“The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here!” (Matthew 12:42)

How is it not better when what you are looking for is right before you and you are ignoring it as opposed to searching far and wide until you find it? It seems some want everything handed to them, but the Lord has chosen to have you seek these things. What is behind this is the simple truth of sin. You want it your way, but it must be in the way the Lord has determined.

Lord, will others judge us from their various perspectives? I judge others from my perspective.  Take me beyond my own perspective to see things through Your eyes. Without Your grace, it is hopeless, but by Your grace, I can journey in the way of salvation that You have established. The world plays games, but You invite us to come into true life. Lead me out of death and into life.

Lord Jesus, I do play so many games with myself and others. Help me to be guided by You and Your grace so that I see only hope and a future in You. You have come that we may have life and have it more abundantly. Lead me in the way of true life, being less concerned with what others think and more concerned with doing what is pleasing to the Father. Help me to walk humbly with You always. Amen.

“The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here!” (Matthew 12:41)

Justice moves beyond what you or I think. It moves through reality of circumstances and place. The people of Nineveh were evil but repented. People today do not believe they are evil. Looking truthfully at oneself is not easy. You are where you are. Where you have done evil, repent and walk in the grace given to you. The Lord has come, and He bids us to walk with Him now and forever.

Lord, it is not about the amount of evil done. It is not about my place in time or even the situation. It is about acknowledging my need for You. Death has swallowed me up so that I struggle to not die rather that walk with You and simply live. Lord, teach me to confess so that I do not fear judgement. Teach me to live looking to You, knowing that all things are in Your hands.

Lord Jesus, judgement is in Your hands. Where I fear judgement, bring me to repentance. Guide me so that I come to you for the directions I need each day. Correct me as I walk the life of faith. In all things, help me to see that I am being transformed to Your image as You prepare me for that day when I stand before You face to face. Let me see that there is plenty to condemn, but only You who gives life through faith and forgiveness by grace. Amen.

“For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40).

From dust we were created and to dust we shall return. No matter what you believe, Jesus was dead. Then, from death, He was raised to life. Scripture is silent on what happened from Jesus’ perspective, so respect the silence and do not speculate. There are many things our Lord does which we do not know about (John 21:25). Learn to trust God above all things, especially your ability to understand.

Lord, I am curious, and I want to know. When it causes me to move forward, that is a good thing. Sometimes my curiosity causes me to stumble and because I do not know, I think it cannot be. Guide me to look to You for all things. Help me to realize that, of course, there are many things I do not understand. Therefore, lead me so that I may learn to trust You always and for all things.

My Lord and Savior, I do need to be saved from my desire to know everything. But that is why faith is required. You were dead and then You rose. You have said that all who believe are saved by Your grace. Help me to learn how to be faithful in all circumstances. Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to humbly walk where You lead and do the things You give me to do. May I be faithful to Your call today and every day. Amen.

“Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah” (Matthew 12:38-39).

Jonah was swallowed up for three days. Jesus was crucified, died, and on the third day, rose from the dead. Many still do not believe that truth. People are always asking for proof; and no matter what you give them, they turn away wanting still more. The Lord of all creation has given us what He has given us. Are you satisfied with what His witnesses said? Do you always come back wanting more? Learn to be faithful in all things.

Lord, You know that I too waver and have doubts. You have given me all that I need. Help me stop with the constant asking for more. Teach me how to be content in all circumstances. Guide me in Your goodness to look at others as You look at them and pray for those who doubt. You have risen from the dead. Because You live, we have the hope of eternity. Teach me to live in that hope.

Lord Jesus, what greater sign could have been given for this generation? Death has lost its sting. For those who believe and those who will come to believe, the insanity of this age is revealed for what it is. Lead me to understand that all I need has already been provided. Guide me to walk with You in humbleness and live according to the promises which You have given to all who believe. Amen.

“I tell you, on the day of judgment you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37).

Sloppy and careless, often without thinking, we are spurred on by what is happening in the moment. Whether the moment is of passion or in is calling us to live lives that are intentional. By grace are you saved, but we all are held accountable by Jesus. Do not use words lightly, nor figure that because you are under grace that you are somehow not accountable for your actions.

Lord, I understand this principle. In this world, I am accountable for what I do. It may seem that I get away with some things for a while, but my actions do place me in a position where my words direct where I go and what I do. Help me to not live in fear, but to live responsibly, seeking to say and do what is right in the Father’s eyes. Teach me to repent and amend my words so that I may speak wholesome things.

Lord Jesus, I know that I need not fear being damned, because You have given me grace. Yet sometimes I do not fear Your disapproval enough at the things I say and do. Heal my heart so that I speak what is loving to my neighbor and acceptable to You. Guide me in Your goodness to live this out through what I say and eventually, in all that I do. May I speak acceptable words this day to all with whom I speak. Amen.

“The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure” (Matthew 12:35).

What are you storing up in your heart? If you read Scripture and fill your heart with knowledge of the Lord and your activities seek the Lord’s will, then you are building a good treasure. If you are serving yourself, then you are building a bad treasure. The direction of your heart will store up what it desires. Do you desire the Christ-life, or a life that is built upon your own desires?

