Happy Monday, {{first_name | everyone}}!
This week, we’re memorizing one of the most well known verses in the Christian world — Matthew 6:33, a verse about priorities with a promise.
But first, a miraculous story about grace to kick things off.
In today’s email…
☕ Grace
📕 The Gospel of Matthew and the importance of priorities
❤️ Preparing your heart for the week
🎵 A song to help you memorize and meditate on this verse
MEMORIZE 🧠
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:33
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The Story of Grace
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His mom’s name? Grace.
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CONTEXT 📕
Matthew’s story is really amazing.
This smart man went from being a tax collector for the oppressive Roman regime to becoming a disciple of Jesus. To say tax collectors were only ‘unpopular’ would be a drastic understatement.
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.
And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
The religious people who prided themselves on obeying the Law of Moses kept themselves apart from such “corruption and sinners.”
Someone like Matthew likely would have been ostracized by family and friends, seen as a traitor and a thief. Tax collectors were seen as corrupt, often making themselves rich by charging above and beyond the required Romans taxes.
Yet Jesus turned this all on its head by saying a simple two-word phrase: “Follow me”.
He spoke only these words to Matthew, yet they turned his entire world upside down.
To have a rabbi call you to follow him was one of the more significant honors that could be bestowed upon a Jewish man.
Scripture doesn’t give us Matthew’s full backstory, but what we do know is that he chose to pursue a lucrative and stable career as a tax collector.
Then, Jesus showed up and invited Matthew to follow him.
As we dissect our verse this week, let’s consider how far Matthew came, from tax collector to disciple, and what this verse must have meant through his eyes.
Matthew shows us that to “seek first the kingdom of God” means:
to part with selfish desires,
to let go of your own plans, and
to reorganize your priorities
APPLY AND RESPOND 🏃♂
📖 Read the words of Jesus in Matthew, chapter 6.
As you go through the text, consider what it must have been like, hearing it through Matthew’s ears. Allow the Holy Spirit to search your own heart and prepare the soil for a careful assessment of your own priorities this week.
🙏 Pray
Father, your kingdom is the most important thing. Help me to remember this and to set all other self-serving plans and purposes aside this week, following the example of Matthew, who left everything behind to follow you. Amen.
SONG OF THE WEEK 🎵
Pay-it-forward subscribers, enjoy the song we created below to help you memorize the verse of the week!
SCRIPTURE MEMORY SONG OF THE WEEK 🎵
Pay-it-forward subscribers, enjoy the song we created below to help you memorize the verse of the week!
It looks like you don’t currently pay-it-forward. If you’d like to, you can do that here.
FREE SONG OF THE WEEK 🎵
“Seek Ye First” by Maranatha! Music sets this week’s verse almost word for word, so you can sing it until the words are yours.
ANSWER KEY ✅
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:33
See you in your inbox tomorrow!
Best,
The Malachi Daily team 🙏
Today’s Contributors
Eljoh is a South African writer, editor, and artist with a Master’s in Practical Theology. She creates resources to help believers of all ages abide in Christ and grow in faith. Explore more free resources and creative tools at Vine Creative Studio.
Kieran is a husband and father of 4 living in NJ. In addition to Malachi Daily, he writes a personal newsletter about the intersection of faith, fatherhood and entrepreneurship.
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