Matthew 6:24-34

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

Comments

Exodus tells us that for the 40 years the Israelites wandered around the desert (waiting for the older generation to die), everyday God sent them manna, this flaky grain would fall out of the sky like the morning dew, they would go out early and gather enough for the day and get. They also quail sometimes, so it wasn’t an all-carb diet. But they were definitely on divine food stamps, they didn’t do anything to earn their food. Which is where we might end up if we take Jesus seriously here. But we don’t. We find ways to spiritualize it, reinterpret it to square with our decadent Western lifestyle. And then we go back to worrying. Lucky bird.

Matthew 6:14-23

“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!”

Comments

How you present yourself to others and how you let the world present itself to you, those are the topics of this part of the Great Sermon. Trying to give off a holy, ‘suffering for the Lord’ vibe is not a good idea. You can fast and pray and still act and look normal. So comb your hair and wash your face.

Forgiving, treasure, and having a good eye all go together. What are you looking at? What are you focused on? All the ways someone wronged you? Forgive them and stop focusing on that. Earthly treasures? Those are fleeting you know. What’s more focusing on those things, hurts and worldly success will darken your vision, will darken your whole being. You only have so many waking hours in a day. What you choose to focus on while your eyes are open will determine how much light and how much darkness fills your being. Focus on what brings light in.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Mike Raburn

God speaks to you. Listen. Act on what you hear.

Tag: Prayer

Red Letter Year: 3/22

Matthew 6:24-34

Red Letter Year: 3/21

Matthew 6:14-23