Post by John on Dec 28, 2018 14:32:40 GMT -5
We have been discussing the sermon on the mount on Wednesday nights, and in the past couple of weeks, we were looking at Matthew 6:1-18. This covered the subject of giving of alms, along with prayer and fasting, and gave us practical teachings all of us can apply to our lives as we begin a new year. I want to first deal with something all three have in common. Jesus speaks of rewards for doing these things. We have the opportunity to be rewarded by God, or we can be rewarded through the praises of men. The choice is ours. In order to have the blessings of God, when we give alms (money to help the poor), when we pray and when we fast, we are to do these things in secret, where only God knows about it. If we do that, God will reward us openly. On the other hand, if we would prefer to have the praises of men and nothing from God, let everyone know all the good deeds you are doing, so they can praise you for being so pious. That will become your reward.
Back to practical application. We can all make a commitment to give to the poor, along with tithing of course throughout 2019 and beyond. We can all be committed to having a consistent prayer life and we can make time to fast in secret. We can do this without letting anyone know about it, and simply trust the Lord He will bless us for our obedience and trust in Him. We should also take heed to a serious warning our Lord gives us in verses 14 and 15 dealing with forgiveness. "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Another thing we can consider doing is finding time to follow Jesus' pattern for how to pray, which is found in verses 9-13. This can be broken down, and we can pray according to this manner...
After this manner therefore pray ye:
1. Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name
2. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven
3. Give us this day our daily bread
4. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors
5. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
6. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever, Amen.
I once heard a minister do a message about how you can spend 10 minutes on each section and pray for an hour each day. I am not suggesting everyone must pray that long each day, but just telling you what this one man said, as he taught on how all the things we pray for can fit into one of these areas. Of course, you can see that we open in praise and close in praise.
I am putting this in a post because I feel these are all things that are important, and can benefit us in our walk with Christ, and isn't that what it is all about? The Bible isn't just something to learn about for knowledge sake, but it is here to help us live closer to God. These are very important teachings by our Lord that will benefit us if we know and practice them.
Back to practical application. We can all make a commitment to give to the poor, along with tithing of course throughout 2019 and beyond. We can all be committed to having a consistent prayer life and we can make time to fast in secret. We can do this without letting anyone know about it, and simply trust the Lord He will bless us for our obedience and trust in Him. We should also take heed to a serious warning our Lord gives us in verses 14 and 15 dealing with forgiveness. "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Another thing we can consider doing is finding time to follow Jesus' pattern for how to pray, which is found in verses 9-13. This can be broken down, and we can pray according to this manner...
After this manner therefore pray ye:
1. Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name
2. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven
3. Give us this day our daily bread
4. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors
5. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
6. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever, Amen.
I once heard a minister do a message about how you can spend 10 minutes on each section and pray for an hour each day. I am not suggesting everyone must pray that long each day, but just telling you what this one man said, as he taught on how all the things we pray for can fit into one of these areas. Of course, you can see that we open in praise and close in praise.
I am putting this in a post because I feel these are all things that are important, and can benefit us in our walk with Christ, and isn't that what it is all about? The Bible isn't just something to learn about for knowledge sake, but it is here to help us live closer to God. These are very important teachings by our Lord that will benefit us if we know and practice them.