Author: Bill Hall

Matthew 23:21
   We have to remember that the idea of free grace for all men was completely foreign to this religious crowd. To consider others being converted without them becoming Jewish in every possible sense was out of the question. Jesus is challenging their ideas of righteousness to get them to understand the purpose of his statutes. It is his law that they were trying to practice. They were not simply priests of some idol god. They were men who had dedicated their lives to serving Jehovah God, the Almighty Creator. And yet, they had missed the boat. Jesus’ call back to a place of recognizing the true standard of the law was a call to true holiness for men that were so close, but yet so very far away. The truth was right in front of them, but their eyes were blinded to it. By understanding God’s justice properly, they would begin to recognize his grace.

Bible Reading: 1 Kings 8:1-9:28

Scripture Memory: James 2:15 “If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your justice and Your grace. Though we would never want to do without Your grace, Your justice is just a crucial. It shows us what we need to be saved from. Grace without justice would simply be a license for indulgence. Justice without grace would be authority without good, something You could never be guilty of. O You are so glorious, Father! Every one of Your attributes is so precious to us! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a young woman with issues in her life. Pray for a boy’s burn. Pray for a man with bad back pain.

Journal Entry #14202

Matthew 23:20
   One of our common misconceptions concerning Jesus is his disagreement with the Pharisees. They were what we refer to as a ‘strict’ sect of the Jews. We say this as if their real sin was being too strict. The facts of the case however, show that Jesus was, if anything, more strict. Indeed, it was not the exacting nature of the law, and the Pharisees’ recognition of this, that he had an issue with. As in this verse, he often told the Jewish religious leaders that their standards were not high enough, and that they had found ways to unrighteously excuse themselves.
   So, is Jesus more strict than the Pharisees? Yes and no. He is more strict, but he is also more consistent. The Jewish religionists had their own self-glorification as their ultimate goal. For Jesus, the glory of God is the ultimate goal. Thus, the law serves to bring us to a place of recognizing our need for a savior, for forgiveness. It’s purpose is not to justify us, but to show us our great need for justification. So, the problem of the Pharisees was not so much their strictness, but their failure to understand the more important issues, love, mercy, justice, holiness, grace, and the like.

Bible Reading: 1 Kings 6:1-7:51

Scripture Memory: James 2:15 “If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love and goodness. May we always be thankful for Your law. You have not failed to tell us the truth. You have not withheld it because it is unpleasant. You have not hidden it from our eyes. You have not kept it from us because we do not deserve it. You have given it to us as a gift. Thank You so much for Your Word! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for an unsaved man with cancer. Pray for a woman’s unspoken request. Pray for a couple travelling.

Journal Entry #14201

Matthew 23:19
   Once again Jesus sets their thinking back on its head. Even the most basic lesson in logic would bring one to the same conclusion. But, their attempts to justify themselves had made them foolish.

Bible Reading: 1 Kings 3:1-5:18

Scripture Memory: James 2:14 “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he have faith, and have not works? can faith save him?”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your goodness and love. As we look around and see Your great handiwork, we stand in awe of Your wondrous power. And yet, in our minds, that power is nothing in comparison with Your love and goodness. Indeed, Your nature makes Your power more than just raw might. It is authority, it is privilege, it is right. Thank You for being so good! Int he name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for churches everywhere today. Pray for a little boy with bad health issues. Pray for a woman with advanced Alzheimer’s.

Journal Entry #14200

Matthew 23:18
   The Jewish religious crowd had made special rules regarding vows. In this way they could vow to do things, and then fail to keep the vow, without any consequences. Or so they thought. It was their way of appearing pious without having to work too hard at it. Their hypocrisy was sickening.

Bible Reading: 1 Kings 1:1-2:46

Scripture Memory: James 2:14 “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your great love for us. You have loved us with an everlasting love. Thank You for sending Your Son to make our salvation possible. You are so kind to us, and You understand all of our needs. Your patience is beyond amazing. Thank You for Your goodness! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man who has bad back pain. Pray for a woman with a sprained foot. Pray for a woman trying to get her job back.

Journal Entry #14199

Matthew 23:17
   Professing to be wise, they had become fools. The conclusions to which they had come regarding true holiness illustrated their lack of scruples. Little more than a religious cloak for a money-making scheme was the sin of these supposedly pious men. Though they pretended to love the poor, they loved what they could get from that pretense. Their supposed wisdom defied simple logic and their foolishness became the more apparent the more they tried to appear holy.
   An important thing to keep in mind is that there were those among the Pharisees whose conscience troubled them. Of such were Saul (who we know primarily as Paul) and Nicodemus. These men really thought they were doing what was right, and a meeting with Jesus changed their lives.

