Perfectly Imperfect Together

In Matthew 7, Jesus teaches His disciples, and us, not to judge others. We can't love and judge at the same time. We have no idea what is going on in another person's heart and it is not our place to judge. That is God's lane and we need to stay out of it. Jesus commissioned us to love others with His compassionate, unconditional love and spread His Gospel message of salvation to the ends of the e...

In Matthew 6, the disciples, and the crowd who had gathered, continued to listen to Jesus' teachings from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus taught practical lessons about how to walk with God in giving, praying, fasting, and material possessions and wealth. Jesus teaches that rather than worry, we should passionately pursue Jesus and seek first the Kingdom of God. God will provide all we need. It's a...

In Matthew 5, Jesus sat down on a mountain with His disciples gathered around Him and poured out wisdom for how to live every day as a follower of Christ Jesus. Jesus addressed issues of the heart. The unconditional love of Jesus covers us and through His power within us, He equips us to love others as well. Jesus didn't come to destroy the Law or the Prophets, He came to fulfill it. Fulfill means...

(Matthew 28:16-20; Hebrews 1:1-14) If we truly love Jesus, heart and soul, we will want to share about Him to everyone we meet. Jesus commissioned us to go and make disciples of all the nations. Jesus has all authority and He assures us He is with us always and forever, through whatever may come.

In Matthew 4, Jesus is led to the wilderness by the Spirit of God to be tempted by the devil. He went through this testing, like His baptism, to connect with us in our humanity. Jesus is 100% God but is also 100% human. Jesus was 1st tempted physically. He had fasted 40 days and His body was hungry, but He did not give in. The 2nd temptation was personal gain and the 3rd was power. Jesus did not g...

In Matthew 3, John the Baptist is revealed as the forerunner announcing the coming of our King and Savior - our Messiah, Yeshua. A forerunner went before the king to announce that the king was coming to visit a town and make sure the town was in good condition to receive him. The forerunner prepared people for the arrival of the king. John the Baptist was the forerunner for Jesus. Today, if we hav...

In Matthew 2, some Gentile wise men notice an unusual star and they realize it is the star noting the coming of the Messiah. They follow the supernatural star and it leads them right to Jesus, our Messiah, who was born in Bethlehem. Satan, through Herod, gets angry and wants Him destroyed so God sends a message to Joseph in a dream. They escape to Egypt where they are safe from Herod's evil hand....

Matthew is the Bridge-Building Gospel of Jesus. He reveals the Kingship of Jesus and His holy authority over all that is, all that was, and all that will be. In Matthew 1, he details 3 sets of 14 generations that began with Jesus at creation and end with Jesus as our Messiah and Lord of all. Matthew focuses on the Kingdom of Jesus and includes women in his genealogical account, which was not commo...

In Song of Songs 7 & 8, the love of the couple grows and matures and they enjoy spending time together and learning more about each other as they fall more and more in love. The husband and wife are compared to two armies marching together, each helping and defending the other. They don't battle each other, they battle for each other and attack anything that may threaten the marriage. Jesus is...

(John 21:1-19) The purpose God has written into us never expires. His love for us never ends or changes. Jesus tells us to repent, turn from sin, and keep falling faithfully forward in and with Him. Run to Jesus and cling to Him through all of life's ups and downs. It's always too soon to quit.

In Song of Songs 4, 5, & 6, the relationship described is past the initial courtship of butterflies and excitement and settles into the growth phase. As they move into the growth and maturity phase of the relationship, the bride stops being intentional about spending time with her groom and she is no longer in his presence. She realizes her error and runs out to find him. Jesus is our Bridegro...

In Song of Songs 2 & 3, the relationship being described moves from potential courtship to courtship and marriage. The couple are excited to be in each others presence and they adore each other. They miss each other when they are apart and want to be together all the time. Their relationship and love grows because they spend time together. The Lord is preparing an eternal home for us. He is ou...

Song of Songs is a love song of devotion as a couple takes us through the process of potential courtship, the courtship process, the wedding, and marriage. In Song of Songs 1, the Shulamite woman and Solomon sing a song of excited anticipation for potential courtship. Song of Songs is a beautiful picture that portrays the love of a bride and her bridegroom. It's also a greater picture of the Churc...

