Author Archives: Agee

Put your treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21) January 23, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Matthew 8-10

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 6:19-21
Jesus: Some people store up treasures in their homes here on earth. This is a shortsighted practice—don’t undertake it. Moths and rust will eat up any treasure you may store here. Thieves may break into your homes and steal your precious trinkets. Instead, put up your treasures in heaven where moths do not attack, where rust does not corrode, and where thieves are barred at the door. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Well, to see if Jesus words hold true, I took a look at the stock markets from a year ago today. Google is up from a year ago. That’s good news if you have stock in Google. Almost everything else is down from a year ago today. Over the last couple of weeks, everything has taken a nose dive. It’s only a drop of five or six percent, but that represents trillions of dollars of investments for people who planned their retirements or some big windfall on the continuing rise of the stock market. So much for storing up your treasures in stocks. In the long run, it just doesn’t work. It finally runs out and you can’t take it with you.

How about gold and silver and precious gems? Well, it sounds good, but someone has to buy it, right? So if you have a few pounds of gold sitting around your house it sounds like a great investment. But what happens if the economy really crashes? Do you think your local grocer will accept a hunk of gold for your groceries? He might, but probably not. I doubt if he wants to worry about figuring out the purity of the gold, weighing it, storing it, figuring out how much it’s worth, and providing security for it. Gold is really a pain to have on hand in any quantity. Ask Fort Knox!

When the economy goes kapluey, who’s going to buy your gold, anyway? Who can afford it? What will it be worth? You’re stuck with a lump of gold that you’d happily give away for a scrap of food if someone would give it to you. But ask the Argentinians who a few years ago went through run away inflation what gold was worth to them. Those things will be meaningless to you.

So if gold and silver and stocks and priceless jewels and all those earthly treasures are meaningless, what are we to store up? What treasures can Jesus be talking about when He says to store them in heaven?

If we back up to the beginning of His discourse on the mountain, I think we begin to understand His meaning. Jesus has talked about attitudes being right. He’s talked about thoughts set on goodness and love. He’s talked about keeping your mind out of the gutter and instead offering simple meaningful praise to God. He’s talked about giving to others generously without fanfare. He’s talked about faithfulness to spouses, friends, even enemies. Jesus talked about a new lifestyle from that seen in most circles of society.

From the previous sixty verses Jesus has already laid out a kind of living that turned the general thinking of the religious community upside-down. He has already said enough to cause the Pharisees to hate Him and want His blood. Jesus has already declared their practices shallow, vain, and worthless. He tells those who will listen to His sermon that God has a better plan for them. God has ushered in a new covenant with all humankind. Salvation has arrived, not from doing good deeds. It didn’t come from obeying all the rules. Salvation didn’t come from being religious.

Salvation comes from a change in attitude. It comes from our relationship with God and particularly our relationship with His Son, Jesus the Christ. Through these sixty verses, Jesus has talked about things that affect our relationship with God and others. God wants a vibrant, living relationship with us. He wants our attention. Just like your spouse or your best friend wants your attention to keep your relationship strong, so does God. He wants to talk to you through His word and He wants you to talk to Him through prayer. God wants to communicate with you so you learn of Him, not just about Him.

Everything Jesus tells us to this point leads us toward building our treasure in heaven. It’s not brownie points of doing good, but rather it’s loving God with your all your strength, mind, soul, and spirit. It’s loving your neighbor as yourself. It’s building relationships with others. It’s sharing God’s love with everyone you meet. It’s telling others what God does in your life, witnessing to His amazing grace. That’s your real treasure. Everyone of those people you introduce to God’s kingdom, those are the real treasures you put away in heaven. Eternal friends and family. Those relationships will go on forever.

So, like Jesus says, “Instead, put up your treasures in heaven where moths do not attack, where rust does not corrode, and where thieves are barred at the door. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Fasting, wear His joy (Matthew 6:16-18) January 22, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Isaiah 18-22

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 6:16-18
Jesus: And when you fast, do not look miserable as the actors and hypocrites do when they are fasting—they walk around town putting on airs about their suffering and weakness, complaining about how hungry they are. So everyone will know they are fasting, they don’t wash or anoint themselves with oil, pink their cheeks, or wear comfortable shoes. Those who show off their piety, they have already received their reward. When you fast, wash your face and beautify yourself with oil, so no one who looks at you will know about your discipline. Only your Father, who is unseen, will see your fast. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Jesus talked about the disciplines of giving and prayer earlier in His sermon. Now He talks about fasting. We don’t hear much about fasting anymore, but Jesus assumed those who followed Him observed the practice, His concern dealt with how they observed the discipline. As today, many will wear their piety on their shoulder. You can see how religious a person seems to be. Please don’t take what I’m about to say the wrong way. There is nothing right or wrong with the attire or hair style of any group.

