Daily Walk Through the New Testament
Because we got behind, this post will include July 23 -July 31. This will get us back on schedule. Sorry for the delay!
A sense of entitlement plagues our nation today. People often feel they deserve more than they have — more money, better health, a higher paying job. The terrible consequence of entitlement is an unthankful heart. Because we have specific good things in mind we’d like to receive, we are not thankful when we receive the good things God chooses to give us. Jesus healed 10 lepers, but only 1 of them felt the need to find Him and thank Him.
If you’ve put your trust in Jesus, He has healed you of the disease of sin. He has touched your life and cleansed you. Are you like the thankful leper? Too often we all forget what it cost Jesus to redeem us and are not as thankful as we should be. Take time today to thank God for His great gift of salvation and for the many other gifts in your life.
______________________________________________________________________________
Daily Walk Through the New Testament
When we read about the life of Jesus, it is clear that the Pharisees hated Him and sought every opportunity to criticize Him and stop His ministry. Their hatred grew to the point where they no longer simply wanted to stop His teachings — they desired to kill Him.
It’s easy for us as believers to have disdain for the Pharisees. We place ourselves on the side of Jesus and presume we would have had nothing to do with the blood-thirsty religious leaders. But we need to examine our hearts consistently as we walk with Jesus. If we’re not careful, we can be judgmental toward other believers, simply because we don’t agree with the way they do things, and wind up having hearts that look more like the Pharisees than we’d expect.
Jesus taught a parable about a Pharisee and a tax collector who were praying in the temple. The tax collector confessed his sins before God and cried out for forgiveness. The Pharisee never confessed his sins; he only boasted about his religious credentials and thanked God that he was more pious than the sinful men around him.
Don’t let yourself fall into the sin of self-righteousness. Focus on your own life and the sins you need to confess more than the sins of those around you.
Daily Walk Through the New Testament
During the current economic recession, gas and food costs have increased while savings and retirement accounts have been depleted. Most of us have been forced to change the way we live our lives, examining every expense to decide what is a necessity and what is not. We have been forced to count the cost of every choice.
We do not have to pay money to come to faith in Christ, but, according to God’s Word, following Christ comes with a cost. It may cost us financial opportunities, relationships, or popularity. In some places, following Christ may even cost a person his or her life.
In our reading for today, Peter told Jesus that he and the other disciples had left everything to follow Him. They had counted the cost and forsaken every hindrance. Jesus said that whatever His faithful followers give up for the sake of the kingdom of God pales in comparison to the blessings God will pour out on them.
Let’s choose to follow Christ today, confident in His promise that His blessings will exceed the cost!
______________________________________________________________________________
Daily Walk Through the New Testament
Most Americans have not witnessed the pomp and circumstance of a traveling monarch. American politicians often travel with an entourage of security and assistants, but royal family members usually travel with great pageantry that is worthy of their position.
When Jesus entered Jerusalem on the day we now celebrate as Palm Sunday, He was treated like a king. He traveled into the city on the back of a young donkey while the people laid down their coats, waved palm branches, and cried out praises to God. Of all the kings who ever walked on the earth, Jesus is the One who deserved all the praise He received, because as He entered the city, He knew He was heading to the cross to fulfill God’s redemption plan.
Jesus is the one true King who is worthy of our praise and adoration, and He is the one true God who is worthy of our worship and complete allegiance. Live like He is your King today!
Daily Walk Through the New Testament
What upsets you? Perhaps it’s when you are cut off in traffic or when someone says something unkind to you. Maybe it’s when your favorite team loses a game. We often get the most upset over relatively trivial things.
In Luke 19:41, Jesus was upset about something. Luke says Jesus wept over Jerusalem. It grieved Him that the Jewish people would face judgment because of their rejection of Him. In Acts 17, Paul was extremely upset when he saw all the gods worshiped in Athens while the one true God was rejected. Can you relate with either of these experiences?
As Christians, we should grieve over the things that grieve the heart of God. When was the last time you were moved to tears over the sin in your own life, or deeply upset about the sin in the lives of others? Ask God to show you what grieves His heart and to make your heart like His.
______________________________________________________________________________
Daily Walk Through the New Testament
Answer the following questions in regards to your readings this past week:
What are some things in which you tend to trust instead of Jesus?
What has following Jesus cost you?
______________________________________________________________________________
Daily Walk Through the New Testament
Comedian W.C. Fields was known for being an atheist who was critical of Christianity. When a friend once caught him reading the Bible, Fields said he was “Looking for a loophole.”
People often came to Jesus to ask Him questions. Sometimes people honestly wanted to know who Jesus was and what it meant to follow Him. For honest seekers, He gave simple, clear answers. Others were only looking for some excuse not to believe in Him, some loophole in His claims.
Are you open to the truth? Search your heart to see if any preconceptions not founded in the truth of God’s Word are holding you back. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and he wants to reveal more of Himself to you. Approach Him with a spirit of trust and submission. Read His Word with a heart that is willing to listen and believe, and allow it to be the only authority for your beliefs and behavior.
Daily Walk Through the New Testament
It’s been said that it’s always darkest just before dawn. One does not have to be a Bible scholar or historian to know that this world is becoming darker by the hour. Every day we hear of wars, famines, earthquakes, diseases — exactly what Jesus said would happen.
In today’s news we see Jerusalem being encircled by hostile nations, like a pack of wolves surrounding a little lamb. This city, divinely ordained as the capital of Israel and the Jewish people, is being terrorized by Gentiles. Today, Muslims occupy the most important piece of ground on the earth, the Temple Mount, and vow never to relinquish control. Jesus told us to expect this darkness until the last Gentile who is going to be saved is saved, and He returns to take up His bride.
Do not be discouraged or hang your head when you watch the news. Instead, look up and lift your head (Luke 21:28) — Jesus may come at any time. Things are looking gloriously dark — our Redeemer is coming!
______________________________________________________________________________
Daily Walk Through the New Testament
Our Lord commanded us to prepare for His Second Coming and warned us to be guarded against the schemes of the Enemy. The devil can use the cares, comforts, conveniences, companions, and the carousing of this life as bait for his traps. When we become so preoccupied with the events of this world, we’ve walked into his trap without realizing it. When we’re preoccupied, we are not earnestly preparing for Jesus’ return.
If all the signs point to the imminent return of Jesus Christ, what are we to do until He returns? First, we are to be careful to avoid all snares. “Take heed to yourselves,” Jesus said, before describing people with hearts weighed down with the things of earthly life (Luke 21:34). Second, we are to be watchful, just like watchmen on the walls who constantly look for both their enemy and the return of their king. Third, we are to be continually prayerful. Fourth, we are to be worshipful, keeping our focus not on ourselves, but on Him.
Are you preoccupied with the immediate, or are you earnestly preparing for your King?
Randall Evans