In Ecclesiastes 10, 11, & 12, Solomon wraps up the findings of his very thorough evaluation of life under the sun. He again encourages wise living rather than being careless and foolish. He concludes that fearing God and keeping His commands is the ultimate life goal. It is in God that true joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment comes into life under the sun. He encourages us to love the Lord God...

In Ecclesiastes 8 & 9, Solomon continues his evaluation of life under the sun by evaluating the value of wisdom and the problem of evil in the world. When viewing the world through God's lens, and seeing things in their proper perspective, Solomon concludes that fallen man has helped create evil and problems of one kind or another. God's greatest judgment is to let us have our own way. The day...

In Ecclesiastes 6 & 7, Solomon further explores the meaning of life under the sun. He sees the futility of wealth without purpose. When we love the gift, but not the Giver - we are walking in idolatry. All our provisions come from God and when we steward every resource given with a desire to glorifying God through it and expanding His Kingdom - wealth finds its purpose. Solomon comes to the co...

In Ecclesiastes 4 & 5, Solomon takes time to study and evaluate how people live and what they experience in the judicial system, their daily work, as well as in the Temple. He discovered that unless we are working for the Lord and have peace in and with Him, following His lead, His will and worshiping Him heart and soul, it is all futile and meaningless. Money will never satisfy. There will al...

(John 20:19-23; Luke 24:36-49) When we entrust our lives to Jesus, He replaces our fears with faith. Jesus has overcome death and gives us His offer of eternal peace in and through Him. God gave us His exhale and Jesus give us His Life. Where fear paralyzes, the power and peace of Jesus gives us purpose.

In Ecclesiastes 3, Solomon evaluates time and seasons of life. Do you ever think to yourself, "If I can just get through this season of life, then it will be better?" Or maybe, I can't wait until I'm at that level." The thing is, there's always going to be another level and another season. God wants us to be present where He has placed us in the here and now. He wants us...

In Ecclesiastes 2, Solomon continues evaluating life and the meaning of life. He experimented with one thing after the other applying the wisdom God had poured into him. In this chapter, he evaluates the pleasures of life as well as life's work. Solomon had anything he could ever want at his disposal. No matter how much entertainment, wine, or fleshly pleasures he indulged in - it all left him...

In Ecclesiastes 1, Solomon explores life, and the meaning of life under the sun. If we don't go beyond the sun to the Son, life under the sun is futile. Jesus is the meaning of life and He is the One who gives us purpose and reason. He is the One who fills our lungs with the air we breath. He is the One who brings life to Life, while we are on earth as well as for all eternity. When you know J...

Proverbs 29, 30, & 31 wrap up the Book of Proverbs. God promises His Word is pure. He is a shield for those who take refuge in Him, for those who abide in Jesus. We can choose to hide yourself in Jesus and surrender to His will. We can depend on Him through every season and every aspect of life. We can let Him lead and guide us. I am not self-confident, I am God-confident. My confidence is abs...

In Proverbs 26, 27, & 28, we learn the differences between living a foolish live verses living under the wise direction, counsel, and guidance of the Lord. Who we surround ourselves with through life matters because we start to become like the company we keep. We need to seek the Lord and His wisdom on who is to be allowed in our inner circles of life. People who pursue Jesus heart and soul be...

(Luke 24:13-35) The Walk to Emmaus: A Journey of Hope. Jesus enters into our brokenness and disappointments by walking alongside us within our everyday lives. He is with us. He is present. At times our expectations of what we think should be blinds us to the full reality of who Jesus is, what He's doing within us and in our lives, and that He's truly with us through it all. Trust in Jesus....

In Proverbs 23, 24, & 25, God pours out more truths for wise living while we are on this temporary earth. Follow His guide, His lead, and trust His wisdom, heart and soul. Honey often symbolizes the Word of God in Scriptures. Just as honey sooths, heals, nourishes, and protects our bodies, the Word of God does all that and more for our bodies, minds, and spirits. Honey is the only food that in...