Scripture: Deuteronomy 32: 51-52

⁵¹ Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of MeribahKadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel. ⁵² Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.

Scripture Commentary:

The consequence for Moses’ trespass against God in front of the children of Israel was that he would not enter the Promised Land. Despite Moses’ disobedience, God still loved him and those who passed away. There are times when Moses disobeyed God. For example, in Numbers 20, God told Moses to speak to a rock to get water, but Moses struck the rock twice. Another time, Moses sent 12 men to scout out Canaan and report back in 40 days about the people, cities, and resources. Ten men feared what they saw, and two men reported that we can conquer the land as God has promised. God was angry with Moses and the Israelites because they chose to believe the ten men and not put their faith in God.

We, too, at times anger God with our disobedience, and yet God continues to love us. If God forgives us for our disobedience and even forgets our transgressions, then why is it so hard for us to forgive others and even forget their transgressions against us? How can we say we are Christians and not forgive others while we seek God’s forgiveness? Matthew 22:39-b, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” This is a type of love we should strive to practice every day.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scriptures Referenced:

Deuteronomy 32

Numbers 20

Matthew 22

Read Other Commentary From the Book of Deuteronomy:

God Will Not Fail or Forsake You

Who I Am Not

Scripture: Psalm 51: 1-3

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. ² Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. ³ For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

Scripture Commentary:

God referred to David as “a man after his own heart,” found in 1 Samuel 13:14, because David had demonstrated his commitment and faith in serving God. David protected the sheep from the lion, and David defeated Goliath. God anointed David to be king over Israel. God showed mercy and protected David from Saul, who sought to kill him. All of humanity has a sinful heart and falls short of loving God and loving each other the way we should.

David wrote this Psalm after Nathan, the prophet, told him the story of the rich man and the poor man. The rich man took the only sheep that the poor man had to cook instead of using one of his own sheep.  Nathan tells David that he is like the rich man, when he sent Uriah to the front line in battle to be killed so that he, David, could have Bethsheba as his wife. Bethsheba was Uriah’s wife.

God shows us mercy and forgives our transgressions.

We can go to God as David did, seeking God’s forgiveness for our transgressions. Through God’s loving kindness and multitude of tender mercies, God will forgive us for our transgressions. There are consequences for our transgressions. God’s judgment in David’s case was the death of Bathsheba and David’s son. In our case, it will be whatever God’s judgment requires of us. But remember this, God’s love for humanity is forever, and he will never leave or forsake us. Never.

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Psalm 51

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Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep …

Go to God for Help. He Won’t Let You Down

Scripture: Romans 5: 6-8, 11, 19

⁶ When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. ⁷ Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. ⁸ But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. ¹¹ So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.¹⁹ Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.

Scripture Commentary:

Adam disobeyed God and his sin was passed onto us. Jesus Christ died for our sins and atoned for us. Jesus died for the ungodly and as well the godly. He showed us the way to God and His kingdom.

Although we are disobedient, Jesus made us righteous to God. We are weak on our own, but through Christ we become strong. Think of it: God loved us before we knew Him or even accepted Him! We are lost within ourselves, doing our own thing without acknowledging God; however, God acknowledged each of us before we were born. Through Jesus Christ we become closer to the Father.

When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, you become a member of God’s family and inherit His love and forgiveness.

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Romans 5

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Jesus Delivered Us and Teaches Us Love

God Is the Root That Supports You

Scripture: Matthew 13: 37 – 39

³⁷ Jesus replied, “The Son of Man^[d] is the farmer who plants the good seed. ³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. ³⁹ The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world,^[e] and the harvesters are the angels.

Scripture Commentary:

What kind of seed are you? Are you the seed languishing on the roadside, looking at the people passing by, saying and doing nothing? If so, go and join life filled with the Spirit of God.

Are you the seed laying between stones and rocks, waiting to be burned up by the sun? If that’s you, pull yourself up and let God fertilize you with His Word.

Perhaps you are planted among thorns and are being choked to death. If so, you are among Satan’s followers, thinking you have it all and need nothing. You are in trouble if you are in this camp.

The last seed is in good soil. This seed can help all the others, turning them to good. Call on Jesus Christ!

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Matthew 13

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God’s People Are the Salt of the Earth

Jesus Calls Us to Follow Him

Scripture: Luke 9: 59-62

⁵⁹ He said to another person, “Come, follow me.” The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead!^[l] Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.” ⁶² But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

Scripture Commentary:

Jesus tells two men, “Come, follow me.” One man asks Jesus to let him bury his father first. The other wants to say goodbye to his family. Jesus tells the first man to go and bury his father, then follow him and spread the message of God’s kingdom. He tells the second man that he is not worthy to spread God’s word.

The first man is fulfilling his burial duties to his father. Jesus tells us that there are requirements to follow God. Those requirements do not include forsaking responsibility to family. The first man had a duty to family that needed to be fulfilled. Jesus’s response was to go and fulfill that duty, then go and spread God’s message.

The second person was just going to say goodbye, and maybe have a goodbye party. He had nothing urgent or important that had to be done.

Two people, two requirements. One was accepted and the other rejected. God knows our heart, soul and mind. If you are truthful to God in your request, He will honor it with love and understanding.

In John 14:13, Jesus tells us, “You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.”

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Luke 9

John 14

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Be a Reflection of the Light of Jesus

How Hard Is It To Forgive?

Scripture: Matthew 26: 14 – 15, 25

¹⁴ Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests ¹⁵ and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver. ²⁵ Judas, the one who would betray him, also asked, “Rabbi, am I the one?” And Jesus told him, “You have said it.”

