Archive | October 2026

Reading the Gospels in 2026 (10/8): Matthew 7:15-23.

Oct8

Read and Believe in Jesus.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven….” Matthew 7:21.

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REVIEW – Do to others what you would like them to do to you. (Showing kindness first.) They may not always return the “good” back to you, but Jesus says this is the “gist” of the entire Law of God. And God demonstrated this in Jesus, sending Him to bear the wrath we deserved when we were still despicable sinners. Many people will not return God’s love and kindness with gratitude and belief. Instead, they will reject Him.

Many people will also choose the wide gate and easy way that leads to destruction. Some, a few, will take the narrow gate, thank God for their salvation, and walk the hard path. They will probably experience hate and martyrdom along the way, but will receive that promise of eternal life.

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Matthew 7:16-20.

Jesus then cautions them about false prophets (messiahs, preachers, televangelists). These may preach the “easy, wide, prosperous” way to God, but Jesus calls them “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” In other words, they might “look” like true Christians in a crowd, but take off that fake piety and there is a ravenous wolf-soul underneath, who wants to make YOU a child of hell, like him.

A ravenous wolf and a hungry, roaring lion both come from God’s arch-enemy. The devil wants nothing more than to lead people away from salvation in Jesus. He wants slaves to “works,” not free people of faith. And he doesn’t care if they are torn apart and devoured in the process. If he can’t get to Jesus, he will attack us, Jesus’ followers.

Beware! Be aware!

How? Jesus says you, if you are discerning, awake, and watching, will recognize them by their “fruit.” Yes, be a fruit inspector!

Women, and maybe men, shop for produce in the market. We pick up an apple, a tomato, an onion, or a bag of plums. We check them for bruises, rotten spots, and more. If we find slimy leaves on the lettuce or mold in the bottom of a box of berries, we put them back. We disregard them, turn our backs, and walk away. If we find a lot of this rot, we may even shop somewhere else.

Be that picky, that aware, that discerning in those who teach you – even on this blog!! Compare always with the Bible.

A market collects the rotten food and tosses it into the garbage bins to be hauled off. In Jesus’ time, they chopped down a diseased tree or vine and threw it into the fire.

If you can, take a few minutes and read Paul’s words in Ephesians 5:1-13.

“Let no one deceive you with empty words…”

“Walk as children of the light – for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true…”

“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness…”

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Matthew 7:21-23.

And now comes the scary part.

Jesus tells them, those listeners on the hillside, that “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Not the false prophet. Not the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Not the slicked-down, grinning, gold-jewelry-bedecked TV evangelist, not even that sweet school teacher.)

He continues, “But (only) the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

“Not even the ones who say, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?” Nope. Not even those ‘miracle workers.’

Jesus says He will look at them and say… “I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness (or iniquity).”

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So… What IS God’s will?

John 6:40 – Jesus told the crowds at another time, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life.”

The fake believers are the ones who depend on their works to save them, not on faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus. They reject Jesus’ sacrifice and offer of eternal life. They want to do it “their way.” THESE are the ones who will be turned away.

And yes, some of these false witnesses, in Jesus’ time (think Judas), in our time, and in the tribulation to come, WILL (and did) PERFORM miracles and try to deceive the very elect!!

But God sees hearts, whether they are true or false. “I never knew you,” Jesus says.

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But Jesus DOES know His own.

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” John 10:27-28

Praise God!

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Reading the Gospels in 2026 (10/7): Matthew 7:7-14.

Oct7

Read and Believe in Jesus.

“So, whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12

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REVIEW – We saw several “Don’ts” in yesterday’s study. “Don’t judge your brother’s failings before taking care of your own.” “Don’t give holy things to dogs.” “Don’t give ‘pearls’ to pigs.” (And the day before, “Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth.” and “Don’t be anxious.”)

No one likes to be given all these restrictions. They feel like heavy burdens, like “THE LAW.” But they are for the good of the ‘Kingdom dwellers.” Today Jesus will show his listeners on that hillside the good and better way … even if it is quite narrow.

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Matthew 7:7-8.

“ASK, and it WILL BE given to you … SEEK, and you WILL FIND … KNOCK, and it WILL BE OPENED to you.”

As if they didn’t hear correctly, Jesus repeats this. “For EVERYONE who asks receives, and the one who seeks, finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened.”

Did those people sit there dumbfounded, mouths half open? Did they ask themselves if these promises were honest-to-goodness true? In our day, we (or at least kids) might ask, “Is this Man a ‘genie with three wishes to grant?’

But Jesus is speaking of the goodness, kindness, and grace of His heavenly Father to those who come into His kingdom. To those who believe His gospel. To those whose hearts have been changed.

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Matthew 6:9-11.

Jesus gives examples from THEIR world, showing how this love, to a minor degree, works in their families.

