Tag Archives: the gospel of Matthew

worth more

Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So don’t be afraid therefore; you are worth more than many sparrows. – Matthew 10:29-31

You are worth more.  

This is the place where Jesus first met me with my worth.

It took time, you know. Time to exchange worthless for worth more. To hand Him my lie and take His truth. But you are worth more became holy ground for me. Words the Holy Spirit whispered to a woman who walked head down for years. 

It slowly became my truth. My identity. But like an onion, the Word is peeled back for new revelation.

My fear of man is connected to the knowledge of my worth.

Jesus did not pull punches. There’s no bait and switch in His teachings. He makes it quite clear how the world is going to feel about us, His followers. 

You are blessed when they insult and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of Me.- Matthew 5:11

You will be hated by everyone because of My name. – Matthew 10:22

Then they will hand you over for persecution, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of My name. – Matthew 24:9-10

If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. – John 15:18

Nothing vague here. While we are commanded to love, we are never told we would be loved back. Isn’t that where we trip? Where we start tenderizing the truth so that it can be easily swallowed? Isn’t this where we try to get people to love our message so that they won’t reject us?

These musings and these holy words breathed out by a holy God have left me with this question – 

Do we fear man more than we fear God? Do I? Does knowing that I am worth more to God, release me to be ok being hated by man? It should, but I’m not sure it does. Are you?

Jesus knew what He was doing by sending His followers out into a broken and hateful world. He knew that when we go out with truth, we would be a minority, not a majority. He knew that most people are not going to accept us or the gospel we have been entrusted to carry. And yet, for the sake of the few, He still sends us, having equipped us to fearlessly go where we are not welcome.

“Look at the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?” – Matthew 6:26

“But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So don’t be afraid therefore; you are worth more than many sparrows.”-

Do not worry and do not be afraid. You are worth more.

It is this knowing that is our equipping. The knowing of our true worth, our identity as worth more, that makes us unafraid to wade into the wrath of man to find the ones who are willing to believe the truth we bring.

And all of that is good but the gold, for me, is simple. 

Jesus knew we would be afraid. He knew that we’re all still a bit broken, still seeking approval, still wanting to find a way to make following Him comfortable. He doesn’t despise our broken bits, He speaks to them by telling us how much we mean to our Father.

Jesus told us we are worth more, but then He hung from a cross and showed us that we are worth everything.

That’s gold that I hold close. It makes me feel a little fearless to know my value to my Father, so that my value to mankind doesn’t become a goal. 

And when I am treated as worth less, “you are worth more” steadies my heart and lifts my head. 

Beloved, when we are tempted to believe what the world says about us, when we are walking with our head down – the Word of God is the truth we need. It is the scriptures that get into our soul with the nourishment it needs for healing. 

Stop looking for your worth among the broken. You won’t find it there. You are worth more than this world will ever speak over you. So let the Word of God speak truth to you, and don’t ever stop listening.

Let it make you fearless.

first let me

“A scribe approached Him and said, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go!”
Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”

“Lord,” another of His disciples said, “first let me go bury my father.”
But Jesus told him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” – Matthew 8:19-22

He never said it would be easy. He said we would have a Comforter, but He never promised we would be comfortable.

But the words that laid me bare today are these, spoken by a disciple ~

first. let. me.

First let me exhaust all other options, and then I’ll reach for the hem of Your robe.

First let me figure it all out and then I’ll trust Your plan.

First let me build my life and then I’ll build Your Kingdom.

First let me seek more and bigger and better, and then I’ll seek You.

First let me worry, and then I’ll pray.

First let me hold my offense. Someday I’ll forgive.

First let me seek the approval of others, and then I’ll ask what pleases You.

First let me self-protect and then I’ll trust You with my hardened heart.

First let me enjoy my sin, and then I’ll repent.

First let me find the human love of my life, and then Your love will satisfy me.

First let me pursue my dreams, and then I’ll pursue You.

First let me soothe my own pain and when that stops working, I’ll let You bind up my wounds.

First let me protect my pride, and then I can walk in humility.

First let me.

Most of us would say that we don’t put anything before Jesus.

Most of us would by lying.

In so many ways, in so many places in the Word of God, it is made clear to us…

Jesus never agreed to be second.

i have to leave

“Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

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That line makes it sound so easy, like all they left was nets. But I know better. We who have done some leaving to follow Jesus, we know.

I know they didn’t just leave behind their fishing gear, but their way of life. I know, because the call from Jesus for me to follow Him wasn’t just to leave drugs, but to leave a life of drugs. And then it went deeper still. Following Him meant leaving a life of numbing my pain. A life of seeking my own comfort. None of that leaving was easy, but all of that leaving was worth it.

