Bourland Family Blog

“The herdsmen fled and went into the town and reported everything, including what had happened to the men under the power of demons. And behold, the whole town went out to meet Jesus; and as soon as they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their locality.” Matthew 8:33&34 ->me: This recollection and writing by Matthew about the demoniacs, Jesus’ interchange with them, and the casting them into the pigs that ran down into the water and drowned is an amazing example of Jesus power over the supernatural. As soon as Jesus came up on these possessed men, the demons inside of them called out to Jesus by name, acknowledging Him as the Son of God. But a big part of the story is the town’s people who came out to see what the herdsmen had told them about this Jesus. Notice the wording – The herdsmen fled -> they were scared about what they saw and mostly notably because they had just lost a whole herd of pigs to this Man’s actions. They ‘reported everything…including what had happened to the men under the power of the demons…”. I read this to be that the big new was “Jesus killed our expensive herd of pigs…oh and He also remove the power of demons over these men…”. The towns people rejected Jesus because they preferred their pigs!! What is sad is that I find myself doing this… I can think of many occasions where God has done something amazing but I find the wrong thing to put value in…I miss the bigger news.

“And they went and awakened Him, saying, Lord, rescue and preserve us! We are perishing! And He said to them, Why are you timid and afraid, O you of little faith? Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great and wonderful calm (a perfect peaceableness).” Matthew 8:25&26 ->me: This awesome story is a wonderful/sorry view of my life with Jesus. The passage says that the waves were crashing over the boat…I don’t know about you but my guess is that the boat was actually breaking. You have these men on deck trying to do everything THEY COULD to navigate the treacherous waters all the while the Son of the Living God was asleep in the body of the ship. Ok, lets break away for a second. If I say that the boat is my body, the raging sea is this world, and the men on the boat are the thoughts and emotions in my mind, then this is perfect picture of my life with Him. He is IN me and even if He was asleep…the SON OF GOD is IN me! What do I have to fear?? Even more importantly, I am IN HIM! Even more important than that is that He is not asleep when I am dedicated in my obedience to Him. He is active and working within me…so I not only have nothing to be afraid of, I can lean into my Savior who is at work in my heart transforming me within to be MORE LIKE HIM! Shut the front door!!!

“And a scribe came up and said to Him, Master, I will accompany You wherever You go. And Jesus replied to him, Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have lodging places, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. Another of the disciples said to Him, Lord, let me first go and bury [care for till death] my father, but Jesus said to him, Follow Me, and leave the dead [in sin] to bury their own dead.” Matthew 8:19-22 ->me: Today’s reading is all on the costs of ‘Following’ Jesus. These 2 people (one a scribe) are described as disciples of Jesus. Scribes, as a sect, were against Jesus, but individually they were open and sometimes receptive to His teaching. What this means is that you can be a disciple but not a ‘follower’ of Jesus. Jesus makes it very clear, that to follow Him means to put Him above everything else on this earth, even family. Which is why it is so important that prioritize my time with Jesus in prayer and in His word over other distractions in life (Family, work, fun, and even church for that matter). My take away today is that I need to ask myself these questions each morning I wake up – “Who am I living for today? [Answer: Jesus] Am I going to make decisions today that are indicative of Following my Savior? [Answer: Yep, with God’s strength, every single one.]” I have said this before, but it is amazing how God still makes time for everything to get done, when I give Him my time – even when it doesn’t seem like there is any time to give.

“And when Jesus went into Peter’s house, He saw his mother-in-law lying ill with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her; and she got up and began waiting on Him.   When evening came, they brought to Him many who were under the power of demons, and He drove out the spirits with a word and restored to health all who were sick. And thus He fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, He Himself took [in order to carry away] our weaknesses and infirmities and bore away our diseases.” Matthew 8:14-17 ->me: When I read this passage this morning, I am reminded of Jesus’ compassion and love for everyone. Yesterday was the story of Jesus healing the Centurion’s servant. In that case, it was the faith of the Centurion that prompted Jesus to heal the boy. Here He helps Peter’s mother-in-law and then casts out demons and heals more sick. In the same story, as told by Mark, Jesus did not allow the demons to talk as He threw them out since they knew Who He was. Jesus is so casual and loving in these passages. To spend time with Him in person was to be around love, compassion, and help. What can I take away from this passage in my plight to be more like Him? How can I be more loving, compassionate, and helpful to those I come in contact with. His work showed Who He was, He didn’t need the demon’s to say Who He was. Jesus, by His actions alone, was performing His ministry. His greatest act of love is yet to come.