But wearing ankle length skirts and long hair doesn’t make a woman more saintly than another. Wearing beards trimmed in a particular way and distinctive headgear in public doesn’t make a man holier than another. Neither does wearing shorts and flip-flops in the sanctuary make a person less holy than another. Jesus didn’t look at a person’s dress to determine their status before God. We are all sinners. Period. None of us meet God’s standard of holiness. We all fall short and clothes or special words or the style of our hair or jewelry or lack thereof really doesn’t matter to God.

God cares about what’s on the inside. He cares about our heart. Which means He cares about why we fast. No one knows the answer to that question but me and you, individually. Even if I fast in secret, only I know the answer as to why I fast. Do I fast to try to earn God’s favor? It probably won’t work. Do I fast as a payment for something I want from Him? I can’t pay enough for His blessings, so I might as well not fast. Do I fast to identify with Christ? Maybe I’m getting closer.

Fasting is about spending time with God to get to really know Him. Fasting in both Old and New Testament times mean sacrificing the time normally spent preparing and eating a meal and spending it in prayer and meditation. We kind of understand that, but not really. You see we forget what it means to prepare and eat a meal like they did in Old and New Testament times. Let’s take a look at preparing a meal for your family.

Start with a simple meal of roasted goat, potatoes, carrots, and bread. Sounds like a simple enough meal for an agrarian family with a small settlement, doesn’t it? How long does it take to prepare a goat? Ever kill one, slaughter it, then roast enough for a meal? In the military, I used to train veterinary units as they prepared for deployments and one of the tasks they performed was food inspection. On occasion, we would have the unit “prepare” a wild boar we captured within the training area and roast it as part of their training. The task usually started about seven in the morning and often the pig wasn’t done until the next morning.

Granted, the unit took it’s time and didn’t slaught animals very often. They weren’t exactly skilled at the task, so an experienced father and son, or a couple of neighbors could probably slaughter one faster. But the time to roast an animal until it’s done doesn’t change much over an open fire. It just takes time. Minimum time in the Old and New Testament from start to finish? Probably twelve to sixteen hours to prepare the meat. And if they bought the meat from the corner store (or open market in those days), it’s still four hours just to prepare and cook the meat until it’s done, whether in a stew, cut into strips and baked, roasted whole, or whatever. Time is spent either in preparation, in cooking, or a combination of the two.

The vegetables, that’s the short part. Like today, get the water boiling or roast the vegetables under the coals and veggies are done in about an hour. But how about the bread. Start to finish, five hours to mix, knead, rise, and bake. So there is the time spent in fasting just one meal. Five hours in prayer and meditation. Time given to God to get to know Him. Time to focus only on Him and build your relationship with Him.

So when is the last time you exercised the Christian discipline of fasting? When is the last time you spent that “meal preparation” time, four or five hours alone with God. See it’s not about skipping a meal. We can all afford to do that every once in a while just to keep a pound or two off our frame, but can you spend quality time, real time with your Father to really get to know Him? That’s what Jesus is asking us to do. When you spend that kind of time. I guarantee you won’t look sad and weak and forlorn. You will have been in the presence of God and you’ll wear His joy on your face.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Forgive and be forgiven (Matthew 6:14-15) January 21, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Job 5-6

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 6:14-15
Jesus: If you forgive people when they sin against you, then your Father will forgive you when you sin against Him and when you sin against your neighbor. But if you do not forgive your neighbors’ sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

I do not want to hear those words from Jesus! How dare He set the condition of my forgiveness on my forgiveness! Ouch! From the time God created Adam and Eve and the world began to populate, that small community that began with two and grew from their family always depended upon their existence as a community. Our very survival depends on our living in community with others. We cannot survive alone. We might watch the “reality” TV shows that pit man against nature, but remember that so called lone survivor is surrounded by TV crews, modern technologies if he gets in trouble, respites between shows. Few people across our globe could survive long on their own. We were created to live in community, interdependent on each other.

God really does want us to live in community and the only way to do that is for us to get along with each other. The only way we can really get along with each other is to forgive each other. If we hold grudges, always seek revenge, always think poorly about those who wrong us in some way, the community crumbles. God is serious about our relationships with our neighbors. He gave us the parable of the Good Samaritan to tell us just how much that relationship means. He said love your enemies. He said do to others what you want them to do to you. He said forgive.

When we think about what He forgives against Him in my life and yours, it’s a lot easier to forgive others. When I think about my disobedience in the face of the One who knows everything about me, how can I not forgive those who wronged me? My disobedience crucified the Son of God. How does that equate to the inconvenience my brother might have caused me? How can I not forgive in the face of that comparison?

