From the Kitchen Table

Kitchen Table Devotions

Christmas 2022

Day 4

And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned  to send her away secretly. ²⁰ But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit                   Matthew 1:19-20

Don’t be afraid to make hard decisions, make His decisions.  When we make it His business rather than our business, we don’t have to fear the business of doing life.  When we make it our business to do His business, we don’t have to fear the thoughts and traditions of man and this world.  The world labels and litigates those it loathes.  Mary was labeled and liable for her situation, but Joseph made it his business to do God’s business in his life.  It was at that point that he realized he wasn’t alone, God sent an angel to help him with the right decision.  God always shows up for those who sign up to do His business (will) with their lives.   Make it your business to do His business and He will give you His decisions for your hard decisions.

Kitchen Table Devotions

Christmas 2022

Day 3

And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned  to send her away secretly. ²⁰ But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.                  Matthew 1:19-20

It’s a beautiful thing how one choice leads to the next choice when our hearts are right.  We walk with God from one choice to the next.  We call them steps, but our steps follow our choices.  Joseph considered his next steps.  His choice wasn’t just for him but for Mary.  The righteous heart considers everyone involved, including what God wanted.  Those who want God, weigh their choices.  This isn’t about feelings, even though you know feelings were there, this is about values.  Those who weigh their choices use the weights of their values to do so.  And those who value God are those who get a visit from God.  Those who share God’s values will see life with God’s vision.  It’s a beautiful thing.

Kitchen Table Devotions

Christmas 2022

Day 2

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly                  Matthew 1:18-19

Christmas comes from a wanting heart.  The Holy Spirit works with the wanting heart.  Joseph didn’t want to put Mary to shame even though he must have been devastated.  Women dream of being married; men dream of who they’ll marry.  But a heart that wants God, wants more for everyone involved.  The Holy Spirit decorates for the season with the wanting heart.  Joseph didn’t want shame but rather smiles for Mary.  The heart that wants God is a heart that God wants to use and will.  Wanting something more, something better than this world has to offer, is what Christmas is all about.  God wants this for us, do we want that for Him?

Kitchen Table Devotions

Matthew 13

Day 18

But he *said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest, I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn

 Matthew 13:29-30

Until there is the harvest there is hope for anyone.  We live in a cancel culture that sees people as expendable.  It’s far too easy to embrace a cancel culture when people disappoint and deceive us.  We must be careful; our choices affect those around us.  God says, just keep growing where you’re planted.  It can be difficult, but we have His divine presence, power, and perspective.  There is a harvest on the horizon; we all will reap what we’ve sown.  Let everything that’s in the seed show up in you, even if others are faking it.  Be real, God is!

Kitchen Table Devotions

Matthew 13

Day 17

The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ ²⁸ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ ²⁹ But he *said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.     Matthew 13:27-29

God knows the motivation of our mouths.  He can see it.  There’s no fooling God who sees all things (Psalm 33:13-15).  It’s not just what we say but why we say it that matters.  Our speech reveals the seed that is growing in our hearts.  It seems so small that no one could really see it, but God can and does.  This bad seed will give us the looks but not the life.  Only the seed of God’s word can make us God’s work in this world.  There is truth and there are tares, what is false.  A false word will give us a false life, but a true word will give us true life in Christ and God knows why we hold to either.  Love the truth now so that you don’t hate the truth later.

Kitchen Table Devotions

Matthew 13

Day 16

But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.         Matthew 13:26

Every seed bears fruit.  Every word does its’ work.  There comes a day when what was planted is what is living.  Beware of the seed of the enemy.  It seems so harmless at first sight, but it comes with a harvest.  There comes a day when we cannot deny what’s been planted in our hearts.  Those who received bad seeds will use all sorts of words to convince us otherwise.  Those who received good words, don’t need any words; they just walk the walk.

Kitchen Table Devotions

Matthew 13

Day 15

But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.

Matthew 13:25

Beware of words!  Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word… (Rom 10:17)  The enemy knows that and is constantly working to sow bad words into life and the lives of those who live it.  Beware!  Bad words bring bad work.  Seeds produce fruit; that’s what they do.  The seeds of life are the words we hear and speak.  Through our words, we speak life and death.  Deuteronomy 30:19-20  says, “So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, ²⁰  by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, …”  Beware of the words you hear and say.  Call forth life, not death.

Kitchen Table Devotions

Matthew 13

Day 14

Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.              Matthew 13:24-25

The rule and reign of God in our lives and in this life depend on His word, not His wonders.  Living in the power and passion of God requires living in and by the perspective of His word.  And God is constantly sowing His word in this world through what we say and how we live. We can never stop sowing His word into our world.  That’s why we must know it, believe it, and share it.  Our enemy is constantly planting sick, selfish, sinful, & sorry words into people’s lives.  Living in the kingdom of God is about always savoring and sharing His word in and throughout our lives. 

Do your words look like His words?  Why or why not?

Kitchen Table Devotions

Matthew 13

Day 13

And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

Matthew 13:23

The heart that hears is the heart that honors what it hears.  This isn’t about just listening, it’s about loving; it’s about embracing the word of God for my life in my heart.  The word will only live in a submissive heart that honors that word.  Our lives look like what our hearts love, and if we love the word of God we will live in the wealth of God.  God tells us in Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)  We will find the plans of God where there is a passion for God.

Does your fruit look like His seed?  What does it mean to love His word?

Kitchen Table Devotions

Matthew 13

Day 12

And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful

Matthew 13:22

The loser here is the one with lousy friends.  Paul would write that bad company corrupts good morals (1 Corinthians 15:33)  This is the lousy heart that has nothing better to think and speak than what everyone else is thinking and speaking.  This heart likes the message but not enough to leave the crowd.  This person ends up deceived in life by life and never produces anything but his attendance in the crowd.  The truth is that it’s not what you know but who you know that matters.  Eternal life is found in knowing God (John 17:3).  But we won’t make room for God if we keep room for lousy company.  Psalm 107 says “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so”  If we want to live this life we best find redeemed people to live it with.