Monday - September 22, 2008
Jesus had a spiritual view on prayer, fasting, and giving in the Sermon on the Mount. The subject of giving is approached in the same way as prayer and fasting, in that Jesus told us to do it in secret, not to be seen of men. If you pray, fast or give to be seen of men, you have your reward when they see it.
Jesus told us to give and not let the left hand see what the right hand is doing. In other words, if you do your best to keep it secret from yourself, no one else can see how much you give.
In Jesus' day, the Pharisees would sound a trumpet before they gave their offering into the temple. They wanted everyone to stop and see how much they gave. It was important to them to hear people "ooh" and "aah" over the size of their gift. The gift was big but their heart was not right with the Lord. Like the widow who only could afford to give one mite, her offering was larger than the Pharisees because she gave out of love to the Lord and care for God's house.
Giving so only God can see it, is called giving "in secret." Jesus told us if we did give in secret, God would reward us openly. In other words, when we give money with the right attitude to the Lord, God will see to it that money comes back into our natural life. Man may look at the outward appearance, the amount given, but God looks at the heart, the motive behind the giving.
Monday - September 15, 2008
Jesus told us when we fast that we should wash our face, wear clean clothes and appear to the world that we are not fasting. The Pharisees enjoyed telling everyone of their lack of food and they put on sackcloth and covered their body with ashes to further emphasize how difficult it was not to eat.
Fasting is personal, between you and God. It does not move God to answer prayer, perform a miracle or heal your body. Fasting does not move God on high (heaven). It moves you on low (earth). Fasting puts you into a better position to hear the God who has been speaking all the time. It puts you into a better position to receive what God has been giving all the time.
Jesus told us if we fasted to be seen of men, we have our reward when they see us. If we truly fast for the right reason, we are seen of God and our reward will come. God who sees in secret (spirit world) will reward us openly (in our natural life). Fasting is substituting the time we normally would eat and using it for prayer and study of the Word of God. That is something we could use more of and food is definitely something we could use less of! It all helps to bring us closer to God.
Monday - September 8, 2008
Jesus instructed us that when praying we should not use vain (empty) repetition. He said the heathen use this because they believe they will be heard for their much speaking. In other words, Jesus told us we do not have to pray long prayers.
The Pharisees were known for praying long prayers up to three times a day. They also loved to pray on street corners for the maximum exposure to people who were walking by. They loved long prayers, many prayers, and prayers which could be heard and seen by others. They were in it for themselves, not necessarily answers to prayer.
Jesus stood outside the tomb of Lazarus and told the disciples to roll the stone away. He was about to pray for Lazarus to be raised from the dead. What kind of prayer would you pray? I know I would probably pray a long prayer with as much scripture in it as possible. I would want to cover every base possible. Yet, Jesus prayed a prayer of only nine words, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me." If that is all it took to raise a man from the dead, then our prayers before our meetings, meals or events should really be short. God is not interested in the length of our prayers, and neither are people. You will be loved in heaven and on earth if you will make your prayers simple, filled with faith and to the point.
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