Jesus says, “If I forgive those who sin against me, the Father will forgive my sins against Him and my neighbors.” The implication is the negative is also true. If I do not forgive those who sin against me, the Father will not forgive my sins against Him and my neighbors. So the logic is clear. If I want to experience freedom from sin. If I want the guilt and stain of sin removed from my life by the forgiveness of my Father in heaven, I must forgive those who sin against me. In these words, it seems clear there is no other path to that freedom.

If I don’t forgive, I won’t be forgiven. But I also find it’s easier to forgive because I’m forgiven. If God can forgive me, I can forgive others. I can share the same grace I’ve received. I can remember the mercy God has shown me and when I do, I can extend that grace to those around me. I can show God’s love to those around me, not because of who I am or what I’ve done, but because of who He is and what He has done for me.

Is it always easy to forgive? I’ll have to admit, it is not. But it is getting easier with God’s help. In fact, often wrongs against me turn to pity instead of anger because I know the root of the action. Satan does his best to blind us while we live in these frail bodies to the truth. He tries his best to put barriers between us and make us focus on unimportant things to break our relationship with each other.

I learned a lesson several years ago that helped me forgive. I used to call it my 80% rule. As I’ve grown older and wiser (I think), I’ve revised it to the 95% rule. It goes like this: 95% of everything that happens to you today just doesn’t matter. No one will remember it tomorrow. In terms of eternity it is statistically insignificant. So there is no need to worry about it, get angry about it, or fret about it. Just let today go. But get the 5% right. And what is the 5%? Usually, normally, most of the time, it’s about your relationships – those between you and God, and between you and your fellowman.

What does the 95% rule mean? It means I can forgive the wrongs done to me, because in the long run, they just don’t matter. They go in the “so what” pile. No one will remember them tomorrow, so why should I? It’s better to just forgive my brother and forget about it. Go on with life and enjoy the grace God gives me and extend that mercy and grace to others. Living with that philosophy is what Jesus tells us to do in these verses. I can tell you, it will change the way you look at life and certainly brightens your day and your disposition as you deal with others.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Whose prayer? (Matthew 6:9-13) January 20, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Psalms 6-8

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 6:9-13
Jesus(prayed): Your prayers, rather, should be simple, like this:
Our Father in heaven,
let Your name remain holy.
Bring about Your kingdom.
Manifest Your will here on earth,
as it is manifest in heaven.
Give us each day that day’s bread—no more, no less—
And forgive us our debts
as we forgive those who owe us something.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
But let Your kingdom be,
and let it be powerful
and glorious forever. Amen.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

We’ve heard the Lord’s Prayer a gazillion times in our lifetime. We learned it as kids from the original King James Version or from the NIV and we’re able to recite it without even thinking about it. In fact, we do. It becomes so familiar and so routine we don’t think about what we’re saying when we spit it out at church or in company with others, when we hear it on the television or as someone starts it in some obscure setting. Too often, the Lord’s Prayer is just so many words coming out of our mouth without any thought behind it.

We should never take His example in prayer lightly, though. Let it sink into you and resonate within your heart. He gives us a simple pattern for prayer that we should not forget. Prayer opens with the acknowledgement that the God of creation invites us to commune with Him. Imagine that. It’s really a little hard to comprehend sometimes. If you tried to get an appointment with the governor or the president, you would have to explain your reasons in great detail and still would have to go through background checks, investigations, whole layers of staff to get that appointment. And these are just men. But the God who created everything from nothing invites you to talk to Him without an appointment. Just burst into His throne room whenever you want. Whenever you have something on your mind that you want to talk about, He gives you that freedom.

Second, it’s all about His will, not ours. We can ask for things, but we must remember to bow to God’s will in all things. We can trust Him because He is God. He knows what is best for us, so we can and must bend to His will in all things if we want to enjoy the blessings He has in store for us. The human side of Jesus had to bend to the Father’s will even though it meant pain, suffering, and ultimately the most cruel form of death known at the time, crucifixion. But He knew God’s will must take precedence over anything He might want. The same is true for us. So we acknowledge God’s holiness, and we acknowledge His sovereignty, that His will supersedes ours in anything that we might ask of Him.

I like the way The Voice renders the next part of the Lord’s Prayer, “Give us each day that day’s bread—no more, no less.” If He gave us too little we wouldn’t trust Him to provide for us. If He gave us too much we would become spoiled and treat Him like a cosmic Santa Claus. But when we recognize that God knows exactly what we need each day and will provide for us in the same way He provided for the Israelites as they wandered in the desert for forty years.

