SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/17/2023 9:54 AM
My Worship Time Focus: “Intro to
Matthew 19:23-29”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
19:23-29
Message of the verses: “23 And Jesus said to His disciples, "Truly I
say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 “And
again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,
than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." 25 And when the
disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, "Then who
can be saved?" 26 And looking upon them Jesus said to them,
"With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." 27
Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Behold, we have left everything and
followed You; what then will there be for us?" 28 And Jesus said to them,
"Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when
the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 "And everyone who has
left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for
My name’s sake, shall receive many times as much, and shall inherit eternal
life. 30 “But many who are first will be last; and the last,
first.”
We begin the last section in the 19th
chapter of the book of Matthew. We
started this chapter on the 5th of February this year, and so after
we finish this section it will be close to two months looking at it, a chapter
that brings us closer to the actual end of our Lord’s ministry on earth as much
of the last chapters of Matthew focus in on what will happen during the last
few weeks of our Lord’s life on earth and of course ending with his crucifixion
and then his resurrection and eventually His ascension back to heaven.
We
actually ended our SD’s on the rich young ruler in our last SD, but that
similar subject continues on in these last verses of the 19th
chapter of Matthew as the Lord continues to talk about the rich of this
world. Now we remember that the rich
young ruler came to Jesus seeking eternal life, but the barriers of his
self-centeredness and self-righteousness stood in the way of his receiving
eternal life as seen in Matt. 19:16-22.
This man would not recognize his need for repentance and the forgiveness
that can only come through Jesus Christ.
He also would not realize that he needed to submit to the Lordship of
Jesus Christ, for after all we know that Jesus Christ is Lord. Some that I know have an issue with John
MacArthur’s teaching that in order to become a believer you have to accept
Jesus as both Lord and Savior. I can say
that from my point of view that when I became a believer that there were many
things that I did not realize that happened to me that moment of my salvation
on the 26th of January 1974, but as the Lord continues to impress
upon me to study His Word each day I have learned that although I did not
realize that at that moment Jesus was my Lord, I certainly do not, and although
I don’t always act like He is my Lord, He truly is my Lord and Savior.
Now
back to the rich young ruler as we know from the text that he surely wanted
eternal life, however he wanted his own riches and his self-righteousness even
more. “Whoever wants anything more that
Christ will forfeit Christ,” writes John MacArthur.
He
ends his introduction to these verses writing “In this present passage the Lord
elaborates on the spiritual danger of trusting in material riches and the
spiritual blessings of forsaking them for His sake. He first focuses on what might be called the
poverty of riches (vv. 23-26) and then on the riches of poverty (vv. 27-29).”
These
are the two subjects we will be looking at as we move through this last section
of the 19th chapter of Matthew.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I suppose that living in the United States
and for that matter anywhere in the West today that it is always a challenge
not to get caught up in the desire to be rich.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I must remember that all that I have was
given to me by the Lord and I am a steward of what the Lord has given to me,
and therefore must be diligent in handling what He has entrusted me with.
3/17/2023 10:32 AM
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