Scripture Commentary:

The question: “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” The answer: thirty pieces of silver. That was the price of a slave during that time. It’s ironic that Jesus Christ, the servant for man, was also our slave servant. He came into the world to take our sins onto himself, giving us the only true path to God, Our Father.

Jesus chose Judas to be one of his disciples although he knew what Judas would do. The deed was foretold in Psalm 41: 9 (Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely, the one who shared my food, has turned against me.)

The second question asked is “Rabbi, am I the one?” Jesus replied, “You have said it.”

God will ask each of us a question.

What have you done in His name? Your reply can be nothing or Lord, I have finished the assignment you gave me. When you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you received your assignment. If you’ve done nothing, sitting on the sidelines, then you did what Satan had for you. As a child of God, you are to love and help those in need.

Jesus paid the price for you.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scriptures Referenced:

Matthew 26

Psalm 41

Read Other Commentary From the Book of Matthew:

Will You Be Prepared When Christ Returns?

Not Everyone Has a Relationship with God. What About You?

Scripture: Genesis 3: 1-3

The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” ² “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. ³ “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

Scripture Commentary: The serpent deceives.

The Bible refers to Satan as the serpent and records three times where he has a conversation with someone. Genesis 3 is the first time, and Job 1: 7-11 and Job 2: 2-6 is the second time. The third time is in Matthew 4: 3-10.

A conversation is defined as “an informal spoken exchange, a familiar talk.” The last part of familiar spells “liar.” Satan will do or say anything to get you to follow him. Satan had to get God’s permission to attack Job. He lied to Eve to sway her. With Jesus, he was lost before he even got started.

The serpent deceives the entire world.

He has nothing to offer. Only God and Jesus, His son, offers the truth. God is our Father and His love for us is forever and truthful.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scriptures Referenced:

Genesis 3

Job 1

Job 2

Matthew 4

Read Other Commentary From the Book of Genesis:

The Temptation of ‘Must Not’

God Turns Our Wrong Around

Scripture: Luke 12: 17-19

¹⁷ The rich man thought to himself, ‘What will I do? I have no place to put the grain.’ ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘I know what I will do. I will take down my grain building and I will build a bigger one. I will put all my grain and other things I own into it. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many good things put away in your building. It will be all you need for many years to come. Now rest and eat and drink and have lots of fun.”’

Scripture Commentary: Is bigger really better?

We often get caught up as consumers in accumulating ‘the good things in life.’ The bigger, the better! We’re always searching for the best deal, the newest and latest gadget, and keeping up with the Joneses. Who are the Joneses in your life? We have more clothes and shoes than we can wear in a week to the point that we run out of closet space and storage in our homes. We strive to maximize our earnings and acquire more than we can afford or need. All of this we do for a better tomorrow. However, we forget that we could die at any moment from an accident, illness, or natural causes.

Don’t put your hope in material things.

We are meant to put our hope not in the material things we accumulate but in God’s hands. When we die, we cannot stand before God and say, “I served you in this way or that way,” when in reality our concerns are more about our possessions than the people around us in need.

The man in Luke 12 died before he could use what he had stored in his barns. Paul encourages us to be careful how we live. Do not act thoughtlessly. Understand what the Lord wants you to do.

God has a plan for you.

Your earthly possessions will have no value in the Kingdom of God, so stop focusing on what the world has and start focusing on what you can do for the Kingdom of God. Only your faith in God frees you from the anxiety caused by greed. God will supply all your needs.

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Luke 12

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Fear of God Is the Beginning of Wisdom

How Do You Use Your Worldly Goods?

Scripture: Psalm 100: 1-5

¹ Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. ² Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. ³ Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his^[a]; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. ⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. ⁵ For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Scripture Commentary:

In John 21: 15-17 Jesus tells Peter three times to go and feed his sheep. We are called his sheep in Psalm 100, and Christ is our Shepherd. The shepherd protects the sheep of his pasture. He stands guard to prevent harm to them. To enter into his protective pen, we must accept and acknowledge him as our Lord and Savior.

Enter his house with songs of praise and thanksgiving. Blessing his name is our way of submitting to God. We did not create ourselves; God created us. If you do not believe this, you are outside of God’s pasture looking in. You are the center of your world, not God. This position leads to self-gratification and greedy possessiveness. It is a path to darkness.

When we accept God as our Creator, we accept and know His love for us. In return, we easily love one another. John 3: 16 tells us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God is worthy of our worship. Enter His house with songs of praise, and with love, grace and thanksgiving.

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Psalm 100

John 21

John 3

Read Other Commentary From the Book of Psalms:

The Prayer of an Old and Gray-Headed Man for Rescue

Living for God In A Deceitful World Can Be Difficult

Scripture: Matthew 16: 23

²¹ From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. ²² Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”²³ Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Scripture Commentary

Jesus prepares his disciples for what is to come when he explains that he must suffer, be killed, and on the third day be raised to life. Peter rebukes Jesus for saying this. This is the same Peter who early on says that Jesus is the Son of God; the same Peter who later denies Jesus three times.

Satan tries to use Peter to get Jesus to forsake his mission. This is Satan’s mission for us even today. Satan knows who Jesus is yet he tries to tempt him anyway. And if Satan tried to tempt Jesus, how much more will he try to tempt each of us.

Oftentimes our most difficult temptation comes from those who only try to protect us from discomfort. However, our true protector is Jesus Christ. When we give our lives in service to Christ we truly discover the real purpose of living.

Who do you serve – God or self? Where is your life taking you – to heaven or hell? Is there love in you or hate? Do you give or always take? Do you help or hinder others?

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Matthew 16: 21-23

Read Other Commentary From the Book of Matthew:

Peter Denied Jesus … “I don’t even know the man.”

How Can Anyone Walk On Water?