December 26th – Matthew 10:32-42

December 26th – Matthew 10:32-42

Spend some time meditating on these verses. Then, come back and read the commentary, my verse, and my response to God.

• Request God’s help.
• Read Matthew 10:32-42
• Record a verse that stands out to you.
• Respond to God.

Come back and read the commentary when you’re done.

Because we are valuable to Jesus, He will confess our names before God because we have confessed His name to men. Wow. What a fabulous day that will be! But for those who deny Jesus, He will deny them. Fortunately, this doesn’t apply to timid believers who don’t share the Gospel. Instead, it refers to those who have heard the Good News and still reject Jesus. Many in those days tried to “cancel” Jesus. Households were divided, and many Christians died at the hands of family members. Jesus admits He came to separate light from dark, good from evil, and Christ’s followers from Christ’s haters. Does this surprise you?

If so, it may also surprise you that human love is a form of idolatry. If we love our family and friends (or ourselves) more than God, we are not worthy of His love. In other words, love God with ALL your heart, mind, soul, and strength, THEN love others out of the overflow of the love God has poured into your heart. That is the only way to keep Jesus on the throne. The places of idol worship must be torn down so there is room for Jesus.

What does it look like to “lose your life” in this context?

My Verse: Matthew 10:39: “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.

My Response: Losing my life is not the first thing that comes to mind when I think about surviving. In the world, it is about self-preservation at all costs. Yet, when I read the Gospels, all I see is death. Influential people wanted Jesus dead from birth. Jesus’ ministry all led up to His death and resurrection. He taught the disciples how to rely on the Spirit and die to their instincts for survival, even repairing the ear of a soldier maimed by Peter. But I know from experience that the only way to life is through the death of self. I battle the temptation to hold on to “life” every day. Can the idol of self be killed? Ha! It already has!

Father, I pray Galatians 5:24-26 today. May we who belong to Christ Jesus crucify the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other” (NIV). I pray in this coming year that I will be dead to self and alive to Christ in every way. In Jesus’ name, amen.