Jesus has just said that the fate of a person who drags a child into sin is going to be so terrible that it would be better for that man to be drowned in the depths of the sea. He has also said that if one's individual appendages causes one to sin that the fate of being in sin is so horrific that it is a better fate to cut that appendage from your body and cast it away.

Jesus was not advocating for bodily mutilation, He was bringing to mind that the penalty for sin is so severe that the horrendous alternatives to the punishment were to be considered minor in comparison.

He uses the parable of the shepherd who lost one sheep and the man's response to finding the lost sheep being one of joy. He celebrates the find which necessitated him leaving 99 sheep who had not gone astray. Jesus specifically linked this teaching to the children. And He makes it clear that God is not willing for any of these to be lost.

Are we training our children right? Or by following our example are we ‘teaching’ our children to sin in the same ways we do? But Jesus expands on our responsibility for our brethren. He tells us to warn our brothers if they are committing sin. “Show him his fault”

If we have a brother or sister in Christ and they are sinning, we have an obligation to pursue them and bring them back to God. It's sad that some will suffer just because we were busy “minding our own business” when we saw a brother in sin.

We may not even be successful in the endeavor because his response still has the freewill to reject the opportunity you present. If he chooses to reject your instruction, it is imperative to return with 2 to 3 witnesses. If he refuses to repent, it is time to address it within the church.

If he again rejects the opportunity to repent, he is to be treated as an outsider to the church. This is the concept of what some organizations call, ‘shunning’ or ‘excommunication’. So for the churches who proudly admit that their church won't mention ‘sin’ as a selling point for attending their congregation, they are admitting that they are NOT the church of true Christianity.

Sin is what sent Jesus to the cross. It was His very foundational reason for even coming the first time. So for organizations to ‘cover’ sin for purposes of advancing progressive doctrines is in itself a sin.

What is being discussed here is our commitment to the Gospel. Are we faithful enough to warn a brother or sister that is diving into sinful habits or situations? Are we concerned for the eternal consequences of our temporal lives?

We are all being tempted by the same enemy. His goal is to make sure that as many humans as possible end up in Hell with him. His hatred for the creation God intended to be higher than the angels, mankind, is palpable. Satan HATES humans. He knows it's too late for him, so all he can do is cause destruction and pain for us, and that he does on a daily basis.

Jesus then discusses the ‘gathering together’ only requiring 2 people. What is this ‘gathering together’? It comes from the word translated ‘church’ which literally means, “the called out ones”. That’s all of us. We were called out of the world to be a part of His people.

And when two or three are gathered in the name of Jesus, not only is that a “church” but Jesus is there with the gathered ones. This was in truth the reason we started Porch Ministries. And two years ago, it was myself and a few others who would meet on my front porch for worship, prayer and to be challenged in the things of the Lord.

And in that 2 year period I was earnestly desiring to be a part of God's kingdom as one of His witnesses. I was distraught at my physical limitations. I am incapable of going pretty much anywhere. I saw my handicap as a failure on my part. But when Porch Ministries started all I could do was these lessons and pray when asked.

Here's the thing, many Christians treat the “I'll pray for you” as an excuse they can't (or won't) do anything else. That is dead wrong. Our ability to gather in His name with Jesus in our midst is one of the most worthwhile, beneficial and powerful works a Christian can do, period.

God has taken the prayers I've offered as a believer and within this two year period, we've seen answers to prayer as we reach out, we are preparing to aid a mission in the Philippines where impacts are already being felt and people are being saved. And now we are praying for that mission, two schools in the same city, and we are reaching folks in Pakistan, Uganda, and Michigan.

I've seen miraculous answers to prayer, confirmation of God moving in this work and I truly hope you will join us on Lordsbook in the Porch Ministries page. If you are looking for an avenue of service to God, join us! If you've been wanting to see God work and be an integral part of God's kingdom there's no better place than a ministry dedicated to reaching those who churches do not pursue. Addicts, bikers, church-hurt individuals who have for cultural or political reasons been ostracized from a church, not due to sin, but strictly for reasons they couldn't control.

