The Worship of God

April

APRIL 1

“Only Speak the Word”

Read Matthew 8:5-13

The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed.”

Matthew 8:8

The centurion did what he knew best; he used everyday experience (his military training) to gain access to the operations of God. Faith, in this case, is not an extraordinary leap into the unknown, but a rather commonplace step into what was clear and present in Jesus.

Whom do you want Jesus to help?

Prayer: Christ, there are so many paralyzed people around, so many servant-children helpless apart from you. Help them. I can’t help them; I only run to you and announce the “terrible distresses” to which you are neither impotent nor indifferent. Amen.

APRIL 2

“Nowhere to Lay His Head”

Read Matthew 8:14-22

A scribe then approached and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

Matthew 8:19-20

Jesus responds to our desire for a closer walk with him by reading us the fine print of disciple-ship: a loss of creature comforts (“the foxes have holes …”) and a setting aside of old priorities (“let the dead bury the dead”). How does Christ change your values?

Prayer: I want to go where you go, Jesus. I think I am willing to do anything. Then you confront me with where you are going and what you are doing, and I am not so sure. Give me, along with the desire to be with you, the courage to stay with you. Amen.

APRIL 3

“Little Faith”

Read Matthew 8:23-27

And they went and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of litde faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm.

Matthew 8:25-26

By this time these disciples should have known who they were with, and what happens when they are with him. But they are more worried about the weather than they are trustful of their savior.

Would you have been afraid?

Prayer: My goal, Savior Christ, is to believe in you so deeply and thoroughly that my first response in every crisis is faith in what you will do, trust in how you will bless. But I have a long way to go. Lead me from my fearful midget-faith to mature adulthood. Amen.

APRIL 4

“They Begged Him to Leave”

Read Matthew 8:28-34

… two demoniacs coming out of the tombs met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way. Suddenly they shouted, “What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”

Matthew 8:28-29

In the country of Gadara, property was valued more highly than people. That two people were restored to sanity was a triviality compared to the loss of their pigs. They wanted nothing to do with Jesus if it meant diey had more people to love and less property to hold.

What does Jesus do to your value system?

Prayer: Where are my values, Lord Jesus? I pay lip service to the priorities of people, but I give an enormous amount of time and attention to things. Examine me carefully; if there is any possession that is making it impossible for me to love people and praise you for your work in them, show me how to get rid of it. Amen.

APRIL 5

“Your Sins Are Forgiven”

Read Matthew 9:1-8

“For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic— “Stand up, take your bed and go to your home.”

Matthew 9:5-6

Everyone, both the man and his friends, thought his basic need was physical. How surprised they were to hear Jesus address the invisible spiritual need. Jesus gets around to the physical, but he begins with his heart.

What do you think of as your most pressing need?

Prayer: God, I wish for and pray for many noble things that are secondary and peripheral. My agenda of petition lacks theology—I fail to see my life in relation primarily to you. Deal with my needs as you see them. Get to my center and save me. Amen.

APRIL 6

“Follow Me”

Read Matthew 9:9

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.

Matthew 9:9

God in Jesus addresses us by a personal name and with a personal command. He does not impersonally recruit us as workers or functionaries. When we respond we move out of a life in which what we do or others do is the main thing, and into a life where God is the controlling center. What do you know about tax collectors?

Prayer: “Follow, I would follow Thee, my Lord, follow every passing day. My tomorrows are all known to Thee, Thou wilt lead me all the way” (Anonymous). Amen.

APRIL 7

“Mercy, and Not Sacrifice”

Read Matthew 9:10-13

“Those who are well have no need of a

physician, but those who are sick—-1

have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”

Matthew 9:12-13

The key word here is mercy—the divine will and energy of helping the hurt and saving the lost. It is set in contrast to sacrifice—the human attempt to arrange appearances so that they are pleasing to God.

How do Jesus’ words change your outlook on life?

Prayer: When I see things from your point of view, Lord Jesus, though everything is the same, everything is different: life is lived in grateful response to your mercy, not in obsessive and fearful attempts to look good. I can relax. I can praise. I can live to your glory. Amen.

APRIL 8

“Fresh Wineskins”

Read Matthew 9:14-17

“Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

Matthew 9:17

Fasting was, and is, a noble religious discipline. But fasting was not an end in itself, to be gradually perfected through the centuries, but preparation for a feast: and now the feast was served!

Do you ever confuse preparation with fulfillment?

