FreshBread

Today’s Reading is Matthew 13:51-52

Right after my Dad died, my Mom changed her will. For the most part things were the same but some things had changed. The purpose of the new will was not to do away with the first, but was to help us understand in this present time, with these new circumstances how the heart of the first would need to be applied. Some things might seem like changes, and at face value they are, BUT when you see the changes with the back drop of the old will, you understand them.

Jesus taught that He did not come to destroy the old law but to fulfill it. At face value it looks like Jesus brought a whole new way from the ways God laid out in the Old Testament….but Jesus applied God’s teachings to the hearts of men and women of His day.

We have become really good at applying the scripture to our situation today….but we do it many times without an understanding of the old….our Jewish Roots. Jesus is saying in these verses today, that the Disciples will be well trained when they understand both the old and the new and can understand and apply this to others.

Most of us are looking for application….What does God say to me? What does He want me to do? What’s in it for me? However, we can never understand application without a good foundation. Where do you get that? I thank God for the people, teachers, and writers in my life that have built into me a foundational understanding of who God is! This is not always the kind of reading we enjoy but if you are interested let me know….I will give you some suggestions!

Scott

Today’s Reading is Matthew 47-50

This is an interesting parable. As you read it we are reminded that the Kingdom is for EVERYONE. However, at the end of this age there will be a separation and some “throw back in the lake.”

So how do you “become” one of the good fish? For years this was the question that my Sunday School teachers asked. They sent me out of the room with a “Christian to-do list” so that I might be one of the “good fish” and not get thrown back into the lake! Man was I afraid when I use to think about if I was being good enough to be kept!

This whole line of teaching is so contrary to the truth of the Gospel. Yes, the Kingdom does drag in a whole group of “fish” and yes they will be spirited at the end of the age…some thrown back in lake…. but this is NOT based on what a person does, this is based on what God has done. It is by His righteousness that we are saved!

We need to spend a lot more time reading about and living out what God has made us, not what we think we have to be. Our biggest struggle in this life is not to be right with God (He takes care of that) but to set aside ourselves and to be who God has made us!

Ponder those thoughts today!

Scott

Today’s Reading is Matthew 13:45

Have you had an experience like this? Why or why not? Now that is a question that you can ponder for awhile.

Have a great day…Hope to see you in the morning. We will be blessed by a powerful surprise! You will NOT want to miss it!

Scott