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“Watch out for false prophets!” Jesus gives this warning to us as a command. This sentence implies two things: · False prophets exist. · False prophets are bad. Before we talk about why false prophets are bad, let’s define . . . Who are prophets? There are technical ways to define who is a prophet, but…

Having faith in in God's ways especially when we do not understand them or God’s path for us a difficult or painful path is essential to our growth as disciples of Jesus. When we stand faithful in our suffering, we shine gloriously in the heavenly realms. When we are faithful in our suffering, we help non-Christians understand that life does not have to be a random flow of events - because it is not. God designs every moment to reveal his goodness to us. At the end of our lives we will be without excuse because God has been coming to us in every moment of every day - only the condition of spiritual eyes and heart keep us from responding.

In the story of the beheading of John the Baptist and in Jesus' response to the news, Matthew invites us into the Garden of Gethsemane to struggle out the implications of the will of God in our own life. Where will we align ourselves? Will we honor and believe the powers of this world, and thus, dishonor Jesus with our lack of faith? Will we honor King Jesus with our faith in him, laying down our life for him, for the truth and glory of Gospel banking everything that Jesus is our only hope.

Scripture: Hebrews 4:14-16, Jesus the Great High Priest The practical benefit for us in having Jesus as our Great High Priest in Heaven is that Jesus gets it! Jesus knows our weaknesses. Jesus knows our needs. And Jesus totally gets it. Jesus says to us, come on up to the throne of grace and receive all the mercy and grace that you need. In gratitude for the mercy and grace that is ours, we hold firmly to our faith in Jesus and, like Jesus, we extend mercy and grace to others.

As the devil tempted Jesus so he tempts us to doubt God’s goodness, willingness, and ability to provide all of our needs. He also tempts us to doubt our relationship with God. Finally, he tempts us to abandon hope for God’s provision and to make providing for our needs the top priority in life. Jesus shows us that an absolute trust in God’s provision grounded in the Word of God overcomes the devil’s temptations.