Welcome to Cam’s Reflective Bible Study Journal

Cam’s Reflective Bible Study Journal is a blog/podcast where Cam, one of Reflective Bible Study's founders, shares things he has discovered from his time studying the Bible (usually from one or more of the four gospels).

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God Wants Our Money: Matthew 25:14-30

Published April 5, 2023 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: Matthew 25:14-30 (NLT)

14 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. 15 He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.

16 “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. 17 The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. 18 But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.

19 “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. 20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’

21 “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

22 “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’

23 “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

24 “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’

26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, 27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’

28 “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Read Matthew 25:14-30 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

For our focus passage in today’s journal entry, we are looking at one of the many parables Jesus told His disciples. This parable has a similar sounding alternate version, that we have looked at in several past journal entries, but up to this point, we’ve not touched on this passage.

There are several things we could focus in on within this passage, but in this journal entry, I want to focus on a question that many people might not have even thought of: Why did the man/master give the confiscated talent to the servant who had ten talents? Why not the servant who had doubled the investment to four talents?

I can easily understand the lazy servant having the talent taken away, but with the way the parable is written, one could easily conclude that God is behind the rich people getting richer, while not helping out those in the middle. Since I don’t know God’s mind, I won’t spend much time thinking or pondering this idea.

However, in the case of this parable, I wonder if the master simply chose the servant who had the most, because the extra talent would represent the least impact into his life. The servant who had 4 talents would have been bumped up by 25% if given the extra talent, whereas the servant who had 10 talents would have only been bumped up by 10%.

God knows that money has a way of amplifying an individual’s character, and the faster income/wealth increases, the harder it is for the individual to develop the solid character needed to not have the money corrupt them.

In my mind, it is likely that the master of this parable does not want to negatively impact the two productive servants, and because of this, he chooses the servant who this talent would have the least impact on.

Which leads us to the main point for this journal entry: God wants our money to be a blessing. He provides for what we need because He does not want our money corrupting our character.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Walking to Jesus: Matthew 14:22-36

Published April 4, 2023 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: Matthew 14:22-36 (GW)

22 Jesus quickly made his disciples get into a boat and cross to the other side ahead of him while he sent the people away. 23 After sending the people away, he went up a mountain to pray by himself. When evening came, he was there alone.

24 The boat, now hundreds of yards from shore, was being thrown around by the waves because it was going against the wind.

25 Between three and six o’clock in the morning, he came to them. He was walking on the sea. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. They said, “It’s a ghost!” and began to scream because they were afraid.

27 Immediately, Jesus said, “Calm down! It’s me. Don’t be afraid!”

28 Peter answered, “Lord, if it is you, order me to come to you on the water.”

29 Jesus said, “Come!” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he noticed how strong the wind was, he became afraid and started to sink. He shouted, “Lord, save me!”

31 Immediately, Jesus reached out, caught hold of him, and said, “You have so little faith! Why did you doubt?”

32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped blowing. 33 The men in the boat bowed down in front of Jesus and said, “You are truly the Son of God.”

34 They crossed the sea and landed at Gennesaret. 35 The men there recognized Jesus and sent messengers all around the countryside. The people brought him everyone who was sick. 36 They begged him to let them touch just the edge of his clothes. Everyone who touched his clothes was made well.

Read Matthew 14:22-36 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

In this incredible, miraculous event, Peter steps out of the boat when Jesus calls him to do so. Just doing this simple thing is incredible in itself, but what happens when Peter has left the security of the boat is something that each of us can relate with.

When God has called us to step out of our boat and come to Him, many of us are quick to do so. However, what happens after we take the first step – or perhaps we could call it that big leap of faith – is that our brain catches up to our actions and we begin to realize the leap we just took.

Likely before Peter’s mind had caught up with his faith-filled actions, he was out of the boat and walking towards Jesus. But then his mind caught up with the reality of what was happening. We read this transition happen at the beginning of verse 30, “But when he noticed how strong the wind was…”

When Peter’s mind had caught up to his actions and pointed out to him that the wind had not stopped, and the waves were still crashing around him, he became afraid and this fear lead to him starting to sink. In that moment, Peter cries out to Jesus to save him and Jesus is there immediately with an outstretched hand.

