leaving a comment :)

January 4th~Matthew 3

Matthew is the gospel written by a Jew, to Jews, about a Jew. Matthew is the writer, his countrymen are the readers and his subject is Jesus Christ. Matthew presents Jesus as Israel's promised messianic King. The phrase "the kingdom of heaven" appears twenty-eight times in Matthew but nowhere else in the New Testament. To show that Jesus fulfills the qualifications for the Messiah, Matthew uses more Old Testament quotations (almost 130) than any other book.

As a Jewish tax collector, Matthew writes to a Jewish audience to convince them that the King of the Jews has come. Everything about this King is unique: His miraculous birth and carefully prophesied birthplace, His flight into Egypt, His announcement by John, His battle with Satan in the wilderness, all support the only possible conclusion- Jesus is the culmination of the promises delivered by the prophets over a period of a thousand years. God's redemptive plan is alive and well!

Chapter 3 gives us the account of John the Baptist working hard to prepare people's hearts for "the kingdom of heaven". Jesus arrives from Galilee at the Jordan river coming to be baptized by John. After coming up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened and the Spirit descended upon Him like a dove and behold a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased."

What an incredible sign for all those witnessing! And a title is given that is unmistakable. Jesus' sonship did not begin on that day. He was already in Spirit because God is Spirit and Christ was the Son of God before He assumed a human body. But God wishes to express the sonship of Jesus. That He was begotten of God in a sense that no one else is. It is a title that shows equality. The Son of God is no less than God. Now Jesus is prepared to go forth and reveal all which is His Father, through Himself, His Son.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

We believe, as we endeavor to dig deep into the New Testament this year, we will be transformed by the Word of God! May the Word dwell in us and abide in us, richly, so we may attain all that Jesus so lovingly provided for us and walk in VICTORY in 2013!