Matthew 24:42-44 today’s message is shorter and simple. STAY READY. Jesus tells us to “stay alert” because we don’t know when He is coming back. and I think sometimes we hear that and immediately think about being scared, but for me it’s more of a reminder to make sure I’m living for Him now. not waiting until tomorrow to get serious with God, not waiting until life gets hard to pray, and not putting off the things He’s already told me to do. we spend so much time preparing for things we know are coming, but are we preparing for Jesus? because the truth is, we don’t know the day or the hour. so live ready. pray now. repent now. forgive now. obey now. love people now. do what God is calling you to do NOW. we don’t have to fear His return when we’re already living like we’re waiting for Him. 🤍

Matthew 23:25-26 sometimes we can get so focused on looking right on the outside that we forget God cares about what’s going on inside of us too. Jesus was telling the Pharisees, yeah the outside of the cup looks clean, but what about the inside? and this really reminded me of the fact that we can read our Bible, go to church, pray, serve, post scriptures and look like we’re doing everything right, but still have things in our heart that God is trying to clean out. pride, bitterness, jealousy, lust, unforgiveness, selfishness, even our intentions behind why we do certain things. God doesn’t just want us to look changed. He wants us to actually be changed. Jesus says, “First clean the inside of the cup and of the plate, so that the outside may be clean also.” -Matthew 23:26 the change has to start within. because when we really allow God to work on our heart, what He’s doing on the inside will eventually show on the outside. today I pray for us all, Lord, show us what’s in our hearts that still needs to be cleaned out. don’t just change what people can see, change us from the inside out. 🤍

🤍 Matthew 17:20-21 what stood out to me is how Jesus first tells them it was because of their little faith, basically their lack of trust and confidence in God’s power. but then He says even faith as small as a mustard seed can move a mountain. and then verse 21 says “this kind… does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” sometimes it’s not that we don’t have faith at all, but maybe our trust in God has gotten a little weak. especially when we’ve been dealing with the same thing for a while and it just won’t move. and I think that’s why prayer and fasting is so important. it brings us back to God. it gets our focus off of what we can do and reminds us of what He can do. fasting isn’t us trying to make God do something. it’s us getting closer to Him, denying our flesh, and learning to depend on Him more. so maybe that thing that hasn’t been moving is an invitation to go deeper with God. pray more. fast. seek Him. and even if your faith feels small, put that little faith completely in Him. 💛

Matthew 15:11-20 🤍 Jesus reminds us here that it’s not just about what we do on the outside, it’s about what’s going on in our heart. He says in verse 18, “the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart.” sometimes we focus so much on fixing our actions, but Jesus wants to get to the root. the anger, jealousy, bitterness, lust, pride, the things we say when we’re upset… they don’t just come out of nowhere. they reveal something in our heart that needs to be surrendered to Him. and that’s why we have to let God search our hearts, even the parts we don’t want to confront. because Jesus doesn’t only want us to look clean on the outside. He wants to transform us from the inside out. instead of only asking God to help you behave differently, ask Him, “Lord, show me what’s in my heart that needs You.” because when He changes the heart, what flows from us begins to change too. 🤍

message for today | Matthew 13:54-58 “and He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.” Matthew 13:58 sometimes the issue isn’t whether Jesus is able, it’s whether we truly believe He is. the people in Jesus’ hometown were so familiar with who they thought He was that they struggled to believe who He actually was. and their unbelief caused them to miss what was right in front of them. don’t let what you see, what you’ve experienced, or what seems impossible make you limit God. Jesus is still able. even when you don’t understand how He’s going to do it, trust who He is. don’t let unbelief make you miss what God wants to do in your life. 🤍