When we look at this event, it might be easy for us to think that we should turn our minds off when we are moving in faith – but that is not what this passage is saying. In many ways, Peter’s mind was what got him to step out of the boat because it prompted him to tell Jesus to call him to step out of the boat. Jesus calls Peter’s mind’s bluff and this led to a body that was no longer protected by the boat.

Our minds can be our greatest asset to our faith, but this is only when we keep our focus on Jesus, and on how we can move forward with Him. When our mind wants to bring up doubts or fears, it is only then that our faith is truly known. It is in that moment where we learn what is stronger – our faith or our fear.

Jesus has called us to step out with Him, and in some ways, stepping out is the easy part. The difficult part is to keep our faith strong and focused as we walk on the journey Jesus has called us on!

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Flashback Episode — Faith to Pray: Matthew 8:5-13

Published April 3, 2023 in Audio Journal Entries

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Following Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount, we discover that He traveled back to Capernaum. On arriving there, Jesus is met by someone who seems to have a normal sounding request, but who Jesus is impressed by His response, and how this response demonstrates an unusual level of faith.

Let’s read what happened and discuss some things we can learn from this event. Our passage and event are found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 8, and we will read from the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 5, Matthew tells us that:

5 When Jesus entered Capernaum, a Roman officer met him and begged for help: 6 “Sir, my servant is sick in bed at home, unable to move and suffering terribly.”

7 “I will go and make him well,” Jesus said.

8 “Oh no, sir,” answered the officer. “I do not deserve to have you come into my house. Just give the order, and my servant will get well. 9 I, too, am a man under the authority of superior officers, and I have soldiers under me. I order this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and I order that one, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and I order my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

10 When Jesus heard this, he was surprised and said to the people following him, “I tell you, I have never found anyone in Israel with faith like this. 11 I assure you that many will come from the east and the west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of heaven. 12 But those who should be in the Kingdom will be thrown out into the darkness, where they will cry and gnash their teeth.” 13 Then Jesus said to the officer, “Go home, and what you believe will be done for you.”

And the officer’s servant was healed that very moment.

In this short event, I find it amazing that Jesus is surprised by this Roman officer’s faith. This officer did not need to actually see a miracle to believe one was going to happen. All this man needed was the promise and the assurance of Jesus to know that the servant would be made well. This is a powerful statement of faith.

While it might be easy to jump onto the idea that the Roman officer simply didn’t want Jesus to come to his home, I don’t think this would have been an issue if the Roman officer believed Jesus needed to be present to work a miracle. Instead, from looking at this man’s faith, I believe he wanted to hear the command from Jesus and to not take up any significant portion of Jesus’ time actually traveling to his home.

However, another fascinating thing in my mind is what Jesus tells those following Him before answering this Roman officer’s request. Verses 10-12 record Jesus telling those following Him: “I tell you, I have never found anyone in Israel with faith like this. I assure you that many will come from the east and the west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of heaven. But those who should be in the Kingdom will be thrown out into the darkness, where they will cry and gnash their teeth.”

In this short statement, Jesus says that many will come from east and west and will be included in God’s kingdom, however those who should be in the Kingdom will instead be thrown out. This short statement is a promise for you and me, and it is a warning as well. In Jesus’ words, I see myself as being included in those who come from the east and west because I am not Jewish, and because I live on the other side of the world compared to where Jesus spoke these words. I believe that I have been invited and adopted into God’s family through what I have read and learned about Jesus and even though I am not an original family member in God’s family, being adopted into His family is just as significant.

I also believe that if you aren’t a part of God’s family, you have been given an invitation to be adopted into His family as well!

However, Jesus shares a warning in this statement as well. In this warning, Jesus challenges those who should be in the kingdom that they will be thrown out. Part of me wonders if this is because they rejected Jesus while trying to uphold their tradition and their picture of God. By trying to hold onto their view of God, they missed out seeing the Messiah God had sent to them.

In this warning, I see a warning for everyone who believes themselves to be a part of God’s family. This is a warning to stay connected to God and open to what He is doing in the world around us. I believe even those who are adopted into His family can be thrown out if we try to hold onto a false picture of God.

