March
MARCH 1
“Father” Read Matthew 6:9
“Our Father in heaven …” – Matthew 6:9
“Our” is the operative word. We cannot come to God as if he were a private deity, a household god. He is no personal idol we manufacture to our specifications. In prayer God is not reduced to our requirements; we are expanded to the dimensions of his majesty.
Why is “fadier” such an important word for God?
Prayer: Our Father: reveal yourself to me not as I have imagined you and not as others have stereotyped you, but as you really are: creator of all that is, loving redeemer of all your people. Amen.
MARCH 2
“Name” Read Matthew 6:9
“… hallowed be your name.” – Matthew 6:9
The word “God” comprises goodness and holiness and glory. But in everyday usage it is marred with superstition. People read into die word “God” fears and ignorance and blasphemy. The name needs cleansing and burnishing. What does “hallowed” mean?
Prayer: Hallowed be thy name: purge the words that name your presence, cleanse the images that fill my mind. Scrape the noun clean of rust and grime until “Jesus” and “Christ” say the clear truth about you, Father. Amen.
MARCH 3
“Kingdom” Read Matthew 6:10
“Your kingdom come.” – Matthew 6:10
Every political scheme devised by humans is flawed somewhere, corrupt finally. The task of ordering people’s lives in harmony and in fairness eludes our competence. Meanwhile, there are people who are already being ruled in love and who experience in that rule God’s goodness and fulfillment.
What does “kingdom” mean?
Prayer: Thy kingdom come: establish your principles of redemption in me and among all who kneel in your presence and confess your lordship. Inaugurate your rule, Lord Jesus, and make me a charter citizen. Amen.
MARCH 4
“Will” Read Matthew 6:10
“Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” – Matthew 6:10
Our wills are given to us to exercise freely. We can assert them noisily and brashly, like Adam, in choosing what is beneath us and thereby being diminished; or we can choose, like Christ, the way of our creator and redeemer and learn a greater freedom in an expanding reality. How does your will differ from God’s will?
Prayer: Thy will be done: the will that freely elects redemption in your creation, the will that comprehends all things and everyone in a divine purpose, die will that frees my will from slavery to sin and puts it to work in righteousness. Amen.
MARCH 5
“Give” Read Matthew 6:11
“Give us this day our daily bread.” – Matthew 6:11
God created our bodily as well as our spiritual hungers, and will provide for their satisfaction. Prayer has as much to do with the necessities of this day’s living as with the certainties of eternal life.
What physical needs will you pray for today?
Prayer: Give us this day our daily bread. I will not let my needs become anxieties, but will submit them to your providence. Give, Lord, all that I need to live obediendy and joyously. Amen.
MARCH 6
“Forgive” Read Matthew 6:12
“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” – Matthew 6:12
Apart from forgiveness each step we take is a link in the cause-and-effect sequence of sin and death. With forgiveness we travel from “strength to strength” by grace to life eternal. In the same way that bread is a basic need for the body, forgiveness is the basic need of the spirit. Who can you forgive as you have been forgiven?
Prayer: Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors: I want each detail of my life to be a result not of the sins I commit, but of the mercy you pour out in Jesus. Don’t, God, ignore me, indulge me, or reject me. Forgive me. Amen.
MARCH 7
“Rescue” Read Matthew 6:13
“And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.” – Matthew 6:13
Christians are not moral giants, flexing our muscles and displaying our trophies before the world as evidence of superior spirituality. We are in a battle that very often threatens to overwhelm us, and we need help. What evil do you need help against?
Prayer: Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: I thank you, God, that you are not coolly manipulating me, puppet-like, on a string; but that you are with me, on my side in this war for eternal life, and that you will bring the victory. Amen.
MARCH 8
“Kingdom/Power/Glory” Read Matthew 6:13
“For the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours forever. Amen.” – Matthew 6:13
These words, though not in the oldest manuscripts, are commonly on the lips of Christians. They summarize prayer as the language spoken in God’s kingdom, voiced with energy given by God’s power, and however stuttering, resplendent with God’s glory.
How does the Lord’s Prayer help you to pray?
Prayer: Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever: all that you are, O God, evokes and shapes my prayers to you. Keep me in the company of all who are struggling to master this tongue. Help me to be articulate in this great language. Amen.
