Category: Uncategorized

Matthew 21:44
  The stone is Christ. He will judge those who do not accept him. Make no mistake about this. We must not heed those who say that Jesus will not judge this world, for he surely will.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 1:1-4:35

Scripture Memory: James 1:19 “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your mercy, grace, and love. You are so good and kind and patient. Help us to remember Your mercies every day at all times. Inspire us with Your great grace. Thank You for removing sin from our hearts. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a woman with cancer. Pray for a man with bad allergies. Pray for a family that just lost two children.

Journal Entry #14130

Matthew 21:43
   It is quite important to understand what is being said here. This does not mean that Jews cannot be saved. It does not mean God’s promises to the Jews are no good. It does mean that the kingdom will not be dependent upon the Jewish nation. It will be dependent upon what Jesus here simply refers to as a ‘nation’. This does not mean he took the kingdom from Israel and gave it to another country. No, this nation is a group of people. Remember, the Jews became Jews by virtue of circumcision. The members of this nation are part of it because of being children of God. This refers to all who will be saved, Jew and Gentile alike.

Bible Reading: Exodus 39:1-40:38

Scripture Memory: James 1:19 “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your blessings upon us. You know all things. Even when we feel like we are just treading water, You know what is happening. You know what value there is in every word, in every thought. Thank You for leading us in the right paths. You have given us Your Son, why wouldn’t You lead us? All praise be to You, Father! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for two men who are in need of salvation. Pray for a missionary family having trouble meeting the demands of the country they went to.

Journal Entry #14129

Matthew 21:42
   Jesus question and his quotation of this verse from Psalm 118 is yet another condemnation. It is as if he is saying, ‘you must not have ever read this verse’. It is amazing to think that the Messiah would be rejected by the spiritual leaders and ruler of the Jews. But, indeed he was.

Bible Reading: Exodus 36:1-38:31

Scripture Memory: James 1:18 “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, You are always there, always faithful. What a blessing and comfort! May we realize our dependence upon You. Your mercy, grace, and love, overwhelm us. May we serve you just as we should. In a lifetime of praising you, I will never be able to fathom all that you are. You make every day a new adventure. I love you, Father! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a woman’s blood pressure. Pray for a man who just lost his job. Pray for a man who just had a stroke.

Journal Entry #14128

Matthew 21:41
   The Jewish leaders were very specific in their answer. The Lord chose the Jews, and they are a very capable people. They knew immediately what should be done, and how to go about it. But, to see what application this had to themselves, they obviously failed to do. This just brings glory to the Lord. It shows the veil that puts over the eyes of the rebellious. Do not think that he will only do this with the Jews. Rebellion will always lead to spiritual dullness, no matter who you are.

Bible Reading: Exodus 34:1-35:35

Scripture Memory: James 1:18 “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your wisdom. Without it we would be so confused. We need Your knowledge in our lives. We cannot even know what step to take next without You. For, the steps of a good man are indeed ordered by the Lord. We need Your leading. Thank You for making Your truth available that we may learn not to be rebellious. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a missionary family in a new country. Pray for a woman who just had another stroke. Pray for a young man with blockages in his veins.

Journal Entry #14127

Matthew 21:40
   Once again, Jesus gives them a simple question. And, he knows that they will reply. He once again gets them to identify themselves, and their own condemnation. What is his intention? To either get their attention, or to condemn them further. The truth rejected is worse than the truth unknown.

Bible Reading: Exodus 31:1-33:23

Scripture Memory: James 1:18 “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love for us. You have given us the Word of Truth. You will make us holy by Your Holy Spirit because of Your Son. You have saved us from the sins of our hearts. Thank You for Your gospel, given to all the world. May we never forget Your grace and faithfulness. You are worthy of all praise! I the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a national conference of soul-winners meeting this week. Pray for a woman’s two unspoken requests. Pray for a man with back pain.

Journal Entry #14126

Matthew 21:39
   It is amazing to think that it was the Jews, the very kinsmen of Christ, that rejected him. To the Romans he was not even a person of interest. Indeed, several of the Romans had had a favorable view of him. Pilate was not interested in destroying him. The Jewish leaders had to instigate all of it. What is said in this verse describes the violence and unreasonable attitude of the husbandmen. They had no respect for the heir. And, neither did the Jewish leaders have respect for their Messiah.

Bible Reading: Exodus 29:1-30:38

Scripture Memory: James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, You alone are holy! We cannot ever truly fathom just how wonderful You are. Oh Father, Your glory is above and beyond our greatest imaginations.We think that we know how good You have been to us, and then we see Your mercy and grace in a different light and realize it is so much more than we thought. Help us, Father. May we see You as You are through Your Word! Thank You for Your Son, Who teaches us by Your Spirit the Word of Truth. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a Christian publisher. Pray for a woman with high blood pressure. Pray for two women having babies soon.