Bible Reading: 2 Samuel 23:1-24:25

Scripture Memory: James 2:14 “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, how can we praise You enough? You are the Almighty Creator who has fashioned us after Your own will and way. You have made every part of us. You have put it all together and it was perfect in the day in which You created it. Your Masterful design is all about us. And yet, because of our choice to sin, and the consequences of it, we live in a broken world. And, although it is our fault, You have most amazingly made a way for us to be redeemed. You have brought all of the glory to Yourself. For, it is doubtless that You can do and make whatever You want, and yet You choose to redeem people out of this creation. To what end? To bring great glory to Yourself, and rightly so. For, You are truly worthy of all the honor and glory and majesty and honor and riches. All of the wisdom and might and power and greatness are Yours forever and ever! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man who is travelling for medical treatments. Pray for a man who is in the hospital and is having some major setbacks in his health. Pray for a man who is travelling.

Journal Entry #14198

Matthew 23:16
   The Jewish leaders had come up with some very specific, very odd, rules. In trying to apply the law of Moses, and their own oral law, they created for themselves a man-made body of regulations that was too confusing to truly understand, let alone live by. They only condemned themselves by pretending to be experts in that which they had themselves created.

Bible Reading: 2 Samuel 20:1-22:51

Scripture Memory: James 2:13 “For he shall have judgement without mercy, that hath shown no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgement.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for making Your truth clear to us! You can do so much, and yet You take the time to care for us. You spend Your love upon us insignificant little people. Indeed, because You care, we are not really insignificant at all. The value You give to us makes us worth so much. It is amazing to think about! How can we ever thank You for all that we have in Christ? May Your name be praised forever! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for the last night of VBS. Pray for a minister going through some difficult trials. Pray for a woman who has some health concerns.

Journal Entry #14197

Matthew 23:15
   The phrase ‘child of hell’ would have been especially offensive to the Jewish leaders. It was a Jewish manner of speaking which meant a very wicked person. The proselytes of the Jews were indeed often even more hypocritical than they themselves. Though the Pharisees converted these from paganism, they gave them no true pure religion to substitute for it, so they became worse than they were to begin with.

Bible Reading: 2 Samuel 17:1-19:43

Scripture Memory: James 2:13 “For he shall have judgement without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgement.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your blessings! You bring people to You every day. It is such a glorious thing. You make our lives so different by Your truth. We have hope, we have life, we have heaven. Oh, we are blessed! May we serve You with all of our hearts! May we never forget that we are dedicated to You, You own us and we are Your children. You love us and care for us. Thank You for Your tender compassion! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man with bad back pain. Pray for two women having heart trouble. Pray for a man who may have to lose his leg.

Journal Entry #14196

Matthew 23:14
   These men were practitioners of religious extortion. They pretended to know so much of the law, and justified themselves to such an extent, that there was little they would not do. The encouraged the poor to trust them. But, they abused their privileges. Beyond this, they pretended the greatest piety in spite of their actions. So, because of all this pretense, they were under a greater condemnation, as Jesus says.

Bible Reading: 2 Samuel 14:1-16:23

Scripture Memory: James 2:13 “For he shall have judgement without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for this amazing day to serve You! No matter how you might lead in our lives, I know that You are always there to take care of us. We can rely upon You, we can trust You. May we, as we depend and trust, also serve and praise. We want to honor You with our lives. Lord, You are worthy of our life and love. Thank You for Who You are. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a young man with some difficult things going on in his life. Pray for a man who has been in the hospital for a very long time. Pray for a house to sell.

Journal Entry #14195

Matthew 23:13
   Being the teachers of the Jews these men were very much responsible for the failure of the people as a whole to accept Jesus as the Messiah. Had the leaders of the Jews had a different attitude towards Christ the response among the mass of the people would have been more favorable. Indeed, not only did they do nothing to engender interest in Christ, they also stood against it at every turn.

Bible Reading: 2 Samuel 12:1-13:39

Scripture Memory: James 2:12 “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the truth. Here in America, though times are changing, we still have religious freedom. It is wonderful to know You and to be free to worship You and serve You. I love You Lord! You are so worthy of our love and praise and adoration. May we never cease to give You the honor due your name. You name is great and Your glory in this world is beyond what we can comprehend. We are still learning just how amazing You are. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a family that just lost a loved one. Pray for a man with stomach trouble. Pray for a woman nearing death who is possibly unsaved.

Journal Entry #14194

Matthew 23:12
   This is a key verse in this passage because this sums up Jesus’ words about titles. Humility rather than pride should rule the day. Those who want to be called by some special title have themselves in mind. Those who have service as their focus are in the right.

Bible Reading: 2 Samuel 8:1-11:27

Scripture Memory: James 2:12 “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for this day to serve You in church. It is a joy and honor to be together with Your people at church. The encouragement and challenge that we get is a wonderful blessing. It gives us the opportunity to praise You in a special place. Though we may praise You anywhere, it is nice to have this unique place set aside for this purpose. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for VBS. Pray for a man who is recovering from open heart surgery. Pray for a woman who is recovering from treatments for lupus.

Journal Entry #14193