Bubbles in briar-patches
Matthew 3:1 (John the Baptist saying) “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
Are you paying attention to the world in which you live, or do you choose to live in your own little world feeling unaffected by it? Do you choose to not be bothered by events in other countries; wars and rumors of wars, for they have gone on forever? How will they affect you in your bubble? Today marks the anniversary of your bubble popping just over 10 years ago. Today we remember thousands of innocent lives lost on OUR soil by those wars that do not affect us. We have had time to “heal”; our president claims we are no longer a Christian nation; we have become weaker than likely any point in our history in leadership and military strength. Your bubble is floating in a briar-patch.
The Bible is full of the prophets of God calling for turning from sin and their need to repent of it. John the Baptist was proclaiming that the Messiah had come; heaven was among them and it was time to repent! Read the Old Testament prophets and how God used them to call nations that had slid into idolatry and great sexual sins to repent before the judgement of God came upon them. Do you remember Sodom and Gomorrah? If you look outside your bubble at the nation you live in, do you see how we as a nation have slid into idolatry and sexual sin just as in Old Testament times? We have become a nation that pursues “stuff,” and we judge each other by the amount of our prized possessions. We have become a nation that glorifies, legalizes, and now even our churches facilitate homosexual marriages!
Do you see all the signs of nature pointing you to the power of the God who controls it? Do you see all these earthquakes, solar flares, meteorites, floods, droughts, and if we are looking at them, also famines and diseases? We are not in control of anything; HE IS! He is giving us all types of signs to repent for the kingdom of heaven is near! Philippians 2:9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Today as we remember the tragic events that occurred on this date in 2001, let us also look at the signs God is giving us as a nation, and a world that He is in control of it all. Is is time to repent an turn from our sins.
oneminuteministry 
Does your faith have feet?
Does your faith have feet?
Matthew 10:7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
In the commentary on Matthew 10, Matthew Henry calls this an “ordination sermon”. Jesus is ordaining the apostles to the work they are called to do; to spread the Good News that our Savior brings to this dying world. They are to go out into the world, to put feet on their faith. My church is doing that today; going out into the community to knock on doors and invite people to church; to spread the Good News that Jesus Christ brings into the world. The community like any other may not receive it, may reject it, may downright deny it and be angry towards it. We can never argue a person to Salvation, we can only present the Gospel in the hope that God has prepared their hearts to receive it. We are told by Christ how to handle those that deny. Matthew 10:14 And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.
The Apostles were told of what their futures held; to be persecuted before men as preachers of Christianity. They were to expect imprisonment, torture, even unto death. They were to always stand for Christ to the end; to not worry for their suffering would be rewarded eternally. To not worry what to say when they were brought into the courts; the Holy Spirit would be with them to provide the words He wanted them to hear. 19 But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. That same Spirit lives inside you and will give you the words to speak when you step out in faith to share, or to defend your faith in Christ. It is He who provides when we know not how to answer. If you stand before someone who’s heart God has prepared, He will deliver just the right words for them through you.
Have you ever went out and put feet on your faith to evangelize? Going into environments or situations that make you uncomfortable in your own abilities? How can you see God work in your life if you only go where you are comfortable? The power of God rests in the abilities that you have not; the answers you have not; the situations in life where you fully rest on Him is where you see the greatest work by Him in your life. Getting out of your comfort zone and into the power of God. There is no fear that should lie in these situations. There is heavenly power and strength that lies in the feet of an evangelist; for they know that nothing is to fear here, for they know they are in the center of God’s Will spreading the Good News to those who will receive it. Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Step out, and step into, the power of God to spread hope into a dying world.
Posted by oneminuteministry on February 23, 2013 in Daily Devotions
Tags: commentary on matthew, heart god, kingdom of heaven, kingdom of heaven is at hand, religion, theology