But there are some nets that are harder to leave than others and I find myself wishing and waiting for Him to just take the stupid nets because then I could leave. Then I could follow.

As much as I want Him to just take this pride away from me, to relieve me of the burden of carrying around my selfishness and desire to have things my own way…I am going to have to face the truth.

Jesus didn’t take their nets and He won’t take mine. 

And I remember the last time I had this conversation with Him. Feeling like I just couldn’t keep going and wondering why following Him was so backbreaking hard. Finally getting brave enough to tell Him that it was just too hard. I didn’t get shamed by Him. He didn’t turn away from me. He just spoke hard truth.

“It’s hard because you’ve tried to follow without leaving.”

Following Jesus means we have to leave something. Every. Time.

Two years ago I, along with my husband, left our home, our church and our friends to follow Jesus to someplace we’d never been. I left the comfort and security of earning a living doing what I know, to go into full-time ministry doing what I’d never done. Leaving those nets was scary hard but I’ve never regretted leaving them.

Another year is coming to a close and I’m looking forward to what is coming, but I am also looking at what needs to be left behind so that I can follow Him into a new year. What are the nets I’ve held onto, continuing to cast them out to try to meet my own needs? What self-comforting, self-centered, self-sustaining ways do I need to walk away from so that I can walk in His ways?

I want to leave these insecurities that keep me from following with my head up and not down.

This comfort zone living keeps me from new places of trust.

Old ways and habits that smell like death keep me from following Him into the fullness of life.

If I can’t leave my fear then I will not follow Him in peace.

“Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.“

His promise is to make me a person who lives for a purpose beyond myself.

It won’t happen if I won’t leave.

Matthew 4:19-20

truth revealed

I was all set to talk about rest for the weary in Matthew 11:28-30 because it’s one of my favorite passages. But I can’t, because I’m stuck on the scriptures before that, when Jesus thanked His Father for hiding and revealing truth. (v.25-26) His prayer comes directly after His pronouncement of “woe” upon those cities who saw His miracles, yet would not repent.

“At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.  Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.”

I keep staring at these verses, trying to discover what I’m supposed to learn from them. Perhaps it’s that somewhere along the way, I grew from a child to an adult.  I gathered enough information to make me “wise”, and stopped watching Jesus with wide eyed wonder and trust.  Have I settled for studying His Word so that I can learn all about Him, rather than running after Him because I thirst to know Him? It begs the question, “what has been hidden from me because I thought I already knew it?”

Maybe the lesson is that the miracles that Jesus did were not to teach His followers how to heal or cast out demons, but they were God saying, “This is My Son. My Messiah. You should turn around and follow Him.” Perhaps I’m supposed to learn that when I see Jesus, He isn’t looking at me with disappointment because I’m not doing this “christian” thing right. He’s looking at His Father, wanting my gaze to follow His.

I’m still not satisfied that I’ve learned what I’m supposed to know.  Something is missing. So I read the verses again. I am aware that there is something of God’s heart here, and I want it. And then the little child’s heart in me skips a beat as I hear God speak.

“Truth is not learned. It is revealed.”

My Father is truth. He doesn’t want me to learn Him. He wants to reveal Himself to me. It brings Him pleasure. It’s as simple as that.

welcome to the harvest

In frustration the lawyer throws up his hands and says, “I’d have a great job if it weren’t for all these clients!”.  Of course, the humor in that statement is in the fact that if it weren’t for all those clients, he wouldn’t have a job.

In Matthew 9:35-38, they followed Him through the towns and villages, watching as He taught in the synagogues, preached the gospel, and healed every disease and sickness.  And then Jesus introduced the disciples to what it’s really all about. People. 

“When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (v. 36)  The original word for “harassed” meant weary, exhausted. He looked out and saw a crowd of tired, helpless people, and was moved with compassion.  Then He turned to His disciples and basically said “Welcome to the “harvest”. Oh, and by the way,  you should probably ask Me to send help. You’re going to need it.”

But my eyes are continually drawn to “He had compassion on them”.  Them. Tired, worn out, helpless sheep. And as usual, my mind goes to what Jesus did not have compassion on, in order for me to grasp the importance of the real object of His compassion.

His compassion was not for a ministry, or a ministry event. He wasn’t moved on behalf of a vision statement, a fund raiser or a program. The beautiful new building that we’re so proud of doesn’t do it, nor does the sermon preached in that building, (as fascinating as I’m sure it was).

What moves the heart of Jesus is people. It has always been about people. Yes, all those needy people who aggravate us, irritate us, wear us out.  Where would we be without them? Pastors would have no calling. Nor would bible study leaders and teachers. The mercy givers would have no place to put their mercy. The givers…who would they give to? (God doesn’t need your money…people do). Who would those with the gift of healing heal? Who would the evangelists evangelize? On whom would I learn to give grace? Who would I forgive? Who would teach me how very hard it is to maintain true unity?

