Written Devotions

Matthew 20:1-16

Some people are Christians for their whole lives, some come to faith as young adults, some come to faith when they’re a little older, and some come to faith on their deathbeds. Some Christians come to church every Sunday, some come once or twice a month, and some only come for Christmas and Easter. Some Christians strive every second of every day to reflect their faith and some fall short more than they live up to that.

All of them are loved by God. All of them are saved. We don’t begrudge God His generosity.

When we look at this parable, we are reminded that God is incredibly merciful and gracious. We shouldn’t be surprised or upset when He shows love, mercy, and grace to someone that we think “doesn’t deserve it.” None of us deserve it, but He shows us love, mercy, and grace anyway. We should celebrate His work in the lives of people around us, not hold it against them.

None of that is to diminish what we are called to. We are called to be in the faith, to trust in the work of Christ from the moment we hear about it. We are challenged to be in church, in the community of faithful people, every Sunday. We are challenged to reflect our faith and allow it to change how we think, speak, and act. It’s important to keep these things in tension, we are loved and forgiven no matter what, but we are also called to act in response to that love and forgiveness.

Focus on God

We are reminded in these verses that God is generous with His love and mercy

Function in Our Lives

We are encouraged to not begrudge God His generosity

Topics to Pray About:

• Thank God for the gift of faith
• Confess to God times where you judge other Christians for places where they are still growing
• Ask God to lead your life to reflect your faith

In His Service,

J. LeBorious

Matthew 19:16-30

As I look at these verses, I don’t believe that Jesus is condemning people who are rich because of their wealth. He’s not necessarily saying that there’s anything wrong with having money or possessions. Given the conversation He has with the disciples and the specific way He phrases His instructions to the rich young man, I am inclined to point to two other points Jesus could be making here.

On one hand, Jesus might be pointing towards the impossibility of humans to be perfectly good. The young man asks, “what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” He asks Jesus what he needs to do to earn salvation. Initially, Jesus lists a handful of the commandments and the rich man says that he has kept those. But Jesus ends that list with “love your neighbor as yourself,” and it almost seems like His follow-up to the rich man, instructing him to “sell what you possess and give to the poor” is a follow-up on loving your neighbor as yourself. Jesus’ point is that even if we avoid sins of commission (things we say or do that we shouldn’t), we still fail to do all of the good things that we should be doing (sins of omission). He then tells the disciples that “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” In reality, it is impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, just as it is impossible for any person to be saved on their own merit. Jesus is teaching that the only way to salvation is based on His merit, “with God all things are possible.”

On the other hand, Jesus might be pointing towards the reality that riches and material possessions can become a serious impediment to those who follow Him. The last part of His instructions to the rich young man are “come, follow me.” Later in His explanation to the disciples, He also promises that “everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.” Jesus’ followers, us included, are called to put God first in their lives. The priority isn’t in anything else. He could be speaking to the reality that to build and maintain wealth can require a level of focus on the material that makes an idol out of money or possessions. As Christians, we are challenged to prioritize our relationship with God over anything and everything else – wealth included.

Focus on God

We are reminded in these verses that God makes the impossibility of salvation possible through Jesus.

Function in Our Lives

We are encouraged to prioritize and rely on God.

Topics to Pray About:

• Thank God for the gifts He has blessed you with.
• Confess to God times where you prioritize wealth, materials, or anything else over Him.
•  Ask God to lead you to faithfully follow Him.

In His Service,

J. LeBorious

Matthew 19:13-15

The disciples in these verses try to keep the crowds from bringing children to Jesus. Our reading doesn’t explain why, but one doesn’t have to think too hard to come up with some possibilities. Kids are messy, loud, they have a tendency to say and do things they shouldn’t, they’re disruptive, and the list goes on. But Jesus encourages the people, He says “let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

Having kids in worship can be difficult. They can be messy, loud, and disruptive. But Jesus encourages the people, He says “let the little children come to me.” So we encourage kids in worship. Parents who are worried about their kids behavior, the people around you know that sometimes kids are messy, loud, and disruptive – they still belong in the church. People who are judgmental about other people’s kids in church – they still belong in the church, offer to help and be a supportive voice instead of casting judgement. Kids – you belong in church, we’ll see you on Sunday.

