The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

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Category: Matthew (Page 1 of 24)

He is Able

February 12, 2026 / / 0 Comments

There’s a story at the end of Matthew 9 about two blind guys following Jesus. When Jesus is walking down the road, these guys are right behind him. When Jesus goes indoors, they’re right there with him. They just keep coming around, coming around, coming around. And Jesus finally calls them out. He says to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

Able to do what? They haven’t even talked about anything yet.

Hey. Jesus knows. He knows. He knows about the darkness. He knows exactly what you most desperately need.

“Do you believe that I can do this? I’ll do it! I’m about to do it! I’m going to change your life! I’m going to heal you! I’m going to fix you! I’m going to make everything brand new! Do you believe I can do this?!”

They said, “Yes.”

And he did it. Jesus touched they eyes and their sight was restored. The Bible says they spread the Good News about Jesus all over the region. What Good News? That God’s rescue is always closer than you think. That when things are dark, it’s about to happen. It’s always just right there.

The Passover and the Exodus happen in the middle of the night. God parts the Red Sea and delivers his people to freedom in the middle of the night. Daniel is delivered from the lions’ jaws in the middle of the night.

Peter is in a jail in Jerusalem, bound with two chains, locked between two armed guards with sentries at the gates. Then an angel of the Lord breaks those chains and delivers Peter to safety in the middle of the night. And everybody’s preaching about it in the temple courts the next day.

The Lord blasts open the doors of the Philippian jail to free Paul and Silas in the middle of the night. The jailer and his whole family are baptized into Christ that night!

I believe he is still able to do this!

Do you?

We all know it’s dark right now. Really dark. It’s night. It feels like almost everything is unclear and uncertain. It’s hard to see exactly what the chaos of our culture is doing to us. What it’s doing to you. To your relationships. What it’s doing to global stability. What it’s doing to your church. It’s hard to see, it’s hard to know.  It feels dark.

But I believe he is able to do this! If I only know one thing for sure, it is this: Our God has delivered us, he is delivering us, and he will continue to deliver us!

We know our God never leaves us because we still hear the stories. We keep meeting people God is saving and changing, we keep seeing God bringing new people in, we keep hearing the testimonies of people who are being saved by God in their darkness.

Maybe it’s dark for you right now. Maybe it’s hard to see. I think that means our Lord’s salvation for you is a lot closer than you think.

Peace,
Allan

Praying on Mission

January 30, 2026 / / 0 Comments

Interesting tidbit to begin this post. Eight teams qualified for the divisional round of the NFL playoffs this year: Rams, Seahawks, Bears, Pats, Broncos, Texans, ‘Niners, and Bills. Seven of the eight quarterbacks who started those games weren’t even born the last time the Cowboys won a divisional playoff game! The lone gray-hair, Matthew Stafford, was seven-years-old in January 1996–a cute little 2nd grader in Highland Park with a Troy Aikman jersey. Sam Darnold, the starting quarterback for Seattle in next Sunday’s Super Bowl, wasn’t born the last time the Cowboys made it to the postseason’s third week–and he’s already played for five NFL teams!

This 30-year drought is moving out of the realm of a generational thing and into oblivion.

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In Ephesians 3, the apostle Paul prays this beautiful prayer for the church. He prays about transformation, that God may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, that Christ may dwell in your hearts, that the church may be rooted and established in love, that we would have power together with all the saints to grasp the love of Christ, to know the love of Christ, to be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen!” ~Ephesians 3:20-21

The prayer is for God to do a whole lot, for God to do incredible and unimaginable things with his power that is at work in the Church. This prayer is not a wide-open request for God to demonstrate his power in random ways. This is a specific request for God to act in spectacular ways through us, through his Church. The transforming power of God belongs to us. So, we’re not asking God to do great things while we sit in the pews and wait on it. And study it. And talk about it. And agree that it’s good. The Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power!

In Matthew 9, Jesus tells his followers to pray for workers to send to the fields. Pray about it. This is what we want the Father to do: raise up workers. Then in the very next verse–one verse!–he’s giving them the authority and giving them the power and sending them into the fields to do the work! Have you ever noticed that?

Be careful when you pray. The answer to your prayer might be God moving you into his mission.

If you pray for God to use your church, or to work through your church, you’d better be prepared to get off your pew and into the mission. If you pray for the hungry and the sick, if you pray for God’s will to be done in your town just as it is in heaven, you’d better open your eyes, your ears, and your heart to how God wants to work through you to do it.

Peace,
Allan

 

Micah 6: Priorities

November 5, 2025 / / 0 Comments

“He has showed you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” ~Micah 6:8

God has announced to Israel that they have broken the covenant, that he is going to punish them because they have been disloyal to him, and they immediately figure it must have something to do with their corporate worship. What do I sacrifice to make God happy? How do we do church right? How do we need to worship correctly? What sacrifices do I bring, and how much?

