Again, this is THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT - I could do a thousand separate daily devos over this chapter alone, but I will simply share how God spoke to me, and I hope you will do the same in your comments.
Leave it to Jesus to write with such beautiful continuity. Matthew 6:19 says that we should not live our lives focused on getting earthly stuff...we should instead be focused on our future reward in heaven. That sums up the whole chapter! Everything in the chapter is comparing earth vs. heaven. Don't act like an arrogant super-Christian, pointing out to anyone you can find how beautifully you can pray, how generous you are with your time and money, how holy you were during your last three day fast...the only reward you will get there is earthly. You are doing that stuff, not because you are so in love with God and obsessed with honoring Him; but because you are obsessed with honoring yourself. Earth vs. Heaven. When we allow ourselves to be eaten alive with worry (Which by the way, has never helped anyone, in any way, EVER! I know this from personal experience), we are truly saying that we do not trust God. We are saying God, I don't like your timing here - so I am going to solve this problem by immobilizing myself through worry. Man's obsession with having everything we desire now vs. trusting in God's timing and power. Earth vs. Heaven. I need stop living my Christianity for myself and for others and start living out my faith for God and God alone. I need to stop lying away at night worrying about this and that, and trust that the all-powerful creator and sustainer of the universe has probably got things under control.
Changing directions...I love the Lord's Prayer. If you are someone, like myself, who has always wanted some guidance in the prayer department - "How do you keep from praying selfish prayers that focus totally on me and what I need?" - then here you go...Jesus himself has taught us how to pray. He gives us a great outline to start with. "Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name." Start out your prayers with a God love-fest. Tell God what He means to you. Tell God about how incredible and holy you think He is (Yeah, your words don't do Him justice, but it is a great way to start the prayer off with a God-focus not a me-focus). "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven." Spend some time praying for God's will to be done in your life, in your family, in your church, in this world. Focus your prayer again on God and doing His will as opposed to yourself. "Give us this day our daily bread." Pray for your needs - true NEEDS, not wants. Thank God for the blessings that He has already poured out on your life...thank Him for the little things that we take for granted, that are life-sustaining. "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive those how have debts against us." Confess your sins to God. Search your heart and your life and pray for forgiveness. Beg for strength to truly repent...to turn away from the sin that plagues your life. "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Pray finally for the strength to fight back against the temptations we face at every corner of our lives. Pray that you will have the will to take the opportunities that God provides for you to walk away from sinful behavior. Pray that you will listen to the Spirit as He clues you in on destructive behavior. It is a simple prayer that we all know by heart, which gives us an incredible outline of prayer to work with.
3 comments:
I do worry a lot. It's kinda hard to rely on God to work everything out, but I know that at the end God makes good things come out of every bad situation.
The sections in this chapter that I have re-read most in my life are the ones on prayer and not worrying.
Prayer – If you really examine the Lord’s prayer, it is so simple in its words and yet fills every area of our prayer needs. Whenever I feel lead to get back to prayer basics, I turn here.
How not to worry in a trouble filled world – read Matthew 6:25-34. I like how The Message closes this passage out: Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.
The hardest part for me – trying to live that verse.
j
I still remember vividly the lesson Brandon taught on prayer. It was based on this exact passage and Brandon said the exact same words. To this day, I find myself praying this way and I do this subconciously now. I don't think about it, it just happens. Worry is such a crazy thing we deal with. I find that at times we worry over little things that really don't deserve that much attention. Father, I pray that you continue to build us up to be the Godly men and women you want us to be, and that you continue to build and test us in this area of worry.
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