Crumbs that Truly Satisfy, Matthew 15:21-28
The Canaanite woman wasn’t afraid to approach Jesus because she knew what kind of savior he was going to be. He wasn’t only for the Jews, but was the promised seed of Abraham who would bring blessing to the world. Therefore, she had faith that she could receive his words and turn them back to him to remind him that even dogs get crumbs. And she discovers that even crumbs can be transformed into a whole meal.
Image:The Canaanite Woman, Condé Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Little to Give, Greatly to be Used, Matthew 14:13-21
After Jesus has spent all day healing and teaching a multitude, the disciples point out that they people should be sent away to find food. But Jesus tells them to feed the crowds. The disciples only have 5 loaves and 2 fish. What will happen? Jesus takes their little and makes it a great amount to bless and satisfy the hungry crowds!
In our lives, the little that we have from ourselves can be taken by Jesus and be made a blessing for many others beyond what we think can happen.
Image: Christ Feeding the Multitude, from Treasures of the Bible by Henry Davenport Northrop, pg 404, published in 1894. Public Domain. (cropped from original page, scanned by Google) Book found here: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Treasures_of_the_Bible/9qDEBKKqj68C
Valued through Christ Alone, Matthew 13:31-33, 44-50
What happens when we discover that our value isn’t something that we create, but is given to us by God himself? What happens when we realize that all our strivings to get God’s attention aren’t needed, but that he is searching for us and will claim us as his own through the faith he gives by the presence of the Holy Spirit? Jesus’ parables remind us that it is God who is at work to make us his own. We respond to the one who has already come to us and we are received because he is ready to receive us. All of that enables us to live the life he calls us to through the power of the Spirit working in us.
Image: from Christ's Object Lessons by Ellen Gould Harmon White, published 1900, page 109, https://archive.org/details/christsobjectles00whitrich, public domain. Image Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buried_treasure.jpg
Wheat Amongst the Weeds, Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
What are we to do when we find tares amongst the wheat? What are we to do when we discover tares affecting us as wheat? How are we to endure? Jesus calls us toward patience regarding these tares because he himself will take care of them in the end. And besides that, we aren’t able to always identify the tares from the wheat with our limited perspective, so we must wait for Christ.
Image: Christ's Object Lessons by Ellen Gould Harmon White, page 73 (https://archive.org/details/christsobjectles00whitrich), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Seed and Soil, Word and Hearts, Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
When Jesus finished speaking his parable of the sower, he said, “He who has ears, let him hear.” How does this little phrase help us in understanding the parables? It reminds us that we must always ask and pray for understanding and that the power that causes the seeds to grow in our hearts is not our hearts, but in the seed themselves because seeds are the word of God planted in us by others.
Image: Parable of the Sower, taken by Lawrence OP, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 (no changes made). Image location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/50103753667/
Swords and Crosses, Matthew 10:34-42
Jesus tells us that we must face swords and crosses as his disciples. He didn’t come to bring peace, but a sword that would divide his people from those who aren’t his people. In that, we must take up a cross that means self-denial, for without taking up that cross we are unworthy of Jesus.
Image: Take up Your Cross, photo by Lawrence OP, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 (no changes made). Image location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/12672788743/in/photostream/
Of More Value than Sparrows, Matthew 10:16-33
In light of being sent by Jesus out to proclaim the kingdom, Jesus warns his apostles of the difficulties they will face amongst the people they go to. This warning extends far beyond the immediate mission they are going on, but expands to include all of church history. There is persecution and mockery faced Christians of all ages. Why does this happen? How are we to respond to these hardships? Jesus reminds us that even in the midst of persecution, we are more valuable than the sparrows and hairs upon our heads, things which God the Father does care about, yet not as much as he cares for us.
Image: Sparrows, photo taken by hedera_baltica, license CC BY-SA 2.0. No changes made. Image location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/hedera_baltica/23727592494/in/photostream/
Tripping Upon Grace in Order to Stand Up, Matthew 9:35-10:15, Romans 5:1-11
Jesus tells his disciples to pray for laborers to go out bring a harvest of salvation. He then sends them out in light of their prayers. But they go with grace, they go as sinners saved by the very grace that they put forward to their hearers. We too go out with grace that overcomes all our sinfulness before the Father because our going out is on account of Jesus laying down his life for us. And so, we trip upon grace as believers, falling down due to our sinfulness, but there is grace that we trip upon to bring us healing and strength to stand back up and go forward with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Image: Wheat Field with Crows, Vincent van Gogh, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Sinners in Need of Healing, Matthew 9:9-13
When Jesus called Matthew to be his disciples, the Pharisees were upset that the was a great feast in the aftermath. All kinds of various sinners they didn’t care for were having a meal with Jesus. Jesus’ response is one we all know so well, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” All those at the feast knew they were sinners and Jesus’ presence is one that can begin their healing. We, too, as sinners need healing from Jesus outwardly and inwardly. May we have eyes to see that we are in great need and have no righteousness or health on our own.
Image: Christ Healing the Sick, anonymous icon, rights unknown. Image found here (see “about” tab for devotional )and here (about 2/3s of the way down).