And our God says, No! It’s not about the sacrifices. It’s never been about the sacrifices. The very heart of the covenant has always been you loving other people and treating other people the same way I’ve loved and treated you. Everybody.

See, God’s covenant is a relational covenant. He is in relationship with us. And his covenant relationship with us lays a holy claim on all our relationships. The relationship between you and your spouse. The relationship between you and your children. You and your brothers and sisters in your church. The relationship between you and your boss, you and your co-workers, you and your teachers and classmates, Your relationship with your neighbor on food stamps. Your relationship with your enemies. With your customers. With the lady in front of you at the store. Your relationship with the widow, the orphan, and the immigrant at the wall. All these people. Every single relationship. Everyone in your community. How do you treat them? What do you think about them? What do you say about them? What do you do for them?

Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.

It doesn’t matter what happens in the temple on Saturday or at church on Sunday if your life with your neighbors is out of whack the other six days of the week. God’s people know this. We’ve always known it.

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice.” ~1 Samuel 15:22

“I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings.” ~Hosea 6:6

“Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me!… I cannot bear your evil assemblies!… When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen…. Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.” ~Isaiah 1:11-17

It’s very similar to what our Lord says in the Sermon on the Mount. If you’re offering your gift at the altar and remember you’re crossways with somebody, if you’re not acting with love or mercy or justice with somebody, get out of the temple! And don’t come back until you’ve made things right!

The expert in the Law told Jesus that to love God and love neighbor “is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Mark 12:33-34). Jesus told him that his statement was correct and that he was “not far from the Kingdom of God.”

You know, it’s dangerous for Jesus to insist that loving your neighbor is more important than what happens in church services, but that’s what he always says all the time.

“You hypocrites! You give a tenth of all your spices–mint, dill, and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law–justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Jesus is quoting Micah 6)… You strain out a gnat, but swallow a camel!” ~Matthew 23:23-24

You can do worship exactly right–whatever “right” means to you or your friends or your group. You can close your eyes during every prayer, keep your hands in your lap while you sing ancient hymns, look up every Scripture during the sermon, and read Matthew 27 silently to yourself during communion. It doesn’t matter if you lied to your boss Friday and you plan on lying to him again tomorrow.

You can clap and raise your hands to contemporary praise songs and kneel down on the floor during every prayer and read responsive psalms ’til the cows come home and recite the Apostles’ Creed. But it’s not doing you or God any good if you’re ignoring the poor or cheating your customers or posting hateful speech online.

Priorities. Knowing how to pay attention to what really counts versus fooling around with insignificant issues. We don’t want to major in the minors. Jesus calls that neglecting the more important matters. The weightier matters. The heavy stuff.

If the specifics of our corporate worship are not the number one concern of God, why is it sometimes our number one priority? Have we misunderstood what pleases God? Or are we really just concerned with what pleases us?

Why are God’s people in Micah so willing to do the religious stuff, but not the heavy stuff that God cares the most about?

Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.

Peace,
Allan

One Who is More Powerful

January 2, 2025 / / 0 Comments

I have no faith in the Longhorns. They did against Arizona State yesterday what they have done every week this season: turnovers and penalties. If Sark can’t get that team to tighten up the pre-snap infractions and if Quinn can’t put a little more zip on those long post routes, Texas has no chance against Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. How many times did the announcers say, “That penalty is against the Outland Trophy winner” or “That flag is on the Jim Thorpe Award winner.” Typical Texas. They always have the best players on the field and, some would say, the very best players in the whole country, but they under-perform. They disappoint. The Longhorns are my only chance to win our office football pool. And, like the little kid at the end of the Dr Pepper “Playoffuary” commercial says, “The Longhorns stink.”

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“After me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” ~Matthew 3:11

What John the Baptist is preaching sounds a lot like the Old Testament prophets, calling God’s people into a right relationship with the Lord that must impact every part of their lives. Repentance is a change in your attitude toward God, which changes your attitude toward everything. And everybody. It’s a deep profound change that dramatically impacts your thoughts, actions, and the whole direction of your life. But as much as this sounds like the Old Testament, there’s a distinctly new element to this.

If I’m told over and over again that I need to repent, I need to change, I need to orient my life toward God, nothing significant ever happens. Nothing really changes. It’s like being told to exercise and eat right. I know these things, but I still wind up at Whataburger. I don’t need a preacher telling me to change. I don’t need some prophet telling me to get my life right, or else. I need some power from outside of myself to make me different. It’s got to be something besides me. Because I can ‘t do it!

Thank goodness this is not about New Year’s resolutions. This is about real, lasting, significant change.

This change you need is not about your willpower or your commitment or your resources. It’s not tied to your family or your nation or your church. It has nothing to do with your education or your zip code or your bank account. John the Baptist isn’t talking about some January resolution or a new self-help promotion. He is pointing us to the only source of legitimate change: the Holy Spirit.