Prayer: Father in heaven, keep me flexible and responsive to your presence in my life, so that I will be ready at any moment to stop what I am doing in getting ready for you, and go with you in service or in praise, in witness or in celebration. Amen.

APRIL 9

“Daughter”

Read Matthew 9:18-26

While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” … Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.”

Matthew 9:18,20-21

The two daughters, the one twelve years old, and the other twelve years sick, have their stories held together. The anonymous woman in the crowd gets healed with the same attentive tenderness as the daughter of the most prominent man in town.

What comparisons and contrasts do you see between the two women?

Prayer: When, Lord, will I learn the grand and ever freshly documented truth—no one is beneath your attention, no person is beyond your help. Keep me from the sin of despair, always ready for your resurrection word. Amen.

APRIL 10

“Two Blind Men”

Read Matthew 9:27-31

Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you.” And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly ordered them, “See that no one knows of this.” But they went away and spread the news—-

Matthew 9:29-31

The two blind men are typical of many: they enjoy immensely the benefits of being with Jesus, but blithely ignore his commands. As long as they need help, they are all eagerness and attention; as soon as they get what they came for, they disregard Jesus completely.

Why did the healed men disobey Jesus’ command for silence?

Prayer: Jesus Christ, I want to take your words to me just as seriously and personally as I do your acts for me. I need your help, but I also need your direction. Lead me from the faith that responds to your mercy into the faith that becomes obedient discipleship. Amen.

APRIL 11

“The Harvest Is Plentiful”

Read Matthew 9:32-38

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Matthew 9:36-38

To this point in the narrative, the emphasis has been on the ministry of Jesus. Now there is a transition as he enlists others in the work of compassion. Jesus not only helps us, he helps us to help others.

Where do you see a plentiful harvest?

Prayer: “Come, labor on, who dares stand idle on the harvest plain while all around him waves the golden grain? And to each servant does the Master say, Go work today” (Jane Laurie Borthwick, “Come, Labor On,” The Hymnbook, 248). Amen.

APRIL 12

“Give Without Payment”

Read Matthew 10:1-10

“As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.”

Matthew 10:7-8

We don’t just receive Christ’s ministry, we share it. Each Christian is a nexus for grace, an intersection of redemptive traffic. All the vigorous energies of joy (preaching), intelligence (teaching), and health (healing) spill out of our lives into the world. What kind of ministry are you good at?

Prayer: The sound of your commands, dear Christ, continues to ring in my ears: preach, heal, raise, cleanse, cast out. May all the love I experience from you get acted out in my encounters with the people I meet today. Amen.

APRIL 13

“Shake Off the Dust”

Read Matthew 10:11-15

“As you enter the house, greet it. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.”

Matthew 10:13-14

Ministry is not ingratiation. We must not conduct our lives of service so that people will like us; for if we do, we only become a servant to the neurotic needs of others, not a witness to the healthy promises of God.

How does it feel to have your witness rejected?

Prayer: My commitment, Lord, is to you—not to success at any cost, not to acceptance by everyone. Keep me loyal, obeying your commands and doing your work, more interested in being faithful than in being popular. Amen.

APRIL 14

“Before the Son of Man Comes”

Read Matthew 10:16-23

“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

Matthew 10:21-22

We live, spiritually and morally, in hostile country. We need to be realistic about that. What we must not do is write doomsday endings to this experience. Family strife, social discord, church unrest are not the end. Christ is the end. What hostility do you experience?

Prayer: In each obstacle I meet today, Savior Christ, I will look for your help, anticipate your coming. Show me how to live in hard times with a light heart. Amen.

APRIL 15

“How Much More”

Read Matthew 10:24-25

“A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master.”

Matthew 10:24-25

We don’t mind suffering for things we do that deserve punishment; but when we suffer for doing the right, we mind terribly. But that is exacdy what we let ourselves in for as Christ’s disciples— misapprehension and rejection in pursuit of the good.

In what ways do people misunderstand you?

Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, I want to understand exacdy the ways in which you expressed the truth, and want to patiendy submit myself to experiencing that way of life, not trying to get out of the hard parts, not complaining about the unpopularity, but enduring and faithful. Amen.

APRIL 16

“You Are of More Value”

Read Matthew 10:26-32

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father…. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

Matthew 10:29,31

In Christ’s kingdom no person is subordinated to a principle or a cause, used as a case history in a dissertation on goodness or sin. We are not treated as a means to anything; we are valued for who we are.