Journal Entry #14125

Matthew 21:38
   Although this was an illustration, the circumstances of the heir of the vineyard owner were not much different from those of Christ. The Jewish leaders did not understand that Jesus was the heir of the vineyard. And, killing him would get them no inheritance. But, they did see the results of him being the heir. They saw his authority. They saw how that the people heard his word and many listened intently. They saw the works that he performed. They heard the word of God pouring forth from his lips. And they were jealous of all of it. Like the husbandmen hired by the vineyard owner, they wanted the heir dead. They wanted to get what he had for themselves.

Bible Reading: Exodus 27:1-28:43

Scripture Memory: James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your goodness to us through Christ. It is wonderful to be able to know that our sins are forgiven, and we have a home in heaven. May we also live the holy life that He can enable us to live. O Father, You have given us all that we need in Christ. May we never forget it! You are worthy of every moment of our lives. You are worth living for. Our service to You is but a small ‘thank-you’ note for all that You have done for us. Your power is amazing, Your love is so great, and Your ways are holy and just. You are righteous Father! Thank You for Your love for this world. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for the lost. Pray for an older couple’s health. Pray for a man that just lost his job.

Journal Entry #14124

Matthew 21:37
   Is God gullible? Does he not know the depths of the sin of man? does he fail to see the evil within our hearts. No. Indeed, it is he who reminds us and instructs us concerning the great evil that is found within us. Without the testimony of his word, we would never call ourselves out for sinners the way that we should. The word of God alone gives the right picture of just how bad we are. So does God not read the Bible?
   Why do we see here that Jesus emphasizes the presumption on the part of the vineyard owner that these miscreants to whom he had trusted his vineyard would treat his son differently? This man in Jesus’ story surely represents the Lord. Why then does he not stop short, knowing that the hirelings will hurt his son? The answer is the simple clear truth of John 3:16. God did it because he loves us. God is not gullible, but he chooses to treat us better than we deserve. We do not have an ounce of goodness on our own, but all goodness must come from God. He knows that we a guilty. He knows we cannot improve ourselves. He knows that he is our only hope.
   But, you may say, God knows that many will not reverence his Son. God knows that they will not accept the gospel of Christ and be saved. So, they say, Jesus was not sent for them. This is not true. Jesus died for all men. However, the fact that, though the vineyard owner might expect the son to be reverenced, he is mistreated, shows the justice in condemning the enemies. In other words, it is all about the glory of God. He come out of this being obviously just and righteous. He offers mercy to those that he knows will not take it because he wants there to be no doubt of his glorious goodness and beneficence.

Bible Reading: Exodus 24:1-26:37

Scripture Memory: James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of truning.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for always working things together for Your glory. In our natural way of thinking, that would seem inconvenient to us, but it is not. It is the most wonderful thing that can happen in our lives. May Your will and way for Your glory prevail always in my life. I don’t want to fail, Father. You lead us and guide us in the way that we should go. Your path is perfect. The way of Your will is always the best. Really, Your way is all that matters. You are God above reigning over our breath. you know it all, so we will trust in You. You are worthy of our praise, and You are worthy of our service. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for protection for a missionary family in Mexico. Pray for a young man who had a very bad fall. Pray for man with pain in his back. Pray for a man to get back to church.

Journal Entry #14123

Matthew 21:36
   The mercy of God is great. Knowing already what the outcome would be, he sent more messengers. Why would God send more warnings to people who were not listening? Well, for one thing, that brings greater glory to him. And, for another, there are some who will hear and be saved. Prophets, priests, scribes, and servants of God of every stripe, have been often sent to groups of people who will, by and large, ignore their witness.

Bible Reading: Exodus 21:1-23:33

Scripture Memory: James 1:16 “Do not err, my beloved brethren.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, You love us even though we are unlovely. Thank You for the day that You saved me! That You make your mercy available to us is so amazing. You cannot be better than You are. You are infinitely holy, just and pure. Your glory is above all things. You are the Almighty God, the Ruler of heaven and earth. Only You can control everything. Only You can be the head of it all. May we trust You and Your guiding hand. Thank You for Your Bible, and Your Own Son that it tells us about. All praise to You! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a missionary family in Mexico. Pray for a woman undergoing special treatments for lupus. Pray for a man with bad allergies.

Journal Entry #14122

Matthew 21:35
   The prophets of the Lord are here intended. He sent many to Israel and Judah to bring them back to the straight and narrow. But, quite often, the response was violence rather than repentance. The types of attacks Jesus mentions here are consistent with what the Jewish leaders did to the prophets.

Bible Reading: Exodus 17:1-20:26

Scripture Memory: James 1:16 “Do not err, my beloved brethren.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for another day of life. You are our Guide. You show us the way to go, one step at a time. You give us Your Word to be a light for our footsteps. Thank You for helping us as You do. Life is difficult to understand and navigate sometimes, and You can get us to where we need to go. You give us wisdom for the next step. You inspire us to be more than we can be on our own. You give us life. Father, Your mercy, grace and love are our greatest blessings. How can we ever praise you enough for Christ? How can we thank You for Him? We will serve You forever, but that still is nothing compared to what You have done for us. Thank You! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a woman with anemia. Pray for a man recovering from surgery. Pray for a man who has had an extended hospital stay.

Journal Entry #14121