MARCH 9
“If You Forgive” Read Matthew 6:14-15
“… But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” – Matthew 6:15
God’s work includes our neighbors, and we must join lum in it if we are to continue in his ways. We are always trying to reduce God’s work to something exclusive and private, but he will not permit it. Whom will you forgive today?
Prayer: At first, Lord, these words look like a posted warning, but now I see in them a way of promise—your words of forgiveness spill out into the world through my acts of forgiveness. Thank you for letting me share in your great and creative work of forgiving. Amen.
MARCH 10
“Do Not Look Dismal” Read Matthew 6:16-18
“But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret” – Matthew 6:17-18
Routines dull perceptions. The purpose of a discipline such as fasting is to interrupt the routines that cushion us from the foundational realities, and so sharpen our awareness of the eternal essentials.
Will you choose a day, or a meal, to fast this week?
Prayer: Lord God, I let too many things distract and divert me from paying attention to you: train me in the simplifications that will put me in touch with what matters most—your love, your salvation, your grace. Amen.
MARCH 11
“Treasures” Read Matthew 6:19-21
“… But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:20-21
God has nodung against treasure; his concern is about its location. The location of our treasure, that upon which we expend energy and fix hopes, determines the direction of our goals and the shape of our behavior. What do you value most?
Prayer: Father, I put all my wealth, my investments, my possessions in trust: you are my future and my confidence. Cure me of the possessiveness that holds tightly and will not let go. Amen.
MARCH 12
“If Your Eye Is Healthy” Read Matthew 6:22-23
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light” – Matthew 6:22
Our eyes are remarkable and accurate signs of our inner spiritual health. They narrow into slits when we hate, envy, and scheme. They open wide in wonder when we live in adoration and generosity. What obstructs your vision of God?
Prayer: God, your world is so full of people to love and things to admire: keep my eyes wide open to receive all the sensations of color and form in your creation, and to love everything and everyone I see in Jesus’ name. Amen.
MARCH 13
“Two Masters” Read Matthew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” – Matthew 6:24
Faith is not an amalgam of all the bits and pieces of “religion” that are deposited in the delta of the sold. The Christian is not a collection bin for every religious emotion that passes through the nervous system. Christian faith is choice and service—choosing Christ as Savior and serving him as Lord.
How would you serve “wealth”?
Prayer: I know, God, that I cannot trust you as just another item in the religious stew I keep simmering on the back burner of my life. Master me absolutely so that I may serve you in body, mind, and spirit, as I now attend to your word of creation and command in Jesus Christ. Amen.
MARCH 14
“Do Not Worry” Read Matthew 6:25-26
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear.” – Matthew 6:25
Survival needs, important as they are, must not be allowed to define or dominate us. We are created for something far more complex and profound than food and drink and clodiing. God’s love, care, and providence are the wide world in which we learn to live easily and exuberandy.
What anxiety will you turn over to God?
Prayer: Father in heaven, forgetful of my high calling in Christ, I find myself flattened out on an economic plain, living from hand to moudi with a mean, survival mentality. Awaken the desire to live by your will, as your child, in your love. Amen.
MARCH 15
“A Single Hour” Read Matthew 6:27
“And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?” – Matthew 6:27
Anxiety burns up enormous amounts of energy, wastefully and inefficiendy. It produces nothing. It is the opposite of faith, which requires only plain attentiveness to God, and simple responses to his will—and moves mountains.
Compare anxiety with die faith described in Hebrews 11:1.
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, you have so riclily and extravagandy provided me with meaning and purpose and beauty and goodness—what more do I want? Teach me to live in the amplitude of your creation, not in the grab-greed desolation of the world. Amen.
MARCH 16
“Little Faith” Read Matthew 6:27-30
“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?” – Matthew 6:30
Anxious preoccupation with the needs and wants of daily living distract us from God, who is already present in each detail to help, strengthen, provide, and redeem by his love.
Compare this with the other “litde faith” passages in Matthew 8:26; 14:31; and 16:8.
Prayer: Dear Christ, I set aside right now my nervous concern for what I must do; I center my thoughts on what you are doing in me and in the world. I want to trade in my anxieties for your gift of faith. Amen.
