one step: Matthew 8.6

And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

Asking Jesus to leave is an interesting response to the deliverance of two dangerous, life-threatening men who altered the rhythm of life for an entire town. Why would they not welcome Jesus to do more to improve their town via freedom and healing?

When freedom came, it came at a cost. The cost was a heard of pigs. We don’t have the reason for the request of the demons to go into the pigs once kicked out of the two men. Perhaps unclean spirits felt it fitting to go into pigs as pigs were deemed unclean in the time of Jesus. We also do not have context as to why Jesus granted it. Regardless, the fulfillment of the demon’s request resulted in the death of the pigs.*

It seems that the people of the town valued the material possession of the pigs and their ability to provide financially than they did the freedom of these two men and the safety that deliverance lent. It also seems that Jesus valued the men more than those things the town valued.* HIs value was on people, their value was on gain.

What area of our lives might we need freedom? What do we value more than this freedom? Does material gain or something that we have placed worth on prevent us from welcoming Jesus into our lives to do His work? What might freedom from fear, insecurity, or anger cost? What might it cost us to be delivered from a spirit of lust or spirit of manipulation or spirit of lying?

Deliverance from lust might cost you your pride as you share with a trusted believer. Freedom from lying might cost you a business deal as you choose not to bend reality to your favor. Deliverance from anger might cost you the comfort that comes from ignoring your past. Freedom from fear might cost you the perceived safety of the walls that you have built around your heart.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to choose to value the freedom He offers above all that you hold dear. Perhaps today God wants you to accept His freedom knowing that the benefit is eternal and the cost is temporary. Maybe God wants to rewrite your understanding of what matters.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

Need prayer? We are happy to pray for you (ask for prayer here).

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*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 207–212, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 8:28–34) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).

one step: Matthew 8.5

“And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea…”

“Following Jesus makes for an easy life”… said no one ever. Well, not anyone honest anyway. In the story of Jesus calming the storm, we must recognize that Jesus led them to a place where a storm of life could overcome their ability to survive.

Amongst the disciples were fishermen who knew the capabilities of the storms of the Sea of Galilee. They were accustomed to storms popping up out of nowhere due to the geography of the area that made such weather conditions possible.* They had experience, but this was something different.

This terrifying storm sent sea-faring disciples to the bottom of the boat to seek the help of a carpenter-teacher. Surely by this time they knew that He was something more. Undoubtably they knew that He was more than a teacher or a carpenter because neither of these vocations qualify Jesus to deal with a situation of nature.*

Even so, Jesus confronts their lack of faith: “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17). What was it that they heard that they were allowing the voice of the raging sea to drown out? Had they heard Jesus say who He is? Had they heard Jesus say that He cared? Had they heard Jesus indicate that they were going to the other side? Should they have calmed the storm themselves? We cannot be sure of where the faith of the disciples failed, but we can see the fruit of it: they were terrified and thought that they would die. They ran to Jesus out of fear of the storm, not out of a posture of understanding that all would be well because He was with them. Judging from the tone of the disciples, it does not seem that they gently awoke Jesus from His ministry-induced slumber.

Life is hard, and storms happen. Sometimes these storms happen en route to the place Jesus has promised us. That day with the disciples, Jesus promised them a journey to the other side (Luke 8:22), but a storm like no other came to stand in the way.

In the storms of life, what will you do? Will we blame Jesus for leading us into the storm? Will we surrender to the will of the evil tempest? Will we run to Jesus for help? Will we speak to the storms with the authority we have been given?

The good news: even if we come to Jesus without enough faith, He still calms the storm when we come to Him.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to speak to the storm in your life to be calm. Perhaps you need to go to Jesus about the storm, and He invites you to come with trust in Him, not just fear of the storm. Maybe today God wants you to see more of who He is, and He is using the storm to do it.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

Need prayer? We are happy to pray for you (ask for prayer here).

sign up just below for a daily reminder of the one step devotional. click here to return to devotional list.

*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 204-207, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 8:23-27) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).

one step: Matthew 8.4

“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

Following Jesus comes with a cost. It requires us to give up some things. It requires sacrifice.

This sacrifice often comes in the form of giving up our sense of security. It also requires that we set following Jesus above all social obligations of what is proper or viewed as right in our context. Is it wise to walk a path where nothing in this world is guaranteed? Is it good to leave relationships with friends and family? These are the questions that Jesus needs us to answer before following Him.*

Jesus welcomes followers and the masses everywhere He goes, but He requires a certain level of commitment from disciples who would follow Him and walk in His footsteps. He requires this of you and me.

