March 31, 2009
Read and meditate on Matthew 6:25-30 today…
25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Take your time reading through Jesus’ words. It is amazing to me that in Jesus’ first sermon, His first major message to the multitudes, He devotes a large portion of His message (10 verses) to worry and anxiety. Human nature has not changed much in two thousand years. You would think Jesus were speaking to our culture today…except that some of the terms are different.
Today He might say…Therefore I tell you, stop getting so stressed and worried about your life…how the economy is doing, whether the stock market is rising or falling, your job security and material possessions. Is not life more important than how much money you have in the bank or whether or not you have the nicest car or house on the block? Look, God takes care of all the animals around you and they don’t worry a lick about what’s going on. Don’t you think He can take care of you? And what good does all your worrying do? It doesn’t change anything. It just makes you more sick and upset so that you can’t enjoy the blessings you do have. So why are you worrying so much about all these things? Do you really trust God? Or are you convinced that you really are in control and everything depends upon you? Have you forgotten who I am?
Jesus asks five questions in this passage. These five questions really get to the heart of anxiety.
1. Is not life more important than food? Substitute whatever you are worrying about in the place of food. Is not life more important than…my house, my job, my amenities, my savings, my security, my sense of success before others, my significance, my pride, etc. Sometimes we simply need perspective. We elevate things to a priority level that don’t belong there. Actually “food” sounds like a pretty big priority! But Jesus doesn’t even allow that to be the number one priority in one’s life. God can take care of your physical needs.
2. Are you not more valuable than they? Sometimes we forget how precious we are in God’s eyes. We strive so hard to look good in front of others, to prove ourselves, to succeed, to make a name for ourselves. We feel like failures. We don’t like what we see in the mirror. God says that part of our anxiety is not knowing who He is (He is in control) and not knowing who we are (we are loved through Jesus Christ).
3. Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Bottom line is that worry does not accomplish anything. It actually paralyzes us and prevents us from taking the steps that we need to take. We are to do what we can and leave the rest in God’s hands. That’s all we can do. Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
4. Why do you worry about clothes? Apparently this was a vanity thing more than a necessity thing. People wanted to be clothed nicely, to look well-to-do, to look important, to not stick out as poor. Jesus asks “why?” Who are you trying to impress? Who are you trying to please? Whose approval do you think you need? Sometimes our worry is simply a matter of our pride. We strive for the fickle approval of others instead of resting in God.
5. Will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? In the end, continual worry is a sign that we do not trust God. “I have to handle this one, Lord.” Many things are simply out of our control. We have to decide whether we are going to let them go into God’s hands or continue to bite our nails in anxiety and fear.
Lord, help me to cast my cares upon You knowing that You care about me.
March 30, 2009
Read and meditate on Matthew 6:22-24 today…
22“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24“No one can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money.”
In the context of this passage, Jesus is talking about money and materialism. So what’s the point of our eyes in verses 22-23?
The Old Testament pictured greed and generosity in terms of our eyes.
A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth, and does not know that want will come upon him (Proverbs 28:22).
Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, cease from your consideration when you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings, like an eagle that flies toward the heavens. (Proverbs 23:4-5).
He who is generous (literally has a good eye) will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor (Proverbs 22:9).
Thus the Hebrews pictured materialism as an eye problem. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Just walk into Walmart or Best Buy or Sams Club or Kohls and be conscious of your eyes. Everything is set up to catch your eye’s attention. The cool new flat screens are the first things that greet you at Sams. Walmart puts all their best deals right in the middle of the aisle. Kohls makes sure the newest ladies’ fashions and the jewelry counter is right where you enter the store. Or consider the grocery store. It’s a known fact that the basic necessities of life are always at the back of the store on the lower shelf. The stuff you really don’t need is put right at eye level at the entrance of the store.
So Jesus says, “If you want to know where your heart is, check your eyes.” If your eyes are always looking for more things…the latest technology…the newest fashion…the shiny sports car…the bigger house, then something is wrong with your heart. You have been infected with materialism and it will slowly consume your soul.
On the other hand, if your eye is good, if instead of more things for yourself, you see the needs of those around you, then you are seeing properly. Life is really not about getting more but about giving more. We are blessed to bless others. We work to earn more resources that we can use to provide for others. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need (Ephesians 4:28).
Whoa. Think about how radically counter-culture that is. Every commerical on TV tells us that we earn more to get more for ourselves…and to have more than our neighbor…and to be happy…and have lots of friends. Jesus says, “If that is the way you see life, then how great is the darkness of your heart. You can’t even see how blind you are.”
