Reading: Matthew 18:18-20 “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them”—this is a passage that I always quote, but always forgetting the two verses before it! That together, if we agree about anything to ask the Father—He will do it for us; and together, as a church, we…
Reading: Matthew 18:15-17 I used to think that the moral guidance provided by the Word of God was only at the conceptual level—i.e., love one another, forgive, do not hate. It was difficult for me to grasp because actions such as loving and forgiving were for me ‘emotions’, not ‘actions’; and as mere emotions, loving…
Forgiveness / Love / Matthew / New Testament / Salvation
“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the…
Reading: Matthew 18:10-11 “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” I used to think of “guardian angels” as a myth—because I never heard them taught in Sunday School and in…
Reading: Matthew 18:8-9 In my previous post I have laid out my first argument on why I believe hell is real—I did not mean to be preachy (apologies, I thought I sounded a bit one!), but rather making stable the ground I am standing on—and if this also helps your faith to be less shaky,…
Reading: Matthew 18:8-9 “But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching…
Reading: Matthew 18:1-8 “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the…
Reading: Matthew 18:1-4 And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 18:3-4 To enter the kingdom of heaven, we need to become…
Reading: Matthew 17:24-27 I had to do a bit of searching about the temple tax, as I do not recall reading about it in the OT. But apparently, it was the atonement money referred to in Exodus 30, paid every time there was a census, and eventually as an annual tax. Now, if it was…
Reading: Matthew 17:14-21 We know the story about the disciples not being able to cast out the demon from a boy. The boy was then brought to Jesus, Jesus rebuked the demon, it came out, and the boy was healed. In private the disciples asked Jesus why they could not drive the demon out, and…
Reading: Matthew 17:1-13 “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” – Matthew 17:5 Are we taking heed of the Father? Are we listening to Jesus? Father, forgive me for the times when I fail to read your Word or pray. 29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring,…
Reading: Matthew 16:21-28 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross…