Next comes introspection. Look at my heart and see if there is anything that is not right between me and God, but don’t stop there. Is there anything that is not right between me and my fellowman? Note that Jesus’ prayer indicates God forgives in the same measure we forgive others. God wants all our relationships to thrive. We live in community. He created us to need each other and Him. When there are things that keep us apart, sin against Him or sins against our neighbors, we need to both ask and give grace and forgiveness.

To keep us out of those dangerous areas of breaking relationships with God and our neighbors we ask for His protection. Direct our path away from the temptations that would cause us to fall away from Him. “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” The words roll off our tongue, but think of what we are asking God to do for us with those ten words. We ask Him to keep our minds and our thoughts pure and noble and clean and holy. We ask Him to keep us in the company of those who will lift us up and encourage us. We ask Him to place us in situations that cause us to lean on Him with such determination that we see only Him and not the world’s glitter and enticements it throws our way. We ask Him to transform our minds to be like His.

Finally, Jesus tells us to come back to where we started. Give praise and honor and glory and power to the One who deserves it all. Give God thanks before you see the results of your prayer. Have such confidence in your heavenly Father that you thank Him in advance for what He will do in your life in the next hours, days, weeks, years, or ever how long it takes for Him to show you the answers to your prayers. Praise Him for the answer He gives, no matter what that answer. Whether the answer you expect or not, know it is the right answer because God gives it and God knows what you need more than you do.

Such a simple prayer, but so powerful. Never prayer those words again without really thinking about them. Let them touch your heart as you say the words. Know your heavenly Father cares about you and will answer you.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Find a closet and pray (Matthew 6:5-8) January 19, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Joshua 11-15

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 6:5-8
Jesus: Likewise, when you pray, do not be as hypocrites who love to pray loudly at synagogue or on street corners—their concern is to be seen by men. They have already earned their reward. When you pray, go into a private room, close the door, and pray unseen to your Father who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not go on and on, excessively and strangely like the outsiders; they think their verbosity will let them be heard by their deities. Do not be like them. Your prayers need not be labored or lengthy or grandiose—for your Father knows what you need before you ever ask Him.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Prayer is such an important discipline for the Christian. I’m afraid few of us really practice prayer the way Jesus wants us to, though. If you examine His life in the scriptures, you find He made a habit of praying. He prayed early in the morning and late at night. He prayed before every major event in His life. He prayed before various tasks He performed. Jesus prayed all the time. It was His lifeline to His heavenly Father. Paul admonishes us to pray continually.

As much as we see prayer emphasized in scripture, we do a poor job of emulating Christ and His Apostles in spending quality and quantities of time in prayer. I hear too many say, “I don’t know how to pray.” But that’s just an excuse. Everyone know how to pray. If you know how to talk or think or listen or communicate in any form, you can pray. That’s what prayer is, after all, is communication with God. We listen, we talk, we hear His voice, we read His word, we enter into a meaningful relationship with the God of the universe. It’s really that simple.

God doesn’t need flowery words or special phrases for us to communicate with Him. In fact, I think those are really a turn off for Him. I think God wants to hear our heart. He wants to know our innermost feelings. He knows them anyway, but He wants us to articulate them to Him. Why do you think that is?

When you think about it? We are at our most vulnerable when our raw emotions show. That’s when it’s easiest for God to reach us, to influence our decisions, to share His heart with us. So God wants to hear our emotions, joy, sorrow, anger, doubt, faith, peace, comfort, frustration. He knows what we are experiencing at any given moment, but He wants us to express those things to Him. The older I get, the more I begin to understand what He is trying to do to me during those struggling times of prayer.

I learned long ago as a strategic planner that the most difficult part of planning and finding solutions for an army or a business is first defining the problem. What I’ve found in my prayer life is when God lets me struggle with my toughest issues, I learn to better define the real problem. Sometimes, what I think is the problem, isn’t. Sometimes, I ask God to fix something when what really needs fixed is me or my attitude. It takes me a while to get through the struggle with God to figure out the real issue isn’t my brother or his attitude. It isn’t something my brother has done or a direction he has taken, but rather the issue is my attitude and my desire getting in the way. Sometimes God has to let me hear his voice in a number of ways in my prayer life to help me understand that I am the problem. I need to change. I must make corrections in the direction my path is going.

Sometimes the path is clear and God answers quickly. More often, the path is not so clear and I must learn those tough lessons He has for me. Sometimes the path seems dark and forbidding, but He nudges me along until I finally break through what seems like a dense jungle and burst into the clearing on the other side. Then He lets me see those clean waters of Psalms 23.