“I tell you, many will come from east and west, and will sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, While the sons and heirs of the kingdom will be driven out into the darkness outside, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” Matthew 8:11-12 ->me: Today in my reading was the story of the Centurion who asked Jesus to heal his sick servant boy in his home. Jesus said He would come to the Centurion’s house but the Centurion said that he was not worthy to have Jesus come into his home and that if Jesus just gave the word, the Centurion knew (had faith) that Jesus could heal his servant boy with just saying so. This is one of only 2 times in the bible that it says Jesus ‘marveled’, in this case, at the Centurion’s faith (the other is Mark 6:6)…so much so that Jesus took the time to explain that Jews are not the only ones who have a seat at the feast in heaven with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Here is where we come to my verses above. Reading the whole bible, taking in God’s character through Isaiah, the Mosaic law in Leviticus, and then the role of Jesus in God’s entire plan, humbles me. To think that I have a place in the Kingdom of heaven and yet some ‘sons and heirs (Jews)’ may not, calls for a reverence and gratitude that is hard to describe. I pray that I would have faith like this Centurion; a faith that ‘marvels’ Jesus. A faith that ‘knows’, living with a daily belief that my King has selected me for His Kingdom. A faith that grows everyday that I am in His word to learn and apply His teaching.

“And behold, a leper came up to Him and, prostrating himself, worshiped Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You are able to cleanse me by curing me. And He reached out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed by being cured. And instantly his leprosy was cured and cleansed.” Matthew 8:2-3 ->me: This is one of those passages where it is important to do a little deep diving into what is going on. Leprosy (and many other skin conditions for that matter) was cause for quarantine during biblical times. Not only were you thought to be super contagious but you were also ‘ceremonial unclean’ (Leviticus 13-14).   Other diseases are healed in the New Testament but a leper is ‘cleansed’. The disease was regarded as incurable (1 Kings 5:7). The posture and faith of the leper is what moved Jesus to heal him. In the next verse, Jesus instructs the cured leper to not tell anyone about what has happened and to go straight to the priests and offer the offering of cleansing commanded by Moses; in this way he would be a testament to the healing and as evidence to the people. This whole section of Matthew (miracles) has really one topic -> the power and authority of Jesus. I am most drawn to the ways in which people approach Jesus that move Him to heal them or their loved ones. Posture (acknowledgement of Christ’s position in their lives) and Faith (that Jesus can do the impossible). What is even more is that the leper was ‘cleansed’ as well as ‘cured’. The law was not needed, Jesus Himself is sufficient.

“So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts upon them [obeying them] will be like a sensible (prudent, practical, wise) man who built his house upon the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” Matthew 7:24-25 ->me: As you know – Jesus goes on to continue the story talking about the foolish man who built his house upon the sand. When the rain, floods, and wind came and beat against that house, it completely collapsed and was demolished. Everyone will have rain, floods, and winds in their life. The mental state, that living on the Rock gives me, is one of the reaffirming aspects of my faith. How do I explain away the solid trust I have when I lean against the Lord, countered by the dread I feel when I am trying to solve all of my problems my own way? Right now I am reading ‘Trusting God’ by Jeff Bridges. This book lays the ground work for what it means to trust God through life; in the great times and the biggest trials. The author speaks of God’s Sovereignty, God’s Power, and God’s Rule; to which all of these we have a response – a committed reliance on the Truth of God’s word and that He takes care of His children, or a struggle of power to lift God’s hand and tell Him “I’m taking this…”. When we take things on ourselves we turn to idols through pride and unbelief and God releases us to feel the crushing weight of our circumstances. I have learned that depending on Him is a beautiful place to be regardless of my situation.

“Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name and driven out demons in Your name and done many mighty works in Your name? And then I will say to them openly (publicly), I never knew you; depart from Me, you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands].” Matthew 7:22-23 ->me: Reading through Matthew verse by verse for my Quiet Times has helped me understand this verse so much better. It has not lost it’s scariness, but it has gotten less unpredictable. How can you know that the Lord Jesus won’t say these words to you at the Day of Judgement? Its all about my heart. Looking back to chapter 6:1-24 is an explanation of how to avoid hearing this terrible phrase “I never knew you…”. When I play Xbox games I tend to be very achievement driven (those of you who play know what I am talking about). I will play a game to get the easy Gamer Points to up my score and affect my cred…but it doesn’t mean I love the game I am playing. I am just playing the game to get the points that make me look better to others. I know this is a weak analogy but it is the best one I can come up with this morning. 🙂 The people in these verses have already received their reward; they likely were prophesying, and driving out demons in Jesus name because they got recognition for it…not because it brought glory to the one and only person Who deserves ALL the glory. Lord please help me to keep my heart directed at You, seeking to do only Your will and in that giving You all the credit and recognition for all that I do in Your Name.

“You willfully recognize them [False Prophets] by their fruits. Do people pick grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Even so, every healthy (sound) tree bears good fruit [worthy of admiration], but the sickly (decaying, worthless) tree bears bad (worthless) fruit. A good (healthy) tree cannot bear bad (worthless) fruit, nor can a bad (diseased) tree bear excellent fruit [worthy of admiration].” Matthew 7:16-18 ->me: Jesus’ warning of false prophets, and this whole section, quite honestly, is very scary. Yesterday I was listening to a Piper message on the “The free will of the Wind [Spirit]” and how Flesh is borne of Flesh and Spirit is borne of Spirit. Profession in Jesus Christ alone is not evidence that someone is destined for heaven. The fruit of that person will identify the genuineness of their conversion. Change is possible, but if it is to be real, it must be RADICAL, resulting in a new kind of person; not just a new behavior pattern or profession. Profession of discipleship alone will be no protection from the coming judgement. The true judge of one’s conversion is God alone, but a person’s fruit is a good indicator. My take away from the passage today (Matthew 7:15-20) is that I need to search my heart everyday to ensure it is focused on Jesus alone. Focused on understanding His will and purpose for my life and then making that MY purpose. For me, I can very easily become distracted by this world’s matrix of living -> career, family, things, reputation, good works, and tolerance. True living means living for my real home -> an eternity with my Savior in heaven. True living also means being the spiritual head of my home and doing all that I can to prepare my family to see the face of Jesus.

“Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and spacious and broad is the way that leads away to destruction, and many are those who are entering through it. But the gate is narrow (constrained/restricted) and the way is straitened and compressed that leads away to life, and few are those who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14 ->me: I have grown up with the story of the gates but several questions always come to my mind. 1) Is the gate at the beginning or end of the roads, or different places for each road? 2) Does there even need to be a gate for the ‘Broad’ way? Since we are all born into sin we all start on the ‘broad’ road so the ‘narrow’ way must be an option presented along the ‘broad’ road. The ‘narrow’ gate is a deliberate and costly decision (Luke 13:24). This little metaphor Jesus uses gives some complications to pre-destination. Are some people never presented with the ‘narrow’ gate? Are only some people called to see it?   For the Calvinist, is the ‘narrow’ gate at the beginning of the ‘narrow’ way and it only swings one way? I’d like to think that everyone sees the ‘narrow’ gate but not everyone desires to accept what’s at the end of it, and the cost of what it is to travel through it, so they never investigate. There is a sidewalk on the ‘broad’ way that feels safer than being in the street but the sidewalk still ends at death and destruction (this is the ‘faith through works’ traveler). The ‘narrow’ way is also straight uphill but God has positioned Himself all along the way to provide the runner with water and encouragement as they go.