What’s one thing in your life that you cannot live without? Do you have it in your mind? For me it would be my iPhone. I think I might actually start to shrivel up if I didn’t have my iPhone which connects me to my entire world. When we go up to our cabin in South Carolina and we don’t have phone service, it usually takes me a few days of twitching before I start to realize, I’m fine without my phone. But the moment we come down the mountain into town, all of the texts and voicemails start dinging and my need for my iPhone comes right back into play.

When it comes to Matthew 5:17-20, I relate the iPhone to Jesus. I know you’re thinking – how are those two connected? I want my relationship with Jesus to be even stronger than my relationship with my iPhone. Jesus came to fulfill the Old Testament. He came to fill out, expand, or complete it. He came for you, for me, and for everyone else in between. This is colossal, we needed a Savior and our Heavenly Father loved us so much that He sent us Jesus Christ. Our Savior is so much greater than our iPhone or any type of earthly contraption we may think we can’t live without. Jesus tells us in verse 20, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Our righteousness isn’t really ours; it comes from our Heavenly Father, what He does in us, not what we can do on our own. It’s all about Him, not about us. Our focus should be on our Heavenly King, not on things of this world (wait this is sounding like a previous devotion). We need to keep on shining His light, keep on reflecting Him in all that we say and all that we do. God sent us exactly what we needed and now it’s up to us to take that gift and cherish it every day. Don’t keep your relationship with Jesus up on a shelf and only pull it down on Sundays or Christian holidays but make sure it’s part of your everyday existence. We needed a Savior and God sent us Jesus.

This week, let’s spend more time in conversation with our Heavenly Father than with our worldly contraptions. Let’s focus on His word and His plan for our lives and let the things of this world wait in the background.

Prayer

Help our focus to be on You oh Lord, the Creator of all things, the One who sent us our Savior. We needed a Savior and You sent your son Jesus to be our earthly example and our everything. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.