Matthew 6:1-18

Watch out!!

This is how Jesus opens His discussion on giving; both to God and fellow man. "Give in secret", Jesus says. There is no need to call attention to yourself. This is a common theme in Jesus' teaching: live for God and His glory, not your own.

In the book of Job, Job and his friends spend 30+ chapters arguing back and forth over why all this bad stuff happened to poor Job. They throw around all sorts of accusations and ideas. In the end God comes to Job and basically says, "Who do you think you are compared to me?" I love God's sense of sarcasm in His response to Job and His friends. He asks Job if he was around when the earth was created and the stars were placed in the heavens. He asked Job if it is he who holds the oceans in their place. God is stating His Omniscience and Omnipresence and putting Job in his place at the same time. The moral of the story is God is in control of all things. God alone knows His reasons for doing things and God alone is worthy of glory and honor.

When we "blow our trumpets" and give glory to ourselves it takes glory away from He who deserves it most-God. So pick your charity and give what you can...... but keep it between you and God. He already knows what you are doing and He will reward you.

When it comes to prayer and fasting Jesus says to follow the same principle. There is nothing wrong with corporate prayer among believers or a church fasting together for a purpose but again; follow the advice of Jesus and be careful of your motives. If your motive isn't %100 to give God all the praise, honor, and glory then your heart needs to be checked. If bringing attention to yourself is behind ANY of your motives for doing these things than it is better off if you don't. Please don't think I am judging or pointing fingers. I must constantly weigh my motives when I do "Christian" things. When I choose to get involved in ministry I must always be sure it is for God's glory and not my own. I struggle with my own pride and selfishness all the time in this area.

The Lord's prayer in verses 9-13 is a model of how we are to approach God with our prayers. Jesus isn't saying that this is the only prayer we are to use. To repeat it over and over again would be a form of legalism in which Jesus explicitly warns against in verse 7. Instead use it as a perfect example of how you are to come before a Holy God.
1) Acknowledge God's holiness before jumping in with your wants and needs. He is Holy and deserves this recognition.
2) Let God know that you are thankful that He is in control of all things and that His Will will be accomplished in Heaven and on earth.
3) Bring your petitions before God. He wants to hear them.
4) Ask for forgiveness and for the will to forgive others.
5) Ask for strength to do God's Will and resist temptation.
6) Close by again acknowledging God's greatness; past, present, and future.

The remainder of chapter 6 is going to take a lot of discussion so I will save it for tomorrow.

Remember to boast only of our God!! How great is our God!!

Have a great day and God bless.