Jesus continues his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6. This chapter is full of great, applicable, everyday truths. I will touch on a few. If you want to read an in-depth blog on just The Lord's Prayer check out patrickrussellray.blogspot.com
1) In Matthew 6 Jesus tells us to be careful who gets the glory.
Jesus says, "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.
When we give to the needy, when we pray, and when we fast (notice Jesus does not say 'if') we are to do so for the glory of God. We don't need to make an announcement. Jesus knows the identity of an anonymous giver. Jesus knows when you fast even when you don't exclaim, "I'm so hungry". Jesus hears us pray in our room alone.
2) In Matthew 6 Jesus tells us to think about Heaven.
"Store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven... For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
If our thoughts are on Heaven our hearts will be in Heaven. Heaven is real... the rewards of Heaven are real... and we can do something about that now. Rather than serving money or our pride; do things in secret and trust in God for great is our reward in Heaven if we do. And I don't know about you, but I can't wait to get to Heaven and I want to be able to hear God say, "Well done good and faithful servant". I want treasure in Heaven.
3) In Matthew 6 Jesus tells us not to worry.
"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"
I come from a family of worry-warts. We worry about what we will do this weekend. What we're going to eat tonight. We worry why so-and-so might be mad at us. Well, we shouldn't worry. Flowers don't worry about clothes and they are beautiful... because God wants them to be that way. God's plan will prevail. Worrying doesn't make a positive difference (if anything you'll die sooner). Rather, "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." If we are consumed by the Kingdom of Heaven, God will take care of the rest and then some. This isn't prosperity gospel, it's truth. As the old hymn says "God will take care of you".
So trust God, think about your treasure in Heaven and give all the glory to God today.
I typically have a hard time seeing the big picture when it comes to faith. It seems like there are so many rules and punishments that half the time it doesn't seem very appealing at all. But as you've pointed out over the last few weeks Jesus came here to BE WITH US. At its root Christianity is a relationship and all He asks of us is some time to be with him. Just like our friends the more time we spend with them, the more we learn and the more we want to be with them. As long as I focus on that one thing... I know my faith is secure.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your thoughts, I look forward to hearing more.