Head: Know God's Word | Heart: Love God | Hands: Follow God's Way
Read Matthew 16
Head
Matthew 16 shows us how the Pharisees and Sadducees pictured the Messiah as a mighty warrior who would conquer the Roman Empire by fighting and killing. In reality, Jesus was the opposite. He was the Messiah who came to serve those who were lost and sick, to save us from sin. He was not a mighty warrior but a loving God who wanted to show others through love and grace that evil would be destroyed.
Heart
So how do we see Jesus? As a magic genie to answer all our dreams and a sword-slaying fighter or a loving messiah that shows how we need to live our lives by example? It’s so hard to not just trust in what we want instead of trusting God’s will for what we need. When we were looking for another dog, we went to the kennel to put a deposit on the type of dog we wanted, a yellow lab with a stocky body. Well, when we showed up and talked with the owner she said they may have a litter soon, but she asked if we wanted to see a puppy that still needed a home. Well, after we met her, that puppy was the one that went home with us. She was a yellow lab, but she was more red than blonde. She wasn’t going to be the hunky chunky lab we had wanted; she was small for her breed because she was a runt. But she loved us, and we loved her, so home she came. Imagine if we held on to our idea and never considered another option.
Hands
So how do we make sure we don’t become like a Pharisee? By trusting the Bible and all that is in it. We need to believe in Jesus who is a loving selfless servant who came to earth to take away our sins. Let’s go live like Him and serve others.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father – help us to not be like the Pharisees and Sadducees who put You in a mold of what we think You should look like. Help us to live like You want us to live – not relying on ourselves but trusting in Your ways and being a servant to others and not a complainer of what we don’t have. We have You and You are more than enough for us. In Jesus' name. Amen.