Category: Matthew

  • An Impossible Task

    The Easter season is over for another year. In Jesus’ day, it was  still a time of intense instruction for the original disciples. They would spend their next few weeks being tutored and instructed by Jesus, and He would appear to many people, confirming his death and resurrection.

    It would all come to a head when Jesus gathered His disciples on a mountaintop and gave them the Great Commission to evangelize the world. 

    Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20 ESV

    It was a seemingly impossible task. How could a few followers who just weeks before had been hiding for their lives take such a message to an entire world? Of course, they couldn’t, although they got well into Europe, Asia, and Africa, most giving up their lives in the process.

    It was an ongoing commission taken up by every successive generation of believers, and continues today. Every believer has been tasked with sharing the gospel and making disciples. You and I are included in this group of “every believer.”

    Not all of us are evangelists or pastors, but we all have a story, a “testimony” of how Jesus changed our lives. Each of us has been given a unique circle of influence to reach.

    We don’t all have to travel to strange and foreign lands to be “missionaries.”  There are plenty of people around us who don’t yet know Him. We can serve from wherever we are.

    Do you remember your joy at discovering Jesus? You can help bring that joy to others.

    We can share our stories, pray, and love the people in our circle. It can be uncomfortable to do at times and may lead to some rejection, but the results and rewards are eternal.

    Are you unsure where to start or how to do it? Pray for the Lord to give you opportunities and courage and to put receptive hearts in your path. It’s impossible on our own, but He empowers us, dwells in us and goes before us.

    Our efforts don’t have to be perfect and polished. We don’t have to know everything or have the answers to every question and objection. It is the Spirit who does the work of opening hearts.

    Our job is to be faithful with the knowledge and gifts the Lord has given us. He makes the impossible task doable.

    I pray you learn to be bold for the Lord.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

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  • For the Birds – God’s provision

    male white-crowned sparrow

    Our yard is aflutter with birds. The rear of the property is fenced, keeping out most predators. The seed feeders and hummingbird feeders (in season) stay busy with various birds. The trees and brush provide plenty of nesting sites.

    We see chickadees, dark-eyed juncos, nuthatches, robins, Northern Flickers,  sapsuckers, doves, half a dozen species of sparrow, varied thrushes, common redpolls, and many more species regularly. There are also many LBJ’s (little brown jobs, small birds that I don’t get a close enough look at to identify). 

    We can watch bald eagles, hawks, ravens, and crows soar above us.  Geese and ducks often fly noisily overhead. The other day a flock of sandhill cranes flew overhead whooping away as they traveled. At dawn and dusk we are serenaded by a wide range of song birds.

    We often sit in the yard and watch and listen. Many birds are so accustomed to us that they will come within a couple of feet of us. We are not seen as a threat unless we suddenly move in their direction.

    A passage of Scripture often comes to mind as I watch them. 

    “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:25-34 ESV

    Appropriate words for the times we are in. 

    Our security nets have eroded. The political world is in chaos, and our economies are in shambles. There are wars, rumors of wars, plagues, and natural disasters on what seems an unprecedented level.

    Yet the birds go about their daily lives, completely unaware of what makes us fearful. God looks after them and will watch over us as well. Things might be difficult for a season, but He has not abandoned us, nor will He.

    The LORD  is our source, our strength, our comfort, and He is our peace. We can rest in Him whether things get better or worse. No matter what the world throws at us, we can withstand it joyfully in Him.

    When it gets too much, take a minute to watch and listen to the birds and look to the Savior. If you live where birds are scarce, go online and watch some videos of them.

    Until next time, consider the birds and trust in Jesus.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

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