How many times does the word “fear” occur here?

Prayer: When I look, Lord, at what other people do and say I become fearful—and righdy so, for my life to them is merely something to manipulate. But when I listen to what you say and believe in what you are doing, I trust, sure that revelation will triumph over hiddenness and resurrection over destruction. Amen.

APRIL 17

“Not Worthy”

Read Matthew 10:33-39

“… And whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

Matthew 10:38-39

We commonly avoid conflicts and encounters that require decisions between the good and the best, between the convenient and the excellent. We sink into a quagmire of domesticity, security, and self-gratification. The result is a conglomerate arrangement of habits and associations that we misname “community,” sometimes even “church.” But Christ has something far better. What does Christ’s sword do?

Prayer: Better your sword, Lord, than the world’s peace. I want the clarity of sharp decisions, not the amoral smog of confused compromises. Separate me from the half-gods of this world; free me for total response to you. Amen.

APRIL 18

“A Cup of Cold Water”

Read Matthew 10:40-42

“… And whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these litde ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose dieir reward.”

Matthew 10:42

Our acceptance of others and our service to others does not have to agonize over who is worthy, over what takes priority: Christ is present in everyone, everywhere. Our acts of trust and compassion, of witness and help, are anticipated by his, and fulfilled in his.

Who are some of the “litde ones” in your life?

Prayer: I dream, Father, of doing great acts of service in your name; meanwhile diere are litde opportunities for help all around us. Keep me faithful in die small tasks, discovering your presence in overlooked people and in obscure places. Amen.

APRIL 19

“Are We to Wait?”

Read Matthew 11:1-6

“Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

Matthew 11:4-6

Jesus doesn’t get popular applause for what he does, he doesn’t overwhelmingly convince everyone of his truth. Even John, who prepared the way for Jesus’ ministry, has his doubts. God in Christ doesn’t come among us to meet our expectations, but to save us from our sins.

Why do you think John was in doubt about Jesus?

Prayer: I have a lot of questions, Lord God, especially when things aren’t going well in my life. I wonder if you are doing your job, if you have included me in your plans. And then, by faith, I get a larger vision, comprehend a deeper hope, and bless you for your mysterious and glorious work. Amen.

APRIL 20

“What Then Did You Go out to See?”

Read Matthew 11:7-11

“Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

Matthew 11:11

Are we tourists, sightseeing in religion with binoculars and camera? Do we reduce the man of God to a spectacle? But the gospel is not a spectator sport; it is not window-shopping. God’s rule has already broken in. The participation of the least, not the fame of the great, is what is important. Why was John important?

Prayer: It is a lot easier for me, Lord Jesus, to be an onlooker than a participant. I get all the pleasures of diversion and excitement, and none of the stress of risk and discipline. But that is not what you want from me, and I know it. Forgive me for looking on, and enable me to enter in, by faith. .Amen.

APRIL 21

“Take It by Force”

Read Matthew 11:12-15 “Let anyone with ears listen!”

Matthew 11:15

Intense listening is what is required from us, not religious poll-taking, not theological opinion-sampling. The spiritual danger that we face is casualness, the indifference that treats the word of God on the same level as the newspaper editorial. True faith is energetic and single-minded. Why is John compared with Elijah?

Prayer: Your warnings, O God, are frequent and insistent—and necessarily so, for I let things slide, permit junk distractions to divert me from responding to your love and pursuing your will with my whole heart and mind and strength. Develop ardor in me, and keep me centered on you. Amen.

APRIL 22

“This Generation”

Read Matthew 11:16-19

“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

Matthew 11:18-19

Every generation wants God to dance to its tune. And every generation complains diat God doesn’t meet its expectations—like bored and winning children. But it is God who makes demands on us, not we on him. It is God who includes us in his plans, not we who include him in ours.

What was the difference between John and Jesus?

Prayer: I pick up the consumer mentality, Lord, and shop for religion the way I shop for groceries —sorting through the shelves (the churches!) to find what suits my taste. Forgive me. Let me be still before you, and respond to all that you are for me, in faith, in adoration. Amen.

APRIL 23

“Woe to You!”

Read Matthew 11:20-24

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you.”

Matthew 11:21-22

We can always look around us and find people who are more wicked tiian we are and feel that we are not so bad after all. We get justification by comparison. But God does not grade on the curve. We are not judged in comparison widi others, but by our response to God. Why is Sodom famous?

