Matthew 9:18-Matthew 13:30 (January 20, 2013)
Our King heals:
“And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” But Jesus turned around and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour” (Matthew 9:20-22).
Has He healed you in any way? Give Him glory.
Our King calls:
“But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:36-38).
Has He called you to labor in the harvest field? Give Him your labor.
Our King is hated:
“And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. . . . Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both the soul and body in hell. . . . And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 10:22, 27, 38-39).
Will you die for Him?
Our King has a family:
“But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” “And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:48-50).
Are you in this family?
Coming up this week, read Matthew 13:31-Matthew 17:27 . . . 1) What encouragement do you find from Jesus’s parables? 2) How does Jesus minister to you when you are afraid? 3) Like the Canaanite mother, where can you be the little dog who is full of faith in her Master? 4) Do you think that Christ will build His Church in Idaho Falls?
Jesus in Idaho Falls 
All who stand for something will end up being both “hated” and loved. For Christians, it is important that what we stand for and how we live our lives ensure that we are “hated” by the people who, if they had been around in Jesus’ day, would have “hated” him and that we are loved by the people who, conversely, had they been around in Jesus’ time, would have loved him.
I fear that many of us all too often get things reversed in this regard, perhaps because we are so concerned about “dying” for Jesus that we fail to live for Him.