Why Obedience Matters More Than Miracles 🪨 | Matthew 7 Devotional (7-Step QT)
7-Step QT Notes
1. 🙏 Quiet Time
Pause.
Take a deep breath.
Ask Jesus to show you what a grounded, authentic faith really looks like.
2. 📅 January 28, 2026
Today’s passage reminds us:
Real faith is not performance — it’s obedience. And the foundation you build on determines the life you build.
3. ✝️ Matthew 7:13-29
Jesus teaches that we must enter through the narrow gate leading to life and discern false prophets by their fruits. He warns that not everyone who performs works in His name will enter the kingdom, but only those who do the will of the Father. Those who hear and obey His words are like a wise man building on rock, while those who do not obey are like a foolish man whose house collapses.
4. 📖 Key Verse
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (v. 21)
5. 📝 Reflection
Recently, the most popular Christian content on YouTube tends to be videos related to “miracles.” Many claim that a certain leader calls down the fire of the Holy Spirit, causing miracles similar to those performed by Jesus. These videos—whose authenticity is often difficult to discern—gain massive view counts, and the ministers featured in them enjoy great popularity and wealth.
However, the problem does not end there. Many churches around the world do not experience such miraculous events in their worship gatherings. As a result, some believers who watch these sensational videos begin to question and even leave their own churches. Thoughts such as “Why don’t miracles happen in our church? Is something wrong with our pastor?” begin to grow in their hearts, leading them to leave the communities they belonged to for many years in search of a pastor who appears to perform miracles.
Dear brothers and sisters, today’s passage—especially verse 22—gives a strong warning about this. The miracles performed in the name of Jesus do not guarantee our salvation. Our salvation is secured when we live according to the will of our Father in heaven. Passionate worship or mystical experiences do not lead us into salvation.
Treasure the community in which devout believers gather to love God, love their neighbors, and seek to fulfill God’s will. Numerous miracles do not necessarily testify to God’s purposes. Therefore, let us strive each morning to seek God’s will through Scripture and the Holy Spirit.
6. 💬 What does this passage speak to you today?
- Where have I been drawn toward spiritual “hype” instead of spiritual obedience?
- Have I compared my church or faith to things I see online?
- What is one simple, concrete act of obedience Jesus is inviting me into today?
7. 🙏 Prayer
Lord, keep me from chasing spiritual highs instead of Your will.
Teach me to build my life on Your words — solid, steady, true.
Help me follow Jesus in obedience, not performance.
May my life reflect Your heart.
Amen.
Scriptures
📖 13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes (Matthew 7:13-29, ESV).
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