God's Lineman Organization Ministry

Matthew 6:1-18

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Gary

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““Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven. So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. , “Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. , When you pray, don’t babble like the Gentiles, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him. “Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. , “For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses. “Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they disfigure their faces so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting isn’t obvious to others but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

I have been convicted this morning to share this passage of scripture because I think it is the root of everything that we need to flee from. Plain and simple why do we do the things that we do? I want everyone to think about something. When we are involved in a big group photo and someone shows it to us where does everyone’s eyes go? There could be 200 people in the photo and everyone one of us will look for ourselves when we look at the picture. Why is that? It is because we are naturally self centered and we naturally look, say, and live our lives looking for approval from our peers. There is a certain image we want to keep. Chances are if they showed that picture to a stranger they would never see you. Selfishness is literally the driving force for all of our decisions if we actually slow down and think about it. Think how hard it is to do something and not worry about what a single person thinks about it. When you are asked to read the Bible in church do you think about the words you are reading that came directly from God or do you think about how good you need to read so people will think you are a good reader? When you pray for a meal at home does what your family thinks about your prayer creep into your mind? When you get ready in the morning do you do it so you might get that compliment from someone when you walk into a place? Our very being of who we are from the time we are born is “Look at me” or “Look how good, smart, and important I am.” Almost no one wants to be this way it is just how we are. The “WHY” in why we do what we do matters to God. This is the point of prayer, fasting, going to church, and reading the Bible. Why you do these things matters to God.

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬

When your “WHY” is for people, your reward will be received on earth. When your “WHY” is for the father, your reward is in heaven forever. Make a conscious effort to do everything you do truly for God out of love. You may ask, “what is the reward in heaven?” God is the reward! A relationship with him in a perfect world without sin is a reward the we cannot even imagine. How truly good this relationship is cannot be understood in the state we are in. It is worth everything and to God it was worth sacrificing himself for. He loves us so much that he took on flesh for us to come and rescue us. He got off of his throne and came down to earth to rescue his children. That’s how important we are to him! I love y’all! Have a great day!

Related devotionals:

  1. Matthew 20:1-16
  2. Matthew 28:1-20
  3. Matthew 12:1-14
  4. Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

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