“But I tell you that on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you” (Matthew 11:24).

 We each have different circumstances, but our Lord tells us that we will be judged upon our circumstances and not upon the circumstances of another.  If you have much, much will be expected.  If you have little, use what little you have in praise of the One who has called you to Himself.  No matter the circumstances, we are called to be faithful to the Lord in and for all things.

Lord, guide me away from myself to come to the place where I look to You as the One who provides all my needs.  You have made me what I am, and You have placed me where I am.  Guide me to walk humbly, with You leading the way.  You know what I need even before I ask.  May I spend my time and energy seeking to follow You in all Your ways that You are teaching me.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for freeing me from being one who needs to earn Your approval each day. Remind me that this is not a contest, but a journey of walking with You every step of the way.  Lead me now and forever in the way of righteousness.  Guide me to have an open mind for Your guidance and a willingness to accept the circumstances in which You have placed me.  Continue to teach me how to be faithful.  Amen.

“But I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you.  And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven?  No, you will be brought down to Hades.  For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day” (Matthew 11:22-23).

Those who deny the Lord are always looking for signs and wonders.  Never satisfied, they are seeking what it is for themselves.  Jesus could be the pastor for some Christians, and they would still complain.  All they want could be given them and they still would not be happy.  Learn how to be content with the Lord.  Just the Lord.  If everything in the world is  taken, like Job, still be content with the Lord.

I say that I am with You Lord, but You know better.  There is always something more I desire.  Teach me to be content in all things.  Help me to get over myself and to be thankful for what You have given me.  Help me to not ignore what You have done, nor what You are doing.  Guide me in Your goodness to look to You with thankfulness for all that You have done, and are doing in hope of what You will do.

Holy Spirit, You know where, like those accursed, I live life without remorse for the times when I do not thank You for all of Your provision.  Guide me deeper into faith, praise, and thanksgiving so that I have a heart of gratitude.  Lead me with humility to not look for signs and wonders, but to be thankful for all that You have given me.  Guide me in Your goodness to live each day as You give it regardless the circumstances.  Amen.

“Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his deeds of power had been done, because they did not repent” (Matthew 11:20). “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes” (Matthew 11:21).

To this day, where those towns once thrived, there are the dead bones of buildings that have not been occupied since the first century, AD.  The towns are rubble.  The hopes and dreams of the community were so self-absorbed that they were of no use.  The King of kings was in their midst, and they returned to their pursuits after what was, to them, a few moments of entertainment.  What a waste!  We are to repent of our selfishness and get right with the Lord.

I often wonder how many around me are pretending to be religious but actually are self-absorbed.  Then, I wonder how often I fall into that category.  Do I really pay attention to what You are doing, Lord?  Am I taking the signs You are giving and allow them to pierce my heart?  Am I truly repentant of my rebellious ways?  I need help to come clean and get it right.  I need what only You can do, Lord, to happen in my own life.

Lord Jesus, where I have been like those who were simply entertained by You, forgive me.  Where I have been so wrapped up in my own business, free me.  Where I have not loved You or my neighbor, correct me.  In all things, save me, empower me, and send me so that I may live the life You have given me.  You must be the One who guides me in life.  Lead me, Lord, so that I may humbly walk where You direct me.  Amen.

“Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his deeds of power had been done, because they did not repent” (Matthew 11:20).

How many hear of the Lord, know of (but not) Jesus, and continue on without any other change in life?  Just going to the church is not being a Christian, but receiving the Word made flesh and walking the narrow path He sets before all disciples.  As it was then, so it is now.  The way of Jesus is being in relationship with Him and walking in His ways.  Many will say that they called upon the name of the Lord on the final day.

In Your word, You said there would be many who called upon Your name, but You did not know them.  Your power comes to us by mercy through grace.  Many go through the motions but their hearts are unrepentant and far from You.  You desire repentance and a sincere heart.  You have called us to move forward and leave behind our unrepentant heart.  You bid us come with You from where we are to where You are leading us.

Come Lord Jesus and lead me this day.  Where my heart is cold and unrepentant, slay it.  Where I am unwilling to carry my cross, rebuke me.  Lead me my Lord and Savior in all of Your ways.  Guide me as only You can to humbly submit to You, my Lord and God to walk in the way You set before me.  You know all that I need and I thank You that You have offered me grace and mercy and through them, salvation.  Amen.

“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’;  the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds” (Matthew 11:18-19).

Wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.  What is right is evident.  Too often, we focus upon how it seems a person is behaving rather than why someone is behaving. We judge based upon appearances.  Somber or a party animal, it does not matter.  Grumpy or joyous.  What is going on inside?  The Lord calls us to become whom He has created us to be, and whom He will create us to be in eternity.

Lord, I too judge another because they seem too carefree and then in the next moment, judge another because they seem so introverted and grumpy.  You tell us to look at what they do.  Lead me away from judging these things and seek to build relationships with others with wisdom.  You tell us to go inside and often I just view the outside.  Shift my view of all things to see them as they are.

Holy Spirit, You are constantly nudging me in the right direction.  Help me to understand Your nudges more clearly and to act upon them.  Guide me in Your goodness to mirror what You are showing me.  Lead me to look at life through clear eyes to see things as they are.  Help me to celebrate or mourn appropriately and in all things to look to You for guidance.  Grow in me Your wisdom.  Amen.

“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn” (Matthew 11:17).