However, in this event, I see a challenge for both those who are part of God’s family, and for those who are adopted in. We can call this challenge “The Roman Officer’s Challenge”. This Roman officer displays a faith that we are called to have. This faith says that we will trust God and claim His promises for us without having to directly see His moving in our lives or in the details of our specific request. This means that when we pray, we trust that God will answer our prayers the instant we pray them, and that His answers will appear at the best moment in history for them to appear. Often, the time when we pray and the best time for God to work in a situation are two different times.

I won’t even begin to claim I know the best times for our prayers requests to be answered, but I do know that I don’t have to know this in order to have powerful, effective, and trusting prayers. Instead, in this event, Jesus challenges His followers to have faith like this Roman officer and to believe our prayers have been answered because God loves us, because He listens to us, and because He knows the best way to answer our requests.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, be sure to intentionally seek God first and to place Him first in your life. When you pray, intentionally pray with trust that even if you never see the answer to your prayer in this life, know that God has answered your prayer in the best way possible from eternity’s perspective.

Also, intentionally pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with God. A personal relationship can only be grown best from spending time with each other and spending time with God in prayer and Bible study is the best way to grow a solid foundation for a life with God.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or walk away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Flashback Episode: Year in Matthew – Episode 14: When Jesus arrives back into Capernaum, discover how a seemingly normal request for help turns into an amazing example of faith that Jesus challenges His followers to model. This type of faith should be at the heart of all our prayers to God!

Saying Nothing: Matthew 26:57-68

Published March 31, 2023 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: Matthew 26:57-68 (NCV)

57 Those people who arrested Jesus led him to the house of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders were gathered. 58 Peter followed far behind to the courtyard of the high priest’s house, and he sat down with the guards to see what would happen to Jesus.

59 The leading priests and the whole Jewish council tried to find something false against Jesus so they could kill him. 60 Many people came and told lies about him, but the council could find no real reason to kill him. Then two people came and said, 61 “This man said, ‘I can destroy the Temple of God and build it again in three days.’”

62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Aren’t you going to answer? Don’t you have something to say about their charges against you?” 63 But Jesus said nothing.

Again the high priest said to Jesus, “I command you by the power of the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”

64 Jesus answered, “Those are your words. But I tell you, in the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God, the Powerful One, and coming on clouds in the sky.”

65 When the high priest heard this, he tore his clothes and said, “This man has said things that are against God! We don’t need any more witnesses; you all heard him say these things against God. 66 What do you think?”

The people answered, “He should die.”

67 Then the people there spat in Jesus’ face and beat him with their fists. Others slapped him. 68 They said, “Prove to us that you are a prophet, you Christ! Tell us who hit you!”

Read Matthew 26:57-68 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

During the trial Jesus faced on the night of His arrest, three words that open up one of the verses in our passage jump off the page as an amazing example that Jesus sets for all of us.

When faced with all the accusations, false witnesses telling lies, a crowd that is filled with anger and hate, and a high priest who has already sentenced Jesus to death before the trial even began, three simple words describe Jesus’ response: “Jesus said nothing.” (v. 63a)

All the accusations and the lies were contradicting each other. The lies worst enemy was not the truth, but other lies. Nothing that was coming to light was death-worthy, and the high priest knew this – and he had a problem: the high priest had already sentenced Jesus to death in his mind. This trial was simply to uncover a reason.

The longer Jesus said nothing, the more the case against Him would fall apart. By saying nothing, Jesus made it infinitely more difficult for the high priest and other leaders to actually find some fault with Him. If the high priest had not directly challenged Jesus in God’s name and position, the case against Jesus would have fallen completely apart.

The big thing I learn from this is that when facing trials and opposition, sometimes the best thing to say is nothing at all. In cases where the minds of those accusing are already made up, then there is really nothing to say. Jesus models this exceptionally well. Jesus stays silent when there is nothing to say, and He has an answer ready when challenged to speak.

While Jesus’ answer opened the door for His death, it also paved the way for humanity’s salvation – for all who accept His gift.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

Subscribe to this blog and never miss an insight.