one step: Matthew 11.1

Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

In many ways, John the Baptist serves as an example to us of how to posture ourselves as ones who make the way for Christ in our generation. According to Jesus, John the Baptist was the greatest of all prophets. In Matthew 11, Jesus publicly shares the admirable qualities of John.

First, Jesus shares that John did not allow public opinion or human authority sway his devotion to God or his message of the Messiah. Second, Jesus tells of John’s integrity. A prophet of Old Testament times who dressed nicely as a part of a king’s court usually failed to represent the Lord as the king of the time provided for the needs of the prophet. John did not live a comfortable life provided by another; he did not flirt with this kind of conflict of interest.* When we look at John we see a man who attempted to humble himself as much as possible to lift Jesus up, even to the point of sending his own disciples to follow after Jesus.

These are all admirable traits, and ones that we would do well to follow. However, they are not what make John great. In fact, how was John considered great in the eyes of Jesus when we see John questioning Jesus as to His purpose and identity even after making a way for Him?

What made John great?

His message.

John was great, greater than all of the prophets of old, because he borne the message of Christ. This is how Jesus can count you and I as disciples of Christ as even greater than John: our message.

John spoke of the Messiah coming who takes away the sins of the world; we speak of the Messiah who has already come. This is good news; this is great news; it’s the best news!

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to stop attempting to earn greatness in the eyes of man or the eyes of God. Perhaps God is asking you to carry the message of Christ crucified to the world around you. Maybe today God wants you to make a way for Christ to work in greater ways in your heart. Perhaps Jesus is waiting for you to disregard the voices in our life that create a conflict of interest that prevents you from serving Christ wholly.

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), 271, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 11:1-11) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).

one step: Matthew 10.5

And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.

While I was in high school, the story of lives taken by two students in a high school shook my soul. The targeted students were athletes and believers in Jesus. Asked to deny Jesus, those who did not were executed. This story shook me to my core. As an athlete and a believer in Jesus, I wondered if I would have denied my Lord in such a circumstance.

The tragic and painful event forced me to look into my own devotion to the Lord. Very easily I could have been one forced to choose life on earth by denial, or life in eternity by proclaiming the name of Jesus. My dad had been offered a job in that town years prior, and I would have been a student there had he taken the job.

In my conversation with the Lord about it all, He showed me that those who gave their lives for Him did so as simply one more step of obedience. The obedience of Jesus on the cross came as one more step of obedience in His life. It challenged me to shift my gaze from the question, “would I give up my life for Jesus,” to, “what is God asking of me today?”

Matthew 10 closes with the powerful reality that the call to discipleship costs just about everything. I imagine that the words of Jesus explaining the sacrifices necessary to follow Him caused the disciples to pause to consider the “yes” that they had given Jesus. Honestly, it gives me pause every time I come across this reminder in Scripture.

In signing up to follow Jesus as a disciple, we did not sign up for an easy road. We signed up for a road that will cost us comfort, acceptance, family, and will even require our very lives. The lie of the enemy is that these experiences will only come through following Jesus. The lies the enemy brings include tales of safety and comfort and happiness apart from Jesus. The reality is that none escape those things that Jesus describes. None in this life escape rejection. None escape division. None escape cruelty. None escape death. These are the lot of the lives of those born into a broken world.

Those who follow Jesus, however, experience these things knowingly and honorably because they do so unto the glory of God. To walk as a disciple of Jesus is to take the broken, harsh experiences of this world and allow God to use them to bring His Kingdom to earth as it is in heaven. To walk as a disciple of Jesus is to participate in the redemption of this world.

What does it take to see brokenness and ashes turned into healing and beauty? Obedience. Even a cup of cold water given to a disciple of Jesus does not fall out of God’s sight. The cost is big, but some times obedience is small.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to simply share a cup of cold water. Perhaps God is asking you to make great sacrifices for His name. Maybe you are going through difficulties because you have chosen Jesus above all else, and He wants to comfort you. Perhaps Jesus wants you to know that He understands your pain and wants you to feel His love. Maybe today is the day to set Him above all else in your life.

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), 271, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 10:29–42) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).

one step: Matthew 10.4

So have no fear of them… Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

These words of Jesus come on the heals of the sobering truth that persecution, division, and total reliance on God (even to the point of knowing what to say on His behalf) awaits His disciples. It’s not comfortable to think or talk about.

Certainly, the persecution and cost related to sharing about Jesus as a part of living as a disciple of Jesus varies culture to culture. Where the Gospel challenges long-standing traditions and beliefs in a society, persecution will look much different than in places where Judeo-Christian beliefs shaped the thought processes of and creation of a culture.* Even so, fundamentally, the message and person of Christ serves as a counter-cultural reality that requires the hearer to evaluate and choose for whom they will serve. The person of Christ requires a choice of a life lived for self, or a life lived for God. This is not a small choice, and one that many find anger in being asked to make.

In this context, Jesus does not invite us to live a life absent of fear. He does not tell His disciples to “have no fear.” He tells the disciples not to fear those who would persecute; He instructs the disciples to fear the Lord. The approach that Jesus takes toward fear does not look like removing fear, but it looks like pointing it in the right direction. Jesus wants us to point our fear in the direction of the One who is worthy of it.

