Matthew 12:35
   Though this verse does negate the fact that we are all sinners, it does show that it is possible to have a life that is ruled by good things. Though our hearts are by their nature wicked, with faith in God, we may store up (‘treasure’) good things there. This is what the good man does, and it naturally comes out in his life.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 16:1-18:30

Scripture Memory: 1 John 2:22 “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.“

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to be sensitive to the great things that You do every day. Your works are wonderful, and You are busy with them even now. Your Spirit even now works in the hearts of those who are hearing about You for the very first time. I praise You for Your influence in our lives. You make life worth living, Father. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a small church making some decisions right now. Pray for a whole family that is sick.

Journal Entry #13142

Matthew 12:34
   Jesus speaks against the entire generation here not because it was the only evil generation. We are all evil without the mercy and grace of God given to us through salvation. Our hearts are wicked and are in need of his saving grace. So, these men that Jesus was talking to were not somehow more evil than any other human beings.
   However, the key here is the word ‘abundance’ in the second part of the verse. We all have wicked hearts. We are all evil. But, the evil in the hearts of these men was unbridled. They allowed the evil to manifest itself in their lives. They were not actively resisting it, but were finding ways to let it be. Though we are all bad, some of us will deny our own evil and call it good. This was the case with these. Though they were no more evil than the next person, unlike many sinners in Jesus’ day, they did not come to a place of realization and recognition of the sinful state of their own hearts.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 14:1-15:33

Scripture Memory: 1 John 2:22 “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for all that You have done for us today! You are so genuine! Nothing in You is a show, it is all real and true and pure. We do not have to fear that You will change. You are always wonderful. Thank You for being who 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 woman recovering from surgery. Pray for a woman having trouble with her heart. Pray for a man having back pain.

Journal Entry #13141

Matthew 12:33
   Jesus is using a simple illustration to drive his point home. Trees bear a certain kind of fruit. You can’t get oranges from apple trees, or apples from orange trees. The same applies to the Truth. You have to either accept it for what it is, or reject it completely. Thus, with Almighty God, there is no ‘middle of the road’ or ‘grey area,’ it is all straightforward. Either you accept the Holy Spirit for what he is, our you reject him entirely.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 13:1-59

Scripture Memory: 1 John 2:22 “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your fidelity. You do not change no matter what may come along our path. You always are the same One who cares for us and loves us. You do not stop being who You are no matter what circumstances may come up. You already know the end from the beginning. You have it all planned out in Your time, and in Your way. Thank You for Your faithfulness! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man making an important decision tomorrow.

Journal Entry #13140

Matthew 12:32
   A great example of what Jesus is here explaining is the Apostle Paul. Paul, when he was Saul, did much sin against Jesus Christ. He thought of Christ in no greater light than did the Jewish leaders in Jesus’ day. Thus, he sinned against the Son of man. However, when Jesus appeared to him, he was quite obedient. He did not resist the Lord and fight the heavenly vision. He responded in faith.
   Thus, Jesus is telling everyone that, though we may do many wrong things against him, when God calls us to himself it is not wise to resist that call. Salvation is referred to as calling many times in Scripture. A person must respond to the wooing of the Holy Spirit in order to be saved. Rejection of him is equated with eternal damnation, for that is the result of it. This is why Jesus mentions the world to come. In eternity, only one sin will be remembered, and that sin is willful rejection of the call of the Holy Spirit to faith in Christ. People do not go to hell because they are sinners. We die because we are sinners. People will go to hell because they reject the wooing of the conviction of the Holy Spirit of Almighty God. Rejecting His call to salvation is a sin that shall not be forgiven, ever.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 11:1-12:8

Scripture Memory: 1 John 2:22 “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for salvation! It is so merciful of You to make it available to us. You are so loving and kind! Your grace is very amazing. You have given us so much, and we will give You all of the glory and praise. You deserve it! Oh Lord, You are the Almighty Creator, the King of All. We love You so much because You gave Your love to us. You are our life. 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.

Journal Entry #13139

Matthew 12:31
   To understand the implications here, one must understand the true nature of sin. Sin is not simply that which is morally incorrect. It is not simply that which is taboo or against cultural mores. It is not simply unethical and poor choices. Sin is an affront to God Almighty. The definition of sin is anything that God dislikes. If he says it is sin, it is sin. Moving forward with this definition, this verse makes more sense.
   Jesus is saying that God will make a way for people to be forgiven, through Christ himself. However, rejecting Christ is also a sin. Thus, because those who reject Christ cannot be said to accept him in faith,he is not their Savior and never shall be. So, this sin, a miss-identification of the Spirit of Christ, who is the Holy Spirit, is unpardonable. There is no plan for the forgiveness and redemption of those who will willfully reject the Lord Jesus Christ.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 8:1-10:20

Scripture Memory: 1 John 2:21 “I have not written unto you because you know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.“

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus! It is amazing that their are people in this world that will reject him. Oh Father, it is so wonderful to be a part of Your plan to get the Truth of Christ to this world. You intend for people to accept Christ as he is preached by Your children. This is so wise! You know that those who are proud will reject the message with the messenger. Whereas, You know that the humble will accept the Truth, no matter how weak the messenger may be. You are wise, Father. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a lady who has a skin condition.