Focus on God

We are reminded in these verses that God invites the children to Himself

Function in Our Lives

We are encouraged to encourage kids and families in worship

Topics to Pray About:

• Thank God for new generations of faithful people
• Confess to God times where you aren’t as patient with kids in worship as you should be
• Ask God to lead you to be supportive of families in church

In His Service,

J. LeBorious

Matthew 19:1-12

Jesus’ teaching here seems to have become increasingly difficult and counter cultural over the years. Most of us have probably heard the statistic that over half of all marriages end in divorce and marriage in the church isn’t much better. Here, Jesus ultimately says that there is one justifiable reason for divorce – sexual immorality. This immediately rules out six out of the top eight reasons for divorce in America. The number one cited reason for a divorce is lack of commitment. The second cited reason is too much argument in the relationship. In both of these instances, the Christian response would be to increase your commitment or work to reconcile your conflicts – not to end the relationship. Infidelity is the third most cited reason and is a reason that Jesus does give for justifiable divorce. Other reasons frequently given are marrying too young, unrealistic expectations, lack of equality, and lack of preparation. In all of these instances, our faith would lead us to work on improving the relationship instead of giving up on it. The other reason on this list that raises a lengthier conversation are instances of domestic violence. The appropriateness of divorce in this case depends heavily on the context. Separation for some length of time is certainly warranted for the safety of those involved; however, the willingness to repent and take real steps to correct behavior should be considered. Another helpful passage when discussing divorce is in 1 Corinthians 7 where Paul talks about the relationship between believers and nonbelievers. He makes some allowance for “if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved, God has called you to peace.”

I suspect that the reason Jesus says infidelity is the only reason for Christian divorce is because it can irrevocably damage the foundational trust in a relationship. In most of these other instances, the damage can be recovered from and the conflict can be reconciled. The reality is; however, that we live in a broken and sinful world. Sometimes, because we are all sinful people, we do not have a good choice. Divorce is a sin, but remaining in the relationship might also be damaging. At that point, we have to decide on the ‘lesser of two evils’ and rely on the grace of Christ. With that reality in mind, it is best for Christians to not consider divorce an option – instead seeking out every opportunity to heal, restore, and reconcile broken relationships, without forgetting that for the sin of divorce (as with every other sin we commit) Jesus’ death on the cross offers forgiveness and restoration before God.

Focus on God

We are reminded in these verses that God wants us to have unbroken relationships

Function in Our Lives

We are encouraged to not consider divorce an option in our marriages

Topics to Pray About:

• Thank God for the relationships in your life
• Confess to God times where you fail to seek reconciliation or build up the institution of marriage
• Ask God to lead you to be gracious and conciliatory in your relationships.

In His Service,

J. LeBorious

Matthew 18:15-20

In today’s parable, we see a man who is forgiven an insurmountable debt. He owes ten thousand talents, which is somewhere between 750,000 and 1,000,000 pounds of some precious metal. The master forgives that massive amount. Then the man goes out to find someone who owed him a hundred denarii, which would’ve been roughly the wages for a hundred days of labor and much less than ten thousand talents. He finds this man, beats him, and puts him in debtors’ prison. The master finds this out and reacts negatively. A modern day equivalent might be this. Say Luke owed Han a billion dollars and Han forgave the debt completely. Then say Luke went and beat up Anakin over twenty bucks. It seems kind of ridiculous that Luke wouldn’t have reflected the grace He was shown.

All of this is in response to Peter asking Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother. Jesus’ point it this, God has forgiven us an insurmountable debt, something we could never pay on our own, and we ought to reflect that grace when someone commits a sin against us. That doesn’t necessarily mean that there are no consequences for those sins, but we do not continue to hold it against the person. For a detailed discussion on where that balance lies, you can listen to this podcast episode. We have been forgiven for so much, the least we can do is approach the people around is with a readiness to forgive.

