This week’s winddown felt natural—a welcome shift. By 2pm, I could sense myself already preparing—heart, mind, and body—for Sabbath. I left the day feeling productive but not driven.

Sabbath began gently at 3pm with lunch, and unlike the past several weeks of struggling to slow down, this time it felt as if the world wound down for me.

It was a gift—grace in rhythm.

And I welcomed it with gratitude.

This week, I spent intentional time in the Book of Matthew, highlighting everything that Jesus did—an exercise I call “green lettering” the Gospels.

This was inspired by Dallas Willard, who once suggested that alongside red-letter Bibles that highlight what Jesus said, we could have green-letter Bibles that highlight what Jesus did. That idea stayed with me, and this week, I began living it out.

Here’s what I found:

• The phrases “Jesus answered,” “Jesus replied,” or “He replied” appear 104 times in Matthew. That means more than one hundred times, Jesus wasn’t just speaking atpeople—He was responding to them.
  This revealed to me something powerful: discipleship with Jesus is synchronous—it’s interactive. Jesus invites questions, and He responds with grace and truth.
• In addition, the phrases “Jesus asked” or “He asked” appear 13 times. Again, it shows us that Jesus didn’t just preach—He engaged. He drew people into spiritual discovery through questions.

All of this paints a picture of a relational, responsive Jesus—not distant, but deeply involved in the spiritual formation of those around Him.

Then there was something remarkable in Matthew 17:1–3, the Transfiguration. In this moment, Jesus converses with Moses and Elijah. I paused here, because the symbolism is so rich:

• Moses represents the Law (the Torah)
• Elijah represents the Prophets
• And Jesus—standing with them—is the fulfillment of both.

This one scene captures the entire story of the Bible—Law, Prophets, and now the full revelation of God in Christ. It’s easy to skim past verses like these, but when we slow down and look closely, we see the deep narrative significance and beauty.

Green-lettering the Gospels is opening my eyes not only to what Jesus said, but how He lived.
And in that, I’m learning again what it means to follow Him.

This Summer I will start a “Green Letter” Bible Study and I hope that you’ll join me.

This week, I devoted my entire Sabbath to reading the Book of Matthew—and it was awesome.

Even though I have six other books I’ve been reading, I didn’t touch a single one.
And I didn’t regret it for a moment.

God was so good.

My time with the LORD was rich, full, and illuminating in ways I hadn’t expected.

What stood out most was how, for the first time, I truly saw the nature of how Jesus discipled people—specifically through Matthew’s Gospel. I noticed four distinct patterns:

1. Discipleship was synchronous and interactive– Jesus didn’t just lecture; He engaged in dialogue, asked questions, responded, and walked alongside.
2. Jesus modeled wisdom– He picked His battles carefully, like in Matthew 17:24–27, when He chooses to pay the temple tax “so that we may not cause offense.”
3. He shared stories– The use of parables was central to His teaching, drawing people in and inviting them to wrestle with truth.
4. There was often a call to action– In passages like Matthew 22:11–14, Jesus doesn’t just inform—He calls people to respond, to change, to enter in.

As Formation Church, committed to being with Jesus, becoming like Jesus, and doing what Jesus did, I see more clearly than ever how essential these four facets are to our call to disciple nations.

This wasn’t just time in Scripture.
This was formation.
This was Jesus showing the way.