Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

Understanding the Signs: Matthew 16:1-4

Published August 13, 2025 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 16:1-4 (NASB)

In this brief dialog with the Pharisees that is included in our passage for this journal entry, Jesus makes a fascinating statement. While pushing back against the Pharisees request for a sign, Jesus says in the last part of verse 3, “Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?”

This got me thinking about how we look for signs around ourselves today. Are we quick to dismiss the signs God sends because we can easily understand them? Or are we quick to discount a miracle because God used a professional (such as a doctor) to be His hands working out a key part of the problem?

And then looking closer at what Jesus is saying, are we easily able to determine the weather from the appearance of the sky but are blind to the signs (trends) that are happening all around us from a spiritual perspective?

It would seem that from Jesus’ words, He sees more value in understanding the “signs of the times” than He does in discerning weather patterns. Both use a similar logical path of observing and predicting based on the evidence, but only when looking from a spiritual perspective on the events of the world are we then able to start understanding how God is moving during the times we live in.

The Pharisees were so intent on something spectacular that could only be done by God that they missed or ignored all the small signs that pointed to the same truth. Jesus wasn’t all that interested in performing great signs and wonders when He came the first time, and because of this, when He returns, chances are high that He won’t be all that interested in performing great signs and wonders on His next visit.

Instead, by understanding the times we are living, and by looking at life through a spiritual perspective, specifically looking for how God is working and moving, we are able to open our eyes to what He is doing during our lifetime – and before concluding this big idea, it is critical to mention that this is only successfully done by studying the Bible to help us understand God and what He is truly like.

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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Giving Light to Our World: John 8:12-20

Published August 12, 2025 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: John 8:12-20 (NCV)

¹² Later, Jesus talked to the people again, saying, “I am the light of the world. The person who follows me will never live in darkness but will have the light that gives life.”

¹³ The Pharisees said to Jesus, “When you talk about yourself, you are the only one to say these things are true. We cannot accept what you say.”

¹⁴ Jesus answered, “Yes, I am saying these things about myself, but they are true. I know where I came from and where I am going. But you don’t know where I came from or where I am going. ¹⁵ You judge by human standards. I am not judging anyone. ¹⁶ But when I do judge, I judge truthfully, because I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me. ¹⁷ Your own law says that when two witnesses say the same thing, you must accept what they say. ¹⁸ I am one of the witnesses who speaks about myself, and the Father who sent me is the other witness.”

¹⁹ They asked, “Where is your father?”

Jesus answered, “You don’t know me or my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father, too.” ²⁰ Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the Temple, near where the money is kept. But no one arrested him, because the right time for him had not yet come.

Read John 8:12-20 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Part way through Jesus’ ministry, Jesus shared a brief glimpse of His mission with a group of people present with Him. In what Jesus shares, we can learn what Jesus came to do and what He didn’t come to do – which happened to be different from what the religious leaders in that culture believed Jesus was doing.

To set the stage, John’s gospel describes Jesus opening by saying, “I am the light of the world. The person who follows me will never live in darkness but will have the light that gives life.” (v. 12)

While the Pharisees didn’t like the claims Jesus makes in this verse, what Jesus describes here is pretty powerful when we stop to think about it.

The first phrase Jesus says is simply, “I am the light of the world.” While Jesus’ statement is up for debate depending on who you talk to, this phrase is how Jesus describes Himself – which is important. While people throughout that culture had different views of Jesus, when we read this, we see how Jesus preferred to be seen.

To follow this phrase up, Jesus tells those present that “The person who follows me will never live in darkness but will have the light that gives life.” Part of me wonders what Jesus means when He says this. Does following Jesus literally mean that we will never experience dark points in our lives from this point forward?

Answering this question is tricky because there are plenty of cases in all our lives we could call dark or low points. However, I wonder if Jesus spoke this promise to help frame the people who follow Him always having something to look for and forward to. As followers of Jesus, we can always be looking for the ways He is moving in the world today, and we can always look forward to the promise of the second coming and heaven in our future.

Jesus gives light to our world because He came to show us a loving picture of God. By following Jesus and obeying His teachings, we are able to see God through new eyes and we see light where others see darkness – we see hope when others can only see despair.

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Flashback Episode — Learning from Dishonesty: Luke 16:1-18

Published August 11, 2025 in Audio Journal Entries

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As we continue moving through Luke’s gospel, we arrive at a parable Jesus shared that I am fascinated by. However, unlike most of Jesus’ other parables, the hero of this parable, if you could call this character a hero, displays some very dishonest characteristics.

However, in spite of this character not being a positive role model, Jesus shared this parable for a very specific purpose, and Luke shares Jesus’ explanation for why after the parable itself ends.

Let’s read this parable, and unpack some big truths we can learn from what Jesus taught and why.

Our passage for this episode is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 16, and we will read it from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 1:

¹Jesus also said to his followers, “Once there was a rich man who had a manager to take care of his business. This manager was accused of cheating him. ²So he called the manager in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give me a report of what you have done with my money, because you can’t be my manager any longer.’ ³The manager thought to himself, ‘What will I do since my master is taking my job away from me? I am not strong enough to dig ditches, and I am ashamed to beg. ⁴I know what I’ll do so that when I lose my job people will welcome me into their homes.’

