Matthew – God’s Purpose, God’s Laws
God’s Word begins with God. God was there at the beginning of all. Genesis means the beginning, the first. “In the beginning God created”…(Genesis 1:1) Jesus was there at the beginning with Him. We must wrap our heads around these facts before reading another word. God’s plan to save us was not an afterthought, invented as He went along creating and watching His people multiply physically, do harm to each other while disobeying God. God is sovereign. God is above all His creation. God knows us well.
God’s Son, Jesus, was not just a player in the drama of life’s history. Jesus was also at the beginning of it all. Jesus, part of God, did what God directed, in heaven and on earth. The Plan to save God’s people was in place from the beginning. Jesus’ arrival on earth was perfectly timed. Jesus’ departure back to heaven, after defeating death and rising from death to resurrection of life for all of us was perfectly planned and timed. Jesus went to hell and back for you and I. It was the love of God, from the beginning, that made all this happen for all of His created humanity who would turn to Him, repent and be saved.
To point to Jesus and The Plan’s execution to bring God’s people back to Himself, we will begin with Matthew, the first gospel in our Bibles, as a beginning point for our Daily Manna with Our Mugs meditations each morning. However, it would be beneficial to read a chapter a day in the Old Testament, as well, beginning with Geneses…the, well, beginning.
Matthew, as a good Jewish man would, begins with the biological genealogy of the coming of God’s Son, Jesus in the form of a tiny human born to a virgin engaged to be married to a devout Jewish man who stands in as God’s Son’s earthly father. Jesus would also be known as their Savior. Jesus is our Savior. Jesus, God’s Son, tears down the walls between God’s created and Himself by being the perfect sacrifice for our sin. Jesus, is their/our only hope. So, let us make our way through Matthew with these thoughts ever present in our minds. God’s Son and Plan were always in place. God knows us. God knew we (humanity) would need to be redeemed and brought back to Him. God provided a Savior to the world. His name is Jesus, the Christ.
Matthew 1, New King James Version
The Genealogy of Jesus Christ1 The book of the genealogy[a] of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:
2 Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. 4 Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. 5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, 6 and Jesse begot David the king.
David the king begot Solomon by her [b]who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot [c]Asa. 8 Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. 9 Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot [d]Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. 11 Josiah begot [e]Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.
12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. 14 Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. 15 Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. 16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.
Christ Born of Mary18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being [f]a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is [g]conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name [h]Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and [i]did not know her till she had brought forth her[j] firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.
Dear Heavenly Father,How can we say thank you for all the ways you provide for us. You are our rescue, hope and life. You are the daily Bread of Life that nourishes our souls. You are our Savior and Lord. Transform us as we learn. May Your Holy Spirit wash over us, cleanse us and mature us as You guide our every thought and action.
In Jesus Name, Amen
I praise God for all He has done, is doing and will do. In my mind I am recalling specifically all that He brought us through, how He prepared us for where we are now, and all that details that brought us to Santa Cruz, Bolivia. I’m thanking God for all of you who are praying for us and donating your hard earned funds to help us live and work here with others. I’m grateful for the lovely people of this country who are loving, kind and helpful to us. I am excited for worship with all of God’s people this morning! How fitting to close the psalms with corporate worship on this Lord’s Day. We give God glory, honor and praise.
Psalm 150, The Message
Praise with a blast on the trumpet,
When God’s plan comes together in spite of our hands trying to take control, we celebrate! When a goal of growth is reached and surpassed in ourselves and in the lives of others we love, we celebrate. When evil is thwarted in it’s efforts to overcome us, we celebrate! When justice is served well, we celebrate. 
WHO do we celebrate first? That is the question for today. WHO gets ALL the credit for all that is accomplished in and through us in this life’s journey? WHO created all and is in all and knows all before we get up in the morning to begin thinking about anything? Who is our strength, wisdom, power and tenacity to keep going when we are weak?
