Matthew 4 - 3.19.25

Scripture

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)

Observation

This happened when Jesus was about to start his ministry. He was on a forty day fast, eating nothing and waiting on God. At the end of his fast, he was hungry. The Devil approached Him with temptations. Jesus met every temptation by quoting from the scripture.

The first temptation was about food. The Devil tempted Him to command the stones to become bread. Jesus said “Man shall not live by bread alone”. Jesus was quoting directly from Deuteronomy 8:3 which says “...that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD”. The Devil continued to bring two more temptations. Each time, Jesus overcame it by quoting scripture.

In the armour of God, we are presented with multiple weapons of defence, but only one weapon of offence - the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17). If you have played chess, you know that you can never win a game by just playing defence. You need to make a move to checkmate your opponent. A soldier cannot win a battle by just defending himself. He needs to attack the enemy with his sword. 

The word of God is the sword given to us by God to stop the enemy’s attack. When an attack comes, we overcome it by quoting God’s promises from the word. 

Application

God’s word is food for our spirit. We are commanded to desire the pure milk of the word like newborn babies, so that we may grow (1 Peter 2:2). Our inner man grows strong when we feed on God’s word. If we don’t take time to nourish our spirit by spending time with the Word on a regular basis, when an attack comes we will find ourselves ill-prepared and a weak and easy target for the enemy!

Let us make sure that our daily time with God in prayer and Bible reading is non-negotiable, and is given the highest priority in our life. No matter what the pressures of the day are, let us start the day by looking at the face of Jesus and listening to Him, by reading His word. 

Prayer

Dear Father, thank you for your word. Forgive me for the times I have gone about my day, without spending time with you and without reading your word. Help me to make your word a priority in my life. May the word of Christ dwell in me richly (Colossians 3:16). May your word be a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my paths (Psalms 119:105). Help me to discipline myself to make my time with you the first and most important time of my day. Help me to hide your word in my heart, so that I do not sin against you (Psalms 119:11). Lord, thank you because I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13). Help me to live my life as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to you (Romans 12:1). In Jesus’s name. Amen.

- Asha Chacko George

Matthew 3 - 3.18.25

SCRIPTURE:  Matthew 3:8 “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”

OBSERVATION: The author of this portion of Scripture, Matthew, told how John the Baptist called people to change their behavior and repent of their sins. He told them to produce fruit in keeping with their repentance.  “The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

APPLICATION:  “Any tree that doesn’t bear fruit will be cut down?  Nope, that’s not what it says!  Only the tree that doesn’t bear GOOD fruit will be cut down and burned in the fire.  The emphasis is on the word, “good” fruit!  Is my life bearing more rotten fruit or good fruit?  Is my faith being activated in obedience or has it gone stagnant?  Am I obeying God and loving people. Am I serving the needs of others. Am I actively looking for ways to share the Good News of Jesus Christ?  Am I following the Great Commission by going and making disciples? Those are all ways to produce good fruit from my life. Genuine Christ-followers are recognized by our love AND by the fruit that is being produced from our lives!  In the Old Testament, a fruitful tree was often used as a symbol of godly living.  “If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” Another thing that comes from aligning ourselves with God and fruitful living is the joy of our answered prayers. Jesus declared, “Very truly I tell you, My Father will give you whatever you ask in My name…Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” (John 16:23b,24).

PRAYER:  I pray the roots of my faith will grow deeper as I abide in Jesus, and that as I remain in the Vine, my life will produce MUCH GOOD fruit.

- Robin Orefice

Matthew 2 - 3.17.25

Scripture

Matthew‬ ‭2‬:‭23‬ ‭NIV 

“and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.”

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Observation

This chapter recounts the story of the Wise Men following a shining star in the eastern sky, so they could find the One who would become the king of the Jews. 

Application

Prophecies Fulfilled 

Just like we learned a couple of Sundays ago, Jesus fulfilled over 300 Old Testament prophecies written about Him. There were 4 prophecies fulfilled in this chapter alone! The odds of one person fulfilling just 8 of those prophecies is 1 in 100 million billion! 🤯

Why do I say all this you may ask? To prove to you all that there is a God out there, and that God is backing the name of Jesus. God is giving His prophets prophecies of the Savior to come. God is giving them these prophecies hundreds of years before Jesus was even born! He has given them every detail to look for. From where He will be born, how He will die, and how He will be raised from the dead. It’s like me telling you who will be playing in the Super Bowl for the next hundreds of years to come, giving you the final scores of the games, and giving you the final stat sheet of every player that played in those games. I mean, to get every single detail with 100% accuracy, some may call that…miraculous! But then again, we do serve a God who performs many many miracles. From creation itself, to turning water into wine, to feeding thousands with just 5 loaves of bread & 2 fish, to healing the sick, and to raising the dead. The list goes on and on and it continues to this day! Our God makes the impossible…well, possible. This proves to me that our God is awesome and He is backing the name of Jesus.

Prayer

Father God, thank You for revealing Yourself to me. You opened my eyes and my heart to believing in the name of Jesus. I pray for those who don’t know You yet. I pray that they can see through Your Word, through Biblical and secular history, that Jesus was real; that He did exist and He is who He says He is. I pray that You open their eyes and heart the way You opened mine. May they too come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

-Moses Gaddi