Do You Know the Trinity? Matthew 28:16-20, 2 Corinthians 13:5-14
What’s so important about the doctrine of the Trinity? Is it really necessary for salvation? Can’t we know God without knowing anything about the Trinity? Through the witness of Scripture, we are confronted with the reality that the one true God is three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three persons are one God. And salvation is dependent upon the true nature of God as three in one and one in three because each person acts for us in our salvation and if any one is not truly God, then salvation falls apart becoming dependent, not upon God alone, but upon creatures as well as God.
Image: Sir Harris Nicolas or hired artist working under Sir Harris Nicolas's direction, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Ongoing Pentecost, Acts 2:1-21, 1 Corinthians 12:4-13
What happens when we see that the coming of the Holy Spirit isn’t a one time event in our lives, but an ongoing reality? It’s like the children going to Narnia and breathing the air and finding themselves strengthened for whatever they have been called to do. Likewise, we are called to have an ongoing Pentecost in our lives, asking for the Spirit to act in us to empower us daily.
Image: Lucas Franchoys, "The Descent of the Holy Spirit in Sint-Janskerk , Mechelen, Belgium. On sidepanels: the preaching of Peter and Paul. Photo © Ad Meskens / Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 4.0
As with Christ, So with Us, 1 Peter 4:12-19
As we finish our time in 1 Peter, he tells that there will be fiery trials that happen to us for our testing and that we will be mocked for our faith and tempted to turn away. Yet, St. Peter tells us how to respond to all of this. We are to rejoice in suffering with Christ and find blessing in that union with our Savior. We should strive for faithfulness as Christians and not be ashamed of who we are in Christ. We should also know that we can rest in the work of Christ and the work we have to do because God is a faithful Creator who has accomplished salvation for us.
image: Titian, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Blessing, Defending, Enduring As Christ Has, 1 Peter 3:8-18
St. Peter continues to call his readers and us today to faithful obedience. After speaking of various vocations, St. Peter returns to Christians as a whole calling upon us to bless those who would revile, to defend our hope in Christ, and to endure as Christ has already endured because Christ has done all of these deeds towards us that we might now walk in his ways.
Image: Snow Covered Cornfield, by Kevin Casper. Public Domain. Image location: https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=268673&picture=snow-covered-corn-field
Four Ways of Identity in Christ, 1 Peter 2:1-12
As St. Peter writes to believers, he reminds them of their identity in Christ and how they should approach him in order to grow as the people of God. He is not teaching them to be individuals, but emphasizes the reality of the corporate nature of our identity in Christ. Through four pictures, St. Peter grounds us in the reality of our need for Jesus to be the foundation of all that we do as the body of Christ.
Image: ChurchCrawler / Badgworth, Somerset, via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0
Subjected for the Good of Others, 1 Peter 2:13-25
In 1 Peter 2:13-25, St. Peter reminds us that we are to be subject to various kinds of authorities, even if it means suffering because we are to follow in the footsteps of Christ who was subject to authority and thus suffered. However, there was and is a greater authority above all others in our lives and it is God the Father, to whom Jesus was ultimately subject to, thus his willingness to endure suffering. We too are ultimately under God the Father’s authority and we know that he will judge all in righteousness and thus we can trust him in the midst of suffering from other authorities over us.
Image: St. Peter preaching in the presence of St. Mark, Fra Angelico, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Past and Future Known in the Present, 1 Peter 1:13-25
St. Peter tell us to consider the future and the past works of God and to understand them the word of God in the present. In many ways, Reepicheep, in Voyage of the Dawn Treader, does this very thing in his pursuit of going to Aslan’s country. We too can walk in this way by seeing God’s promises from the past and future through the word today.
Image: uploaded by Storyseeker1 at the Reepicheep WikiNarnia page. Art by Pauline Baynes, found in The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis
Born Again for the Beloved, 1 Peter 1:3-9, John 20:19-31
In Peter’s first epistle, he begins with exuberant praise of God the Father because he has caused us to be born again in Jesus Christ. This is baptismal language and out of that we have a foundation for all the gifts that are ours in Jesus. This foundation can enable us to endure testings and trials because we know that we belong to God the Father and can now receive these trials as ways to encourage our faith and confidence in the work of Jesus.
Image: File:Saint_Peter-Sinai_(6th_Century).jpg, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Do You See the Resurrection? Matthew 28:1-10
Jesus’ resurrection wasn’t expected by the women who went to his tomb on that first day of the week. The went to see a dead Jesus in order to complete the preparations for his body to remain in the grave. And yet, when they arrive, the tomb is empty and an angel proclaims that the crucified one is now alive. Jesus has pierced through the veil of death for us and come out of the tomb and the grave with the fullness of life to share it with us.
Image: Der Auferstandene, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
God's Perfect Will Accomplished by Jesus, John 19, Genesis 22
How does Jesus accomplish God’s will upon the cross? Is this really what he was called to do? It is true that Jesus going to the cross is what God desired him to do, in fact, Jesus’ act upon the cross of bearing the sin of the world is well-pleasing to the Father.
Image: Master of the Starck Triptych, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons