Matthew 17 - 4.1.25

SCRIPTURE:  “Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, Because you have so little faith.  Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:19 - 21

OBSERVATION:  In this portion of Scripture, we see a man who brought his son to Jesus, pleading for Him to have mercy on his son who had seizures and was suffering greatly.  It got so bad, the son would often fall into the fire or into the water.  The man had originally gone to Jesus’ disciples and had asked them to pray, but when they did, they were not able to heal him.  So, the man went straight to Jesus, and… after Jesus rebuked the demon, the boy was instantly healed!

So what went wrong? What was keeping the disciples prayers from going through?  They had been given authority by God to pray for healing, but something was blocking their prayers from going through!  They had been given full access to God’s power, but Jesus told them that it was their lack of faith that kept them from receiving what they were praying for.  

Could it be that the disciples thought this prayer was too big to ask for?  Were they praying in their own strength?  Did they lack the faith to speak out and proclaim healing in Jesus’ name?  Jesus said, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21:22).  

“To be fulfilled, our requests must be in harmony with God’s kingdom.  The stronger our belief, the more likely our prayers will be in line with God’s will, and then God will be happy to grant them. (Footnotes: 21:22).

APPLICATION:  The more we read God’s Word, the more faith we will have to believe that God’s power can move in and through us as we pray.

PRAYER:  I pray for mountain- moving faith!  I pray God will give me courage and boldness to pray for things that appear impossible to man.  I pray God will teach me to pray according to His will, and that He will use my answered prayers to demonstrate His wonder working power, and help me to point people to Jesus through them.

- Robin Orefice

1 Chronicles 21 - 3.31.25

Scripture

‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭21‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV

“Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.””

Observation

In this passage, Satan incites King David to take a census of all the people in Israel. This is a sin that angered God and led to a plague that killed many of the Israelites. It is a consequence David faced for his pride and misplaced trust in human strength rather than God’s divine power.

Application

Pride comes before the fall.

“Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.”-Proverbs‬ ‭16‬:‭18‬ ‭

It’s something David learned the hard way here. So when I first read about this story in 2 Samuel 25, (the same story of David taking a census), I thought to myself, “Why was it a sin for David to take a census?” But then as I further looked and studied about the passage, you see that it wasn’t the actual act of taking the census that angered God. It was David’s heart behind the whole thing. Up to this point, God had displayed His divine power throughout David’s life. He helped David defeat Goliath. He protected David from Saul and his enemies and most recently, God had given David victory after victory whenever he went out to battle. But, instead of acknowledging God’s divine power throughout each victory, David’s pride crept in. David saw each victory over his enemies as a result of the strength of his own armies that he assembled. He mistakenly forgot that it was God who gave him those victories over his enemies. It was a mistake that had severe consequences. But at the end of the day, David humbly seeks God and asks God for His forgiveness.

“Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt for doing this foolish thing.”-1 Chronicles‬ ‭21‬:‭8‬ ‭

If we ever start getting a big head or too full of ourselves, let’s learn from David here. Let’s remember exactly WHO is responsible and the TRUE reason behind our success. Let’s remember that ALL our success and blessings come from God. 😊

Prayer

Father God thank You for blessing me with so much in life. You have given me a beautiful family, a great job, good health to do my job and even instilled in me the drive to do it to the best of my ability. Please forgive me for ever thinking it’s from my own hard work and my own doing. Thank You for the favor You have blessed me with throughout my life. May I never shy away from telling people it’s from You. May Your name be glorified. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. 🙏🏽 

-Moses Gaddi

Matthew 13 - 3.28.25

Scripture: Matthew 13:16-17

16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

Observation

Jesus was sitting in a boat speaking to all the crowds of people on the shore. He told them the Parable of the Sower. The idea behind the word parable is “to throw alongside of.” It is a story thrown alongside the truth intended to teach. Parables have been called “earthly stories with a heavenly meaning.” (Enduring Word) Thereby the things of God were made plainer and easier to those willing to be taught, and at the same time more difficult and obscure to those who were willingly ignorant. (Christianity.com)

Matthew 13:15 - For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.

The Parable of the Sower talks about four different heart conditions.

1.    The Hardpacked Soil – People who don’t understand the teaching of the Kingdom of God and the evil one steals it away.

2.    The Rocky Soil – People who receive the word gladly, but fall away under pressure because there isn’t any root.

3.    The Thorny Soil – People who hear the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke out the word.

4.    The Good Soil – People who hear the Word and understand it and bear much fruit.

Application

What condition is your heart in? Is your heart made of good soil? Jesus tells us that we are blessed because our eyes can see how God is working and our ears are tuned in to hear the Father’s voice and to understand the Word. So many people allow their heart to become calloused, through trials, hurts and disappointments and they end up blaming God and others. If we run to Jesus when life gets hard and allow Him to mold us into His prize possessions, not letting any bitterness in our heart, we can used for His Kingdom.

Prayer

Dear Lord, Help us to humbly come to you with a broken and contrite heart so you can mold us and make us into Your hands and feet in this earth. Help us to be people who run after you and your Word. Holy Spirit help us keep our hearts soft and pliable, full of love, so we are sensitive to hear your voice.

 Matthew 13:8 & 9 – Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop-a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

We pray in Jesus’ name! 

- Michelle Craig