Tag Archives: the book of Matthew

January 12
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“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28, KJV)
Strange as it seems, some people (no matter how tired, weary, harried, or over-committed) will just not take a break.

Such folks rise early; retire late; work every weekend; and lose vacation time routinely.  For such persons, work is not a means — but an end; a tyrannical. . . dead. . . end.  To such persons, Jesus offers a simple, effective, alternative: “Come unto me. . . and I will give you rest.”

Come to Him through worship.  Come to Him through prayer.  Come to Him through the fellowship of His people.  Come to Him through communion with the Holy Spirit.  Come to Him through your meditation on the scriptures — and He will give you rest.  – Luther

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January 10
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“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.  On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:10-11, NIV)

According to the liturgical calendar, we are in the season known as Epiphany.  The significance of Epiphany is the revelation or the manifestation of the Jewish messiah, Jesus, to the gentiles.  Most of us recognize this event as the time when the infant Jesus was visited by the three wise men — non-Jews from a place East of the holy land — who presented Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh as tokens of His lordship.

As the disciples of Jesus, we need to guard against keeping Jesus — the Savior of the world — for ourselves only.  It was never God’s intention in sending His only begotten Son into this world that Jesus should be only for one group of people, or for one kind of people.  The scripture tells us: “God so loved the world. . . ”

We do well to ponder the great love of God in not only coming through the house and lineage of David, but in also coming to us: Gentiles, exiles, foreigners, and strangers.  – Luther

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January 6
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“So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matthew 24:44, NIV)

It is typical of God that He first gives us the answers before giving us the test.

In these final chapters of Matthew’s Gospel (chapters 24-25), Jesus is emphatic in His teaching about the nature of the kingdom of heaven; and He is equally emphatic in His teaching about the final judgment of God, and what is required of you and me.  You see, Jesus wants everyone to pass; but everyone must pass on his or her own work.  No cheating.

The key to successfully facing any crisis — whether financial, emotional, physical, or spiritual — is readiness.  The time to get ready is now.  The adage is never more true: “You cannot give what you do not have.”

Are you ready?  – Luther

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