Matthew 7 Devotions by Stephen Taylor

Matthew 7:11-12

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So, in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Growing up, I longed for a close, intimate relationship with my dad. I love my dad, and he gave me the gifts he knew how to give in the best way he knew how, but I longed for a more intimate relationship, and when I felt like I didn’t receive it, I started trying to earn it. So, I became a people-pleasing, codependent person in all my relationships.

That didn’t change when I came to know the Lord. I viewed Him as some far-off God that I had to build my own way to. I would build my way to Him with a little “kindness here” or “honesty there” or “Look what I did, God! Do you love me now? Can I be accepted now?” The whole time, He was shaking His head, saying, “My child, my child, I have loved you and accepted you long before you loved and accepted Me. Stop trying to build a bridge out of works when my Son already built it out of love!!!”

The things I longed for from my earthly father were made complete in my Heavenly One. Papa God draws me into His arms daily, sets me on His lap, and lets me tell Him all the things He already knows but acts like it’s the first time He has heard them because He loves me and wants me to know He is there, no matter what!!!

And God didn’t stop there; as I have walked with Him, He has put some amazing men of God in my life to love, encourage, teach, train, and edify me in my walk with the Lord!!! So, I want to say thank you to the men who have listened to God and taken me under their wing. My Dads in Jesus, you might say. I love you all!!!

Be encouraging, Be vulnerable, Be a light, and most importantly, Be like Jesus!!! I love you all, God bless, glory to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit!!!

 

Matthew 7:13,14

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

The road to destruction isn’t wide because God desires many to walk it. Neither is the path to life narrow because He is hiding it from us. But rather, the road to destruction is wide because there are a great number of things that will lead us away from God, and the road to life is narrow, for there is only One that will take us to Him, Jesus Christ!

Christ speaks of two gates, two paths, and two outcomes, but in essence, it’s only one choice; to be His or to be His enemies. We must not make these things harder than they are, for this life is hard enough. But rather, we must take Christ at His word and walk in faith. He doesn’t hide the narrow path from us, but ultimately, many choose not to walk it because of what it may cost. People perceive the narrow path as less fun and more burdensome, when in all reality, it is the exact opposite. A life with Christ is fuller than a cup overflowing with water. There are hard times, but seasons end, whereas Christ doesn’t, so we can rest in Him knowing that weeping may last for a moment, but joy comes in the morning.

The narrow path and narrow gate are representations of Christ; there is no other path to salvation and freedom. He is the only way. Will we persevere down that path in Him today or continue to hold hands with the world and dance down the road of destruction?

Psalm 30:4,5- Sing the praises of the LORD, you His faithful people; praise His holy name. For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Psalm 30:9- 12- “What is gained if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? Hear, LORD, and be merciful to me; LORD, be my help.” You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. LORD my God, I will praise you forever.

God bless! I love you all, but His love is the pathway home! Glory, honor, and praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!

Matthew 7:24, 26

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock…But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.”

Jesus only states one difference between the two men, action! They both hear, they are both building, yet only one puts into practice what he hears. We may approve of Scripture, we may agree with it, we may even teach it, but are we putting it into practice? Are we living what we “amen” on Sundays?

It’s easy for us as individuals to say one thing and do another. To proclaim the Gospel with our mouths but honor the enemy with our lives. We must fight against this, and we must build our houses upon the Rock, Jesus Christ.

We cannot forsake or abandon any part of God’s Word; all of it is given for a reason and a purpose. It equips us and prepares us, it guards us and grows us, it sanctifies us and strengthens us. It is unmovable and unchanging, unwavering in its perfectness and unafraid of the culture or what the world says is right or wrong. Jesus pours into us the importance of putting His words into practice. Let’s look at what happens to the two different houses and what they were built upon:

House built upon Christ’s teaching

Matthew 7:25- The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

House built upon anything else

Matthew 7:27- The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

We see that they both faced the same storm, yet only one remained, the house built upon the truth of God’s Word and His Son! WE all build a house, but not every house will stand. What’s yours built on today?

God bless! I love you all, but His love and truth is the firm foundation we desperately need! Glory, honor, and praise to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!

 

Matthew 7:28,29

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at His teaching because He taught as one who had authority and not as their teachers of the law. 

 

Jesus was teaching with authority because He is authority! Knowledge didn’t give us the Lord, but rather, the Lord gives us the knowledge! Jesus doesn’t teach us from second-hand knowledge but from a personal and intimate relationship with it.

 

Think about it like this: Jesus was there when the laws were given to Moses. He knows the heart behind them and the reasoning for each one of them. These laws weren’t taught to our King but are a part of who He is. These laws aren’t of human origin but divinely given.

 

In Matthew 7:12, Jesus sums up the Law and the Prophets in a few words. He can do this because He was there and knows the truth of why the laws were given. These laws weren’t given to be oppressive or hinder us from God but rather to draw us away from sin and toward God. The Law was given for protection, not for destruction, and Jesus knows that!

 

If everything we need is found in Jesus, then why are we chasing anything but Him? Jesus is the source, so then the question becomes, are we going to the source daily? Are we taking our hearts to Him? He has been given all authority, but do we submit to His rule in our lives, or do we still try to control our own lives? Jesus came to set the captives free, but if the captives refuse to leave their prison, what more can be done?

 

Matthew 28:18 - Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

 

Galatians 3:21-24 - Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ. Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.

 

God bless! I love you all! Glory, honor, and praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!