The coming Lord, the one more powerful than me–he will baptize you with the promised Holy Spirit. A power who can make a new creation out of stubborn people like us, stones like us, who have no way to save ourselves. This power that is coming is not our power. It’s not the power of your good deeds or your inner resolve or your spiritual disciplines or even your faith and repentance. It’s God’s power. We are made able to repent and bear fruit because of God’s power in the coming Lord Jesus and his Holy Spirit.

The powers of this world are never going to make us into Abraham’s children. We can’t tell ourselves we have better genes or better morals or better theology. We can’t say we were raised better or we have better attitudes or better works. It is God through Christ who is making children of Abraham. God is changing people and making people brand new for his Kingdom.

And it’s happening. It’s already in motion. We are being changed. If we’ll just submit to it. Pay attention to it. Embrace it.

Peace,

Allan

The Kingdom is Coming

December 30, 2024 / / 0 Comments

“Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is near!” ~John the Baptist

The prayer of the early church was “Marana tha.” “Lord, come quickly.” That is not a prayer for Jesus to come again as a helpless infant, it’s the longing of God’s people for Christ to return to earth in the fullness of his divine power and glory. It’s the desperate cry of God’s people for the coming of that day when every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. When Jesus comes again to finally put an end to all sin and wickedness forever, when Jesus makes right all the things that are wrong, and he fixes everything that’s broken.

That’s not so scary to the poor and oppressed of our world. That’s not scary to the marginalized and mistreated. But for those of us with a lot to lose? It’s maybe a little scary.

John the Baptist is proclaiming a reality that’s coming, a reality that’s going to expose what you and I sometimes think is reality. This coming eternal reality is going to reveal what we think nobody knows about. It’s going to show just how false our earthly conditions and our human endeavors really are. The Holy One of Israel is going to expose all our pretensions for what they really are. In him is life, and that life is the light of all people. And that light is going to shine in the darkness.

“Judge nothing before the appointed time; wait til the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of human hearts.” ~1 Corinthians 4:5

There is nothing hidden that won’t be exposed. Everything that’s concealed is going to be known and brought out into the open. All things are going to be revealed for what they really are. What’s in the dark will be brought out into the light. What’s kept in secret will be announced out loud for all to hear.

So.

Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is near!

John sees right through the selfish charades of the world and the games we play and the lines we say and the hypocritical loopholes we construct and how precious all of it is to us. He sees right through all of it to the sheer power and holiness of our coming Christ. John is pointing to the future, not the past. He’s orienting us away from our religious rituals and our rights and privileges toward the person of Jesus. He’s turning us away from our present systems and structures and all our values and positions to the utterly brand new authority and dominion of our coming Lord and his Kingdom.

It’s happening.

John the Baptist is standing out in the desert, right there in the Jordan River, where the world’s resistance to God is meeting the irresistible force of his certain coming. The ax is already at the foot of the trees. This thing’s already in motion. It’s happening. And you’d better get ready. You’d better re-think your priorities. You’d better re-order your life.

See the Light. Be the Light.

December 23, 2024 / / 0 Comments

John the Baptist is sitting in a jail cell. He’s sitting in darkness. He sends word to Jesus. “How do we know you’re the one? Are you really the answer to all our prayers, or do we need to keep looking?”

Jesus says, “Keep looking for what? It’s right in front of you!”

“Go back and report to John what you hear and see. The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor!” ~Matthew 11:4-5

You and I can see the Kingdom of God being ushered in by Jesus. The Christ is born in the city of David and hurting people are comforted. Distressed people are encouraged. Everywhere Jesus goes, hopeless people are filled with hope. Prisoners are released and captives are given their freedom. Jesus walks in and sick people are made well, sinful people are forgiven. Jesus shows up and the devil’s grip on God’s people is broken forever. You can see Jesus bringing in the promised Kingdom of God!

And we walk in his light. By his life, death, and resurrection, by his obedience and faithfulness, his perfection is our perfection. His holiness, righteousness, and redemption is ours. His eternal life is your eternal life. His love is lavished on you. His peace embraces you. Christ’s Spirit lives in you, his power works for you, and his victory belongs to you! We walk in that light! Your church lives and worships and serves together in that light!

“The truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.” ~1 John 2:8

We’re like Stonehenge. All of us, all our churches, we catch this light of Christ. We catch these beams of light from the Lord of Life and we reflect that light, we proclaim it, we project it, and we share it with everybody. We preach it, we embody it, we live it. So everybody in town knows that your church is the place and the people where your yoke can be shattered and the rod of your oppression can be broken forever by the brightest of lights that gives life to all people!

You can see the Kingdom of God. It’s visible right now in and among all us who claim to follow Jesus as Lord. When we decide to also be the Kingdom of God, well, now we’re on to something.

Peace,

Allan

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