Focus on God

We are reminded in these verses that God has forgiven us for everything

Function in Our Lives

We are encouraged to forgive our neighbors

Topics to Pray About:

• Thank God for showing us such overwhelming grace
• Confess to God times where you held a grudge
• Ask God to lead you to forgive people who are hard to forgive

In His Service,

J. LeBorious

Matthew 18:15-20

These verses are the ultimate guide for conflict resolution for Christians. Whenever we face conflict with another person, especially another Christian, these words should guide how we act – with no exceptions! The goal of how we interact with each other in conflict, must always be to restore the relationship and to reconcile with one another. Here Jesus tells us if someone sins against us, we should go to him one on one. Don’t go and talk about it with your significant other, with your friends, or even with your pastor – go to that person directly. If they refuse to repent, then you bring in one or two other people. These people are not allies you have recruited to gang up on the other person, rather, these should be people that you both respect who can give some outside perspective on the conflict. In many cases, it would be appropriate here to bring in your pastor or elders from your church. If that fails and the person is insisting on continuing in their sin, Jesus says to “tell it to the church.” This is not a direction to gossip about this issue, but rather instruction to bring the conflict to the spiritual leadership of the congregation who can authoritatively say “this is wrong and needs to be corrected.” If the person fails to repent even in that case, they are to be excommunicated from the church.

A note on excommunication from a Lutheran perspective. This can have a range of meanings depending on the nature of the sin. If it is holding onto wrong doctrine, excommunication would mean withholding Communion (the Minor Ban) and removal from any positions of authority. If it is something dangerous, excommunication might mean complete separation from the church. If it is some other sin, the person might still be welcome in worship but would be placed under the Minor Ban. Jesus tells the disciples in these cases to treat the person as “a Gentile and a tax collector.” It’s worth pointing out that Jesus treated Gentiles and tax collectors with love and grace, working to bring them into the fold. So even if someone has been excommunicated, the church should still work to bring them to repentance and to bring them back into the church.

All that being said, conflict rarely goes to that extreme. In the majority of situations, just the one-on-one interaction will be enough to reconcile the relationship. So if you’re in conflict with someone, go talk to them about it, go with an attitude of forgiveness, and reflect the love that Christ showed for you!

Focus on God

We are reminded in these verses that God shows us incredible grace and promises to be with us

Function in Our Lives

We are encouraged to approach conflict in a faithful way

Topics to Pray About:

• Thank God for giving us guidelines to restore and protect our relationships
• Confess to God times where you ignored His instructions for dealing with conflict
• Ask God to reconcile broken relationships in your life

In His Service,

J. LeBorious

Matthew 18:10-14

One of the ways that parables can be a powerful instructional tool is by telling a story about something that people are familiar with but changing one detail to make it unrealistic. This draws attention to the unrealistic detail and allows for it to be used as a powerful illustration about some higher message. That is exactly what Jesus is doing here.

You might be thinking “what part of this parable is unrealistic?”

The core concept is absurd. If you have a hundred sheep and one goes missing, you don’t leave the ninety-nine out in the wild and look for the one. From an economic perspective that makes no sense, you’re risking 99 sheep for a single sheep that you might not even be able to find. Think of it this way, if you had a hundred dollars and one blew away in the wind, would you set the ninety-nine dollars on a random table to try and chase down the single dollar? I’m thinking probably not.

But the core concept is absurd intentionally. Jesus is teaching that God will go after that single lost person, that He cares about each individual person so much that he’ll risk everything. Here’s where the parable stops tracking a little bit, because God is obviously capable of doing both – one of the perks of being almighty – He can seek after the lost sheep while also guarding the ninety-nine. This parable teaches us that God cares so much, even for the least of us, that He pursues us, not satisfied until we are safe in His arms.

Focus on God

We are reminded in these verses that God graciously comes after us

Function in Our Lives

We are encouraged to rest in the magnitude of God’s love for us

Topics to Pray About:

• Thank God for seeking us out when we go astray
• Confess to God times where forget how much He cares about you
• Ask God to surround you with people who reflect His love

In His Service,

J. LeBorious

Matthew 18:7-9

These verses present a difficult teaching. Jesus states that “it is necessary that temptations come.” I think we hear that, and we want to know why temptations are necessary. Living according to God’s will is difficult enough without specific temptations. And I don’t think we can say with certainty why any specific temptation is necessary; however, the Bible does give us some insight as to potential reasons for temptation. God can use temptation as a way to strengthen faith, He can use it to humble the proud, He can use it to connect people as disciples, or any number of other reasons. There are clearly reasons for temptation to be necessary, but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with or suffer through.