Those struggles and prayer sessions are private, though. They are the wrestling matches between me and God as He pulls me further along on this path of righteousness. Some of those things I want to share only with Him in the closet because it’s there that He helps me discover the greatest joy and lifts me to the greatest heights as I give myself to Him and learn of His love when I push through the problem of me. God does answer prayer. Not always like I want Him to, but always. Sometimes yes, sometimes no, sometimes wait. But He always answers.

If your prayers are always ones you want others to hear, I can assure you, you’re not going deep enough with God. He doesn’t want to leave you where you are. He wants to dig deep into your soul and make you like Him. That takes major surgery and sometimes He doesn’t use much anesthesia! The end is worth it, though. Trust Him!

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Be generous and quiet in giving (Matthew 6:1-4) January 18, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Genesis 8-11

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 6:1-4
Jesus: But when you do these righteous acts, do not do them in front of spectators. Don’t do them where you can be seen, let alone lauded, by others. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to the poor, do not boast about it, announcing your donations with blaring trumpets as the play actors do. Do not brazenly give your charity in the synagogues and on the streets; indeed, do not give at all if you are giving because you want to be praised by your neighbors. Those people who give in order to reap praise have already received their reward. When you give to the needy, do it in secret—even your left hand should not know what your right hand is doing. Then your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

What would happen if the government suddenly decided not to give credit for charitable giving? Would it change your giving habits? Would you give less to your favorite charities or to the church? Would your contributions take a nose dive if you didn’t get credit for giving to others? It’s an interesting question and one these words of Jesus ask us ask ourselves. You see, it’s not just the announcement in the press or your name on a board or in a bulletin that might make your head and chest swell because of what you give.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t take advantage of every tax break we can. Our government certainly doesn’t exactly act with much frugality with its runaway spending and $16 trillion debt. I’m not much in favor of giving more money to officials that don’t know how to tighten their belt when they are asking all of us to. And I don’t think God faults us for taking those deductions on our tax returns when it’s time to face the music at this time of year when we start collecting all those bits of information.

But we should seriously ask ourselves why we give. If its because of a tax break, don’t give. If it’s to get the applause and recognition of those around us, don’t give. If it’s to get our name on the cornerstone or chiseled on the arch of the doorway, don’t give. God says, if we have the wrong motive and expect any blessings from Him because of that extravagant gift, you’ve missed the boat. You’ve already received your reward and it will be pretty sour when it comes around.

You might get a few applause and a few pats on the back for your generosity, but it will pass quickly and soon people will see your name on that stone and wonder who it is. Then people will walk by and never even notice the name. The building will eventually sell or be used for another purpose and your name is likely to be chiseled off or covered up. You reward will have passed on and no one will care.

Does that mean God doesn’t want you to give to the needy? Absolutely not! He loves a cheerful giver He says. He commands us to give of our means. He told us to give of our first fruits, the best that we have. In an agrarian society, He said give of the portion normally set aside to ensure the future, the first fruit, the seed crop for the next year. He said give and He would take care of you. But give because He wants you to know He will provide for your needs. He does so without fanfare on His part, and with praise on your part.

He wants you to give and so He fills your cup to overflowing so you can give out of the surplus He provides you. We often think we just must have that extra something, but do we? Do we need that fourteenth extra outfit? Do we need that new gadget that will sit in the closet in two weeks never again to see the light of day? Do we need the latest, fastest, shiniest, best? Maybe we need to figure out the difference between need and want in our materialistic culture and begin to give out of our abundance. May it’s time to share quietly from the things that tie us down and consume our time and effort every day and release them to God for His use.

Let God talk to you about those things and quietly let them go. Quietly let Him find the right place for the wants in your life and figure out the difference between your needs and your wants. God doesn’t intend for you to live in misery, but neither do you need to live in the lap of luxury when there are those around you starving and without hope. Can you feed the world? No. But you might be able to help a hungry youngster in your neighborhood that doesn’t know when she will eat next. You might be able to help a widow on a fixed income with medicine she can’t afford or a disabled vet who needs a ride to a medical appointment.

How can you give without fanfare? Without acknowledgement? Without even expecting a word of thanks? Just give knowing your heavenly Father keeps record of everything you do. Do your good works get you into heaven? No. Only faith in Jesus does that, but once there, our heavenly Father rewards us for the good works we have done. Jesus says so in His word. Be generous in your giving. But be quiet about it, too. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Be perfect (Matthew 5:43-48) January 17, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Romans 5-6

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 5:43-48
Jesus: You have been taught to love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you this: love your enemies. Pray for those who torment you and persecute you— in so doing, you become children of your Father in heaven. He, after all, loves each of us—good and evil, kind and cruel. He causes the sun to rise and shine on evil and good alike. He causes the rain to water the fields of the righteous and the fields of the sinner. It is easy to love those who love you—even a tax collector can love those who love him. And it is easy to greet your friends—even outsiders do that! But you are called to something higher: “Be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

We really get hung up on that call to “be perfect,” don’t we? But would Jesus tell us to do something that we couldn’t do? Would God give us a command that was impossible to frustrate us throughout our life? I don’t think God works that way. I think God wants us to experience His joy and peace and comfort now and through eternity. I think He wants us to get a glimpse of heaven here before He takes us to be with Him for eternity. So He calls us to “be perfect, as our Father in heaven is perfect.”