⁵“So the manager called in everyone who owed the master any money. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe?’ ⁶He answered, ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write four hundred gallons.’ ⁷Then the manager asked another one, ‘How much do you owe?’ He answered, ‘One thousand bushels of wheat.’ Then the manager said to him, ‘Take your bill and write eight hundred bushels.’ ⁸So, the master praised the dishonest manager for being clever. Yes, worldly people are more clever with their own kind than spiritual people are.

In this parable, we discover a manager who is accused of cheating a rich man. It is worth noting that this manager is simply accused, however he has not been tried or found guilty of cheating. However, the accusation against him is significant enough to warrant the rich man deciding to fire this manager.

It also doesn’t help the manager’s case that when given the opportunity to present the record of the debts owed to this rich man, the manager clearly displays dishonesty. This makes me think that whatever the case was against the manager’s integrity was likely valid.

However, while the master praises the manager for being clever, there is nothing in this passage to indicate that the manager got away with his deception. The master simply needed to find out from one honest person what had happened and the dishonest manager’s plot would be foiled.

Actually, the manager likely knew his trick wouldn’t actually change any true debt that was owed. Instead, this trick simply opens the door to friendships, even if these friendships were formed on dishonesty. The trick is brilliant because while it looks like it is against the master because it deprives him of a percentage of his wealth, it is really a trick for quickly making friends.

However, with this manager’s dishonesty being shown now to every one of the people he is seeking friendships with, his reputation is gone if there was any reputation present before. Someone who is dishonest in one area is more likely to be dishonest in many areas than someone who is honest in every situation.

So why then did Jesus share this parable?

While the dishonest manager is praised for being clever, Jesus continues in verse 9 by telling those present:

⁹“I tell you, make friends for yourselves using worldly riches so that when those riches are gone, you will be welcomed in those homes that continue forever. ¹⁰Whoever can be trusted with a little can also be trusted with a lot, and whoever is dishonest with a little is dishonest with a lot. ¹¹If you cannot be trusted with worldly riches, then who will trust you with true riches? ¹²And if you cannot be trusted with things that belong to someone else, who will give you things of your own?

¹³“No servant can serve two masters. The servant will hate one master and love the other, or will follow one master and refuse to follow the other. You cannot serve both God and worldly riches.”

¹⁴The Pharisees, who loved money, were listening to all these things and made fun of Jesus. ¹⁵He said to them, “You make yourselves look good in front of people, but God knows what is really in your hearts. What is important to people is hateful in God’s sight.

¹⁶“The law of Moses and the writings of the prophets were preached until John came. Since then the Good News about the kingdom of God is being told, and everyone tries to enter it by force. ¹⁷It would be easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the smallest part of a letter in the law to be changed.

¹⁸“If a man divorces his wife and marries another woman, he is guilty of adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman is also guilty of adultery.”

In the verses that follow Jesus’ controversial parable, we discover that God values honesty and integrity more than we might realize. Nowhere is this dishonest manager presented as someone to model our lives after. Instead, his dishonesty is actually criticized by Jesus in the following verses.

Instead, Jesus used this parable to challenge honest people to use their money and wealth to build friendships and relationships so that when the money is gone or the budget is extra tight, we will be welcomed and helped by friends God has placed into our lives. I can say that a friendship my wife and I had while we were moving between homes was very valuable, because these friends opened their home to us for us to live with them for a few weeks while we were technically homeless while finalizing the purchase of our new home.

I suspect this is what Jesus was referring to in this parable. Nothing in our friendship was purchased, dishonest, or lacked integrity. However, the friendship wasn’t entirely free either. We have spent money doing things together and creating shared memories.

Jesus challenged the religious leaders regarding their focus. Many of the religious leaders had placed their focus on looking good and on building wealth. Having money was seen as a sign that God was blessing them.

However, Jesus pushes the religious leaders by saying that a focus on God and a focus on relationships are both more important than a focus on money. There is no way to buy your way into God’s kingdom.

Jesus finishes our passage looking at how God’s law is constant. Jesus did not come to change God’s law. Instead of changing God’s law, Jesus came to fulfill it and to draw God’s people back towards focusing on the things that God wants His people to focus on.

Through this parable that seems to highlight dishonesty, Jesus teaches that God values integrity more than we might realize, nothing that Jesus came to do would change God’s law, and that God wants His people to use money as a tool to grow genuine relationships with others. While friendships in this world are great, the best friendships are ones that will extend into eternity, and that only happens when we share Jesus with those God has brought into our lives, and help them realize the amazing gift Jesus offers to all of us through His death on the cross!

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, continue to seek God first in your life and place Him first. Choose to obey God’s law and to live your life with integrity. Don’t model the dishonest manager. Instead, use the wealth God has given you to develop genuine friendships with others so that when the opportunity is right, you can share Jesus with them.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow personally closer to God. Through a personal relationship with Jesus, discover how you can open your heart, mind, and life to the Holy Spirit. Don’t let your relationship with God be dependent on others. Choose to personally grow towards God through personal study and personal prayer!

