JANUARY 10 READING…Matthew 6
Our reading today continues the Lord’s sermon on the mount…a reminder, this mount is on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The Lord’s message is a radical message to a people who have been robbed by their religious leaders of the genuine teaching of God’s Word. Jesus taught like no other person…He spoke with authority, and with clarity like the people had never heard before. The religious teachers had made the understanding of God’s truth difficult…it could have been because they really did not understand it themselves. They used it as a tool of captivity of the minds, souls, and bodies of the people, instead of words that brought freedom to those who hear, believe, and live them. Jesus came speaking to the people, not to the religious elite. I would remind you that the Word of God is for you…God wrote it for His people, not for the religious elite of our day.
Chapter 6 deals with three areas of our Christian life where the Lord gives instruction on how we are to properly do these different disciplines. He said when we give, it needs to be between us and the Lord. We are not to be like hypocrites who want everyone to know what a great gift they have given. He taught us when we pray, again, that we are not to be hypocritical or proud of our great ability to voice a prayer. We don’t pray to impress people, but to speak to God. Don’t get caught up in vain and meaningless repetitions…it is not by many, or repeated words that we are heard. The Lord hears the humble… come with a right heart, for God already knows our requests…He desire to experience our hearts. Jesus give a model for us to understand all that is part of our prayer life. Then Jesus deals with fasting. Once again, He tells us this should be solely between us and the Lord. We are not supposed to tell people we are fasting, nor are we even to look like we are fasting.
The last part of our reading today deals with the proper use of material wealth, and keeping wealth in the proper perspective. We need to be storing up our treasures in heaven, where they are safely kept by the Father. We need to see that a heart that seeks for riches, just to have riches, is serving that which that heart seeks after…and we cannot serve two masters. We are instructed not to worry…for the Lord has us, and the Lord has what we need. Stop seeking the things that people who do not know God seek after, and worrying when you don’t have it. We are told to…”Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to us.” Stop worrying…trust God! Listen, if we can trust God for eternity (and we can) …we can certainly trust Him for today and tomorrow.
Please share your thoughts from today’s reading.
TOMORROW’S READING…Matthew 7