Bible Reading Plan | Devotion for the week of July 3, 2022

Passages Referenced: James 1:14, 1:22

Matthew 11

“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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 11:28-30

We are called by the Lord to cling to him in times of struggle and in times of peace. Many temptations await us each day, like it says in James 1:14, they are often created by our own evil desires and passions that are within each of us. We must surround ourselves with Godly men and women that will keep us is in tune with and focused on the words of Jesus.

Matthew 12

Jesus gathered the twelve disciples around him, and they began to fall in love with His words and His teachings. That is why Jesus gathered them around Him. Together they were able to teach and admonish one another.

Jesus says in Matthew 12, “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good… A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him.” If we surround ourselves with people that have a zeal for God’s Word then we too will be a spring of life, helping others discern the will of our Father in heaven. The good news we take in from the Scriptures will be the good that comes out.

Matthew 13

Last week, Pastor Todd mentioned James 1:22, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” Todd shared how the Bible can be like a mirror. We are to look at the Bible, read the words, and let them transform us and reflect who we are by doing what it says.

We have the privilege of being a great witness for Jesus Christ today. Let’s take advantage of the opportunity to write His words on our hearts. When we do that, what the people watching us will see and hear will inspire them to follow Him as well.

As believers, we want to be fruitful and to produce a good crop. To do this, we must be able to hear the words of Jesus, understand them, and let them mold us. In Matthew 13:23, Jesus says “But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Matthew 14

In Matthew 14, John the Baptist was beheaded, Jesus feeds the five thousand, and Jesus walks on water. When hearing of the death of John the Baptist, Jesus withdrew to a solitary place. I believe Jesus needed to pray and to fill up with the peace and endurance of the Holy Spirit. When we feel like the world is crashing down on us, it is wise to do as Jesus does here. He doesn’t react to the news with a plan for vengeance. No, He shifts His focus to God and serves those hurting and in need around Him.

Matthew 15

In Matthew 15, the theme of what we consume, will consume us continues. The Pharisees question Jesus about why He and His disciples break the traditions of the elders. Jesus goes on to say that they are hypocrites, and that Isaiah was right in his prophecies. He then tells the crowd and His disciples this in verse 18, “but the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.” The physical eating with unwashed hands or the food they were eating doesn’t travel to the soul and make it sinful. The sin and defilement already live in the soul. Its not the food we eat, but the words we speak. Les Brown puts it this way, “Garbage in…Garbage stays!” We must seek holiness of the heart, so that we are praising God with our hearts, not just our lips.

Proverbs 5 & 6

In Proverbs 5 and 6, we are warned against pursuing folly. When we do what Solomon says to his son in verse 1 of chapter 5, we stand a chance. “My son, pay attention to my wisdom, turn your ear to my words of insight,” If we soak ourselves in the words of the Bible and the wisdom and insight that God breathed into the Scriptures, we can fight the fight of faith and become all that Jesus Christ shed His blood for on the cross.

Be blessed, resist the devil and he will flee from you! – Geoffery Vaughn