Tag: Jesus

How To Stop Worrying – Matthew 6:19-34

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 Reflection from my reading in Matt 6:19-34  

Jesus gives us some solid advice about worry.

The Heart of the Matter

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Matthew 6:19–21 

The heart of the matter is a matter of the heart. Where your money goes, your heart follows. If we are spending all of our money on this life, it will be wasted. The more we invest in eternity the better. As Randy Alcorn said in his book The Tresure Principle,

“You can’t take it with you, but you can send it on ahead.” – Randy Alcorn

God or Money?

“No one can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.” Matthew 6:24 

Where are you looking for security? Where are you looking for happiness? What are you spending more emotional energy on? God or money? You can’t live for both. Here’s a hint, choose God.

Don’t Worry, Trust God

 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”  Matthew 6:25 

Don’t waste time worrying about money, clothes, and food. God will take care of you. God feeds the birds and care for the wildflowers. How much more will God take care of you?!

“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” Matthew 6:30 

Worry is the result of a lack of faith. When we worry, we are basically saying, “God I don’t really trust you.” The opposite of worry is trust in God’s provision.

Like a Rocking Chair

“And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? “ Matthew 6:27 

Not only does worry not add time to your life, you end up missing out on so many joyful moments when you are wasting your time worrying. Worry is like a rocking chair, you move but you don’t go anywhere. I’ve never met anyone on their death bed say, “man I wish I spent more time worrying!”

Seek The Kingdom First

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 

We should be so busy doing the right things that we don’t have time to worry about trivial matters. When living righteously and working for the advancement of God’s kingdom is the priority, we are on God’s team and will receive God’s provision.

One Day At A Time

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.  Matthew 6:34 

Live in the moment, trust God, seek God’s kingdom first and face life’s challenges one day at a time, as you are meant to.

How To Pray Like Jesus – Matt 6:1-18

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Reflection from my reading in Matt 6:1-18 the One Year Bible New Testament. 

In this passage, Jesus gives us some really practical principles for prayer.

Pray Privately  

 “But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”  Matthew 6:6 

Praying privately gives you an opportunity to be real with God. If you only pray with others, then you have to wonder how close your really are to God. Praying privately helps you focus on God.

Bonus point: Find a place for prayer

One very helpful thing for me is having a place I can go to pray. Personally, I pray best in nature, so I go to the lake or the hot tub; having a favorite chair can also help you get into prayer mode more easily. Also, I encourage you to turn off your phone and other electrical devices that can be a distraction.

Pray Simply & Succinctly 

 “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.”  Matthew 6:7 

Long, drawn out King James style prayers are not more powerful. God wants you to simply tell him what you need and talk to him.

One acrostic that has helped many pray effectively is PRAY, based on the Lord’s Prayer found here.

Praise & Thanksgiving

  “Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. ” Matthew 6:9 

Starting with worship and thanksgiving reminds us of God’s power and sets the tone for our prayers. Praying a Psalm or singing a worship song can help with this.

Repent

 “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”  Matthew 6:12 

If we have unconfessed sin in our lives it will hinder our prayers. Confessing our sin to God and asking for his forgiveness clears up and restores our relationship with him.

Ask 

 “Give us this day our daily bread”  Matthew 6:11 

Ask God for what you need and want. God is our Father and is not upset when we ask him for things. He actually enjoys it, and it gives him great pleasure to answer our prayers. Nothing is too big or too small for him. We should also ask for God’s protection from temptation and evil for ourselves and our families.

 “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”  Matthew 6:13 

Also, don’t forget to pray for the needs of others and the advancement of God’s kingdom. Pray for more laborers, pray for missionaries you know, pray for your pastor, and pray for the people in your life.

 “Your kingdom come…”  Matthew 6:10

Yield & Listen

“…your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  Matthew 6:10 

Ending with a time of surrendering to God helps you live your day in dependence upon him. This is also a good time to quiet yourself and listen with an attitude of obedience that is open to whatever he wants to tell you.

Learning to pray the way Jesus taught us will help us enjoy prayer more and experience more answers to prayer!

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Winning the War Against Lust – Matt 5:27-48

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Reflection from my reading in Matt 5:27-48 the One Year Bible New Testament. 

In this passage, Jesus touched on one of the most common human sins:

 “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  Matthew 5:27–28 

Jesus shows us that even looking at a woman and thinking lustful thoughts is a sin. Simply noticing that someone is attractive is not a sin. My favorite quote related to this is attributed to Martin Luther,

 “You can’t keep a bird from flying over your head, but you can keep it from building a nest in your hair.”

Get Radical

Jesus tells us to take radical steps toward eliminating temptation.

“So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your hand—even your stronger hand—causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”  Matthew 5:29–30 

Jesus was not actually promoting amputation, because your hands or eyes are not what was causes the sin. The HEART is. Yesterday, I heard Rick Warren teach three ways to avoid temptation that are very applicable to this topic.

Avoid

The best way to win the lust battle is to avoid temptation.