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 stray away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Flashback Episode: Year in Luke – Episode 32: From the parable of the dishonest manager, discover how God doesn’t praise this man, Instead, discover something that we should do with our money that will likely be more successful when our lives are filled with honesty and integrity, specifically characteristics this manager did not have!

Praying Together with Jesus: Matthew 18:15-35

Published August 8, 2025 in Written Journal Entries

Focus Passage: Matthew 18:15-35 (NCV)

¹⁵ “If your fellow believer sins against you, go and tell him in private what he did wrong. If he listens to you, you have helped that person to be your brother or sister again. ¹⁶ But if he refuses to listen, go to him again and take one or two other people with you. ‘Every case may be proved by two or three witnesses.’ ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, then treat him like a person who does not believe in God or like a tax collector.

¹⁸ “I tell you the truth, the things you don’t allow on earth will be the things God does not allow. And the things you allow on earth will be the things that God allows.

¹⁹ “Also, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something and pray for it, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ This is true because if two or three people come together in my name, I am there with them.”

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, when my fellow believer sins against me, how many times must I forgive him? Should I forgive him as many as seven times?”

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, you must forgive him more than seven times. You must forgive him even if he wrongs you seventy times seven.

²³ “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who decided to collect the money his servants owed him. ²⁴ When the king began to collect his money, a servant who owed him several million dollars was brought to him. ²⁵ But the servant did not have enough money to pay his master, the king. So the master ordered that everything the servant owned should be sold, even the servant’s wife and children. Then the money would be used to pay the king what the servant owed.

²⁶ “But the servant fell on his knees and begged, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’ ²⁷ The master felt sorry for his servant and told him he did not have to pay it back. Then he let the servant go free.

²⁸ “Later, that same servant found another servant who owed him a few dollars. The servant grabbed him around the neck and said, ‘Pay me the money you owe me!’

²⁹ “The other servant fell on his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’

³⁰ “But the first servant refused to be patient. He threw the other servant into prison until he could pay everything he owed. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very sorry. So they went and told their master all that had happened.

³² “Then the master called his servant in and said, ‘You evil servant! Because you begged me to forget what you owed, I told you that you did not have to pay anything. ³³ You should have showed mercy to that other servant, just as I showed mercy to you.’ ³⁴ The master was very angry and put the servant in prison to be punished until he could pay everything he owed.

³⁵ “This king did what my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Read Matthew 18:15-35 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

While Jesus was teaching the disciples about prayer, forgiveness, and conflict resolution, He shares a powerful promise that relates directly to prayer. However, I believe this promise has been pulled out of context in many situations, and because of this, it might appear as though God does not answer us as quickly. But when we claim the promise Jesus shares with the disciples in our prayer experience, there is no telling how many answers we will discover.

Matthew’s gospel shares Jesus’ promise to His followers: “Also, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something and pray for it, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. This is true because if two or three people come together in my name, I am there with them.” (v. 19-20)

These two verses contain what might appear like a blank check from God. Jesus’ promise sounds like all we must do is find one other person who agrees with us that something must happen, and then pray with them for God to step into the situation in a specific way. But in many cases I can think of, it seems as though all the steps have been followed and an answer does not come – and it may be because we are missing the context and details of this promise.

First, verse 19 begins with the word “Also”. This means that the message/promise Jesus is about to share hinges on what He had just finished saying. Jesus’ earlier statement focuses on God letting His followers determine where they will stand in what we could call “the gray areas of faith”.

This detail is important because it is unlikely that a prayer going to God that contradicts His character or plan will be answered according to our wishes. But this does mean that in the gray areas of His plan and history, our prayers will make a huge difference in directing God and inviting Him into the situations we have on our hearts.
Next, within these two verses is the secondary promise that if two or three (or more) people come together in Jesus’ name, Jesus will be there with them. The second big detail to remember is that the purpose of the group we form to pray must be unified under Jesus’ name, and we should invite Jesus to pray with us (however odd this might sound). If Jesus says He is with us when we gather together in His name, perhaps we should invite Him to pray with us.
The third detail for us to pay attention to is the focus and context of the verses that immediately follow this. While it might appear like this is a transition in Matthew’s narrative where he finishes one event and then begins another, what follows next is Peter asking Jesus about forgiveness, and even if this is a completely separate event, Matthew intentionally places it right next to Jesus’ promise to be with us when we gather in His name.

This third detail is important because if we are holding pain in our hearts with an unforgiving spirit, then our hearts are closed off to God and it may keep our prayers from being heard or answered. God wants our hearts above everything else, and forgiveness is the key to freeing our hearts in preparation for our gift to Him.

Together, these details form the best context we can for claiming Jesus’ promise. We must be asking for things within God’s will and plan – and/or within that gray area of faith; we must be united with Jesus while praying together; and we must have a forgiving heart and a humble spirit when we pray together. When we have done all these things, we can pray together in confidence that God will answer our prayers – even if His answer is “wait and see” or “no, but here is something better for you.”

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