Today’s passage: Matthew 7:15-23

Helpful thoughts:

• Wolves are the natural enemy of sheep and the word “ravenous” could also be translated, “swindler”- a false prophet seeks to find and ravage an unsuspecting sheep.
• The false prophet dresses in “sheep’s clothing”.  They will call themselves Christians, build “churches”, put crosses on the walls and speak the name of Jesus, etc.
• Fruit trees are beautiful and provide shade…but if they don’t produce good fruit they are worthless and cut down.

Questions to consider:

1. Is there such a thing as a harmless false teacher?  What does verse 15 declare them to be?
2. What are some examples that you have seen recently in your life and in the lives of others in our church of good, healthy fruit?  Praise the Lord for it and encourage one another!
3. Is it possible to identify false teachers? How?
4. What will “many” false teachers believe about themselves based on verse 22?  How important is it for us to know, believe and obey the Scriptures?

Today’s passage: Matthew 7:7-14

Helpful thoughts:

• Jesus invites us to ask, seek and knock.
  • James 1:17 – Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
• Verse 12 -The Golden Rule- is another way to say, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:29 – The 2nd greatest commandment)
• Since God is our Father and we know He will never fail to give us what is best for us, we are free to selflessly love others.
• “Entering” the gate of your choice requires action and results in also choosing a “way”.  If you are not actively pursuing the narrow gate and the narrow way, then you are actively pursuing the wide gate and the way that leads to destruction.
• “Those who find it are few” is a phrase that points to diligence.
  • Jeremiah 29:13 – You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
  • It takes effort and concentration to get to know someone well and grow close to them…a relationship with Jesus is not for the lazy and half-hearted.

Questions to consider:

1. How might a person look at the promises in verses 7-8 think that God has failed?  Do these verses teach us that God will give us whatever we want? Does God withhold what is best for us?
2. If God doesn’t withhold what is best for us, then how might our thinking, attitude or desires need to change?
3. Why is the effort to know and follow Christ totally worth it? (And remember, your salvation is totally provided for in Christ!  You aren’t earning or paying back any of your salvation through your efforts…)

Today’s passage: Matthew 7:1-6

Helpful thoughts:

• The focus of these verses is a self-righteous, judgmental spirit.
• When you have a speck (a splinter or a twig…This is NOT a piece of dust), you definitely know it.  You don’t really need someone else to point it out to you.
  • So, this comparison of a speck and log does not refer to a small sin and a big sin.  It is not like the speck is fighting and the log is murder.  The log is self-righteousness, believing you have arrived and need no correction-that you are superior.
• The dogs and pigs Jesus refers to in verse 6 aren’t the cute kind.  They were scavengers; wild, dirty and often diseased.

Questions to consider:

1. What would it take to literally have a log jammed into your eye and not notice it?  What would that look like spiritually?  How is that possible?
2. Whose sin should we be most concerned with in a spirit of humility?
3. Does verse 1 mean that we are NEVER to point out sin in others, to rebuke them?  What is it saying?
4. How would humility and love change the way we help a brother or sister with the speck that is in their eye?
5. How would the humility required for the previous question help us to respond appropriately to people who act like wild dogs and/or swine when we attempt to reach out and help them?  Should we point the finger and proclaim our superiority or be grieved at their rejection of the truth?

Today’s passage: Matthew 6:25-34

Helpful thoughts:

• This passage begins with a “Therefore”.  In the previous passage, Jesus told us to treasure and serve God alone.
• If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, God is your Father.  He has committed to provide for you as your Father.
• The phrase, “do not be anxious” is a command.
• Dr. Charles Mayo wrote, “Worry affects the circulation, the heart, the glands and the whole nervous system. I have never met a man or known a man to die of overwork, but I have known a lot who died of worry.”

Questions to consider:

1. Do you really believe that flowers in the field are more spectacular than Solomon at the pinnacle of his power?
2. If “do not be anxious” is a command, then what are we doing when we are anxious?
3. What would the root cause of anxiety be?  (Think back to yesterday’s passage…it’s about treasure)
4. What does “all these things” mean in verse 33?  What is Jesus promising to us here?  What do we need to ask ourselves when we feel like what Jesus promises isn’t enough?

Today’s passage: Matthew 6:19-24

Helpful thoughts:

• The key words in the first verse are “for yourselves”.
• Wealth often was measured in those days by the amount of clothes you owned…hence the moths.
• Our deepest desires push us towards our most cherished possessions.  Our heart is with our treasures.
• Our eyes will also gaze upon our treasure.  The eyes of our heart will be healthy and full of light when they are fixed on the greatest treasure!

Questions to consider:

1. How does the qualifier, “for yourselves” help us to think about savings, retirement plans, etc.?  Why is it right to plan for your future?
2. How does our view of giving change as we grow as Christians?  What changes need to take place in our motivations/expectations?
3. How might your spending show you what your treasures are?  How might your time spent and your energies show you the same thing?
4. How could growing in the spiritual disciplines help you to re-calibrate your “wanter” (The desires of your heart)?