Journal Entry #13138

Matthew 12:30
   The ‘all or nothing’ principle of Christ is not popular. However, it is extremely honest. Jesus wants people to know the rules. He makes the standard clear so that nobody will be misled. He realizes, whether we do or not, that our very lives are at stake in this. Those who serve him must serve him exclusively. If someone does not serve him, that person falls into a broad category of failure. Jesus wants people to know that he is the only right way because he does not want anybody to miss out.
   To make the full force of Jesus’ statement apparent, we have to understand what is meant by ‘scattering’ here. This is a picture from tending sheep. One who ‘scatters’ the sheep is a wolf or other predator of the sheep. So, Jesus is literally saying that even if a person does not purposely try to be against him, their failure to work with him is the same as attacking his sheep.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 5:1-7:38

Scripture Memory: 1 John 2:21 “I have not written unto you because you know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the love of Christ! It is great to know that You love us. But, it is also so wonderful to have Your love in our hearts. Without that, we are capable of such horrible sin. Lord, having Your Truth ever before us is a blessing we will never truly measure fully. Help us to love others and serve others for You. We can make a difference by Your power. Oh Father, Your grace is sufficient for all our needs! We can never fully see just how good You are to us. You are so worthy of our love and loyalty. Just having a relationship with You not only validates, but also enables, our personality. You make us into nice people who genuinely want what is best for others. Thank You for taking the time to care about us! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man who is an atheist. Pray for our missionaries.

Journal Entry #13137

Matthew 12:29
   The devil would not willingly allow himself to be defrauded. Though the devil may allow some persons to seemingly have power in the spirit realm, this supposed power is only a token show to draw the practitioner further into the darkness. Jesus had authority to not only cast the demons out, but to order them to come out. They could not resist his will. Thus, as his prized treasures, the devil would not let go of his possessed persons to anyone, unless he had no choice. In the face of Christ, his hands are tied, so to speak. The devil knows his limits, no matter how often he may try to push them.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 1:1-4:35

Scripture Memory: 1 John 2:21 “I have not written unto you because you know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for giving to us the knowledge contained in Your Holy Word. It is so good to go through life with knowledge about Your plan. Ignorance is a place where we have all found ourselves at one time or another. And, it is not somewhere we like to dwell. Knowledge is always a welcome resting place on our journey to You. The science of You is a great joy to our souls. It nourishes our existence like water in a barren desert. How can we thank You enough for making Yourself known to us? You are worthy of every praise our mouth has ever uttered, whether You have received all of them or not. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man trying to make an important decision about a job promotion. Pray for a man who is close to death, and for his family. Pray for a woman who is sick. Pray for two missionary couples making important decisions very soon. Pray for a man’s shoulder.

Journal Entry #13136

Matthew 12:28
   Jesus knew, just as the Pharisees did, that to admit that he cast out demons by the Holy Spirit would be the same as admitting to his identity as the Messiah. None before had had such a successful, or productive, ministry in opposition to the very power of the devil. They knew they could not deny or discredit his ministry if they admitted for a minute that he did what he did by the power of God.

Bible Reading: Exodus 39:1-40:38

Scripture Memory: 1 John 2:21 “I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the leadership of others in our lives. You always seem to bring people into our lives to influence us for good. We know that You work out everything for good for those who love You, but we don’t always remember that. Thank You for working our lives out according to Your plan. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a woman going to the dermatologist today. Pray for a man who is having shoulder pain.

Journal Entry #13135

Matthew 12:27
   There were those among the disciples of the Pharisees, here referred to as their ‘children,’ who did presume to practice exorcism. In some cases, these might have even employed the name of Christ. Thus, Jesus points out the fact that the Pharisees could never prove their claim against Christ without also condemning themselves as servants of Satan.

Bible Reading: Exodus 36:1-38:31

Scripture Memory: 1 John 2:20 “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Christ. He gives us Truth for life. We don’t have to spend our lives wandering about looking for the Truth, he is right there, waiting for us. It is great to know Your Word is for us. What a blessing! You love us enough to give us a book about You! Thank You! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for Christians everywhere to be faithful to the Lord.

Journal Entry #13134

Matthew 12:26
   Satan does indeed have a kingdom in this present world. He rules the present world system. However, he may not do all that he would like because of the church. The Holy Spirit prevents much of his plans by his defense of the church. It is important to understand that the devil is not some ugly stupid monster that sulks in the corner doing what damage he can. Instead, he is an attractive, intelligent, and organized general. He mobilizes his forces to control this world for his ends. This should not cause us to fear, or to give the devil any credit. But, it is important for us to understand the nature of the enemy. Remember, Jesus is far stronger.

Bible Reading: Exodus 34:1-35:35

Scripture Memory: 1 John 2:20 “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the victory that we can have through Your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. He makes such a difference in our lives. We can live outside of the kingdom of the devil, and yet live on earth, through the power of Your Son. Thank You for that victory! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man who is near death. Pray for a young man who is sick.

Journal Entry #13133