H.E.A.R. the Good News Matthew 20:22

H. verse 22: ” you don’t know what you’re asking,” Jesus said to them. ” Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

E. The mother of James and John asked in verse 21 if her sons could sit at Jesus right hand and this is how he responded.

A. The mother of James and John and they too thought that being in a position of the right hand of Jesus would bring them some type of glory. But Jesus tells her they would have to drink of the same cup as he is drinking from. He was talking about his death, his mockery, his beatings. the punishment he endures for our salvation. Can they take that as well? Do they really deserve to sit at the right hand of the Father? They will never suffer as Jesus did. We will all face some sort of mockery because we are believers in Christ but we will never endure the suffering that Jesus did and we are not strong enough to bear the cross that he did nor drink from the cup that he drank from! We need to stand up for him and his name for what he did for us, not look for glory for ourselves!

R. Father may everything I do in your name bring glory to you and not to me. I want to bring glory to your name because you fought for me, you saved me! I do not deserve any glory, I only want to show others that you are who you say you are and show them what you’ve done for me, not for myself, but for you God! Help me to press on through all the world throws at me so that I can continue to show those who would not believe all you’re capable of ! I love you God! Thank you for blessing me. In Jesus name, Amen.

A Little Extra…

I wish that when I sat down to write I could remember the things I think of when I am in the shower, HAHA! Anyway, I have been thinking a lot about why God is calling me the way he is. I mean he knows my dirty laundry, he knows it,because well, he knew it before I did it, he knew what kind of life I was going to live before I lived it! Everything I have done or been through has brought me to here, speaking in the church about what God expects from his church. I have always thought somehow we just didn’t get told we were loved much as kids, my family wasn’t that way, until much later, much later it came, as my parents grew up so did the way they would show us what we meant to them. My parents were YOUNG when they got married and my Mama had 5 kids by the time she was 23 years old. Anyway, I was thinking, I am so wrong about the love I got as a child. Someone loved me enough to put me on a church bus so that the seed could be planted in me that would grow and eventually reap a harvest! It took a LONG time! But it did happen! So thank you to my parents and my Granny Johnny who made sure I listened to gospel music on Sunday mornings and waited on that bus to pick me up! Because of y’all, I am here today in the lap of Jesus! He is holding me with so much love that no one here on earth could ever match it! I am worthy of the calling…God has had a plan for me all along! He has one for y’all too! Don’t think there is anything you have done that is so bad that he won’t forgive you! Jesus asked forgiveness for the ones who were beating and crucifying him! He will forgive anything you’ve done, just ask his forgiveness y’all and repent of your sin and accept Jesus as your Savior and love him with all your heart and soul and mind. He WILL love you back! He loves you now! 

H.E.A.R. the Good News Matthew 19:26

I am sharing chapter 19 today as well because I missed posting yesterday.

H. Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.”

E. Jesus’ disciples asked in Verse 25 “who can be saved?” So Jesus explained to them man can’t save them but God can!

A. We need Jesus. This world is a disaster and we try all things man made to keep us safe. We look for ways to live longer like we will never die. But all we have to do is accept Jesus as our Lord, and Savior, and we will live eternally. Let us keep our faith in Jesus Christ! Remember he is our SAVIOR and the GREAT I AM! We can do all things through him who gives us strength!

R. Heavenly Father, with you all things are possible! That gives me such hope! Thank you for where you have placed me in this world today so I can learn more about you and live a life filled with you! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

H.E.A.R. the Good News Matthew 18:7

H. ” Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come but woe to the person through who they come.”

E. Jesus is talking to his disciples about the little children and how sorry someone would be if anyone caused the children, ( God’s children ) to turn from him!

A. There are so many stumbling blocks in our world today and who is to blame except ourselves? We need to repent and call on Jesus and not be a stumbling block to others but a stepping stone to a life filled with joy and and eternal life with Jesus Christ!

R. Father God! Thank you for the people who you put into my life to be stepping stones to a better life with you! A joy-filled and peaceful life with you! Thank you for the stumbling blocks too, they were lessons well learned Father and you made sure I didn’t stay down, you pulled me right back up off the ground! I love you God, you are a good, good, Father! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

H.E.A.R. the Good News Matthew 17:20

H. He replied, ” Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

E. The disciples asked Jesus why they were unable to drive out a demon from a boy with seizures and heal him. Jesus explains they have little or no faith.

A. We forget about the mountains we can move if only we show that we put our faith in God and not ourselves. We should trust in the power we have through the blood of Jesus Christ and tell that mountain to MOVE! The faith of a mustard seed is all it takes, those small little seeds aren’t very big! But their tiny size is big enough and all we need to get through any situation.

R. Precious Father, seems we never get that we have the power within us to move those mountains. We forget that we are filled with the Spirit of Jesus Christ and have the power to break chains with your help! Why don’t we look to you first? Why does everything have to be so dramatic? Father, help me to keep my eyes fixed on you and nothing else, so you are ALWAYS the first person I turn to in times of trouble and times of decision making! Thank you for always being there! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

H.E.A.R. the Good News Matthew 16:23

H. Jesus turned and said to Peter, ” Get behind me, Satan! you are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

E. Jesus was explaining his impending death to his disciples. Peter, in his humanness didn’t want to believe this would happen and he rebuked Jesus and told him it would never happen!

