Matthew 15 - January 15th, 2024

Welcome this morning to day 15 of our bread devotionals.

We're so glad you're here this morning.

And uh just believing that God is gonna meet us here as we continue to journey together through the gospel according to Matthew.

And so uh if you're new with us this morning, again we are moving through uh our time together with this framework of uh this acronym of bread, and so B, it simply stands for breathe, and then R, we read, and then we encounter, apply, and devote.

And so uh this morning that's how we'll move through our time together.

I just encourage you to maybe find a quiet space as we get ready to encounter the Lord, uh, and just find a pen or pencil, notepad, journal, ways that you can uh engage tangibly with what God is saying to you this morning, and just get quiet and begin to get still and still your soul this morning as we center ourselves and get ready to meet with God.

Remember, we're coming this morning not just to uh read some information about God or just read through a passage, but we are coming to encounter the living God this morning who wants to meet with you.

And so as we do that, just maybe plant your feet firmly on the floor where you're at.

Open up your palms towards heaven, it's just a sign of surrender, and this morning we'll start our time together by breathing.

So just take a deep breath in, and exhale, deep breath in, and exhale, just find a good rhythm of breathing and focusing on that this morning.

Maybe do what's called a breath prayer, where as you exhale, you say a word or a phrase as a prayer to invite the Holy Spirit to come and begin to speak to you.

So maybe one more deep breath in, and then exhale, and as you do, it's just begin to turn our attention towards our passage today, Matthew chapter 15, and as we do, invite the Holy Spirit to come and begin to speak to you through God's word this morning.

Matthew 15 · chapter mention

Matthew chapter 15.

Matthew 15 · chapter mention

Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus.

They asked him, Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition?

For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.

Jesus replied, And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God?

For instance, God says, honor your father and mother, and anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.

But you say it is alright for people to say to their parents, Sorry, I can't help you, for I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.

In this way, you say they don't need to honor their parents, and so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition.

You hypocrites.

Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.

Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear.

Listen, he said, and try to understand.

It's not what goes into your mouth that defiles you.

You are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.

Then the disciples came to him and asked, Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?

And Jesus replied, Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, so ignore them.

They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.

Then Peter said to Jesus, Explain to us the parable that says people aren't defiled by what they eat.

Don't you understand yet?

Jesus asked.

Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.

And then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon.

A gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, Have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David, for my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.

But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word.

Then his disciples urged him to send her away.

Tell her to go away, they said.

She is bothering us with all her begging.

And then Jesus said to the woman, I was sent only to help God's lost sheep, the people of Israel.

But she came and worshipped him, pleading again, Lord, help me.

And Jesus responded, It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.

And she replied, That's true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their master's table.

Dear woman, Jesus said to her, your faith is great.

Your request is granted, and her daughter was instantly healed.

And Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down.

A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn't speak, and many others.

They laid them before Jesus and he healed them all.

The crowd was amazed.

Those who hadn't been able to speak were talking.

The crippled were made well, the lame were walking, and the blind could see again, and they praised the God of Israel.

And then Jesus called his disciples and told them, I feel sorry for these people.

They have been here with me for three days and they have nothing left to eat.

I don't want to send them away hungry or they will faint along the way.

The disciples replied, Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?

Jesus asked, How much bread do you have?

They replied, Seven loaves and a few small fish.

So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground, and then he took the seven loaves and the fish and thanked God for them and broke them into pieces.

He gave them to the disciples who distributed the food to the crowd.

They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food.

There were four thousand men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children.

And then Jesus sent the people home and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadon.

This is the word of the Lord.

So now we'll move into the encounter portion of our morning.

Where we simply just take a few moments and begin to process what we think God is saying to us.

And so maybe take a chosen verse that you have that you highlighted or something that you jotted down.

Spend a few minutes meditating on that.

How does this verse make you feel?

What do you think it is that God is saying to you in this?

And uh maybe write a short reflection as you meditate on what it is God is speaking to you this morning.

And so over the next few moments, as you're continuing to process, maybe ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom and guidance and bring to the forefront of how you can be able to apply this to your life today.

And this is where we just spend a few moments closing our time together in response to what God has said to us by simply writing out a short prayer uh that that we can uh pray to the Lord in devotion to him.

And so maybe spend a few minutes doing that now.

But we do want to say thank you so much for being with us this morning, and we pray that as you go about your day, that the Holy Spirit would empower you to live out all that God is telling you this morning.

And so as you go, may his peace and his presence and his joy go with you as you commit your day to him.