Jesus also teaches us here that we ought to avoid being the source of temptation and to avoid constant sources of temptation. As members of one community, our task is to help support one another in resisting temptation, not to encourage one another to fall. Especially if we know that a neighbor is struggling with something, we shouldn’t be putting that temptation in front of them. As for ourselves, we should avoid sources of temptation. If there is a TV show that leads you to anger, you shouldn’t watch it. If there is a location that leads you to debauchery, you shouldn’t go there. If there is a person who always encourages you to slander others, you should avoid that person in those contexts. It is a difficult balance, coupled well with the tension of being “in the world but not of the world,” but it is the balance we are challenged to keep.

Focus on God

We are reminded in these verses that God graciously supports us when we face temptation

Function in Our Lives

We are encouraged to avoid being a source of temptation for others

Topics to Pray About:

• Thank God for working even through temptation
• Confess to God times where you fall or cause others to fall
• Ask God to keep you from temptation

In His Service,

J. LeBorious

Matthew 18:1-6

This isn’t the only time where Jesus instructs His disciples to have childlike faith or sets up a child as the standard. The consistency with which Jesus does this warrants an intentional consideration of what characteristics of a child should be emulated.

Trust Without Reservation

Children have an ability to completely trust in their parents without the need for contingencies or proof. This reflects the kind of relationship we are called to have with our heavenly Father. Our faith isn’t just Plan A, it’s the only plan. We trust God, not because of the evidence that supports what His Word tells us, but because He tells us to trust Him.

Simple Morality

Younger kids especially lack the ability to rationalize wrong behavior. Right is right and wrong is wrong, regardless of the circumstances. We can struggle with this as adults, saying things like “what I did was wrong, but it was for a good reason” or “what I did was wrong, but not as bad as that other person.” God challenges us to simply accept the morality He puts in front of us and to not make excuses when we fall short.

Humility

This seems to be Jesus’ focus in these particular verses. Kids do not strive for influence and position like adults do. They tend to be happy where they are in the grand scheme of things. Jesus lays this before His disciples, to be humble and trust that God will elevate you to the position that He needs you to be at.

Focus on God

We are reminded in these verses that God graciously interacts with us as a loving Father

Function in Our Lives

We are encouraged to trust God completely, accept His Word, and live with humility

Topics to Pray About:

• Thank God for the love that He has for us
• Confess to God times where you think of yourself more highly than you should
• Ask God to give you humility

In His Service,

J. LeBorious

Matthew 17:22-27

Today’s verses tell us about an instance where a temple tax collector approached Peter regarding a tax that Jesus supposedly owed to the temple. Jesus responds asking whether or not a king would collect a tax from his own son. The answer is obviously that a king would not collect a tax from his own family. The parallel here is that the temple represented God’s presence in the midst of His people, and that it’s ridiculous for the collector to think that he should be collecting a tax from God’s Son. After explaining this; however, Jesus says in Matthew 17:27, “to not give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel, take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.” Jesus determines that this tax isn’t a hill worth dying on and pays it – in the most miraculous way possible.

In doing this, Jesus sets an example for us. Sometimes, people are going to ask us to do ridiculous things. There might be occasions where we resist those, especially in instances where the request would cause us to transgress God’s Law. There are other instances where we might just humor the person, fulfilling the request and moving on with our lives. And sometimes we might need to follow Jesus’ example and acquiesce to the request while also turning it into a teaching moment. It all depends on the context we’re in, on the nature of the request, and on the relationship we have with the person in question. What this reminds us of is to make sure our default setting doesn’t become resistant or defiant, but rather that we patiently consider each situation for what would be the best witness to the world around us.

Focus on God

We are reminded in these verses that God graciously humors us sometimes

Function in Our Lives

We are encouraged to pray for God to patience and wisdom in how we handle different situations

Topics to Pray About:

• Thank God for the patience He has for us
• Confess to God times where you cause more trouble than is warranted
• Ask God to give you a patience and wisdom

In His Service,

J. LeBorious