Here’s the catch. What does perfect mean? Does it mean I will never make a mistake? Does it mean I can go through life and my math always works? Does it mean I can expect never to say the wrong word and never to hurt someone’s feelings by doing so? Does it mean every business decision I make will end up as a profitable one? Rhetorical questions with a clear answer. No.

We live in fallible human bodies that continue to age and grow old that make mistakes in human areas all the time. But I think Jesus calls us to live on a spiritual plane in which He perfects us each day. I think about a growing infant when I look at these verses. When my kids were infants, I didn’t expect them to walk and talk and dress themselves, yet they were perfect for their age. They ate, cried, cuddled, and pooped. That’s about all they did, but they were perfect. If that’s all they did as toddlers, I would have been very concerned about them. They would not have been perfect if that was the extent of their abilities. As toddlers, I expected them to walk, share some words, show curiosity about their world, interact with me, throw small fits when they didn’t get their way even.

As teenagers, those actions would not indicate perfection, those actions would demonstrate immaturity and possible clinical and psychological deficiencies that needed immediate attention from professionals to help me cope with their imperfections. Do you get my point?

God doesn’t expect us not to make mistakes along our journey with Him. He does expect us to mature, though. He expects us to grow up and learn about Him. He expects us to grab hold of His word, learn it, use it, understand it. God wants and expects us to become more than infants and toddlers in this spiritual journey we are on with Him. Yet too often we remain content to just let someone else feed us a little formula, burp us every once in a while, and change our diaper when we poop on ourself.

Is that really the life you think God wants for you? Is that what you want for yourself? Don’t you want to explore the vast universe He has for you? The only way to do that is to get out of the crib. You must get potty trained and learn to feed yourself before you can break out and explore the promised land God puts before you. He has mountains for you to climb and rivers for you to cross. He made vistas to see that will amaze you, but you will not get to them until you grow up. And spiritual growth has nothing to do with age.

I’ve come to know many people through the years that told me they were saved decades ago that are still spiritual infants. They have no depth, there has been no growth. They are satisfied to sit in a pew and then complain that a particular preacher or sermon or teacher or church isn’t “feeding” them. I’ve decided not to be as gentle to those decade old infants, anymore. If you’re one of them, you need a kick in the pants. Get off the pablum and start feeding yourself.

Will you make a mess of it sometimes, like a toddle feeding himself? Yes. Will you get better at it? Yes. Yes. Yes. But you will grow. You will begin to taste the delicacies God has in store for you. You will mature in Christ. You will break free from the crib and see the wonders God has in store for you. The secret is to let God stay in charge of your life. Decide today to let Him be Lord. That means you always say “yes” to Him. Because as soon as you say “no”, He is no longer Lord, you are. Leave Him on the throne and take your orders from Him. Then grow up. Be perfect, as He is perfect, mature, growing every day.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

The extra mile (Matthew 5:38-42) January 16, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Matthew 5-6

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 5:38-42
Jesus: You know that Hebrew Scripture sets this standard of justice and punishment: take an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say this, don’t fight against the one who is working evil against you. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, you are to turn and offer him your left cheek. If someone connives to get your shirt, give him your jacket as well. If someone forces you to walk with him for a mile, walk with him for two instead. If someone asks you for something, give it to him. If someone wants to borrow something from you, do not turn away.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

This part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount doesn’t resonate well in today’s market. Take a look at the news media and you’ll see the evidence of what I’m talking about. Everyone wants justice. We even have the news reporting councilmen calling for the “stoning of cops” who are trying to keep peace in racially volitile cities and circumstances. What ever happened to our Christian nation and Jesus’ call to turn the other cheek?

Did He really mean for us to take the abuse others might deal out to us and just roll over and play dead? Did Jesus really want us to suffer at the hands of our enemies and let them punish us unjustly? Did He really call for us to bear injury and insult when we have within our means to defend ourselves against those who would harm us?

The answer to each of those questions is yes. The problem in our society today is we have become so sensitive to wanting our own way and wanting what we want, we forget that our wants are really not important. It’s what God wants that’s important. Walking through this life and fighting against evil is not our fight. It’s God’s. Remember the prayer Jesus taught us to pray? He says, “Keep us from the evil One.” That’s what God wants to do for us.

