Matthew 6
Giving to the Needy
1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9"This, then, is how you should pray: " 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us today our daily bread. 12Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.[a]' 14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Fasting
16"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.Treasures in Heaven 19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
Do Not Worry
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[b]? 28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion:
Psalms 119:65-80 (NIV) Ps 119:65 (NIV) Do good to your servant according to your word, O LORD. 66 Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I believe in your commands. 67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word. 68 You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees. 69 Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep your precepts with all my heart. 70 Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in your law. 71 It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. 72 The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold. 73 Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands. 74 May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word. 75 I know, O LORD, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me. 76 May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant. 77 Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight. 78 May the arrogant be put to shame for wronging me without cause; but I will meditate on your precepts. 79 May those who fear you turn to me, those who understand your statutes. 80 May my heart be blameless toward your decrees, that I may not be put to shame.
February 15, 2008Growing Through GriefODB RADIO: Listen Now DownloadREAD: Psalm 119:65-80 It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes. —Psalm 119:71A woman who lost her husband of 40 years to a sudden heart attack said that the resulting grief had caused her to value love more. When she heard couples arguing, she sometimes spoke to them, saying, “You don’t have time for this.” She noted that the wasted moments in all our lives become more precious when they cannot be repeated.
Grief changes our perspective on life. It is trite but true that how we deal with sorrow will make us either bitter or better. In a remarkable statement, the psalmist actually thanked God for a difficult experience: “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word. . . . It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes” (Ps. 119:67,71).
We don’t know the nature of the psalmist’s affliction, but the positive outcome was a longing to obey the Lord and a hunger for His Word. Rarely can we use this truth to comfort those who hurt. Instead, it is the Lord’s word to us from His compassionate heart and the touch from His healing hand.
When we grieve, it feels more like dying than growing. But as God wraps His loving arms around us, we have the assurance of His faithful care. — David C. McCasland
I have been through the valley of weeping,The valley of sorrow and pain;But the God of all comfort was with me,At hand to uphold and sustain. —Anon.
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. —Psalm 116:15
My Utmost for His Hightest, by Oswald Chambers:
February 15, 2008
"Am I My Brother’s Keeper?"
ODB RADIO: Listen Now DownloadREAD:
None of us lives to himself . . . —Romans 14:7
Has it ever dawned on you that you are responsible spiritually to God for other people? For instance, if I allow any turning away from God in my private life, everyone around me suffers. We "sit together in the heavenly places . . ." ( Ephesians 2:6 ). "If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it . . ." ( 1 Corinthians 12:26 ). If you allow physical selfishness, mental carelessness, moral insensitivity, or spiritual weakness, everyone in contact with you will suffer. But you ask, "Who is sufficient to be able to live up to such a lofty standard?" "Our sufficiency is from God . . ." and God alone (2 Corinthians 3:5 ).
"You shall be witnesses to Me . . ." ( Acts 1:8 ). How many of us are willing to spend every bit of our nervous, mental, moral, and spiritual energy for Jesus Christ? That is what God means when He uses the word witness. But it takes time, so be patient with yourself. Why has God left us on the earth? Is it simply to be saved and sanctified? No, it is to be at work in service to Him. Am I willing to be broken bread and poured-out wine for Him? Am I willing to be of no value to this age or this life except for one purpose and one alone— to be used to disciple men and women to the Lord Jesus Christ. My life of service to God is the way I say "thank you" to Him for His inexpressibly wonderful salvation. Remember, it is quite possible for God to set any of us aside if we refuse to be of service to Him— ". . . lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified" ( 1 Corinthians 9:27 ).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft:
That One Red Spot - #5505 Friday, February 15, 2008
Power - that's what mattered most to Napoleon. He wanted power, and he got it. Under his leadership, the armies of France won some stunning victories. They extended control well beyond their borders, but that wasn't enough for Napoleon. He knew there was one thing, one force that stood in his way. It is said that one day he gathered all his top officers together around this large table. Laid across that table was a map of Europe with a big red spot on it. That spot was England. Pounding his fist on the table, Napoleon raged: "If it weren't for that red spot, I could have it all!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "That One Red Spot."
I can almost picture it. Satan gathers his demonic lieutenants around a large table in hell, looking at a map of the world - a map with a big red spot on it. That spot marks a hill in Israel, just outside the city of Jerusalem. On that hill stands a cross, stained with the blood of Jesus Christ. Satan knows he's gone as far as he can. With almost uncontrolled rage, he shouts, "If it weren't for that red spot, I could have them all!"
But that red spot is the Devil's graveyard, and it can be the graveyard for his hellish plans for you if you make what happened there yours. To historians, what happened there was the brutal crucifixion of an innocent man. But you need the view from God's side to understand "the rest of the story." And He gives it to us in Colossians 2, beginning with verse 13. It's our word for today from the Word of God. It says: "He forgave us all our sins." That is huge! Every lie, every selfish action, every immoral act, every immoral thought, every time we've used somebody, hurt somebody, every proud thing, every dirty thing - all those acts of rebellion against our Creator. They are an eternal indictment, and they carry an eternal death penalty.
But at that "red spot," here's what God did so you could be forgiven. "He took it away," the Bible says, "nailing it to the cross." When Jesus was nailed to that cross, so was every wrong thing you've ever done. Satan thought he could have you with him in hell forever. But listen to what these verses reveal: "Having disarmed the powers and authorities, (Jesus) made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." Jesus didn't lose when He died. He won! He shattered sin's power. He made it possible to cancel the hell of anyone who puts their life in His hands. That day on Skull Hill, the Devil lost you if you give yourself to the only One who can save you.
Has there ever been a time you did that? It's a conscious commitment to Christ, so if you have, you know you have. If you haven't, be thankful that God has given you an opportunity to change that. This could be the day you say to Jesus, "I'm yours, Lord. You died for me, you came back from death for me. Today I trust you as my only hope for now and forever."
Hell's only hope of keeping you is to make you ignore Jesus, or postpone Jesus, or put your hope in something other than Jesus until your last breath. Then hell can have you forever, but not if you belong to Jesus.
It's time to make your way to that "red spot" - that cross where God's Son paid the price for your sin. It's time to take what He died to give you. If you're at that point, I think our website would be a great help to you. You can make sure that you belong to Jesus Christ; that you've begun your relationship with Him. There's a lot of helpful information there. Just go to yoursforlife.net. Or you can call toll free and get the booklet Yours For Life. Just call 877-741-1200. I just don't want you to miss Him.
Jesus, and what He did on that cross, really is your only hope. You tell Him that today that you will trade hell for heaven.
To find out how you can begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please visit: yoursforlife.net or call 1-888-966-7325.