There are many reasons to fear. My wife and I are embarking on a journey into the unknown. We don’t have to pause long to think of a long list of things to fear, and, yes, persecution may be on that list. Even when persecution is as simple as a rejection, it hurts. But, we have decided to fear God instead. We have decided to turn our eyes and ears and hearts toward Him, allowing His every word to guide our steps. We have decided to pass every step we take through the lens of “how will this impact my relationship with Christ?”

We aren’t very good at it, I’ll admit. Fearing everything but God comes a lot more naturally to us. But, the supernatural presence and power of the Holy Spirit gives us what we need to fear God above all else. Lord help us.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to live a life of testimony for Christ. Perhaps He is calling you to step out and be missional where you are… or somewhere else! Maybe God is asking you to trade your fear of those who persecute for a fear of Him. Perhaps God wants to give you what you need to live for Him in a supernatural way.

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), 251–263, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 10:16–28) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).

one step: Matthew 10.3

Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.

Packing for a trip excites me! Each item I place in my bag opens my imagination to its purpose during my trip. As I grab my suntan lotion to pack, I can almost feel the warmth of the sun and smell the salt in the ocean-infused air. When I set my Bible and journal in my bag, I can imagine the quiet and the coffee that a moment of solitude with my Lord will provide. Packing builds my expectation for what is to come!

Packing also helps ensure that I will have what I need while away. Someone once said to me, “fail to prepare; prepare to fail.” Meaning, if you don’t prepare for something, get ready, you will probably not succeed at it. Packing is similar. My day at the beach will be a failure without proper preparation. If I do not pack a bathing suit, suntan lotion, and a snack, I will be a hangry (so hungry that I’m angry), burned, sad soul who could only enjoy the tease of feet in the water.

If packing has so much value, why did Jesus discourage His disciples from making normal preparations for this initial missionary trip? It was customary for missionaries of Jesus’s day to carry a staff for protection, an extra set of clothes, a bag to beg if all resources had been exhausted, and a belt to hold money in.*

The underlying truth in this portion of the Gospel of Matthew is that Jesus wanted His disciples to a) stand apart from the missionaries with other messages of the day who became a burden and begging annoyance to those around them, b) He wanted them to rely entirely on the care of God understanding that He is their source and He can pay their way.*

While God may not call all of His disciples to go out into the world in the same manner as this initial missionary journey, He does call all of His disciples to engage the culture in a way specific to that culture that does not mirror the mechanisms of the world (like begging) while depending upon Him completely.

Our example of dependence upon God alone along with our abandonment of the mechanisms of this world for perpetuating messages communicates to the world that God cares about our needs and that we should rely on Him.

God desires to bless His disciples, but the emphasis is not the blessing. The emphasis is following Jesus, no matter the cost, and relying on Him fully. When we do, God may bless us to be a blessing, but He certainly will meet our needs as He defines them as a good Father. Surely, we must live however necessary to perpetuate the Gospel and position our possessions to bless others. To emphasize the blessing of God is to encourage people with a false gospel that reinforces the same materialistic goals that draw the young to sell drugs and the old to sell their souls in politics. We must pursue God, not the gifts, trusting that He will care for our good.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to rely less on preparation and more on Him. Perhaps God is asking you to go on a mission and the guarantees are not all in place as you would have it. Maybe God wants you to adjust your goals from a pursuit and hunger for blessing to a thirst for His will. Perhaps God wants your expectation and preparation to be rooted in His voice of sending.

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), 244–251, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 10:5-15) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).

one step: Matthew 10.2

The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

How many sermons have you heard preached? What topics did they cover? I’m sure that if I started going down the list, I’ve heard a sermon on most topics and subjects in life. It’s amazing the wealth of preaching and teaching that we get to hear in our generation.

Of all of the sermons that Jesus preached up until Matthew 10, when Jesus sent the disciples on their first mission journey, He told the them to preach this one thing and this one thing alone: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Jesus did not tell them to look at the culture of the city that they were going into and address issues of ungodliness. He did not instruct the disciples to go into cities and preach their passion. No. He told them to preach one thing: the message of the kingdom.

Jesus wanted His disciples first and foremost in their training to be able to communicate that a new rule and reign of God was present. He wanted His disciples to take the Kingdom deposited inside of them freely and to give it to others.

The simple message of the Kingdom was to be accompanied by healing, new life, and deliverance. I often wonder if I’m missing something. Is the message of the Kingdom in my soul? Have I received the Kingdom of Heaven in a way that I can share it? If so, why am I not sharing it? Why would the message of the Kingdom not come with signs of His present Kingdom?

There are many messages that Jesus wants us to share from His Word, but let’s start with “the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”

The Kingdom is not yet-to-come. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to receive His Kingdom fully. Receive all that He says about the dominion of the King. Allow Him to convince you that your present reality is superseded by a Kingdom reality. Perhaps God wants you to share that Kingdom. Maybe He wants to do things in and through you that you have only read and dreamed about. Perhaps today God wants you to freely give what you have freely received.

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), 244–251, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 10:5-15) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).