Paul talks about suffering and the abuse we can expect as Christians. But he reminds us that Christ also suffered wrongly. He suffered for doing good. Those who persecuted Jesus, Paul, the Apostles and the saints Paul writes about suffered for doing what was right. They broke no laws. They slander none of the authorities. They damaged no property. Still they were beaten, imprisoned, and often executed. Jesus was crucified as a sinless sacrifice. None of us can stand up to that standard. We have all sinned.

But in as much as we can obey the laws of our land and love and help our neighbors, we should. In as much as we can demonstrate love to our enemies, God says we must. But recognize we will still suffer abuse at their hands. And Jesus says, “Turn the other cheek.” Show them kindness. Love instead of hate. Show them that you recognize they are still one of God’s creation and He loves them through you.

Is it easy? No. But possible through God’s Spirit living in you. Paul talked about the number of Roman guards converted while he was prisoner. Why? Because he didn’t fight against them, but loved them with God’s love. He understood their abuse and persecution was because Satan blinded them to the truth of God’s love. Paul shared what he gained through that Damascus Road experience and loved them with a love they could not understand. And over time, some of those rough, battle-hardened soldiers came to know Christ because of Paul’s witness.

Like Jesus, Paul accepted the persecution, the beating, the imprisonment, because he knew his accusers acted out of ignorance. They didn’t know they acted out through selfishness against God, not necessarily against Paul. So it is with those who strike out against us. So often what seems like a personal attack isn’t. It’s the other person’s selfish motives shining through. It’s that carnal nature screaming out I want my way more than anything else. I don’t care about anyone or anything except me and my desires and I’ll do whatever I want to get my way.

So what do we do in today’s world to carry out Jesus’ words? Do we let the world run over us? I don’t think so, but neither do we take up stance we see so many groups taking today either calling for their own way. I think the answer is we extend God’s love. Will we be hurt in the process sometimes? Expect it. Jesus was. The crowds crucified Him. The harder life is to live as a living sacrifice sometimes. But He calls us to that life. Be Christ to those who would abuse us. Live with His plans in mind instead of our own.

What is His will for a situation? I expect it isn’t the protests in the street, the name calling, the slander, or the radical calls to exterminate one sect or another. I expect Christ would gently call us to give up our shirt and coat, walk an extra mile, turn the other cheek, say a kind word, give a cup of water, bandage a cut knee, pick up the trash, mend a fence, paint a wall, provide a meal, sit at a table and share a cup of coffee, be a friend.

How can you share Christ in a crisis? Sticks and stones never work, but a few loving words might make all the difference in the world. Walk the extra mile with someone today.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Yes and no (Matthew 5:33-37) January 15, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Isaiah 12-17

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 5:33-37
Jesus: You know that God expects us to abide by the oaths we swear and the promises we make. But I tell you this: do not ever swear an oath. What is an oath? You cannot say, “I swear by heaven”—for heaven is not yours to swear by; it is God’s throne. And you cannot say, “I swear by this good earth,” for the earth is not yours to swear by; it is God’s footstool. And you cannot say, “I swear by the holy city Jerusalem,” for it is not yours to swear by; it is the city of God, the capital of the King of kings. You cannot even say that you swear by your own head, for God has dominion over your hands, your lips, your head. It is He who determines if your hair be straight or curly, white or black; it is He who rules over even this small scrap of creation. You need not swear an oath—any impulse to do so is of evil. Simply let your “yes” be “yes,” and let your “no” be “no.”

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

The election year will start up in earnest now. Candidates with spew their rhetoric across the airwaves and meet with thousands to vow what they will do if we will just put them in office. Well, we’re on president number 45. None have kept their vows yet. Should we expect number 46 to keep his or hers? I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to hold my breath. If I were a betting man, I’d bet none of them will keep their promises.

It’s important to God, though. He says so in these words. When we make an oath He expects us to keep it. But more than that, He expects our simple yes to mean yes and our simple no to mean no. But we’ve gotten really good at double-speak. Have you noticed? Just add enough words and you talk yourself into or out of just about anything. Instead, Jesus says use fewer words, get your point across, and mean what you say.

A lot of our problem in making promises is we do so about things we have no control over. Just stop and think about what you really control. You don’t control the weather, and how does that affect promises you might make to someone? You don’t control traffic, and how does that affect your promises? You don’t control the finacial state of the country, so how will that affect your promises? You don’t really control your own health except to a very small extent by what you eat, the sleep you get, and the exercise you do. So how will you health affect the promises you’ve made?

