In the previous verses, Jesus commanded Peter for his faith (Matthew 16:13-20). Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ and the Son of the living God. However, in Matthew 16:21-23, Jesus called Peter “Satan”. Jesus told His disciples the things that must happen to Him. “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.” v. 21…
Jesus asked His disciples who He is not because He doesn’t know the answer. It is for His disciples to understand who He is. “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man”, am?” v. 13 The disciples replied, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” v. 14 They gave Him the opinion of others about Him. However, Jesus wanted to know who they think He is so He asked them,…
A Gentile Shows Her Faith 21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” 23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” 24 But He answered and said, “I…
Are you tired? With everything that we have to do in life, we oftentimes experience burnout. It’s easy to recuperate from physical exhaustion. We can just sleep and feel better after. It’s the emotional, psychological, and spiritual exhaustion that’s difficult to recover from. That’s why many people turn to different ways to get better. Others turn to self-help books, to meditation, to medicine, to people, etc. These things help somehow, but it seems that many people do not consider God…
Devo: Matthew 9:1-8 The paralytic was brought to Jesus by his friends. His friends took the roof apart and lowered him down through it because of the crowd. “When Jesus saw their faith…” v. 2 It was the faith of the paralytic’s friends, not his, that caused Jesus to forgive and heal him. They had faith that Jesus could heal their friend. This shows us that our circle matters. Do our friends lift us up in prayer when we need…
These are only three verses but they’re very powerful. “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’” v. 22 They obviously have done many amazing, spiritual things. However, spiritual accomplishments mean nothing if we are not personally connected to God. God said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he…
Matthew 6:1-4 1 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not…
I thought this passage won’t speak to me anymore because I’ve read this countless times before. However, I am surprised to glean from it anew. I am also grateful because I asked God to help me learn something new and He did answer it. “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” v. 28 God is telling us that to lust for a person…
We left the hotel at around 1 pm and went to Tonkin Garden Cafe & Eatery. My class is at 6:45 pm (Philippine time) so we have more time to spare. Anyway, I read from reviews online that it has the best egg cream coffee in Ho Chi Minh and I don’t want to leave Vietnam without trying it. (I’m writing this at the Tan Son Nhat airport). The review I read is true. Their egg cream coffee was soooooo…