Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
Matthew 9:9-13 (NIV)
The Calling of Matthew
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. 10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Choose one or two key verses from the Scripture reading in Matthew today and do at least one of the following for your chosen verse(s).
A – Ask questions of the text (Who, what, why, where, when)
E – Emphasize certain words as you read the text over & over
I – In your own words (paraphrase one or more verses)
O – Other verses in the Bible that say the same or opposite
U – Use it; apply the truth from the text in your life
Lord, forgive me when my wants, desires, and goals are opposed to You. Matthew dropped everything to follow you, including his career. Draw me close to You by Your powerful Word and transform my soul to realign my priorities. Speak to my Heart through Your word so the world cannot hold me down, and Satan cannot impact my way. In this new year, allow me to delight in doing Your will and in following Your Voice so that what I desire is in alignment with You. Amen