You certainly can’t control anyone else’s actions or emotions. You might think you can, but people really can do exactly what they want to do. They can refuse to take your directions. They might suffer severe consequences as a result, but they can choose to accept those consequences instead of doing what you say. When you think about it, you really have control of very little. And you can make promises only about the things that you can really control. So…

Jesus really makes sense when He says don’t make oaths. You might not be able to keep them and then your reputation suffers for it. You’ve heard the addage, “Let your word be your bond.” Today, we need hundred-page contracts because as a society too many of us have proven our word is not our bond anymore. Jesus says if you’re going to follow Him, you better start letting your word mean as much as those contracts again. He’s serious about keeping promises. Look at the promises He’s kept. They start in Genesis when He promised Man would crush the serpant’s head. He looked ahead to the cross and saw His victory over sin as He gave Himself as the perfect sacrifice to pay the penalty for us.

God has never broken a promise He has made. His word is full of them. Some He’s completed for His chosen people. Some are waiting for those who follow Him. Some await the end of time when He comes to take His bride home with Him for eternity. But God has and will never break His promises. We wants us to follow in His footsteps and do the same. “Simply let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes,’ and let your ‘no’ be ‘no.’”

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Jesus really did talk about divorce (Matthew 5:31-32) January 14, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Job 3-4

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 5:31-32
Jesus: And here is something else: you have read in Deuteronomy that anyone who divorces his wife must do so fairly—he must give her the requisite certificate of divorce and send her on her way, free and unfettered. But I tell you this: unless your wife cheats on you, you must not divorce her, period. Nor are you to marry someone who has been married and divorces, for a divorced person who remarries commits adultery.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

These are tough words for our society where the divorce rate soars around 50 percent. In fact, last year the divorce rate in our churches exceeded that of the unchurched. Partly because the unchurch decide not to marry and just live together, but what an indictment against the church. How do we let that happen in light of Jesus’ words? Did we forget what He said?

We have made divorce so easy and told ourselves that divorce is okay so we just throw relationships out the window when we get tired of them. God never intended them to be that way. He let us know that when He was here with us.

You might say, “We have progressed beyond those archaic rules. No one should have to stay in a relationship in which you are not happy.” I would tell you that God is a lot smarter than we are. Jesus said those words to a crowd in which marriages were arranged. Your parents told you who you would marry and you didn’t have much choice in the matter. Still the Lord of life says, don’t divorce.

The reason is relationships take work and are built by unselfishly giving to your spouse. Marriage isn’t about compromise. Spouses that go into a marriage with a 50/50 attitude never make it. Marriage is about being all in. It starts with an oath before God that you will love, honor, cherish, support, protect, do all those things …and most of the vows include that little phrase until death do us part.

So how does divorce get into the picture? Someone does something you don’t like and we jump out? Someone hurts our feelings so we quit? Someone doesn’t give us the sprinkles on our ice cream so we pout and cry and decide we’re done? It all goes back to one or both partners wanting more for themselves than for the other partner instead of giving themselves to the relationship.

Jesus saw through divorce for what it was. Selfishness in the relationship that God can fix and only He can fix. You think it will get better in another relationship? Not until you fix the selfishness you took with you into the first one. Why do you think 75 percent of second marriages end in divorce? Why do 90 percent of third marriages end in divorce? The reason is usually staring at you in the mirror. The reason is the self-centeredness that plagues the relationship on one or both parts.

Am I condoning staying in an abusive relationship? Absolutely not! But here’s the problem. A person that chooses an abusive spouse the first time very often chooses an abusive partner the second or third or fourth time. Stay in the relationship? No. Free yourself from the abuse and get help. But stay single. Don’t look for more trouble. Let God be your partner and don’t put yourself back into those abusive situations. You’ve already shown yourself you don’t choose well. Don’t exacerbate the problem.

Does that advice make me a terrible person? I don’t think so. It makes me a practical person having watched so many children suffer pain and agony of broken homes, abusive second and third step-parents. Children especially get lost in the relationships and the parents’ selfish desires to just be with anyone. Don’t do it. At least get the kids grown and out of the house before you think about finding that next mate. You’ll thank me for the advice some day.

But let’s go back to Jesus’ words. If you’re divorced, God forgives. He doesn’t like it. He wants relationships to thrive, but He forgives the past. If you’re married, work as hard as you can to keep your relationship growing. It takes both of you, but it’s worth the work. If you’re in a relationship, dating, thinking about marriage, pray hard. Make the right choice. Remember God expects you to marry for life, not for convenience.

These might be words we want to skip over and pretend Jesus didn’t say them, but He did. We have to contend with them even in our society in which divorce is rampant. Marriage is only a convenience for many. Vows mean little or nothing for too many that stand before an altar. Remember marriage was an institution created by God and He set the rules. When we abide by them, marriage works well. When we don’t, expect to suffer the consequences that come with it. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.