5-9 Let true lovers break out in praise,
WE are (or should be) God’s monuments of praise! How are we doing as monuments of His glory, grace, mercy and unending love? Do others in our family and those we work alongside KNOW we are monuments of praise to the God we say we love, follow, honor and obey? Do they look at us and say, “God built that in her”. God is still chiseling out His monuments of praise for Him each day we live here in preparation for life with Him forever. Let Him be the artist of His masterpiece…you and I! We are His people. 
7-12 Praise God from earth,
His radiance exceeds anything in earth and sky;
They (who are on social media) say social media shows only the good parts of our lives. We only show what is best so that it looks like our lives are perfectly in balance. I don’t think that is true. If you read behind the lines the honesty seeps through the cracks and in between the words of praise, asking for prayers for what is going on in their lives. Then, again, maybe that’s the crowd I hang with on social media. 
The Psalmist says, “Those who fear God get God’s attention, they can depend on His strength.” Why do we praise God from the roof tops, on social media, to those at work, in our small groups and to our families? Because HE is God and we are not. We know that full well. Look how many times the writer uses HE to begin each act of God.
He counts the stars
Heavenly Father,
Listen in the background of your own mind for songs of praise that fill your soul as you read…You will have more than “10,000 Reasons to Praise the Lord!” (By Matt Redman)
The sun comes up
1-2 Hallelujah!
Instead, get help from the God of Jacob,
God made sky and soil,
he gives sight to the blind,
Oh, perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
“Everything God does is right–
I lift you high in praise, my God, O my King!
7 The fame of your goodness spreads across the country;
12 Letting the world know of your power for good,
14 God gives a hand to those down on their luck,
And I’m singing praise to God…(By All Sons and Daughters)
144 1-2 Blessed be God, my mountain,
3-4 I wonder why you care, God—
9-10 O God, let me sing a new song to you,
12-14 Make our sons in their prime
I’m Overwhelmed
Servants of a king or ruler keep their eyes focused on the One they serve, ready to leap into action when the king’s eyes look to them. What he asks or merely motions, they do it readily out of respect with fear of losing their position. As servants of the living God, we focus on our Savior, Lord and King of kings and Lord of lords, ready to serve with the whisper of His voice or the nod of His head from a place of love and devotion for the One who saved us from death. We look to Jesus and listen for His Holy Spirit with anticipated joy and awe of the One who suffered and died on a cross for us. We serve from a place of intimate love. We serve from a place of intimacy in our relationship with Jesus.
O Lord, you have given life to me in so many ways as you continue to transform me into all you intended for me to be and do. Thank you, Lord. I woke to a beautiful morning that did indeed remind me of your wonderful love and care for me. My desire is to hear you say, well done my faithful servant, on the day I see you face to face. But in the meantime, my eyes are focused on what you have for me right now. I am your servant. I wait with expectancy and joy for the wave of your hand, your voice of direction or the look in your eyes for what you want me to do next.
Depression. Even the word is, well, depressing. It sounds like you are being pressed and push further into a pit of despair. It sounds pretty flat, doesn’t it? Everything in life that you care about and are passionate about begin to overwhelm you. Like David, you feel like you are trapped in a cave with no way out, no way to be found out that you are there.
David knows who to call to help him through this seemingly defeating moment in his life. He calls on God, His Maker, the One who knows his predicament before David knows and is planning his rescue before he prays for help. David is an interesting man to God, a man “after God’s heart”, a child of God who God has picked to become the king to God’s people. But right now, he’s stuck in a cave of despair.
You are my strength when I am weak
Rely on God, know that He is there with you. He is planning better days for you. Allow Him to pluck you out of your cave of depression, your lows and set backs. There are better days coming! In the meantime, thank God for all He has done, is doing and will do. Dream about what God will do next in you and how He will work. That is the first step to leaving the cave. You will discover that God will do far more than you ask or imagine! He will always go far above our own thinking…for He is God and we are not. And that’s not all! His showers of blessings will wash off all the dirt from the cave experience and open up those weak eyes from being in the dark!
1-2 I cry out loudly to God,
I cry out, God, call out:
