Having knowledge of the Word of God is not enough. You need to act on the knowledge you have.


The Magi had limited knowledge of the Word of God but they acted with great sacrifice to visit Jesus and brought gifts too. Much of the Israelites including the Jews had access to knowledge but did not act by accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior. This is why Jesus gave the famous "Sermon on the Mount" as follows:

"Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, and it collapsed; it was utterly destroyed!" Matthew 7:24-27

A time of hardship is not an excuse to sin and disobey God

When Jesus was hungry after fasting, the devil tempted Jesus to disobey God and sin by telling the stones to become bread. Jesus did not obey the devil. Jesus answered, saying: “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' " Matthew 4:1-4

When 'self' is threatened people are willing to set aside the written Word of God. What a tragedy it would be if there were not some who believed that some things are more important than physical life! Soldiers go out to war knowing their lives will be at risk, but assured that their cause is worth dying for. How much more true this should be for Christians! We desperately need people who value obedience to God's Word more than the preservation of their physical lives. We need people who have Paul's attitude toward life and death.

Getting the real satisfaction through Jesus Christ.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled" Matthew 5:6

Why do we find enjoyment as believers in going to movies that are geared toward and based upon adultery, divorce, violence, cursing the Lord's name, mockery, the degrading of human life? Why do we put into our minds those images, those lyrics to songs, those television shows that are based on trickery and lies? These things hinder our walk with the Lord; they distract us from true righteousness. Hungering and thirsting after righteousness can be tough; in fact in a lot of ways it can be extremely difficult, because we have to make the tough decision, the decisions to be different, to not always do what other people are doing, to be willing as Daniel was to stand alone in the midst of our peers both old and young.

We are blessed if we hunger and thirst after righteousness. How? Because we are filled; we don't hunger any longer as the world hungers because our satisfaction has been met in Christ. Amen.

Do not allow the devil to mislead you: stop looking for signs and wonders

The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say it will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, it will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky: but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign: and there shall be no sign given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jo'nas. Matthew 16:1-4

Anyone in the position of looking for signs and wonders can be easily deceived by the devil. Rather we should allow biblical truth to lead and guide us, which can further lead to God revealing himself to us in diverse ways.

Consequences of failure to reciprocate kindness - Parable of the unmerciful servant

God requires us to forgive our fellow human beings from the heart, just as God Himself forgave us from our own sins, by sending His only son (Jesus Christ) to die on the cross for our sins. Consequently, anyone that fails to forgive his/her fellow human from the heart will attract God's judgement.

Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
Matthew 18:32-35

More background reading: Matthew 18:21 - 35

Who's Son is the Christ?

Jesus Christ is the promised messiah. There was never a time He did not exist eternally as part of the divinity of God. Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. Jesus Christ's eternal existence predates the time He was born as a descendant of David from the tribe of Judah.

David under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit acknowledged this aspect in the book of Psalms.
The Lord says to my Lord. Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. Psalm 110:1 This literally means that the Lord (God) said to my Lord (Jesus Christ). Sit at my right hand till I (God) make your enemies a footstool for your feet.

More background reading: Matthew 22:41-46

The secretive opposition faced by mankind

In life there is always opposition. Opposition for jobs, contracts, spouse, evangelism and many other Godly things worth accomplishing in life. But there is another type of opposition far more dangerous and secretive - known as Satan. Satan uses people and physical occurrences to accomplish his will - which is to kill, steal and destroy God's creation - thereby preventing people from doing the will of God.

According to the book of Matthew, Satan used a physical occurrence - the wind - to disturb the journey of the disciples when Jesus sent them to the other side of the lake. But Jesus shew himself strong by walking on the water to meet his disciples on the boat and also calming the wind for a smooth boat ride to the other side, where another set of people became healed.

More background reading: Matthew 14:22-36

Avoiding worldliness while living in the world

We, (like John the Baptist) are called to be a unique people. We must learn to live on the world and avoid worldliness.

As christians, we should preach to others to prepare for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, by telling them to repent of their sins and turn to Jesus Christ for salvation.

Repentance involves having a change of heart from sin to God's righteousness which in turn leads to conducts/outcomes(fruits) that are in accordance with God's Word.

More background reading: Matthew 3

Don't fall prey to satan's tricks

From the days of Adam & Eve through to Jesus Christ and this present time, Satan has tempted and continues to trick people into rebelling against the will of God by pretending to be an objective and helpful friend with no conflict of interest and nothing to gain.

Our Lord Jesus triumphed over temptation, sin and satan. This is what God expects from us also.

More background reading: Matthew 4

How to have a pure heart

Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. Nothing but the sight of God will satisfy the longings of the disciple’s heart.

God wants us to have a pure heart - a heart committed to living a life totally pleasing to God, because “… the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts” (1 Chronicles 28:9).

Crucial steps to a pure heart

(1) Spend more time in the Word of God. Psalm 119:9, 119:11

(2) Embrace fellowship with other children of God which helps us being accountable. Hebrews 10:24

(3) Do the works of God to be a blessing to others.

