Matthew 16:13-20 I bet you gave your mama fits, Peter.  I’m guessing from the very beginning you were all action, movement and words responding to the impulse of the moment.  Passionate Peter, feeling everything so deeply and immediately,  I bet people wondered what to do with you.  I bet you wondered yourself.  You lived your … Continue reading Hope for the loud-mouth

Matthew 14 When you follow Jesus, the need around you will always be greater than what you have to give. If you look at that need awhile, you will feel overwhelmed. You will want to send the people away to find nourishment elsewhere.  “Why?” Jesus will say. “There is no need. You feed them.” And … Continue reading Only This

Matthew 13 The Kingdom of Heaven:  It comes among us like seed thrown wide and wild, everywhere. It springs up on the road, in the rocks and thorns, in the deep soil. It grows and grows, because that’s what the kingdom does—it spreads, sprouting in every nook and cranny, thriving wherever it finds a faithful … Continue reading A Mingling of Metaphors

Matthew 12 He may come quietly. He may come gently. But He never comes weakly. He never comes only partway.  And there’s no receiving Him partway. There’s no following Him half time.  He does not come to justify all the things you like about yourself. He is not here to show you how you have … Continue reading Ready to Renovate?

Day 24 Matthew 11:20-30 The cities did not repent.  You did Your mightiest works there. You brought the kingdom right among them, and still they did not receive it.  What hardness must live in the hearts of man to see the things You did, hear Your words, and have You among them day after day, … Continue reading A Prayer

Day 23 Matthew 11:1-19 I believed.  I believed, Jesus, and I gave everything. I followed the anointed path and went willingly into the wilderness. I called for repentance, and they came. They came and came, and I worked for You. Jesus, You know what I gave. What I suffered. I spoke bold words and made … Continue reading Backwards Kingdom

Days 20-22 Matthew 10 Would that we would see  this world as You do. That looking  upon our people would fill us  with compassion and compel us to  go. To heal, to cleanse, to love, to give  without expectations.  Would that we  would hear You clearly showing us the way, that we would follow with open  … Continue reading Would that We Would

Days 18 & 19 Matthew 9:18-38 A day’s work:  You are teaching and a man arrives to beg You to come and raise his daughter. “Yes,” You say, and along the way, even as You are pressed by the throng, a woman, full of shame at her condition but also driven by faith, touches the … Continue reading A Day’s Work

Day 17 Matthew 9:14-17 What did you expect?  Did you really think  I would build My kingdom on those old traditions that leave you  full of longing? This is what you have seen:  storms stilled sickness vanished demons defeated sins forgiven sinners welcomed. I did not come to patch up your worn-out weariness. I came … Continue reading A New Thing