Prayer: Have mercy on me, Christ. I see myself in the mirror of your word and see so much that I have done that is wrong, and so much that I have not done that is essential. I don’t want to just get by with the approval of my peers, but to become whole by your grace. Amen.

APRIL 24

“Revealed”

Read Matthew 11:25-27

“I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.”

Matthew 11:25-26

God shows himself; he does not hide himself. God delights in letting us in on his plans and actions; he does not tease us with coquettish hints. There is mystery in the gospel, true, but it is the mystery of light, not darkness, or more reality than we can take in, not arcane secrets withheld from us.

What is the most important truth revealed to you?

Prayer: I am full of praise, Lord God, for all that you show me, for everything that you reveal to me. I thank you for including me in what you are doing so that I can participate intelligendy, for telling me what you are doing so that I can live in the light and not stumble in the dark. Amen.

APRIL 25

“Come to Me”

Read Matthew 11:28-30

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:29-30

The day teems with possibilities. Jesus’ command rouses us out of a sleepy timidity. He doesn’t tell us to go out into the world and conquer it; he calls us into a yoked companionship with himself. He doesn’t ask us to do anything that he doesn’t promise to do with us. We are not so much sent out as invited along.

How does Jesus’ yoke work in your life?

Prayer: “Come unto Me, ye weary, and I will give you rest. O Blessed voice of Jesus, which comes to hearts oppressed! It tells of benediction, of pardon, grace, and peace, of joy that hath no ending, of love which cannot cease” (William C. Dix, “Come unto Me, Ye Weary,” The Ffymnbook, 233). Amen.

APRIL 26

“Lord of the Sabbath”

Read Matthew 12:1-8

“But if you had known what this means, 4I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guildess. For the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”

Matthew 12:7-8

Jesus concentrates on the personal. He cuts through the maze of regulations and customs that we accumulate and elaborate, and discovers the essential act, the core truth. Jesus is full of refreshing common sense.

Review 1 Samuel 21:1-6 as background.

Prayer: Father, so many things—ideas and customs, and concerns—intrude diemselves into my life and separate me from spontaneous and immediate devotion to you. Put all these things in their place so that I can be in my proper place, worshiping you and living in love in the world. Amen.

APRIL 27

“… How to Destroy Him”

Read Matthew 12:9-14

Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and it was restored, as sound as the otiier. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

Matthew 12:13-14

Jonathan Swift once remarked, “Most of us have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love.” Here is an instance of it, people hating Jesus. The list of crimes planned and committed on behalf of die deity stretches into a long list.

Why were they plotting? Did they hate Jesus?

Prayer: Like so many others, God, I want your stamp of approval on what I find comfortable, not a life of repentance and risky faith. Keep watch over my heart today. Quickly expose any scheming that masks itself as “religious concern,” but has as its actual purpose the murderous removal of the Redeemer. Amen.

APRIL 28

“It Is Only by Beelzebul”

Read Matthew 12:15-32

“If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own exorcists cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you.”

Matthew 12:27-28

People are always ready with an explanation of reality that eliminates God from their lives— anything to avoid dealing with the love of Christ. Our world is full of debunking, cynical explanations that flatten people and events into a sidewalk sameness.

Why is Jesus so vehement in his response?

Prayer: Almighty God, I don’t want to be in that crowd of people who are standing around on the sidelines criticizing and quibbling; I want to be with those disciples who are listening, and believing, and following. Amen.

APRIL 29

“Out of the Abundance”

Read Matthew 12:33-37

“How can you speak good things, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure.”

Matthew 12:34-35

“But I didn’t really mean it.” The excuse is familiar, but unacceptable. Every word reveals what is already in the heart. Whatever the heart is full of, whether good or bad, spills out in the words of our mouths.

What do your words reveal about your heart?

Prayer: Root, O God, my life deeply in your redeeming work so that the words that casually and accidentally come from my mouth will be words of praise and exclamations of trust. Amen.

APRIL 30

“The Sign of the Prophet Jonah”

Read Matthew 12:38-42

“An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in die heart of the earth.”

Matthew 12:39-40

Evidence of God’s presence and action is accumulating all around us in enormous quantities. If we don’t see it, it is because we are looking for the wrong things—for marvels and for sensations instead of for grace and resurrection. What signs are you looking for?

Prayer: Train my eyes, O God, to see what is to be seen in Christ—new life from the dead, fresh hope from the grave, divine love renewing human emptiness. Amen.