Being a disciple of Jesus, the one who heals, frees, teaches, and challenges, might prove interesting, but it is not comfortable.

Just as much as Jesus intends “follow me” to serve as an initial invitation to walk with Him, it remains as an ongoing invitation that says, “keep following me.”*

The cost of discipleship in the life of my wife and I seems higher than ever before. To be a disciple of Jesus in the comfortable confines of a place that is familiar is a gift to our flesh and a welcome respite for a season. Eventually, however, Jesus goes somewhere difficult, unknown, and distant and says, “keep following me.”

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to follow Him. Perhaps you have listened to His teaching, you have seen His miracles and heard His wisdom, but you have yet to say “yes” to following Him. Maybe today He would have you step out into an uncomfortable place, and He’s waiting for your “yes” to that too.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

Need prayer? We are happy to pray for you (ask for prayer here).

sign up just below for a daily reminder of the one step devotional. click here to return to devotional list.

*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 199-203, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 8:18-22) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).

one step: Matthew 8.3

He touched her hand, and the fever left her… and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.

It is very hard being in a place of sickness or oppression. It’s painful and grinding to the soul to live in a place consumed by illness or pressed down or controlled by depression, fear, anger, lust, or bitterness. These places of desperation often leave us with no hope. No hope of recovery; no hope of freedom; no hope of a new tomorrow.

In steps Jesus.

The ease with which Jesus heals and frees is a little mind-blowing. We see in Scripture times where Jesus heals and frees, and it’s effortless. We see in Matthew 8 that Jesus heals with a simple touch and frees with a single word, and that these simple actions of life-altering grace were made available to all who were sick.

We read this and it either injects us with hope, or it causes us to wonder, “when will my touch come?” “When will the word be spoken over me?”

We do not know the story of each person in Matthew 8. We do not know how long they struggled. We know from the stories of other healings of Jesus that some people waited years to receive the touch or the word from Jesus.

Why does He make us wait? Why does a simple touch or a simple word delay for what seems like so very long? When will salvation come?

The resurrecting power of Jesus Christ has come. He has been made available to the world; He is Immanuel, God with us today. Honestly, I cannot explain why we have to wait. My wife and I have had to wait for God for what seems like a very long time. Sometimes I just do not understand, but I still hold onto Him as He holds onto me.

I know that God’s timing always ends up perfect. I also know that the story that God is writing doesn’t always make sense to us with our earth-tied perspective. I also know He cares. I know that He does heal and free.

The hard part seems to be trusting Him. The easy part is healing and freeing.

Lord, help us trust; help us to wait.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to take a deep breath and wait. Perhaps the step that He wants you to take is to take the uphill step of trust. Maybe He is stepping toward you today. Perhaps He is taking the step of healing and freeing you today. Just receive.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

Need prayer? We are happy to pray for you (ask for prayer here).

sign up just below for a daily reminder of the one step devotional. click here to return to devotional list.

*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 191-196, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 8:5-12) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).

one step: water break

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”

Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

Life is a long road with Jesus, and so is the journey through the Gospel of Matthew… let’s take a water break…

In Isaiah 6, Isaiah hears the calling of the Lord immediately following His intimate experience with the Creator of All. In a profound ceremony of fire-hot coal, Isaiah’s sins are removed.

The love and forgiveness of God preceded the call of God. Isaiah’s response was not directed toward an unfeeling, unmerciful being, but it was a response to His unparalleled love. The acceptance of the God who reached out to Him immediately lead to a call to being a part of reaching out to others.

What has God done for you? How much love has He bestowed upon you? Have you received it?

Have you heard the call?

There are places in my heart that I need to open to the love of the Father. I hide these places because they’ve been hurt, and I believe that I need to protect them. While this is not true (I need hide nothing from the Healer), and I know it conceptually, there are some places that I have hidden so deeply that I have hidden them from my own sight. Imagine if I allowed God to touch those hidden places in my life. Imagine what He may call me to do!

What might He call you to do?

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to show your heart to Him so that He may heal it. Maybe God has forgiven you and touched your life and now He is asking, “Whom shall I send?” Perhaps God is waiting for you to say yes to the call to go. Maybe God is calling you to be a part of reaching out to others.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

Need prayer? We are happy to pray for you (ask for prayer here).

sign up just below for a daily reminder of the one step devotional. click here to return to devotional list.

*J. A. Motyer, Isaiah: an introduction and commentary Vol. 20 (Westmont: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 83–84.