Today’s passage: Matthew 6:5-18

Helpful thoughts:

• The Jews who were being actors (hypocrites) loved to pray publicly for the praise of man.
• The Gentiles prayed long, wordy prayers hoping to awaken, alert, convince, etc. their gods.
• The true God can be reached through prayer at any time (“When you pray”) and knows what we will pray before we even say or think a word.  He isn’t impressed with repetition or theological vocabulary.  He knows and looks at the heart.
• In this example prayer:
  • The Father is addressed and praised
  • His purposes and will are acknowledged
  • Requests are made for needs
  • Forgiveness is sought for our sin
  • Protection is requested from evil

Questions to consider:

1. How is this passage similar to what we read yesterday?  What is the common principle?
2. Who is prayer for?  Who is the on the receiving end?  How does this make prayer and fasting for show make no sense?
3. If God already knows what we are going to pray, is prayer for the purpose of communication to make Him aware or is it for relationship?  Who benefits from prayer (and fasting)?  How does this display God’s love for us?
4. How would acknowledging God’s perfect will and purposes help us to reorient our view towards our requests in prayer?
5. How do verses 14-15 compare with verse 5?  What kind of heart will pray the best kind of prayer?

Today’s passage: Matthew 6:1-4

Helpful thoughts:

• The word used here that is translated as “Beware” means to take a hold of something and look at it.  We can look at our motives right now of the things we have been doing.  And, we can take a hold and look at our motives before we act going forward.
• Hypocrite is the Greek word for an actor; portraying someone that you are not for a show.  Those trumpeting their good works to receive praise were not doing good works and deserved no praise.  They were just actors, playing the part of a righteous person.

Questions to consider:

1. What is the motive of being seen in this passage?  How does it differ from the motive in Matthew 5:16?
2. Why does it feel better to be praised by people than to know we are pleasing God?
3. How will practicing righteousness (loving God and loving people) for the right reasons produce more joy?

Today’s passage: Matthew 5:38-48

Helpful thoughts:

• The principle of eye-for-eye and tooth-for-tooth from the Law (Exodus 21 & Leviticus 24) was intended to put a limit on punishment to ensure appropriate justice. It was not meant to be a license for vengeance.
• A slap in the face was a showing of great dishonor.  Not meant to injure, but to demean.
• People could sue and literally be rewarded clothing in the courts at that time if the person being sued did not have other means to pay.
• Roman soldiers were allowed by law to require bystanders to carry their packs for a mile.
• When people have a genuine need, we are told to not have a selfish view of possessions.
• All of these requirements are to be honored whether we like the other person or not.

Questions to consider:

1. What is the motive of retaliation?  How does being in Christ alleviate that felt need?
2. Does the Old Testament really say, “Love your neighbor, hate your enemy”?  What had to happen for that saying to be well known among the people?
3. Why is it easy to do good to those who are good to us and hard to do good to those who aren’t good to us?
4. How are we being like Jesus when we do good for those who do harm to us?  What did He do?  Were we the ones doing good for him or were we His enemies? (Look up Romans 5:8)

Today’s passage: Matthew 5:31-37

Helpful thoughts:

• Parents, if you are using these thoughts and questions for family devotions, please read through the content first before you begin…use discretion appropriate to your child’s level of maturity.
• In this passage again, marriage is defined as a union between one man, and one woman, for life.
• Jesus specifically is emphasizing the permanence of the relationship.
  • The reason it is adultery to marry another man’s wife is because she is supposed to be another man’s wife.
  • The same thing is true the other way around.
• Only sexual immorality is given by Jesus as a warranted reason to end the union.  Since the act of sexual immorality itself unites a person to another…the union has already been severed.
  • Remember, sin is at the heart level.  Pornography IS cheating.
  • Also note, this is a reason why divorce would be warranted, but it is not a command.  A marriage that has experienced the pain and rejection that sexual immorality causes can be healed by the grace of God!
  • See 1 Corinthians 7 for more helpful principles during difficult situations in the marriage union.

 

• Oaths had become commonplace in the culture Jesus was speaking directly into.
  • They were made for minuscule obligations.
  • They were made to impress people.
  • They were made in order to lie and manipulate.
• It is better to just do what you say than to impress people in the way you speak.

Questions to consider:

1. Why is it so important to honor your word?
2. What things do people vow at their wedding?
3.  How could yesterday’s passage (Radical amputation) help you win victory with the struggles that could pertain to today’s passage?
4. Compare and contrast the view of marriage and sex found in these passages with the world’s view today.
5. What would be the benefit(s) of viewing marriage and sex the way God does? (Would it be acceptable to have a different view than God?)
6. Why is there hope for people who have sinned in the areas of marriage and/or sex?  Are these unpardonable sins?
7. Can you think of some examples of people in Scripture whom God used in a great way after they had fallen into sin in these areas?