Lord, I confess to You that I have both desires going on in me. The self-centered person in me must decrease and Your image in me must increase. Sometimes I do not even know which is which. Lead me, Lord, so that I may be on the path of salvation more consistently. Take away the desire for the self and replace that with a longing for You in all I say and do. You know what is needed.

Lord, save me from myself. Often, I do not know one life from the other. Grant me the hope of salvation that, through all things You will guide me in Your goodness, to complete the faith that You have poured into me. Through all that I experience in this life, keep me with You in the upward call You have given me by grace. Grant that I would look to You alone as the source of my being. Amen.

“You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things, when you are evil? For out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).

What is in your heart? Where you are rooted will guide how you think and what you say. If you are worldly, it will show. If you are rooted in the Lord, it will be evident. In this age, we are a mixture of both. What will increase and what will decrease? Will you die to sin, death, and the devil? In eternity there will be no mixing of the two. You will either be one who is with the Lord, or one who is against Him, and judged accordingly.

You have created us in Your image Lord, but we all like sheep have gone astray. You have come in the flesh to redeem as many as would believe and follow You. Guide me, Lord, in the way You know I need to go. Let me see the path I need to walk. Create in me a new and clean heart that longs for You and Your ways. Through all things, lead me to humbly live the Christ-life You give me.

I ask you, Lord Jesus, to make of me what You will. Where I need to be humbled, humble me. Where I need to be bold, grant me courage. Whatever it is that You see that I need, teach me to accept Your guidance to become what You are making of me. Keep me on the narrow path of Your salvation so that I may live the life You have set before me to become what You are making of me. Amen.

“Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit” (Matthew 12:33).

There is a difference between people who do good and people who do evil. In this age it may be a little more difficult to see, but there is a difference. Ultimately, one will either follow and serve the Lord, or else, follow and serve themselves. If curved inward to the self, the behavior will bear fruit that shows this. If outward toward the Lord, the evidence will display that. The Lord is telling us something that is very much only common sense.

Lord, there is evil in me, who only wants to do good. I look around and I see folk with what at first seems a mixture of fruit. Let me not judge myself by them, but by You alone. Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to humbly walk with You always. Graft me into to You fully so that all that I need is drawn from You. Only You can infuse the good life into any of us which comes through Your grace and mercy alone.

Lord Jesus, You know all that I need. You know where I am deficient and where what is good in the Father’s eyes is growing. Help me to be pliable in Your hands and to resist what is evil. By the means You choose, grant me fortitude to stay the course. Guide me to have a heart that looks to You as the author and source of my being and lead me according to Your design, resisting all influences that are not in accord with the Father’s will. Amen

“Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (Matthew 12:31-32).

You are either with the Lord or you are not. Do not ignore the Holy Spirit within you and then expect to be a part of the kingdom. We are not soloists with knowledge but members of the church of God. Yes, we sin and sometimes get pushy. There is no excuse for this. Each of us must come to the place where we realize that we are not alone but dependent upon the Lord for all things. Be guided by the Lord and His goodness so that You may walk in the everlasting and faithful way.

Lord, I confess that I do not fully understand what this means. I believe You are telling me that I must walk under Your direction. You give me grace so that when I am pushy, or even belligerent, You offer forgiveness, but there is a line that should never be crossed. Teach me where that line is and help me to listen to the Holy Spirit so that I never come close to that line. Guard me against apostasy.

Lord Jesus, I need Your help every day. Guard my lips so that I do not speak what will bring harm to Your kingdom. Holy Spirit, open my ears to hear Your directions, for faith comes by hearing. Lord, guide me in all my ways so that I may humbly walk with You, who is and must be the author and finisher of my faith. Keep me close to You always so that I may not cross any line which would imperil others or me because of my actions. Amen.

“Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property, without first tying up the strong man? Then indeed the house can be plundered. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters” (Matthew 12:29-30).

Jesus makes clear that we are in a battle in this age. It is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and forces of darkness. The wicked one is bound by Jesus. That is why we read of the Apostles casting out demons and healing. In your house, is Jesus your strong man? You cannot be, for we are weak, but He has already overcome. If you are with Jesus, you shall not be overcome, for He is your strength.

Lord, like a small child, I sometimes push Your hand away and believe I can do it on my own. Guide me to live trusting and depending upon You for all things. Help to not lean on my own understanding, but to abide with You and walk in Your ways. Lead me, O Lord, so that I may now and always walk with You. Yes, there is hostility and a war that is constantly going on. Help me to stay focused upon the hope only You give.

Lord Jesus, without You I can do nothing. Lead me in Your goodness and mercy to humbly walk with You always. Guide me this day so that I may see where I am tempted to leave the path You have set me upon. Continue to teach me how to stand firm in the truth of Your presence. Help me to not rely upon myself, but to always lean upon Your everlasting arms for all things. Guide me now and always in the everlasting way of life. Amen