“Which of YOU, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? (They look around at each other and shake their heads. Not me!)

Or, “If your son asks for a fish, which of you will give him a snake?” (Moms are aghast at THIS thought and frown at Jesus. No way!)

“No! You, who are evil (compared to the Lord God), know how to give GOOD gifts to your children. How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ASK?”

You can almost see hope spreading through the crowd. Yes… God might answer our prayers. Jesus says He will. Can we believe it….?

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Much later, Jesus’ brother James repeats this idea in his letter. See James 1:17 says, “EVERY good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is NO variation or shadow due to change.”

God doesn’t change His mind. He is not ‘wishy-washy’ with His promises. What He says, He does. We can trust Him. So, Jesus says, ask Him, seek Him and His goodness, knock on the doors of heaven. HE WILL answer!

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Matthew 7:12.

“The Golden Rule.” You’ve probably heard it many times. It sounds glib, easy to do… but is it?

“So, whatever you wish that others would do to YOU, (you) do to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Jesus says this “rule” is the gist of all the principles in the Old Testament.

At another time, He would tell them that to “Love God supremely, and others as yourself” was ALL the Law.

Jesus puts this “rule” as a positive statement. Whatever (good) you wish to be done to you … do that to others. (Of course, it doesn’t always follow that if we treat others well, they will respond back in the same way. But we have learned that our Father, who sees our good works, WILL reward us.)

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The Golden Rule was not new. Rabbis wrote it before Christ; you can even find it in Hinduism and Buddhism!! (Whoa!) BUT they always wrote it in the NEGATIVE. “What is hateful to yourself, do NOT to someone else.”

THINK ABOUT THAT. How is it different from what Jesus said? IS there a difference?

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Matthew 7:13-14

“Enter by the narrow gate…’

“… for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are MANY, for the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are FEW.”

Wide and narrow,

Easy and hard,

Destruction and life,

Many and few.

Two ways to heaven and eternal life are offered to people. The narrow gate is by faith, through Christ alone. This is true salvation in GOD’s way, and its reward is heaven. The wide gate includes all religions of works and self-righteousness. This is MAN’s way. It leads to hell.

Jesus emphasizes the difficulty in following Him – it’s like taking up a cross and being crucified!! (Matthew 10:38-39, 16:24-25) “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22)

True salvation is by grace alone, but it’s not easy. It involves knowing the truth, repenting, submitting to Jesus as Lord, and being willing to obey His word and will, wherever that leads. Not easy, but glorious.

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In this last section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus will continue to show the division between true believers and those who are “just coming along for the ride.” It will get quite serious…even scary.

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Reading the Gospels in 2026 (10/6): Matthew 7:1-6.

Oct6

Read and Believe in Jesus.

“Judge not, that you be not judged.” Matthew 7:1

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REVIEW – Jesus told his followers not to be anxious, worried, or scared about their future supply. Why? Because their heavenly Father knows they need food, clothing, shelter, etc. Aren’t the birds fed every day? Aren’t the flowers of the field wonderfully clothed? And these are tiny, transitory things compared to us humans made in His image. No, keep your eyes and desires on the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Seek to honor God first, and “all these things will be added to you.”

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Matthew 7:5.

“Judge not, that you be not judged.”

Doesn’t this speak to all of our hearts? (It does to mine.) In this passage, judging means criticizing or condemning someone, looking down on them with a superior attitude, and, in the process, usually puffing ourselves up.

“I” wouldn’t ever do THAT!” we say. “I’m not a gossip like THAT woman,” we whisper to one friend and then another.

Oh, my!

Jesus cautions His followers that with the same “measure” we give out judgment, WE will be judged.

(I am sometimes so critical of others that this statement makes me tremble! Thank You, God, for confession and forgiveness through Jesus!)

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

Jesus goes beyond our inner thoughts, and even beyond voicing our opinion of others. What if we try to help them “get over” their gossiping, or gluttony, or lustful imagining, or snobbishness? We might go to them with “welf-help” books or even point out specific Scripture verses. We may tell them that God will bless them if they stop doing such-and-such…to no avail.

“How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is a log in your own? Hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye,”

Jesus says we must first humble ourselves and remove those glaring sins from our own lives by true confession and repentance. After that, on an equal level, we can gently lead the person to the way of the cross and to overcoming sin.

Like Jesus, Paul, in Galatians 6:1, tells us how to approach a brother (or sister) in sin. “If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”

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BUT! Not ALL judging is wrong for a believer.

In John 7:24, Jesus tells us, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” This is discerning moral and Scriptural truth. (Jesus was speaking to the people and religious leaders who tended to believe “man’s” teaching over God’s Law.

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Matthew 7:6.

“Do not give to ‘dogs’ what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before ‘pigs,’ lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.”

Now, what in the world does Jesus mean by these cautions? Who are ‘dogs’ and ‘pigs,’ and what are your ‘pearls?’