Does it matter if i take sin seriously? Yes. Does it matter how i treat prayer? Absolutely.


[12] “What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, and go and search for the one that is lost? [13] And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that have not gone astray. [14] So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven for one of these little ones to perish. [15] “Now if your brother sins , go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother. [16] But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that on the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be confirmed. [17] And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, he is to be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. [18] Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. [19] “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. [20] For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”

August 11 - Matthew’s Positive Response

#LifeOfChrist

“As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He said to him, ‘Follow Me!’ And he got up and followed Him” (Matthew 9:9).

Matthew’s gospel has already established that Jesus offered His forgiveness to the least-loved outcasts of society. It seems evident from the context of this verse that one of those outcasts, Matthew the tax collector (this gospel’s author), had been under real conviction of sin and spiritual need. He would have been very aware of Jesus’ ministry in and around Capernaum, even though he might not have personally heard Him preach or had seen Him do a miracle.

Matthew likely yearned for the forgiveness that was permanently denied to him by unbelieving Judaism, which viewed him as the worst kind of reprobate and traitor. So when Christ called him, Matthew without hesitation “got up and followed Him.”

Luke’s account describes the moment this way: Matthew
“left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him” (Luke 5:28).
Our Lord’s simple but profoundly urgent call was sufficient reason for him to forsake everything he once was and owned. Matthew knew that once he left his tax collector’s position he could never return to it. Of all the Twelve, he no doubt sacrificed the most in wealth to follow Jesus. Like Paul later, he affirmed that “whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ” (Phil. 3:7).

Ask Yourself

If it’s been too long since the significance and honor of Jesus’ call swept over you, see the excitement in Matthew’s reaction to Christ. Watch him lunge at the chance to be one of Jesus’ disciples. Remember again the thrill of being in your Master’s service.

Matthew 17:24-27

Now that the transfiguration is over and Peter is sufficiently humbled by speaking where silence would do nicely Jesus and his apostles reach Capernaum. And of course, the Jewish leaders there are looking for any reason to trap Jesus they could find so they lean on the temple tax.

Understand this, through God's law and precepts the temple was cared for. The priests had an income, the instruments were created hundreds of years earlier. This was an annual tax, it was called an offering, but it is spelled out in Exodus 30.

Exodus 30:12-16
[12] “When you take a census of the sons of Israel to count them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord, when you count them, so that there will be no plague among them when you count them. [13] This is what everyone who is counted shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to the Lord. [14] Everyone who is counted, from twenty years old and over, shall give the contribution to the Lord. [15] The rich shall not pay more, and the poor shall not pay less, than the half shekel, when you give the contribution to the Lord to make atonement for yourselves. [16] And you shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel and give it for the service of the tent of meeting, so that it may be a memorial for the sons of Israel before the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves.”

The leaders continually fail in challenging Jesus’ teaching so they are left with nitpicking on matters of the law. And Moses was given detailed instructions on matters of law. Here it is 2 drachma, in Exodus it was half a shekel, in truth, it was an offering equivalent of two days of wages once annually for every male over the age of 20. It is an offering and is also called a ‘ransom’ for the people.

So before anyone tells you that God does not care about what we give Him regularly think back on this. God specified a set amount (2 days wages annually) in addition to tithes and offerings in Leviticus. (10% of revenue of everything else.) If you believe that God cared this much in the Old Testament about how much and how often His people gave money and all of a sudden in the New Testament He's changed His mind, there may be a flaw in your thinking.

Despite the excuses we make, God expects regular giving from Christians. A tithe of 10% is bare minimum, and does not cover our offerings over and above that. But offerings are still expected. And this ‘tax’ was actually an offering that was taken from what was earned.

Jesus illustrates this by telling Peter to go fish. You see, by now, Jesus and the apostles were sustaining themselves solely with the offerings the early believers gave. And since Jesus told Peter to pay for himself and Jesus with what he pulls from the water. The reason that Jesus didn't tell Peter that he should wait until he has enough to pay for all 13 men, is likely because the apostles, with the exception of Peter, could have all been under the age of 20. Note the Jewish leaders were not questioning the apostles giving the temple tax, just Jesus.