As Christians, we know that money does not buy happiness…we know that relationships are vital…but somehow we get sucked into the materialism of our culture. I remember a Time magazine article a year or so ago that noted that our possessions have doubled in the last 50 years while rates of depression have tripled. The article concluded that once we have enough money for a basic standard of living, then having more money does not increase happiness but actually reduces it. The more we have, the more we have to worry about…the more we have to protect…we more we have to lose.
Jesus ends this section with a clear message…No one can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money.
We can’t have it both ways. Either our eyes are infected with materialism or our eyes see opportunities for ministry. Either our hearts long for earthly possessions or they long for heavenly rewards. Either we will worship Jesus Christ or we will bow down at the altar of Money.
Perhaps our present economy is designed to reveal our choice.
Lord, heal my eyes.
March 29, 2009
Read and meditate on Matthew 6:19-21 today…
19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
These verses are certainly appropriate for today. Lots of “treasures on earth” have dwindled or been badly shaken in our present economy. The uncertainty of the times exposes the treasures of our heart.
What do I value? What are my treasures in this life? I have grown up in a very comfortable country…probably one of the richest that has ever graced the planet. It is a blessing in many ways but a great danger as well. It is hard not to hold on tightly to the things that I possess. I enjoy my home, my vehicles, my computer, my electronic gadgets, my clothes, my stores of food…wow, I have so much.
We probably don’t realize how much we have until we make a move. Boxes and boxes of “things” accumulate. We have to rent large trucks to move our stuff around…sometimes even rent a storage unit to hold our extra stuff. Our closets are full. Our shelves are crowded. Our sheds are cluttered.
What if it was all gone in an instant? What if I lost 50% of it…25% of it…or even 10% of it? I would like to think that I could handle it but I would probably be somewhat depressed…upset…discouraged. Where is my heart? If I am honest, I would probably have to admit that it is very attached to things on this earth. My fear and worry over losing these things betrays me.
Jesus says that when you store up treasures on earth, you are always threatened. Things deteriorate. They break. They fall apart. And they have to be protected. We put locks on our doors…alarm systems in our car…insurance on our possessions…safeguards on our investments. Nothing wrong with these things in and of themselves. But they do tend to occupy more and more of our time, our emotions, our energy, and our hearts.
Instead of working so hard to get things on earth…and keep them safe…Jesus says invest your time and energy to gain “treasures in heaven.” Grow in faith. Serve others. Be generous. Build relationships. Share God’s love. If you value these things, the rest will fall into place. God is not talking about living in poverty but rather living in peace…enjoying God’s blessings but holding them loosely…utilizing physical resources for spiritual purposes not just for self-gratification.
Lord, my heart is so attached to things. Help me to enjoy Your blessings without clinging to them. Give me peace in the midst of uncertain times. May I trust You regardless of what the stock market does. May I put my future in Your hands and not in the security of my job or my bank account. May I be a good steward–planning well and spending wisely–and a generous giver–using my blessings to bless others.
March 28, 2009
Read and meditate on Matthew 6:16-18 today…
16“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Ah, the ol’ “spiritual look.” What does a “spiritual look” look like? Gloomy. Sad. Somber. Serious. Some people work hard on this. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day did. They made a point to let everyone know that they were fasting…suffering for God…really serious about their devotion. So they worked on their best somber, gloomy face and walked around the marketplace looking spiritual. They probably had subtle ways of letting people know that they were fasting too.
“Would you like a bite of these grapes? They are really good.”
“No, not today. Today is my fast day. I am sure those grapes are good. You go ahead and enjoy them. I am denying myself today in order to draw closer to God. It is part of my regular practice. Fasting is good for the body and good for the soul….but of course I am sure that you wouldn’t understand.”
Image is everything. There’s nothing like impressing your friends with your spirituality.
Today fasting and long public prayers are probably not the spiritual “in” thing. Now it is more like vegetarianism…or meditation…or yoga…or being green…or being multi-cultural, pluralistic, and tolerant of others…or being in Oprah’s Book Club. The point is really not the spiritual practice, whatever it is, but rather the motivation behind it. Do I truly know and love God? Do I trust Him? Do I truly love others?
Jesus paints “spirituality” in completely different terms in the Sermon on the Mount. It is not following rules and regulations but humbly recognizing one’s inadequacy and depending on God. It is not looking and acting spiritual but simply loving God and loving others. Nothing flashy. Nothing mystical. Nothing necessarily impressive to others.
God dwells in the secret place. He sees past our gloomy, somber, spiritual-looking faces or vegetarian diets or long prayers or mystical experiences and interacts directly with our hearts. This is where true spirituality begins.
