The Carpenter Code Cracked – Tuesday

Week 2 |IN – Loving People More

Listen instead of reading

Take a Moment

Ask God what He wants to show you before reading today

Read The Daily

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. (Matthew 9:9)

Can I confess something to you real quick?  I grew up with all brothers in a strong male dominated home.  Because of that, I had several biases that I never realized until I married my wife.  She helped me realize that anything I didn’t like, I just claimed it was for wimps and wieners.  I was biased that the Carpenter Code for doing everything was the right way.  That is until she started slowly cracking the code with my illogical reasoning.  The truth is that we all have biases.  What gets in the way of us living in community with others are the biases we’ve built up over time. Let’s talk about it by busting this myth:

Myth #2: There are no good people to be friends with.

Matthew was a tax collector. People hated tax collectors. They were considered sellouts among their own people because they worked for the Roman oppressors. And Jesus picked this guy as a friend and follower. What can this teach us about making friends?  He’s teaching us not to write people off because of what they’ve done, and that the best friendships are marked by mercy.  In the kingdom of God, we don’t get to write someone off because of what they’ve done or where they came from. The grace of Jesus is way too good for that. We have all sinned and failed to live up to our calling as God’s image bearers. So, if you wait around for a friend who checks every box of perfection, you will literally never be friends with another human. You have to adjust your expectations. Start by learning to see yourself truly, as someone in desperate need of Jesus’ grace. When you do, you will start to see others more compassionately and find friends in places you didn’t expect.

Prayer for the Day

God what are you  showing me?  What am I going to do about it? 

God help me to see one person that I can serve through a kind word, random act of kindness, or simple gift today?

Make sure you complete the reading or comment today.

Read The New Testament In A Year

4 x 6 Plan | Read: John 18:19-40 & 1 Corinthians 3:1-9