A pure heart is evidenced by the we live, we "... no longer live the rest of our earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God” (1 Peter 4:2).

More background reading: Matthew 5

How to pray

When praying, Jesus Christ cautioned against repetitious babbling such as the recitation of liturgical prayers as if God is not listening and He must be manipulated for Him to answer us.

Jesus Christ gave us a guide on how we can pray - known as 'The Lord's Prayer' - Matthew 6:9-13.

Importantly, our Lord's Prayer' have us requesting God to forgive us with the same degree we have forgiven others that have wronged us!

If we have a heart that carries no grudges, then we have confidence at this point in our prayer that we have received the Father’s forgiveness. That is an excellent thing.

God gifted us salvation by His grace which comes by faith. This is a bigger reason to gratefully forgive those who have wronged us —whether they seek that forgiveness or not.

Does the phrase “forgive … as we have forgiven” give you dread, or is it full of promise because your heart bears ill will to none? If you are not comfortable, do the hard work of letting go of your anger.

Background reading: Matthew 6

Where Is Your Treasure?

We must guard our hearts to follow hard after the things of God and not to be distracted by the things of this world.

The Holy Bible contains numerous examples of people that laid up treasures for themselves on earth while disobeying God's command:

(a) The story of Achan (Joshua 6:17-18, 7:1-26).
(b) The Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19:16-22).

At the end of our lives as believers, we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account for our lives here on the earth.

Whatever we have laid upon that foundation, whether gold or hay, will go through the fire and either last or not last. Those believers who seek to build up wealth and riches on earth will suffer loss and will be saved as through fire, whereas those who strive to lay up treasures in heaven will receive a reward.

How to lay treasures for ourselves in Heaven:

By loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength,

For example, loving your neighbor as yourself – if a man has a need for a shirt and you have extra, give him one – being a cheerful giver, honoring God in your marriage, guarding your mind against adulterous/covetous thoughts, sharing the good news of the gospel with those around you, just to mention a few.

A strong focus on gathering wealth on earth distorts our vision on God - examples in the Holy Bible include:

The Story of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) - They sold their property, kept some of the money for themselves and lied that they have brought all the money for the advancement of the church.

The Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-21) - Tries to amass great wealth on earth so he can retire rich and take life easy, without being also rich towards God.

Final Note: Money is not bad. But the love of it is the root of all evil.

Command those that are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they may be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on to eternal life (1 Timothy 6:17-19).

Background reading: Matthew 6

True & False disciples
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“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.‭ Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

We pray we do not end up working for God in a few areas while disobeying God's Will in other areas in Jesus name. Amen.

Background reading: Matthew 7

The God that doesn't discriminate based on our ethnicity

Regardless of our ethnic background or financial status we can always call on Jesus Christ for our every need.

The centurion (a Gentile) recognized the authority of the Lord Jesus and asked Jesus to speak the word of healing for his servant at home. Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.
Jesus commended the centurion's great faith as a level of faith never seen in anyone in Israel.

‭‭On other occasions, many who were demon-possessed were brought to Jesus, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.

Christ removes the barriers between God and man and also the barriers that separate men. Jews and Gentiles can enter into God’s blessings (including fellowship with each other) by faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah.

Background reading: Matthew 8

Doubting God due to bad circumstances.

John the Baptist, graced to baptize our Lord Jesus, witnessed firsthand the response from God, confirming Jesus Christ as the promised Son of God - the messiah.

During the imprisonment of John the Baptist, John became a little doubtful concerning Jesus due to his predicament, so he sent his disciples out to enquire from Jesus whether he is the true promised messiah or whether there is another one to expect.

Jesus responded perfectly by highlighting the works He has done as our messiah - ‭‭The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.

What can we learn from this?
As children of God, we should hold on to God's Word and not allow circumstances to shake our belief/faith in God.

"Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me" Matthew 11:6

Background reading: Matthew 11

True meaning of the Sabbath

Jesus fulfilled the Law in His life and His death on the cross of Calvary.

When we believe in Jesus, we enter into the rest He promised (Matt. 11:28), which is the eternal Sabbath.

The Sabbath is not simply a day of legalistic rituals such as the act of avoiding work!

Jesus never intended the Sabbath to be about a list of prohibited action just as the Pharisees envisaged.

The Sabbath day was designed as a day of mercy from God, a time of rest and restoration, of celebration and service for God, of which: feeding the hungry, rescuing a sheep, healing a man would all be harmonious with that day.

Morality and goodness without a commitment to Christ in regeneration will leave an emptiness in the soul for evil spiritual forces to occupy. And evil spirits do not always cause people to do terrible evil things; they often get people to “have the form of godliness without the power.”

Background reading: Matthew 12

The greatest gift to mankind

Accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and saviour is an important prerequisite to having faith in God and believing the Word of God.

Importantly, we cannot accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, except God has given us this privilege.

Conversely, the privilege to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour can be denied by God as a form of judgement against those that continually rebel against Him.

Background reading: Romans 1:27-29, Isaiah 6, Matthew 13