Matthew 6:1-15
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men
to be noticed by them;
otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
So when you give to the poor,
do not sound a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets,
so that they may be honored by men.
Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
But when you give to the poor,
do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
so that your giving will be in secret;
and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”
{{ yes Jesus is saying we are to give to the poor,
and to not let others know when or what we do when we give.
And as we saw a few days ago
when we give we should not expect anything in return. }}
(Luke 11:2–4 )
“When you pray,
you are not to be like the hypocrites;
for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues
and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men.
Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
But you, when you pray, go into your inner room,
close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret,
and your Father who sees what is done
in secret will reward you.
And when you are praying,
do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do,
for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.
So do not be like them;
for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
{{ my wife and i years ago were on staff at a church that Sunday mornings
before service the staff got together and prayed,
There was always one there that had to pray on and on
using words that they never used in daily life,
things to impress like “O Lord-est “, “You know-est”
And most of the time never really saying anything of substance
Sad,
just what we are told not to do. }}
Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
(Hollowed is to Regarded with fear mingled with respect and affection.)
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.’
For if you forgive others for their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others,
then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”
{{ when we pray we need to speak to the LORD
as we would speak to
Anyone standing right in front of us,
Not trying to impress but rather to have a conversation with our friend,
Our LORD.
Speaking truth in humility, getting to the point.
So many times we ask for forgiveness
but are not willing to forgive others our selves
Jesus right out tells us if we do not forgive,
We will not be forgiven.
Are you forgiven?
Do you forgive?
Are you truly forgiven?
Or are you holding on to unforgiveness in your heart?
For we will be forgiven in the same manner we forgive others. For you will be forgiven in the same manner you forgive others.
Check your heart,
Check your attitude toward others,
Don’t let anyone hold you in bondage,
For that is what you are doing when you will not forgive.
Set your self free so you can be forgiven by
the GOD you clam to belong to. }}