Lord, I don’t want to play games. I don’t want my relationship with You to be skin deep. Help me to let go of my idols and simply enjoy being in Your presence.
March 27, 2009
Read and meditate on Matthew 6:14-15 today…
14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
This is one of those Bible passages that will wake you up! Jesus ties our forgiveness from God to our willingness to forgive others.
In a parable in Matthew 18:21-35, Jesus makes a similar point. In the parable, a man owes an immeasurable debt to the king of the land. He cannot pay it and is faced with a lifetime of slavery and suffering. He begs for mercy and, in a gracious act of kindness, the king forgives his incredible debt. The man is thrilled….until he meets someone who owes him $100. The gracious act of the king did not change the man’s heart as he seeks immediate payment of the debt owed to him. He even has the person thrown into prison when they can’t pay. When the king finds out about the actions of this man, he is livid. He recalls the man back into His presence, places the debt back on him, and delivers him into prison to be tortured until the debt is paid. Jesus ends the parable by saying, So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you from his heart does not forgive his brother his trespasses.
It is a strong parable with a very clear message–if we don’t forgive others, God does not forgive us. The problem is that we struggle to understand this principle in relationship to our salvation in Jesus Christ. Can we lose our salvation if we fail to forgive someone? Is this the forgiveness of salvation or some other type of forgiveness that God is talking about?
I think Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:14-15, along with His parable in Matthew 18, have to be taken at face value. Lack of forgiveness does not result in a loss of salvation rather it indicates that one was never really saved in the first place. An unforgiving spirit reveals an unforgiven heart.
D. Martin Lloyd-Jones, a great preacher of a previous generation, put it this way:
“…The proof that you and I are forgiven is that we forgive others. If we think that our sins are forgiven by God and we refuse to forgive somebody else, we are making a mistake; we have never been forgiven. The man who knows he has been forgiven, only in and through the shed blood of Christ, is a man who must forgive others. He cannot help himself. If we really know Christ as our Savior our hearts are broken and cannot be hard, and we cannot refuse forgiveness.” (Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, p. 75)
That does not mean that we will not at times struggle to forgive someone or no longer feel the hurt of an offense. Forgiveness is difficult. But if we truly understand God’s grace, if we truly understand how much we have been forgiven, if we truly have the Spirit of God within our hearts, then something inside of us will compel us to seek to forgive others even when we don’t always feel like it. The initiative to forgive is the indication of a changed heart.
Lord, help me to keep short accounts with others. If there are issues that I need to confront, let me confront them. But may I do it out of a forgiving heart that seeks their good not a resentful heart that looks for them to get their due.
March 26, 2009
Read and meditate on Matthew 6:13 today…
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
There are three personal requests–give us daily bread (physical needs), forgive us our debts (relational needs), and deliver us from evil (spiritual needs). This last request for spiritual protection is in verse 13.
I often wondered why we should ask God not to lead us into temptation. James 1:13 reminds us that “God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.” Some have said that a better idea here is “testing.” God, do not lead us into a time of testing. That’s a good possibility.
I think Jesus’ own life can help us understand this. In Matthew 4, the Bible says that “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” Obviously God did not tempt Jesus but He did allow Him to enter into the desert where Satan tempted Him. The desert was part of God’s plan. It was difficult, trying, exhausting, and spiritually dangerous but God allowed His Son to enter into it. Why? To prove Jesus’ character, to enable Him to be a sympathetic High Priest to us, and to teach Him earthly obedience. Jesus, as a man, “learned obedience from what he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). Wild thought….but true.
In our own lives, we sometimes go through the desert. It’s the last place we want to be. It is difficult, trying, exhausting, and even spiritually dangerous. But only in the desert do we learn to depend fully on God. Of course, Jesus teaches us to pray, “God, do not lead us into this place of testing.” We shouldn’t have a martyr’s complex looking for the desert. It’s not something that we want but it is something that we often need. Just like Paul’s thorn in the flesh. We plead for God to take it away but sometimes He allows it to remain so that we can learn that His grace is sufficient. Some lessons are only learned through difficulties.
That’s why the second part of the request is so important. Lord, don’t take me into the desert of testing, but if it comes, deliver me from the evil one. May I not forsake You. May I not deny You. May I not give in to bitterness or despair. May I find Your grace in the midst of the pain.
Lord, I see my weakness. It scares me. I am not sure how I would stand in the face of extreme pain, persecution, or death. Do not lead me there. But if and when it comes, strengthen me through Your Spirit.
March 25, 2009
Read and meditate on Matthew 6:11-12 today…
11Give us today our daily bread.
12Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Give us today our daily bread. The request for daily physical provision. “Lord, provide my basic needs for today.” It is a simple request but there is a lot implied in these six words.
- Every day is to be lived in dependency on God. We have lost that in our land of abundance. We have our daily bread and a two-month supply from Sam’s in the freezer. We are blessed and we take it for granted. Let’s face it, we are shaken when our future retirement funds take a hit whereas many generations before us (and many today) live from meal to meal.
- God cares about our physical needs. Our physical and spiritual selves are tied together. One affects the other. We cannot neglect either one. Caring for our bodies is a spiritual exercise. Caring for our souls is healthy to our body. (The Feb 23, 2009 issue of Time noted this connection citing growing research indicating that people who practice their faith live longer and healthier lives. For instance, the average churchgoer lives 3 years longer than the non-attender. Now, there’s a good reason to go to church!)
- We are to take one day at a time. Jesus will re-emphasize this later in this sermon (6:34). If at the end of the day our basic needs have been met, then we have a reason to be thankful.
- We are to be concerned for the bread of others as well. Give us today our daily bread. This is a corporate prayer. Our abundance is not intended for our comfort but as an opportunity to minister to others in need.
Wow, there is enough there to ponder! Lord, forgive me for hoarding my abundance instead of freely giving. Give me wisdom. I want to find the balance between being a wise steward and a generous giver. May we as a church body pray daily not only for our own provision but also for the provision of all those in our midst.
Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. The request for spiritual cleansing. “Lord, forgive me for falling short.”
Ever considered sin as a “debt”? The idea is that we fail to give that which is due. Think about it. We were created to love God supremely and to love one another with unselfish concern. We fall short of this every day. We owe God our lives and we fail to honor Him. We pursue our own agenda. We do our own thing. We owe others daily encouragement, support, prayer, concern, help, love. And we fall short. We get upset when someone does not call us, encourage us, support us in time of need. But then we fail others too. We all need grace! I can’t impugn others because, guess what, I am guilty too. Until I love others perfectly all the time, then I have no room to hold grudges and keep accounts of “debts” owed to me.
Lord, thank You for Your forgiveness. Thank You that every day I live in Your grace. Thank You that every day Your mercies toward me are new. May I not take that grace for granted but instead learn to extend it toward others. We all need it. We all fall short. May we learn to keep short accounts and reach out with long arms.
March 24, 2009
Read and meditate on the Lord’s Prayer this week…beginning with Matthew 6:9-10…
9“This, then, is how you should pray:
” ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Instead of eloquent, showy public prayers or wordy, repetitious private prayers, Jesus shows the type of prayer God desires. The point is to teach us how to pray more than what to pray. The Lord’s Prayer is a beautiful prayer. There can be great value in meditating on its words and even reciting them when we can’t seem to verbalize our own prayer. But we must remember that there is nothing magical or extra powerful about these words. Jesus is not teaching us some formula for prayer but rather showing us the simplicity of prayer.
Our Father in heaven. Relationship. Intimacy. We are talking to our Father. He loves us. We don’t have to fight for His attention. He is always with us. We don’t have to earn His love. He has already showered us with it. As a child, we turn our eyes to Him and ask Him to help us, hold us.I think of my son Joshua reaching up to me, “Hold me, Daddy!”
Hallowed be Your name. Respect. Humility. He is our Father not our buddy, not our mascot, not our genie. He is holy. He is God. I am not. I think of my own role as a father. I desire intimacy with my children. I want there to be freedom and honesty in our relationship. But there must also be respect. When they forget that they are children and start talking like they are the authority in the house, then they have crossed the line. They have abused their freedom. They have mistaken my love for license. The same is true in our relationship with our heavenly Father. Intimacy and humility must go together.
Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Our hope and our ultimate desire. God, come fix this earth! Remove disease. Conquer death. Bring lasting peace and righteousness. Isn’t that at the heart of all our prayers? When we pray for health, we are longing for the day when God removes the curse of sin from our physical bodies and gives us a resurrection body patterned after His Son. When we pray for peace in relationships, we are longing for the day when God finally unites His children as one. Whether it is finances, political peace, the salvation of a loved one, comfort for the depressed, calmness from anxiety, forgiveness from a friend…all of it is a longing for God to reign on earth, to remove the curse of sin, to reconcile relationships, to restore the Garden of Eden. The whole story of Scripture is summarized in this one request. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Lord, I feel overwhelmed. So much is out of my control. Needs abound around me. Struggles abound in my own heart. I need You. You are great, You are awesome. Thank You for loving me, for saving me. I long to see You face to face. Give me grace to live for You, to learn from You, to love others, as I wait for that day when my faith will be sight.