Matthew 23:30
   Notice the subtlety of the scribes and Pharisees. They claim they would not have taken part in the killing of the prophets. But, indeed, many in the times of the prophets would likely have claimed no responsibility for the death of the prophets. In other words, inaction became action. Had the Jewish leaders in Jesus’ day meant what they said, they would have said that they would have directly prevented the death of the prophets. Not partaking in an action, and directly preventing it, are two very different things. Many of these same leaders would not ‘partake’ in the death of Christ, but they would not do a thing to prevent it.

Bible Reading: 2 Kings 9:1-11:21

Scripture Memory: James 2:18 “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us Lord. We need Your strength as we go through this life. Thank You for being gracious to us. We must never forget Your love, patience, and tenderness. You are not vindictive, but merciful, full of kindness and goodness. May we depend upon Your Almighty Arm to help us in every day of our life. Thank You for Your goodness! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a 4 year old with health issues. Pray for a young boy that is not feeling well.

Journal Entry #14211

Matthew 23:29
   The scribes and Pharisees were known to contribute to the building of ornate tombs for the prophets in order to make it look like they were honoring them. In this way they took advantage of the memory of these great servants of God. By making these elaborate tombs, they were trying to construct their own righteousness, not honor the men whom their own fathers had killed.

Bible Reading: 2 Kings 6:1-8:29

Scripture Memory: James 2:18 “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, Your ways are so much higher than ours! You know things that it would take lifetimes for us to learn. Please give us Your wisdom that we may understand Your glory. May we never cease singing Your praises. You alone are God. You dwell in the bright light and are the Holy One. May we never forget that You have saved our souls by Your mighty power and amazing love and grace. Thank You for Jesus! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man with a kidney stone. Pray for a young person that needs salvation. Pray for a little girl that has heart issues.

Journal Entry #14210

Matthew 23:28
   This is a somewhat unique passage in the gospels. It is only here that Jesus really seems to get really vociferous in his denunciation of the Jewish religious leaders. Though he calls them out in other places, only here do we find an extended discourse against them. thus, this is his most complete commentary upon their hypocrisy and the results of it.

Bible Reading: 2 Kings 3:1-5:27

Scripture Memory: James 2:17 “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank You for giving us truth in Your Word. I am so glad to know that I can open Your book and find wisdom for life. I need Your strength in my life, and Your Bible is an outlet for that. I can learn Your wisdom there by the teaching of Your Holy Spirit. Thank You for the resources You have given us. Thank You for Jesus! May his name be uplifted, may it be praised on high, forever! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a little baby with health issues. Pray for a man having back surgery. Pray for a man having heart surgery.

Journal Entry #14209

Matthew 23:27
   The tombs were whitewashed to prevent people from forgetting where they were located. This made the tombs look quite nice on the outside. But, of course, they were still tombs. It does not matter how holy a person might try to look, it is the heart on the inside of us that must be cleansed. We need Christ to clean our souls and make us righteous. Whitewashing can never do that.

Bible Reading: 1 Kings 22:1-2 Kings 2:25

Scripture Memory: James 2:17 “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for making it possible for us to be clean. It feels good to be holy. It is a desirable condition. Yet, when we try to make it on our own, we fail. Righteousness through Christ is such a mercy! To have salvation through him is the joy of our lives. May we never forget all that 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 man with bad back pain. Pray for a family that has fallen upon hard times. Pray for a woman that has spiritual needs.

Journal Entry #14208

Matthew 23:26
   Be careful to see what Jesus is saying here. He is not saying that cleaning the inside of the of the cup and platter will make the outside clean. What he is saying is that the outside cannot be clean if the inside is not. He is also prescribing the order in which these things are to be cleaned.
   So, we can draw three principles from this. First, there is nothing wrong with appearing holy if indeed we are spiritually clean. Secondly, our hypocrisy will be discernible. We will be unable to produce a fake piety that cannot be caught by the wise onlooker. Finally, private devotion always comes before public devotion. Confessing one’s sins, or praising the Lord, first in public is ineffective. Private supplication must come first.

