Matthew 6:19-34

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (v21). According to Jesus, wherever we put our treasure (our time, our money, our attention) becomes the controlling center of our lives. He offers us the chance to “lay up treasures in heaven” – to make God and His kingdom the center of our affections and our highest goal. When we do, we know that our investment is secure (His kingdom is unshakeable) and that we do not have to live in anxious desperation (v25).

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Matthew 6:1-18

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven” (v1). Jesus taught his followers that to have a real relationship with the Father, they would need to live for His presence and approval, not the opinions of others. Instead of public displays of religious tradition, giving, praying, and fasting should be private matters of devotion to the One who matters most (v5-8).

Psalm 4

“Who will show us some good?” (v6). This is the universal question of men and women everywhere, in every generation. Who will give us a better life, more security, more happiness? How will we make our “grain and new wine” increase? (v7). Sadly, by believing “vain words” and “lies” (v2), we end up with shame instead of the life God desires for us (v2). He calls us to put our trust in Him alone and discover the joy of knowing Him (v5,7). 

In peace I will both lie down and sle

Genesis 13-14

“Lift up your eyes and look ... for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever” (13:14). After Abram’s disastrous attempt to find help in Egypt, he returned to Canaan, “to the place where he had made an altar at the first” (13:4). After Abram and Lot separated, God reminded Abram that He would give him the land (13:11,17). Later, after rescuing Lot from Canaanite kings, Abram met the priest-king Melchizedek. Rather than grasping for more, Ab

Genesis 12

“Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house ... I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing” (v1-3). God’s call to Abram included the promise to make his name great, just as his ancestors had desired (Gen. 11). Yet in contrast to the Tower of Babel, God’s hand on Abram would mean blessing for others, not harm. Abram obeyed God and took his family to Canaan. He stumbled often due to fear (12:13), but he put his future in God’

Genesis 10-11

“Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower ... and let us make a name for ourselves” (11:4). Noah’s descendants, united by one language, came together to make something impressive, lasting, and glorious – to ‘make a name’ for themselves. Their tendency toward sin made this project dangerous, and the Lord recognized that “this is only the beginning of what they will do” (11:6). To stop their ingenuity from producing catastrophic harm, God “confused their language” and

Matthew 5

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven (v44-45)”. Jesus taught his disciples that belonging to the kingdom of heaven meant living in a way radically opposed to what the world considers ‘normal’. Those who are humble and broken, who long for righteousness and actively pursue peace, risk rejection in this world (v11). Yet in the Father’s eyes, they are beloved children and citizens of heaven.

“Blessed a

Matthew 4:12-25

“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (v17). Having defeated the devil’s attacks and temptations, Jesus invited men and women to join Him in God’s kingdom. He was the Light breaking in among those who “dwelled in the region and shadow of death” (v16), the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecies and the world’s hopes. He went around proclaiming “the gospel of the kingdom” to everyone and healing all kinds of diseases (v23)

Matthew 4:1-11

“And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry” (v2). Jesus was led by the Spirit into a time of testing and temptation (v1). While most people would have prepared by resting or eating to build up strength, Jesus fasted. Physically weak but spiritually fortified, Jesus saw through the devil’s lies about power, self-importance, and shortcuts to glory. He knew that true satisfaction and joy came from obeying the Father. “You shall worship the Lord your God and

Psalm 3

“Lord, how many are my foes! ... many are saying of my soul, ‘There is no salvation for him in God’” (v1-2). The psalmist faced terrible attacks from his enemies (v6). Some were physical threats, and others were accusations that God was not with him or on his side. But the psalmist knew that his troubles did not mean God was punishing him. He clung to the Lord who was his “shield”, and God answered his cries for help and lifted him up (v3,4).

“I lay down and slept, I woke a

Genesis 9

“And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply ...” (v1). God did not simply rescue Noah’s family from the flood; when it was over, He blessed them. He reissued the command to “be fruitful and multiply”, and the rainbow became a sign of His continuing mercy (v13). On this earth, He commanded humans to respect all life (v4), especially human life (v5-6). Humans would only flourish when they followed God’s ways, as Noah’s sons immediately disc

Genesis 8

“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease” (v22). When the flood waters receded, God told Noah and his family to “go out” with all the animals and to “be fruitful and multiply on the earth” (v17). Noah’s family had a real future, and so did the entire earth. Even though God knew that humanity had a bent toward sin (v21), He re-covenanted with Noah’s family to allow life to continue. God, the creator of

Genesis 7

“Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals ...” (v1-2). The all-pervasive evil on the earth had reached a breaking point, and the consequences were catastrophic. Yet, the Lord preserved life, and He told Noah to protect an abundance of “clean animals” used for holy sacrifice. This was a sign that God’s desire was for men and women to one day worship Him ag

Genesis 6

“The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (v5). The beautiful, good world God created had become completely polluted through sin. Humanity’s constant violence, evil, and suffering “grieved” God, and He decided to wipe the earth clean (v6, 11). He chose not to eradicate humanity completely but instead to restart the population with Noah, who was “righteous, blameless in h

Genesis 5

“Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands” (v29). Humanity was enduring the broken relationships and grinding, hard labor that resulted from Adam and Eve’s tragic attempt to be like gods. But God was not absent. Noah, whose name in Hebrew sounds like ‘rest’ or ‘relief’, symbolized hope for his parents, and Enoch walked closely with God (v21-23).

“When God created man, he made him in the l