The book of Matthew will always have a special place in my heart. This goes back to a particular time in my life when God spoke to me through it and kept me going when all else seemed pretty bleak.
A number of years ago now, life was pretty rubbish. I made sure that things seemed fine on the outside, but deep down I was a mess. I had a job I truly hated which required me to work all kinds of hours. As a result, I became quite isolated and lonely. I constantly felt tired, and on top of this I got myself in a lot of debt.
For the first time since leaving home at 18, I questioned what I’d done with my life. I remember thinking that I’d done the things that I thought I was supposed to do, like getting a degree and a good job, but the deep down I was just miserable.
During this time, January and February were often the worst months. I’d either be away with work, or working long hours, and would often see very few people socially. I remember being sat alone in a hotel room on many occasions wondering what I could do to make things better.
I remember two clear times when God really spoke to me in those moments. The first was through the story of the prodigal son, where I remember being sat on the floor of a hotel room crying.
The second was a time when I read through the book of Matthew in a hotel room over a week. As I read it, just looking at what Jesus did and what he said, I found myself looking at him amazed. As I let his words wash over me, I found myself stirred, challenged and changed. As I read the book of Matthew I remembered what it was that changed my life as a teenager. In short, I fell in love with Jesus again.
As we read the book of Matthew over the next 30 days, starting 8th January, that is my hope. I hope that as we just take a look at Jesus, we will see him again as our king. I hope we will be confronted with some tough truths but also overwhelmed by the most amazing love.
This guide isn’t meant to be a deep theological exploration of the hidden meanings in the text. It’s meant to be an honest look at what Jesus said and did, and letting it touch our lives.
The aim is that we spend 30 days (6 weeks x 5 days) reading through this book, pretty much one chapter a day. As we do this, there are a couple of things that I think will be useful for us.
1. A Bible – sounds obvious, but this isn’t meant to be read without a Bible. Each day will reference to a chapter of Matthew, or certainly a part. My advice would be to read the chapter first, and then the devotional in this booklet.
2. A journal – if you’re anything like me, you’ll think something is great, and then forget about it forever minutes later. If we write stuff down, then maybe some of the things that God challenges us with will last.
So that’s it. As I have written this, I’ve found the words of Jesus to be at times comforting, at times amazing, and at times really challenging. As I’ve studied this again recently, I’ve been reminded of that time all those years ago where God reminded me that following Him would be life-changing. That doesn’t always mean fun, and it certainly doesn’t always mean easy, but He has reminded me again of things like faith, sacrifice, love and living in close relationships with others.
I hope that as you read this, it helps in some way and that together we can know what it is to really try to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
Del
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