Agape Devotions

READ: Matt.26 REFLECT: Matthew 26:17 tells us that it is the first day of Unleavened Bread. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was a feast prescribed by God to Moses for the people of Israel. Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.” (Exodus 13:3 ESV) The reason for the feast was to remember how God set His people free from slavery by a strong hand. This annual feast was to remember the power of God to release His people and give them liberation. This seven day memorial was to be kicked off with the Passover feast. This is why we read the disciples asking Jesus about making preparations for the Passover meal in verse 17. What Matthew would like us to see as the backdrop for the events we are reading is the Passover meal and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Remembering God’s strong delivering hand in the exodus is what the peop...

READ : Matthew 25 Verses chosen for meditation: Matthew 25:1-13 25  “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.  2  Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.  3  For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,  4  but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.  5  As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.  6  But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’  7  Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.  8  And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’  9  But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’  10  And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and ...

Read   Matthew 23-24 Verses chosen for devotion: “But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭23‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬ Reflect   In Matthew 23 Jesus was rebuking the scribes and Pharisees and he warned his disciples against imitating them. So what does the selected verses mean to the disciples and how does this apply to us today? If we take these verses literally they may seem confusing and yet contradicting, especially on the part of no man shall be called father on earth. In addition why aren’t we allowed to respect our teachers who impart knowledge and teaching to us to make us a better person academically and morally. Aren’t we supposed to honor our parents? Then if no one shall call another person Father how then we respect and honor my parents. Isn’t this contradictory ...

Read Read Matthew 21-22 Verses chosen for meditation: Matthew 21:5, 9; 22:46 5 "Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions. Reflect   There is much to reflect from the two chapters.   First, the understated entrance by Jesus and grand welcome by the people, which five days later would become an altogether different scene, a 180 - degree turn of events.   Then, there was the incident at the temple and another involving a fig tree where Jesus called a spade a spade when they were not what they were supposed to be.  ...

  TEXT TO REFLECT ON 21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. 23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” 26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” MATTHEW 19:21-26 REFLECT In this brief encounter that Jesus had with a wealthy young man, Jesus highlighted two life truths: the first was about the everyday reality of exchange; the second was about the foolishness of human nature. THE REALITY OF EXCHANGE or THE OPPORTUNIT...

Read: Matthew 18 No devotional (Sunday)

Read: Matthew 16-17 Verses chosen for reflection Matthew 16:13-20 13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed[d] in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. Reflect There has been much debate on what...

READ : Matt.13:53 to 15:39 REFLECT : Jesus returns to His hometown of Nazareth and begins teaching in the synagogue. The people are astonished by Jesus’ teaching and by His miracles. They are asking each other,   “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?”   Now we might think that this is a legitimate question. We might think they are amazed into wondering who Jesus is because of what He is able to do and how He is able to teach. But the rest of what they are saying in verses 55-56 show that this is not the case. The problem is that they know this Jesus. They start saying that this is the carpenter’s son. Isn’t his mother Mary? Aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Aren’t Jesus’ sisters also with us? But look at how this ends in verse 56.   “Where then did this man get all these things?”   We know Jesus. We know that He is the son of a carpenter. We know that His mother is Mary. We know Jesus’ brothers. We know Jesus’ sisters. Th...

READ : Matthew 13:1-52 Verses chosen for meditation: Matthew 13:3-8 3  And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow.  4  And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.  5  Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,  6  but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.  7  Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.  8  Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. REFLECT This chapter compiles parables related to the kingdom of heaven and people’s responses to the word. The parable in today’s passage is about a sower who scatters seeds over the prepared soil. To get maximum harvest, some seeds are scattered even b...

READ : Matthew 11-12. Verses chosen for meditation: Matthew 11:28-30. 28  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.   29  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.   30  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”   REFLECT In the Old Testament, God handed down rules regarding what not to do on the Sabbath in order to embrace rest. In the New Testament, Jesus offered a new way. Rather than stressing regulations, Jesus called the disciples into relationship – go to Jesus who is the Source of strength and rest ( Matt 11:28 ). The ongoing divine help Jesus enjoyed from the Father, is the same we can experience as well, because He is one with His Father (Matt 11: 25-26). Jesus concluded in verse 30, saying that being “yoked” together with Him is “light.” The word “light” describes something that is not burdensome, but light or ...