They were led to the reason for everything. A bunch of tired, helpless, directionless people that Jesus called the “harvest”. And His heart moved at the sight of them.

I guess my final thought is this. We’d have a great Church, if it weren’t for all these sheep, wouldn’t we?

they’re everywhere!

Chapter 9 is not the first sighting, but it is where Jesus taught me two lessons about Pharisees. Before I start on that, below is a partial definition of a “pharisee” from Strong’s Concordance:

They sought for distinction and praise by outward observance of external rites and by outward forms of piety, and such as ceremonial washings, fastings, prayers, and alms giving; and, comparatively negligent of genuine piety, they prided themselves on their fancied good works…According to Josephus they numbered more than 6000. They were bitter enemies of Jesus and his cause; and were in turn severely rebuked by him for their avarice, ambition, hollow reliance on outward works, and affection of piety in order to gain popularity.

I did some looking around for definitions of a “modern day Pharisee”, so that I could try to see what it might look like to be one today. I found some interesting definitions on various websites, primarily Wikipedia.

Someone that attends church every time the doors are open, yet doesn’t put what is taught into practice. They may know the Bible front to back, and back to front, but not really get the meaning of it all. They look at others, and wonder why they don’t know as much as they do about God.Their hearts are not in it, although their actions are doing all the right things, so they think. Jesus said they were clean on the outside, but dirty on the inside.

the word “Pharisee” has taken up a connotation that means a person who self-righteously follows minute religious regulations and feels holier than those who don’t.

I am going to add to these my own definition:  Someone who studies scripture and knows it well, but uses it primarily for the purpose of pointing out the “sins” of others. They hold the Word of God up to everyone’s heart but their own.

Now, onto my lessons.  In chapter 9, Jesus continues to heal, teach, and cast out demons. Everywhere He was, Pharisees were close by. They accused Him of blasphemy (v.3), questioned His association with sinners (v.11), and decided that He drove out demons by the “prince of demons” (v.34). As I read and re-read these passages, I noticed something. The Pharisees themselves never questioned or commented directly to Jesus. They said things to themselves, and they questioned His disciples. Yet, every time, Jesus stepped in and did the answering.  I asked God, “what is it that You want me to see in this?” And He asnwered.

“Pharisees are everywhere. Do not defend yourself against their questioning or their accusations. Leave that to Me. Just keep following.”

There is a difference between the loving rebuke of a brother or sister in Christ, and the accusation of a Pharisee. One will bring conviction and the encouragement to keep following Jesus, and the other will bring condemnation and the desire to give up.

So my first lesson was that they are everywhere, so just keep walking. Leave them to God. What was my second lesson?

I sometimes have the heart of a Pharisee. If you see me coming with that heart, just keep walking. Follow Jesus.

 

are you watching?

They watched Him get into a boat, and they followed Him. They were fishermen, so they had been getting into boats their entire lives. Just another “boat” day for them, very familiar, very comfortable. They had no idea they would soon be fearing for their lives. Of course they didn’t know. If they had known, they may not have stepped onto that boat at all. They may have decided to stay on the shore, to watch Him from a distance, a safe distance.

“Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake so that the waves swept over the boat.” (Matthew 8:24) I have been in a storm or two in my life, but I’ve never been in a furious storm that hit without warning. There were always signs that a storm was coming…darkening skies, the wind picks up, a little rainfall…signs that something is coming that you may want to watch from a safe distance. The disciples had no such warning. They followed Him into the boat, and then the suddenly of God hit. Suddenly they were in fear for their lives. Keep in mind that these men are fishermen, no doubt accustomed to being on a boat even in stormy weather. So this had to be a storm of some impressive proportions. Big enough to make these rugged, seafaring fishermen run to Jesus, the carpenter…the One taking a nap.

He calmed the storm, the men were amazed, end of story. But it’s in the end of the story that I find a revelation of truth for my life.

These men had been following Jesus, watching His miraculous power to heal (not just once, but many times), and watching the effect He had on literally crowds of people. But it was when He calmed their storm, when He personally touched their lives that they finally asked “Who is this man?”, and learned that He is the One who commands the storm.

Jesus is not content to allow us to stay at a distance. He doesn’t want watchers who have seen Him, He wants followers who know Him. If we are going to know Him as the One who calms the storm, then a storm must come to our lives. If we are to know Him as the One who heals, we will first need to be healed. If we are to know Him as our Provider, we will need to be without provision. Watching Him heal, provide, and calm the storms in other people’s lives isn’t the life of a follower, it is the life of a watcher.