MARCH 17
“Your Heavenly Father Knows” Read Matthew 6:31-32
“… and indeed your heavenly Father knows diat you need all these things.” – Matthew 6:32
Faith breathes a confidence that God knows our needs better than we do and provides for their fulfillment. The frantic doubt that God may have forgotten about us, the panicky suspicion that God may have decided against us—all that is excluded by faith.
What are you most sure of in God?
Prayer: For your uninterrupted mercy, O God, for the constant surveillance of your provident eye, for the steady assistance of your strong arm, for the persistent invitational knocking at the door of my life, for these I give thanks. Amen.
MARCH 18
“Strive First” Read Matthew 6:33
“But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all diese tilings will be given to you as well.” – Matthew 6:33
Our priorities should be clear by now: We are made by God, for God; therefore the meaning and fulfillment of our lives must take place in the country of grace. What he says and what he does, and how we respond and how we obey, are die center realities of our lives.
What evidence is there in your life diat you seek first his kingdom?
Prayer: “Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side; bear patiendy the cross of grief or pain; leave to thy God to order and provide; in every change He faithful will remain. Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend through thorny ways leads to a joyful end” (Katherina von Schlegel, “Be Still My Soul,” The Hymnbook, 318). Amen.
MARCH 19
“So Do Not Worry” Read Matthew 6:33-34
“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” – Matthew 6:34
If we are in control of what happens to us and in charge of our own well-being, we do well to be perpetually vigilant against evil and on constant alert for die lucky break. But if God is in control, if his kingdom is already a reality, a decisive “therefore” separates us from such debilitating anxieties.
What do you seek first?
Prayer: My God and King: in the course of this day, as 1 am presented with choices to make and paths to follow, give me the wise courage to decide to live in the Kingdom where I will experience your power and glory in Jesus Christ. Amen.
MARCH 20
“Do Not Judge” Read Matthew 7:1-2
“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For widi the judgment you make you will be judged, and die measure you give will be the measure you get.” – Matthew 7:1-2
When we judge others—evaluate their worth, their lack of virtue, their practice of vice—we waste the moral energies that were given to us for use in the work of compassion. Examining odiers with an eye to spotting their defects is self-destructive. Whom are you tempted to judge?
Prayer: I find, by your word, O God, that I am utterly incompetent to judge others. I have only meager information about them; I only vaguely understand your purposes in them. Instead of pronouncing judgments on them, I will work and pray for them, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
MARCH 21
“The Speck/The Log” Read Matthew 7:3-5
“Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye?” – Matthew 7:4
Not until we refuse to indulge our curiosity about what is wrong with others are we free to take a genuine interest in them as people loved by God to whom we may become witnesses in truth and companions in faidi. Too many times we confuse religious gossip with spiritual concern. Whom are you judging instead of loving?
Prayer: Lord, bring me to the place where my interest is not in condemning sin in others, but in confessing it in myself. I find it much easier to mount an indignant assault on everyone else’s sins dian to repent and be cleansed of my own. Amen.
MARCH 22
“Pearls Before Swine” Read Matthew 7:6
“Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.” – Matthew 7:6
Our Lord leads us in knowing when to speak and act, just as he teaches us what is to be done and spoken. Timing is important in witnessing and helping, teaching and preaching. “Readiness is all” (Shakespeare, Hamlet, act 5, scene 2, line 232).
What good deeds have you done in the wrong place?
Prayer: Holy Spirit, give me the gift of discerning hearts and being sensitive to needs, so that as I share the truth and goodness of my Lord, I may not provoke rejection by my rudeness nor encourage irreverence by my ignorance. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.
MARCH 23
“Ask” Read Matthew 7:7-11
“Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” – Matthew 7:7
When we ask we admit our inadequacy and confess God’s sufficiency. Asking is the basic prayer. In such prayer connections are soldered between our brokermess and his wholeness. What will you ask from God today?
Prayer: Great God, consummate all my desires in your love; complete all my wants in your grace. Thank you for the invitation and the promise: the invitation to put all my needs before you, the promise that you will meet them in wisdom and peace. Amen.
MARCH 24
“… Do So to Them” Read Matthew 7:12
“In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.” – Matthew 7:12
The most remarkable thing about this summary sentence on behavior is not in the words themselves but in the life-commentary that Jesus provided. This is what he did. He converted all morality from wish to reality, from ideal to actuality. And what he did he enables us to do.