  •  Media – Scandalous movies, TV Shows, internet sites, and even that friend who posts bathing suit selfies on Facebook & Instagram are to be avoided.
  •  Tempting People – Most of us have certain people that tempt us more than others. In some situations you still have to interact with these people but don’t make them your best friends or “ministry projects”.  It is better to let someone else do that.
  •  Tempting Environments – Avoid environments where you know it is going to be hard not to see things that will tempt you. If you have a porography problem, I recommend don’t get on the computer or your phone when you are alone in your room.  Use that stuff only when others are present.

Refocus, Don’t Resist

Don’t think of a purple elephant. How did you do? If you are in a tempting situation, it’s not helpful to focus on fighting the temptation.

Instead do something/ANYTHING else that will get your attention! Quoting scripture is very helpful. Getting up and going outside or into another room can also be helpful.

 When it comes to lust, Flight is better than Fight. Make like Joseph when Potiphar’s wife came after him and RUN!

 “Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.”  2 Timothy 2:22 

 Accountability

Run, but don’t run alone.  We are to enlist a running buddy. Find someone of the same gender to help you in the battle. Find someone who will pray for you, give you grace and still be firm. Get some accountability software for your computer if you need it.

I’ve Got Some Bad News and Some Good News

The bad news is that you won’t be perfect.  At the end of this passage Jesus said,

 “But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”  Matthew 5:48 

The good news is that Jesus lived a perfect life for you. He died in your place, and if you receive him as Savior and Lord, he will forgive all of your sins, INCLUDING LUST. Jesus was perfect so we don’t have to be. As we pursue purity in this area, remember that there is grace for all of us who struggle with this issue.

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Wise Men Kneel – Matt 2:1-23

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My second daily reading in the One Year Bible New Testament is  Matthew 2:1-23

The magi, AKA the wise men, give us a great example of wisdom and humility in several ways. It would be wise to follow their example. (Note: These are not commands but ways we can learn from the Magi).

Wise Men Seek Jesus

The Magi traveled many miles to find Jesus and worship him.“Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”  Matthew 2:2  When was the last time you went out of your way to seek Jesus? When did you last make a sacrifice to seek and find him?

Wise Men Experience Joy

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.  Matthew 2:10 ESV   When they realized their quest was coming to a close they were stoked! Any time someone rejoices exceedingly with great joy they are pretty happy! There is great joy pursuing Jesus.

Wise Men Worship Humbly

And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.  Matthew 2:11  It takes a humble man to bow down to a baby.  These men understood that this baby was God himself and therefore the most powerful One. 

Foolish Men are Proud

In this story, there is a foolish man named Herod. He is so mad that there is a competing King that he goes to great lengths to kill Jesus, even resorting to killing all the babies in Bethlehem under the age of two. His pride caused great harm.

 Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.  Proverbs 11:2 

The pride of Herod led him to be one of the most notorious villains in the history of the world.

The humility of the Magi makes me think they rightly deserve the title WISE MEN!

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Why The Genealogy of Jesus Matters – Matt 1:1-25

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My first daily reading in the One Year Bible New Testament is  Matt 1:1-25

This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham.  Matthew 1:1 

The start of the New Testament starts as it should, WITH JESUS as the Messiah or “anointed one” who was promised in the Old Testament.

3 Reasons This Genealogy is Important

Most people breeze over the genealogy in Matt 1:2-17, but I think it is important for 3 reasons.

1. It puts Jesus in the context of history.

Instead of saying “Once upon a time in a land far, far away” it names actual people from history that they knew about. Jesus is real!

2. It shows that Jesus is a descendant of David just as the prophecies about the Messiah indicated.

As Jeremiah prophesied, “I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line.” Jeremiah 23:5 

3. It shows that God uses messed up and flawed people. 

Abraham and Isaac both lied about their wives out of fear. Jacob was a trickster. Judah and his brothers betrayed Joseph. Tamar slept with her father-in-law. David committed adultery and murdered to cover it up. Solomon had 1,000 wives and worshiped false Gods. And every single person on that list sinned. As they say in the south, “God makes straight licks with crooked sticks.” No one on this list deserves to be there based on their own merit. Out of imperfection came perfection.

Jesus Saves

The other thing that stood out to me in my reading today was the angel’s description of Jesus in the Christmas story.

The angel comes to Jospeh in a dream and says this, “And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”  Matthew 1:21  Jesus means the LORD SAVES! Warren Wiersbe said, “The name Jesus means “Saviour” and comes from the Hebrew name, Joshua (“Jehovah is salvation”).

Jesus is the most powerful name in human history.  At his name every knew will bow, and in his name people are saved, lives are changed, prayers are answered, and the world will be renewed.

Jesus is “God With Us”

The angel points out what Jesus came to do: Save his people from their sins. And oh how grateful I am for that. Then the angel quotes from Isaiah 7:14 and says,

“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’ ”  Matthew 1:23 

Jesus is God with us.  Jesus came to earth to save us from our sins. He did that so that he can live with us in our hearts.  The greatest privilege of the Christian life is living in the presence of God. I pray this new year that you make it about knowing Jesus, our savior, our messiah and the God who is with us!