Bible Reading: 1 Kings 20:1-21:29

Scripture Memory: James 2:17 “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for today. Your greatness inspires us to serve and live fuller lives for You. May we never lose sight of Your great love for us. Though difficulties come our way, You know it all and can comfort us in every situation. I know you truly care for our souls. You love us more than we love ourselves, and that is something! Thank You! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a missionary family in Honduras. Pray for a missionary family in Europe.

Journal Entry #14207

Matthew 23:25
   Rather than making an honest living by hard work, these men used their religious system to live off of others. All the time they made themselves look very holy. Always be wary of those who have nothing else to do but go about praying and giving alms all the time. Though the apostles did this, they also preached the gospel boldly and suffered persecution.
   It is in this vein that we may explore the perils of monasticism. Though piety is surely laudable, it seems too many times the dangers of taking certain lifestyles too far is way too much of a temptation for most people. When you have become convinced of your piety on the basis of your lifestyle alone you have already crossed the line. The condition of our heart is the important thing, not how many hours a day we spend in private, or public, prayer.

Bible Reading: 1 Kings 18:1-19:21

Scripture Memory: James 2:16 “And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, may we learn balance in our lives. We need to know Your ways and follow Your paths, because they are always perfect. You lead us aright because You are holy, just, and pure. You cannot err. You do no evil. You bear no ill will, and all Your judgments are just. If it was not for Your mercy, we would not know what mercy is! Thank You! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man who ha been in the hospital for a long time. Pray for several persons who were just recently saved to grow in Christ. Pray for Israel.

Journal Entry #14206

Matthew 23:24
   It is not only these self-righteous Pharisees that are guilty of such hypocrisy. You can find it anywhere. In the pew. On the street corner. In the office. In the farthest reaches of inhabitable earth. We all have a great tendency to have a double standard. We will be quick to outline the atrocities of other men’s actions, but then overlook our own. We will pick on some of our actions and appear to reform, but leave other issues untouched. We will allow good intentions with no foothold in reality to keep us from ever taking care of the problems with our way of living.
   We are human. This is no cop-out. As long as we know what it means to be human without God, then we are in good shape. But, unfortunately, most of us are in denial. We don’t want to admit the wickedness of our own hearts. We can’t see the forest for the trees. We try to pick that gnat out of our teeth because it got stuck in the camel that we are eating. Jesus knows human nature, and he knows we need help. We cannot rescue ourselves from the camel restaurant. We need salvation through him.

Bible Reading: 1 Kings 15:1-17:24

Scripture Memory: James 2:16 “And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, when i consider the vastness of Your universe, I am so taken aback! You have done all of this and more, and yet You still love us. How amazing! To consider what You can do, and yet what You don’t do is so wondrous. Your ability, intelligence, affection, immutability, and holiness are limitless! No one can even completely comprehend You. You are so powerful! Thank You for loving us! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a couple that is travelling. Pray for a couple travelling.

Journal Entry #14205

Matthew 23:23
   Jesus does not deny that these leaders were scrupulous about their giving. But, as many today, that’s about all that can be said for them. Giving by itself is usually just a form of self-justification. Whereas, when combined with other good things, such as Jesus mentions here, it is a glory to the Lord.

Bible Reading: 1 Kings 12:1-14:31

Scripture Memory: James 2:16 “And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, may our giving be always pleasant to You. May it be accompanied by lives devoted to Your service. You are worthy of our faithfulness. you are worthy of our love. You are worthy of our praise. May we never lose sight of Your greatness. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a woman’s children and grandchildren. Pray for a young woman who is pregnant.

Journal Entry #14204

Matthew 23:22
   Even a child could understand. Yet these teachers of the law missed it completely!

Bible Reading: 1 Kings 10:1-11:43

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

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for today. I don’t always know what Your plan is, but I do know I can trust You. I love You. Thank You for my Jesus, and my family. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man with cancer. Pray for a family that has to appear in court.

Journal Entry #14203

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