“Pearls” here refer to the truths of the Gospel, the precious message of Jesus our Savior. The wonder of our sin, God’s love, and Jesus’ sacrifice, and the sweet hope of resurrection and heaven. These are the “pearls of great price” that believers hold in their hearts and want to share with others.

But… Jesus says NOT to give this message of hope to “dogs” and “swine.”

If you remember Jesus’ healing of the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter (Mark 7:24-30), you will remember Him saying that it was not right to “throw the children’s food to the dogs.” This gentile woman agreed, but countered that “even the dogs under the Master’s table eat the crumbs that fall.” Jesus was pleased with her faith and healed her daughter.

From this story, we see that “dogs” are what Jews called Gentiles. “Pigs” also represent Gentiles to the Jews, but here speak of all the people who are completely hostile, disrespectful, or closed off to spiritual truth.

Jesus warned His listeners against forcing precious truths onto people who will not appreciate them and may even attack the messenger. (This is a wise caution for us today as we witness the Gospel to our friends and others. But we can PRAY for them.)

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When Jesus taught on earth, before His death and resurrection and the birth of the church at Pentecost, the gospel message was to go to the Jews first. When Jesus later sent out His own disciples, He told them to go to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

BUT, before Jesus ascended, He told his disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit to come in power to witness; THEN they were to go to all the world and preach the Gospel.

Paul’s well-known verse repeats this. Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

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Reading the Gospels in 2026 (10/5): Matthew 6:25-34.

Oct5

Read and Believe in Jesus.

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…” Matthew 6:33.

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REVIEW – What is at the CENTER of our thinking, our vision, and our emotions? Jesus said they should be on things “above,” towards the light, and on God.

“Where your treasure is, there will your HEART be.”

“If your EYE is healthy, your whole body will be full of Light.”

“LOVE and serve only one Master: the Lord God.”

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Matthew 6:25.

“Therefore… Jesus connects those “heavenly” ideas above to the down-to-earth worries we all have. He says that if our hearts are devoted to things above, our vision is centered on the light of truth, and we love God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and bodies… then we should not be anxious about anything.

Jesus instructed us to pray simply, “Give us this day our daily bread.” If we pray sincerely and with faith, why should we worry about food or anything else?

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Matthew 6:26.

Jesus tells his followers (sitting on the hillside and us too) to Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are YOU not of more value than the birds?”

As His listeners looked up and spotted some sparrows or gulls, they might have nodded slightly in agreement. “Huh, I never thought about that.”

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Matthew 6:27.

“And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his lifespan?” We today would probably agree totally, and in fact know that anxiety and stress can actually subtract hours, days and years from your life.

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Matthew 5:28-30

“Consider the lilies of the field how they grow…” Surely this crowd glanced around at the flower covered hills, and perhaps even picked a small daisy or scarlet poppy growing by their knee to look at it closely.

“…they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” More nods as they really look closely at the intracacies of the flowers around them.

“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”

Perhaps foreheads are wrinkled in consternation as they consider the velvety petals of the flowers compared to the roughspun material of their own tunics and robes. There’s a bit of doubt there as they doubt they’d ever have robes like Solomons. Perhaps their faith WAS small.

Then Jesus brings them back to His Kingdom.

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Matthew 6:31-33.

Since God takes such good care of His world – from the tiny birds that flit in the air to the fields of flowers covering the hills around Capernaum – “Therefore, DO NOT BE ANXIOUS! ”

“Don’t say, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink? or ‘What shall we wear?’ for your heavenly Father KNOWS that you need them all.”

God knows all of that. Trust Him.

“But seek FIRST the kingdom of God and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, and all these things will be added to you.”

Take care of the things God has called you to do… first. And He will take care of the things you need. No problem.

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.“Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness, Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust in Him, and He will act. He will bring forth YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS as the light and your justice as the noon day.” Psalm 37:3-6

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:31.

Again, Jesus is pressing them to look up to the things of God.

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Matthew 6:34.

“Therefore (the third time He uses the word in this section, Jesus is building on each truth, taking them deeper into the heart of God), “…do not be ANXIOUS about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

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But also, we are not to be PRESUMPTUOUS.

James 4:13-14 – “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead your OUGHT to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.'”

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Reading the Gospels in 2026 (10/2): Matthew 6:19-24.

Oct2

Read and Believe in Jesus.

“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21

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REVIEW – Jesus finished a triad of ways you can honestly serve God rightly. He also showed how to turn them into ways to boast about yourself.

What is your REAL motive in giving to the poor? What does your prayer life look like? If you ever fast, who knows you are doing it? Jesus wants to make sure His disciples’ motives for these duties are pure, and not selfish and self-aggrandizing.

Give your offerings, pray, and fast “as unto the LORD.” Do them in secret so people don’t see and praise you. God will reward you in lasting ways you can’t imagine.

