Matthew 18:10-14 (NIV) 10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. Summary The parable of the lost sheep is found both here in Matthew's gospel as well as in Luke. Jesus would likely repeat parables as He traveled from one town to another, it makes sense that both Matthew Whereas Luke portrays Jesus calling out the Pharisees for not seeking those falling away from the flock, Matthew But as He tells it here in Matthew's account, likely still having the little children on His lap, He's

Matthew 6:5-13 (NIV) 5  “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray

Matthew 1:18-25 (NIV) 18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged encounter with the archangel in which he informed her that she who was 'highly favored' by God (Luke 1:28 As Matthew writes, "all of this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'The

Matthew 9:9–13 (NIV) 9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. 10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew So we get why the first century Jews had disdain for guys like Matthew, who were collecting taxes on Yet we really can't appreciate how stunning it is that Jesus chose to associate with guys like Matthew As we see Him call Matthew to "follow," we see God Himself reach down into the sickest of cultures -

Matthew 11:25-30 (NIV) 20  Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 28: The Obligations of Church Members The word that Matthew used here to describe Jesus' actions is translated elsewhere as mock, revile, insult Matthew informs us that it was because so many who had witnessed Jesus' miracles "did not repent ."

Matthew 22:1-14 (NIV) 22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2  “The kingdom of heaven is

Matthew 7:15-20 (NIV) 15  “Watch out for false prophets.

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 (NIV) 24  Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like 28  “ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

One short daily prayer can alleviate so much of your stress & anxiety. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 125 Q. What does the fourth request mean? A. “Give us today our daily bread” means, Do take care of all our physical needs so that we come to know that you are the only source of everything good, and that neither our work and worry nor your gifts can do us any good without your blessing. And so help us to give up our trust in creatures and to put trust in you alone. Summary The opening word to today's teaching from Jesus functions like a big STOP sign. When you see the word therefore, you have to stop and ask, what is it there for? In this case, Jesus is saying that because you should be focused on building up treasure in heaven rather than on earth, which is what He says in the preceding passage, therefore do not worry about your physical needs in this life. If even the birds of the air and the flowers of the field thrive by simply relying upon what your Father provides for them, you can too, since you're much more valuable than they are, says Jesus. But don't jump too far ahead here. Jesus isn't calling you to take a life long vacation as you count on your daily bread getting shipped down from heaven each day. His command here is to not worry, not to not work hard. Think of how busy the birds keep from dawn to dusk and how the flower is doing what it was created to do whenever the sun is shining. You don't need to look far - perhaps even within your own life - to see the awful result of running after all sorts of worldly stuff like the pagans do. They might gain a bunch of things, but they have no rest, no peace and no certainty that whatever they've accumulated today will be here tomorrow. In short, they're often drowning in anxiety. Instead, Jesus calls you to seek first His kingdom and righteousness, and He makes an extraordinary promise to those who do: all these things you need will be given to you as well. Dig Deeper Jesus here is telling you to make a shift in attitude more so than a change in your daily activities. If you're at the point in life where you're part of the workforce, don't quit your job. When you're at your job, keep your head down and be productive. Remember, working is one of the primary ways God calls us to worship Him! But do some quick mental math and tally up how many hours a day you spend productively working versus how many hours a day you spend worrying, stressing, and fretting about the gulf between what you have and what you want. How different would things look for you if you had focused your resources on seeking the kingdom rather than worrying about stuff? That's the brilliance of the short line that Jesus commanded you to pray: "give me each day the bread I need today." He goes on here to tell you to not worry about the other things in life, or even about what will happen tomorrow. It's not that other stuff or planning for the future isn't important, it's just not worth worrying about when you can be absolutely certain your Father will provide. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who created the birds and flowers, and provides for all His creatures' needs; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will seek first the Kingdom and that you'll be able to trust that your Father will give you the things you need; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Revelation 8

Matthew 16:13-20 (NIV) 13  When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 28: The Obligations of Church Members