So they ask Peter, so does your rabbi pay the temple tax? Peter's immediate answer is, “YES HE DOES!” Then Peter comes to Jesus kinda like the confident 5 year old checking on the accuracy of statements he’s already made. And Peter doesn't even get the question out because as soon as Peter enters, Jesus knows what he was going to ask.

And Jesus gives Peter the lesson going back to Jesus’ identity as divine. Jesus clearly asserts that he is not obligated to pay because he's the Son, not a stranger. However, He doesn't want to offend someone with such a trivial matter. So He arranges to pay.

It's at this point that my ADD/ADHD brain starts annoying me. And I have to ask myself a question, the answer to which doesn't make a bit of difference to the story at all. And that question is this, did Jesus know somehow that there was currently a fish swimming around with the exact amount required to pay for Him and Peter? Or did He cause the coin to miraculously appear in the fish the moment Peter caught it? Is God intimately aware of all things all animals have swallowed ever at any time or is this a specific miracle to this fish and this fisherman?

How it got there doesn't matter. But I'd still like to know.
Wouldn't you?



[24] Now when they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?” [25] He *said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” [26] When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are exempt. [27] However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a stater. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”

Luke 15:7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Can you imagine the rejoicing in heaven that happens when sinners repent? Jesus spoke of this great joy in heaven at the change of heart of one who has been living in sin and finally repents. His statement can be found in the book of Luke where we see Him conversing once more with the judgemental Pharisees. We know the story as the Parable of the Lost Sheep.

Once again the religious leaders are being critical as they judge Him for eating with social outcasts. His response is given in the form of a parable where He explains that God rejoices deeply when a lost soul repents and is turned to Him. We see the joy of our Father while the Pharisees stood before Him with their self-righteous attitudes, looking down on Him and the tax collectors and sinners He ate with.

The parable is simple. A shepherd leaves 99 sheep behind knowing they are safe and goes to find the one stray that has wandered away. Once the shepherd has found the lost sheep he has a massive party to celebrate the one lost sheep having been found.

This story mirrors our own Shepherd. He actively pursues the lost and then rejoices and celebrates with all of heaven when that soul repents. The heavens erupt in praise and rejoicing over just one, single soul. Imagine how much more there would be if more lives were changed and people came to real, heartfelt repentance?

But what of the other 99, the ones who are righteous? Is there no celebration of their lives or choices?

We are all sinners and we make poor choices daily. None of us is truly righteous. We all fall short. But when we turn from sin, repent and seek God’s forgiveness the heavens rejoice.

The 99 righteous in the story likely referred to the religious leaders who assumed they were morally correct already and did not need to repent. They falsely believed they were living a proper, righteous life and would be rewarded for it. They did not see their own sin and their need for repentance.

Have you become like the Pharisees, blind to your own sin? There is no justification for doing what is contrary to God’s will. Confess your sins before Him, ask for forgiveness, and then make the change necessary to live a life for God.

#TEENS4JESUS #devotion #dailydevotional #christianteens #DailyBibleVerse

What was it about Jesus’s voice or words, "Follow me”, that caused people to drop what they were doing and follow him. Peter and Andrew were casting a net into the lake; they left their nets and followed him. (Matthew 4:19) Matthew was sitting at the tax collector's booth and he got up and followed him. (Matthew 9.9). There are several examples of those who did follow, some didn't. There is a cost of surrender, self-denial, your cross. Is Jesus saying those words, “Follow me", today? Look closely at those words, "Follow me". He is not saying take the lead but follow. He doesn't start leading then hand you the reigns and say take over. If God is your co-pilot, you should trade seats. How do you become a good follower? 1 Thessalonians 5:23, tells us that we are made up of spirit, soul and body and in John 4:24, God is spirit. So, we must connect with God spiritually. You must improve your spiritual awareness to be led by the Spirit. As a kid, you might have went outside in the snow and followed your dad, you can't match him stride for stride, your legs are not as long, so you do the best you can. As you grow, someday, you will step in his steps in the snow. In the same way, you follow Jesus, do what you see that He did, do the best you can but don't quit. So, is Jesus still saying "Follow me"? Absolutely, 1 Timothy 2:1-4 tells us how to live, what pleases God and that it is God's will that all people are to be saved. So, keep studying the word, keep praying the word, keep sharing the Good News and keep believing to have ears to hear to understand and eyes to see to perceive all that the Father has for you.