Whether you are jubilant or sorrowful, it does not matter.  What matters is whether you are doing it for yourself or you are seeking the Lord.  Our faith is founded upon a matter of the heart, not upon how you feel.  Sin has been within you and it has been displacing God.  We are the created and He is the Creator.  He gives you gifts to use; but are they used for His purpose?

This world is messed up.  Our priorities are out of joint.  This is the Father’s world.  It was even when sin entered the world.  God’s plan did not stop there.  Our faith is not about making things right, it is about being right with the Lord.  To sing and dance is a fine thing, but to walk with the Lord is life.  Jesus, You have invited us to walk with You.  That invitation stands anew each day.

Lord Jesus, I do come to You for miracles and want to feel what I want to feel.  I mistake me for You. I put myself first.  I am not first.  You did not put Yourself first, even though You are.  Help me to clear all the cobwebs out of my thinking and come to You, the author and finisher of my faith that I may walk humbly with You today.  Lead me to learn and to do those things You place before me.  Amen.

“But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another” (Matthew 11:16).

The stories are repeated and we believe that the stories are real.  Reality is the Lord.  He has given us His word, which is real.  But our sinful self would rather believe the lie than the truth.  Be aware of the reality of this in this age.  Something gets spoken enough times and it is believed.  Believe in what is true.  God is true.  His word is true.  Anything that contradicts this is not the truth.  Ignore this world spreading its lies, if you can.  Hear as the Lord speaks truth.

Lord, grant that I would have discerning ears.  Guide me in the way of truth.  Let me understand the lies for what they are.  Help me to know that I live in a world filled with distracting noise.  Anything that goes against Your word cannot be true, for You have created all things.  In Your goodness and mercy, lead me into all truth so that I may abide in You as You abide in me, with all truth transforming me.

Lord Jesus, I ask that You would help my ears to hear truth when it is spoken.  Please grant that I would have discerning ears to know when lies are spoken.  Through all things, help me to speak what is right and true.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to shine the truth of Your presence in and through all I do.  Lead me all the days of this life so that I may stand before You at the last day with true faith and a clear conscience.  Amen.

“For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.  Let anyone with ears listen!” (Matthew 11:13-16)

Jesus tells us that the time before was a way of preparation.  The Lord had told the people what kind of God He is.  They had slowly been conformed to understand that God is One.  He showed them the law and called for them to live by it.  They made a religion out of it.  All along, there were prophets who told the people God is a person.  John the Baptist came fulfilling prophecy and clearing the way for Messiah.

Lord, the story sounds so simple.  Why do I make it so complex?  You created all things.  We, I, have sinned and we have followed the trail of violence against You, our neighbor, and this world in which we live.  You have revealed Yourself to the world and finally came in person.  You have given me ears to hear, but they have been stopped up.  Help me to open them and both hear Your word of truth and live according to Your word.

Lord Jesus, You give the words of truth; there is no other place to go.  The way has been paved and I often stand by the gate, but do not come in.  Take me by the hand today and lead me the way in which I need to come to You.  Be the author and finisher of my faith.  Open my ears to hear as You speak.  May I be found following You all the days of my life as I hear Your commands and obey them.  Amen.

“From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matthew 11:12).

Have you noticed how the wicked will not stop until they get what they want?  The violent force themselves upon you.  The Lord does not.  The Lord can do all things, but the Lord does not coerce.  The wicked ones do.  Let this reality set in on you.  Be at peace, live in peace, and do not do things by force, fraud or theft.  Sin reigns in the world, but in, by and through Christ, sin does not reign in you.

Why does God allow some things?  That’s what the wicked would ask us when it is the wicked who are doing those sinful things.  The Lord allows you and me to exist even though we are sinners.  The answer is in what the Lord is doing.  He is making of those who believe children who do not practice wickedness.  It is what it is in this world and age, but the final answer is in Christ who, on the cross, made the way out of wickedness possible.

Lord Jesus, you speak truth.  I sometimes have a hard time with the truth.  The closer I walk with You, the more I see the pattern of wickedness in this world.  Help me, I pray, to not just see, but to believe and walk with You as You remove the wickedness from me.  Make me one who is at peace and move me far from the wickedness of this age.  Guide me today and each day in Your grace, dear Savior.  Amen.

“Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matthew 11:11).

It says, “Among those born of woman.”  There is an interesting thought, for Jesus also said, “You must be born of water and the Spirit.”  Every Christian is born from above.  Do you see that we are called from a purely physical life into a life that is both physical and spiritual.  True greatness is not earned but given by the Lord.  We are here for His purpose and not our own.  Do not be guided by this world alone, but by the Lord alone who is the Creator of all worlds.  It is not a matter of greatest or least, but about what the Lord is doing.

Gracious Lord, You have appointed all things to be in their place.  I am born physically amongst fallen humanity, but You have called me to journey with You on the path of righteousness.  Lead me according to the Father’s will, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to be whom You have appointed me to be.  Guide me each day in the way of faith and help me to simply keep my eyes upon You.

Lord Jesus, I need Your help because I live in a world that is constantly seeking its own desires.  I am encouraged to seek greatness.  What use is that?  Help me instead to take all that You have given me and humbly go where You send me.  What I become is Your business.  That I seek to become what You are making of me is mine and is only done with Your help.  Lord, be the One who leads me to overcome those things which would get in the way.  Amen.