Today’s Walk in the Word

Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.     —Matthew 22:21 Do you know anyone who likes to pay taxes? Neither do I. The Pharisees tried to trap Jesus on taxes: “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” If Jesus said “No,” he was in trouble with […]

Come to the wedding banquet.        —Matthew 22:4 Jesus spun a story about a king who invited some well-heeled friends to a wedding banquet for his son, only to be insulted by their refusal to come. First impulse is to brand these invitees as a wicked, wretched, worthless brood. But not so fast. […]

Bring them here to me.    —Matthew 14:18 Jesus’ disciples asked him to dismiss the crowd so the people could go buy themselves some dinner. He said, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they protested. “Bring them […]

Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?                    —Matthew 18:1 Jesus’ disciples jockeyed for prominent positions (Mk 9:33; 10:37, 41). “Who is the greatest in the kingdom?” they asked. Jesus answered, “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. […]

[T]hey saw no one except Jesus.             —Matthew 17:8 It was a spine-tingling experience: Jesus’ face shone like the sun, his clothes were eye-squinting bright, and Moses and Elijah were right there talking with him (Mt 17:2–3). Then a bright cloud blanketed them, and God spoke. Peter, James, and John […]

Today it will be stormy.      —Matthew 16:3 One of the first things I do when my feet hit the floor each morning is check the weather. And when I make a phone call, one of the first things after “Hello” is, “How’s the weather there?” When the bigwigs asked Jesus to show them […]

[H]e always lives to intercede.             —Hebrews 7:25 Jesus was—and is—a praying man. He got up early in the morning and sought a solitary place to pray (Mk 1:35). He prayed all night before choosing his apostles (Lk 6:12–13). After a hard day’s work, he retreated to a mountainside to […]

[B]y the grace of God I am what I am.                —1 Corinthians 15:10 “God’s grace has made me what I am,” wrote Paul, “and his grace to me was not wasted” (1 Cor 15:10 NCV). “I worked harder than all the other apostles,” he said. It wasn’t a […]

If you love me, you will obey what I command.     —John 14:15 Our Lord doesn’t demand obedience. He tells us what he wants us to do, but doesn’t force us to do it. The cost of discipleship is prefaced with “If”—meaning we don’t have to buy it if we don’t want to: “If […]

God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.       —1 John 5:11 You share the victory of resurrection and eternal life on one condition, precisely stated in 1 John 5:11–12: “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son […]