Good afternoon to everyone. Grace and Peace be with you.

It is not often that I get the urge to post twice a day. At least not in this format; however, today, as I was listening to Proverbs, something caught my ear and my attention. Chapter 25, verses 21 and 22:

If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

I need you to step out of your box and the verbatim reading of this verse. Stick with me for a minute; I think you will be just as amazed as I was.

What if the food and drink were not about physical food or drink, or even spiritual food or drink? What if it were common courtesy food and drink? Trust food and drink? Love food and drink? What if it were forgiveness food and drink?

The enemy has so intertwined with eye for an eye that we forget the part about seven times seventy. The enemy has us so focused on similarities that we cannot see past them and assume the worst. The enemy is very good at using logic to make our decisions seem right and just, but what if we stepped out of that box and built a new one?

If we were to truly build a new box of trust, love, and forgiveness … regardless of possible probabilities … the enemy would lose his grip on us, thus causing burning coals to be poured onto his head, burning off those chains. Heavenly heated coals with Jesus' power to break the chains of doubt and fear … what if?

Imagine, if you can, the high-five we could receive in heaven if we could feed those who have wronged us in this manner. Imagine the chains that could be broken on them if we followed this line of thinking. Imagine the victory that would come from this serving of refreshments in our daily lives.

Something to think about as you go about the rest of your day and evening. Food for the soul is not always food in the physical.

Be blessed.

**The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners”.’ But wisdom is proved right by her actions. – Matthew 11:19

August 4th, 2026
Read; Romans 13:6-7

Ow! Tax day. Not one of my favorites. What about you? But where would we be if we didn't have a government, rules, and laws? Even if we don't like how the system works now, imagine if we didn't have one. Let's live in a way that helps others and is good for our country. Let's also be good citizens and ask God to bless our country and bring it new life.

Prayer
I give thanks to the holy God that I am free in You and have no allegiance to anyone or anything. However, I will abide by the laws of this country in accordance with Your wishes because I want people to respect Your name. I fervently pray that You will also heal our nation and win back our hearts, O Lord. In Jesus' precious name, I pray. Amen.

Luke 5:32 “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” 

In today’s verse, we find Jesus having dinner with tax collectors and other societal outcasts. This is just after He had called Levi, who we know as Matthew, to be His disciple and Matthew hosts a large dinner in His honor. The religious leaders did not like this and openly criticized Jesus for eating with “sinners.” 

Jesus responded to the Pharisees with a comparison. He explained to them the purpose for Him coming using a medical analogy. He compared Himself to a doctor who goes to those who are broken and in need of healing and fixing. He points out to them that healthy people do not need a doctor. Only sick people need doctors.

He then went on to say He came to call sinners to repentance, not to call the righteous. My first assumption when reading this was that the righteous already know God, they are already living a Godly life and serving Him. They don’t need help seeing where they are sinning and how to change.

But then I learned something that made me stop and delete everything I had already written. The “righteous” that Jesus was referring to in this statement are not Godly believers living lives for Him. He was talking about the Pharisees. He was talking about the fact that they reject Him and their need for healing. They refuse to see their own sin. And because of that, they do not repent and have their lives transformed. He was challenging the religious elite when He said these words but they were too self-righteous to realize what He was saying or to see it in themselves. 

As believers, we must recognize that true repentance requires admitting we are at fault and making the choice to turn to God for a changed life. It means seeing when our thoughts, behaviors, or actions cross the line and become sin. Sin is easy to fall into. It is easy for us to slip up and find ourselves in a place we don’t want to be. And when we do, we need to act immediately to remedy the situation. We need to stop what we are doing and confess it to God then turn away from it and back to Him.