How can you use this golden rule in a specific action?
Prayer: “So let our lips and lives express the holy gospel we profess; so let our works and virtues shine, to prove the doctrine all divine. Thus shall we best proclaim abroad the honors of our Savior God, when His salvation reigns within, and grace subdues the power of sin” (Isaac Watts, “So Let Our Lips and Lives Express,” The Hymnbook, 250)-Amen.
MARCH 25
“The Narrow Gate” Read Matthew 7:13-14
“For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” – Matthew 7:14
Faith is not an accumulation of vague impulses that tend, generally, toward the good, nor is it the nurture of obscure emotions of piety; it is choosing to walk through a particular gate (“I am the door” [John 10:7]), and down a definite road (“I am the way” [John 14:6]).
What do you find difficult or demanding about the narrow gate?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are my way and my truth and my life. Lead me through the narrow gate into the wide life, through the place of concentrated decision into the country of expansive blessings Amen.
MARCH 26
“Beware of False Prophets” Read Matthew 7:15
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” – Matthew 7:15
Christian charity must not be confused with pious gullibility that puts up with fraud and nonsense in its leaders. Religious claims are the easiest to make, but the hardest to document. Prophetic mantles easily assumed must be painstakingly verified.
How do you exercise caution toward religious leaders?
Prayer: Give me, Lord, the gift of discernment so that I may not be led astray by those who prey upon my faith, so that I may not be exploited by those who would profit from my devotion. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.
MARCH 27
“Fruits” Read Matthew 7:16-20
“A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits.” – Matthew 7:18-20
In evaluating religious leadership, it is far more useful to observe how a person treats his dog than to ask him for his opinions on God. “Fruits” are not success anecdotes or upward-swinging statistical curves, but instances in which it is obvious that inward belief has metamorphosed into behavior.
What fruits do you see in your spiritual leaders?
Prayer: Father, I don’t want to be uncritically naive toward someone just because he or she is called pastor, or preacher, or evangelist; but neither do I want to develop a cynical skepticism toward anyone who is in the spodight. Show me the middle way of alert obedience in and through Jesus Christ. Amen.
MARCH 28
“Lord, Lord” Read Matthew 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” – Matthew 7:21
Name-dropping works the same way in spiritual things as it does in earthly things—it gives the impression of intimacy when there is only the flimsiest of relationships. Using the name will get us nowhere if we are unrelated to the person we name.
Are you a religious name-dropper?
Prayer: Lord Christ, when I use your name, keep me honest so that I am expressing a relationship with you and engaging in a response to your will. I want my whole life, not just my mouth, to speak your name. Amen.
MARCH 29
“Founded on the Rock” Read Matthew 7:24-27
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.” – Matthew 7:24
Visible behavior is built on invisible truth. Jesus provides the commands that, as we obey them, are solid, foundational underpinnings for eternal life. What are some items in your life foundation?
Prayer: All praise to you, O God, for giving me such weighty, sure, foundation-making commands. Thank you for giving me the desire to respond to them in obedient belief. Give me daily directions for building upon Christ the rock. Amen.
MARCH 30
“Astounded at His Teaching” Read Matthew 7:28-29
“Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.” – Matthew 7:28-29
The world is so full of people who attempt to shock, startle, and surprise us that we finally become blase. Then our Lord comes along and speaks the truth simply and truly. The sheer authenticity and naked reality of it shakes us out of our ennui.
What is most astonishing to you in Jesus’ words?
Prayer: “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand” (E. Mote, “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less,” The Hymnbook, 313). Amen.
MARCH 31
“Lord, If You Choose” Read Matthew 8:1-4
“… And there was a leper who came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I do choose. Be made clean!” – Matthew 8:2-3
The leper is the needy person in extremis: cut off, lonely, shunned. But no needy condition is so extreme or so absolute that we are consigned to despair. There is hope in God. The approach, timid and tentative—”if you will”—unexpectedly finds a bold and positive desire to save: “I will.” What was so bad about being a leper?
Prayer: I want cleansing, dear Christ, quite as much as that leper. But in your way; what you will. I want my life to be shaped not by my demands, but by the sure but mysterious movement of your grace. Amen.
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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.
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