Matthew 15:1-2

Just as a physically unhealthy heart can destroy your body, an emotionally and spiritually unhealthy heart can destroy you and your relationships. For the next five days, let Andy Stanley help you look within yourself for four common enemies of the heart — guilt, anger, greed, and jealousy — and teach you how to remove them.

Throughout the New Testament, Jesus shows compassion toward unlikely “sinners” who expressed great faith. Whether tax collectors, Roman centurions, or Samaritan women, Jesus repeatedly shows that he came to rescue people burdened with shame. During this plan, Bible teacher and author Kat Armstrong illustrates how these stories strengthen our understanding of God’s empathy and knowledge of how all types of people express beautiful faith in Jesus.

Matthew writes to God’s people and walks them on a journey that will take them from where they are to be Disciple Makers. This is 16 of 27 devotional plans walking us through the book of Matthew.  This portion talks about faith, and in many different ways. Watch how faith gets challenged, stretched, refined and exposed – then ask whether our faith matches theirs!

Relying on ourselves sounds good. After all, if we just get a little more organized, a little more patient, a little more spiritual, our lives will be better…. Right? In this week’s devotional, Christine Hoover reminds us why relying on ourselves leads us to bow to the false kings of anxiety, control, and self-indulgence. Only when we bring our whole hearts to the true King will we find true satisfaction.