A. When we look at things with our human minds, we don’t always see the bigger picture. When we talk to God and listen, we will know his way is the right way. When we try to understand without spiritual guidance, we may be led by satan to do the wrong thing. We need to read God’s Word so we can be spiritually discerning. We need to pray and ask God to show us the bigger picture when we don’t understand why something is happening. Ask his guidance on all matters and you will learn to listen for and watch for God working in your situations.

R. Father God, I praise your holy name and thank you for your sovereignty. You are always right where we need you to be. Father, Peter didn’t understand that Jesus had to die for us all to be saved, and we don’t always get that bigger picture either Lord. Satan wants us to blame you for things that he causes so he slips in like the snake to confuse us. Help us to use discernment when we are dealing with things bigger than us. Let us make sure that we are talking to you first on all matters! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

H.E.A.R. the Good News Matthew 15:19-20

H. Vs. 19-20: 19 For out of the heart comes evil thoughts, murder, adultry, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.

E. Jesus was explaining to his disciples that the Pharisees were saying that the disciples eat with unclean hands and break the tradition of the elders.

A. The Pharisees thought their traditions were somehow important but Jesus let them know that there are many things that defile a person but eating with unclean hands is not one of them. Man’s way and God’s way are not the same. God decided what would be considered right or wrong. There are so many different traditions that man has made on his own, we could never keep up with them all. God doesn’t care about our traditions. He cares about our heart. Do we use our heart when judging others or do we judge them without reason? We need to pray and ask God for a pure heart so that when you respond about anything you will do so with the fruit of the Spirit. Are we judging righteously or are we being hypocrites like the Pharisees?

R. Father God, let me use the fruit of the Spirit every time I speak to someone. Help me Father to know the difference in righteous judgement or being hypocritical. Father your ways are the right ways, I ask you for a pure and righteous heart so I will follow your ways all the days of my life. Father, we open our mouths and defile ourselves and others when we should pray about it. Help me to hold my tongue and discuss with you first and get discernment before I open my mouth. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

H.E.A.R. the Good News Matthew 14: 26- 27

H. verse 26-27: 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them “take coursage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

E. Jesus had gone off to pray alone and his disciples went on to the boat. Jesus had to walk out to them to join them. They still doubted his power.

A. Don’t be afraid of the power of Jesus Christ. In today’s world, people doubt Christ’s existence and they do not understand his power. Remember this miracle when doubt creeps in. Be spiritually discerning. Know and act with the power God gave us all through his son’s blood, that was shed for us! Believe that the Holy Spirit is in you and gives you that power. Believe in and remember his miracles. When we walk in accordance with what God has called us for, we slowly lose our doubts. Read his Word and KNOW him!

R. Gracious and holy Father, I pray that I remember your power in me each time I feel weak. I pray that I remember your miracles when doubt creeps in. I pray Lord that I will walk in accordance with your calling on my life. I pray Father that you will be with me all the days of my life! Thank you for loving me enough to give me the power of the Holy Spirit in me so that I am never alone! Thank you FATHER for everything! In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

H.E.A.R. the Good News Matthew 13:37-43

H. Verses 37-43: 37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the son of man 38 the field is the world and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age and the harvesters are angels. 40 As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father, whoever has hears let them hear.”

E. Jesus is explaining the parable of the weeds to his disciples.

A. Those of us who are believers are the good seeds in God’s Kingdom. We are to go and tell others about God’s love for us and how he sacrificed his son Jesus Christ to save us from our sins. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves. There are many weeds in the world today trying to smother the Word of God. The devil is our enemy and he comes to steal, kill and destroy! ( John 10:10) Satan wants to destroy the good seeds and keep as many of us as he can from entering God’s Kingdom. We need to grow in our knowledge of Jesus Christ through his Word, so when we hear His word, we will understand it and we can destroy the weeds around us with God’s truth! When we understand his Word, we have all we need for battle against the enemy. When the angels come to take us home to the Kingdom of God, we will be ready! We will shine like the sun! How awesome is that?

R. Precious Father, I get the picture in my mind of shining like the sun after we enter the Kingdom of Heaven and it makes me smile and puts me in awe of you and your brightness in our lives! We will shine too and that’s something worth fighting for! I love you Father, and I want to be a good seed for the rest of my days. I know I have had a long journey to here, but thank you that you loved me enough to get me where I am NOW! I hear your calling on my life Father, I want to be what you want me to be! Help me Lord, to hear everything you have to say to me! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen!

H.E.A.R. the Good News Matthew 12:34

H. verse 34: “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”

E. Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees because he knew they were calling him Beelzebul because he drove out evil spirits from a man.

A. We often say things we “don’t mean”, but deep down don’t we really mean it? As Jesus says, we speak what our hearts are full of. We need to control our thoughts and we will control our tongues. If we keep our hearts clean and pure and our thoughts on God, when we speak we will produce good fruit, not bad. We will win hearts not break them. We will be judged by every word we speak. For by our words we will be acquitted and by our words we will be condemned. ( vs 37)

R. Father God, thank you for this day. Thank you for teaching me how to produce good fruit and how to hold my tongue. Help me Father to think before I speak, and help me to seek your thoughts before I give my thoughts. Continue to show me Father with your Word how to keep my heart pure and my thoughts on you! In Jesus’ name, Amen.