Yesterday we asked God to help us examine our hearts to identify the sins in our lives. Today, let’s continue to explore our actions and behaviors. Identify simply one thing that you can repent of and be freed from. We all have sin in our lives. The question is are we honest enough to admit it and make an effort to change?  

#TEENS4JESUS #devotion #dailydevotional #christianteens #DailyBibleVerse

# Jesus Never Asked, "Are You Worth It?"

The world is full of conditional love.

"I'll love you if you succeed."

"I'll stay if you never disappoint me."

"I'll forgive you once... maybe twice."

Human love often has limits.

But the love of Jesus has no boundaries.

He never looked at a sinner and asked,

**"Are you worth My time?"**

He never looked at the broken and asked,

**"What can you give Me in return?"**

He never looked at the weak and said,

**"Come back when you're stronger."**

Instead, He simply opened His arms.

He welcomed the rejected.

He embraced the forgotten.

He restored the fallen.

He forgave the guilty.

He loved the unlovable.

That is who Jesus is.

When everyone else saw a tax collector...

Jesus saw a disciple.

When everyone else saw a sinful woman...

Jesus saw a daughter worthy of grace.

When everyone else saw a thief dying on a cross...

Jesus saw a soul ready for paradise.

He has always seen what others cannot.

Not because He ignores our sins...

But because His mercy is greater than our failures.

The greatest tragedy of the cross was not the pain Jesus endured.

It was that Perfect Love suffered for imperfect people.

He knew we would fail Him.

He knew we would doubt Him.

He knew we would choose our own way.

Yet He still chose us.

He still chose the cross.

He still chose forgiveness.

Think about that.

The hands that shaped the mountains...

Were pierced for you.

The voice that spoke the universe into existence...

Whispered words of mercy.

The heart that never knew sin...

Broke for sinners.

What kind of love does that?

Only the love of Christ.

Today, Jesus is still calling hearts back to Him.

Not because He needs us.

But because He loves us.

He doesn't ask you to become perfect before coming to Him.

He asks you to come.

With your wounds.

With your fears.

With your doubts.

With your failures.

Because He is the only Savior who can take a broken life and make it beautiful again.

So if you ever feel unworthy...

Remember this:

Jesus never asked if you were worth dying for.

He simply decided that you were.

And He proved it on a rugged cross.

**The world says, "Prove your worth."**

**Jesus says, "You are worth My life."**

There is no greater love.

There is no greater grace.

There is no greater Savior.

**His name is Jesus Christ, and His love will never fail.**

*"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." — Romans 5:8*

THE CALVARY MINISTRY ONLINE

The Gospel From Calvary

THURSDAY 30TH JULY, 2026

CHOSEN TO BE WITH HIM 🏼



KEY VERSE:``` "And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach" (MARK 3:14).

Mark 3 takes us up a mountain. Jesus called whom He would, and twelve ordinary men — fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot, even a betrayer — climbed up to Him. Notice the order: first, “that they should be with him,” then, “that he might send them forth to preach.” Before He sends, He keeps you close. Calvary’s call is first to communion, then to commission. The same chapter ends with His true family: “Whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.”

Three truths from His choosing: One, calling is by grace, not qualification. “He called unto him whom he would.” They did not choose Him, He chose them. He still chooses the weak to confound the mighty. Two, presence comes before preaching. “That they should be with him.” We want to go quickly, but Jesus says come close first. All true ministry flows from being with Him. The Cross first reconciles you to Him before it sends you for Him. Three, obedience marks His family. “Whosoever shall do the will of God.” It is not blood, title, or religion that makes you His own — it is doing the Father’s will. And His will was that His Son should die at Calvary so you could become His kin.

Do you feel unqualified today? Good — you are a candidate for His calling. Climb higher. Linger longer with Him. Let being with Him come before doing for Him. That is the Gospel from Calvary.

✍🏽

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:``` PSALMS 49-51