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Matthew 6:19-21.

Have you, or do you know of anybody who has ever had their home burglarized? A car stolen? A purse or wallet snatched? It’s disheartening! You get mad! That was MY stuff!

Have you ever left a tool or some garden equipment out over a season, only to find it rusted, dull, and useless when you wanted to use it? Now you will have to go somewhere and spend more money. Disheartening! You might even get mad.

Or when the weather cools, and you take out a wool blanket or sweater that you stored over the summer, only to find it full of holes? Disappointed, disheartened, and … well, can you get mad at a moth?

If this sounds familiar in any way…

Then you know what Jesus means in these verses. Our “treasures” are vulnerable to theft and decay, even if we take uber-good care of them. This earth, everything on it, and we ourselves are not built to last HERE.

Do you know this old song?

"This world is not my home,
I'm just a-passing through.
My treasures are laid out,
Somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me
From Heaven's open door,
And I can't feel at home,
In this world any more!"

It came from these verses in Matthew.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there will your heart be.”

Where our treasure is…

What kind of treasure can be stored up in heaven for us? It may relate to these earlier verses in chapter 6 (4, 6, 18). “And your Father who sees in secret will REWARD you.

1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

That’s the treasure, the reward we should have our hearts set upon. So when we die, our desire will immediately fly to heaven.

Jesus told a parable (Luke 12) about a rich fool who built more and more barns to store all “his stuff”. Then one night God said his time was up. Then who got all that treasure? You can load all your gold into your coffin, but it isn’t going to heaven with you.

This actually leads into the next two verses…

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Matthew 6:22-23.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If that light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”

If your eyes (your heart) are focused on heaven and the things of God, and pleasing Him, then they are healthy, and you will see and live in “the Light.”

But if your eyes are “sick” and focused only inward on YOU and YOUR STUFF and all the PLEASURE you can get for yourself in the here and now, then your heart is full of darkness. And THAT darkness can be truly great.

And that leads us to the next very familiar verse.

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Matthew 6:24,

“No man (or woman) can serve two masters, for either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You CANNOT serve God and money.” (earthly treasure)

Try it. It doesn’t work.

If you love money, okay, let’s just say “like” the money YOU earn, you will not give it up easily except for yourself. It’s yours; you worked hard for it. You want to spend it…on yourself. It becomes your master.

And if you lose it in a bad investment, or it gets stolen, you are left with nothing. And you get MAD, disheartened… etc., etc.

Or, if God asks you to give to the needy, or even if you see a friend in need, you will keep that money hidden behind your back or in a cookie jar, and you will tell the needy person, “I’m so sorry. I just don’t have anything extra at the moment.”

You can’t love your hard-earned wealth, be devoted to it, carefully save every penny, and put it into wise stocks or a 401-K, and also give freely and generously to the needy or the Lord’s work.

Jesus is asking His followers on that hillside (and us) to guard our hearts, our eyes, and our money. Send our “treasure,” whatever it might be, on to heaven. Love Him, not our stuff, our money, or ourselves.

Reading the Gospels in 2026 (10/1): Matthew 6:5-18.

Oct1

Read and Believe in Jesus.

“When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:6

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REVIEW – The first of Jesus’ three warnings against hypocrisy in a believer’s life was about charitable giving. Yes, this is a good thing. Many people are needy and poor, and a believer who has been blessed by God with so great a salvation, not to speak of material things, should be willing to bless others with their help and finances.

But the WAY we give is also important. Jesus condemns those who make a show of it, who want people to see and praise them for it. These folks get their reward right then. God’s way is to give secretly and humbly. HE will see this and reward us.

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Matthew 6:5-8.

“When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites.”

Jesus warns us against hypocrisy in prayer. It’s hard to imagine this sin showing up in such a sacred action as communing with our heavenly Father, but Jesus says “when,” not “if,” it does. We’re sinners, so I guess we should expect our hearts to be tempted in this way. So how can we tell if our hearts are not right, even when we pray?

“They love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners…”

There’s nothing wrong so far. We can stand to pray in church and Bible study meetings; we can even stand on a street corner and pray. Before the broadcast media we have today, street preachers often prayed and preached on street corners. It’s not the action, but the heart attitude.

“…that they may be ‘seen’ by others.”

Seen by others as ‘pious’. Seen by others as way ‘more righteous’ than any of them. Seen and even praised for their ‘dedication to God’. THIS is what Jesus condemns. This is what will NOT be rewarded.

“But when YOU pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who SEES in secret will reward you.”

Let’s make our prayer time private, between only the Lord and ourselves. Others need not see or hear our groaning, weeping, confessing, or thanking God. Alone with the Lord, we can pour out our hearts’ longings, fears, and disappointments. We can earnestly intercede for a friend or family member. We can also engage in joyous, exuberant praise.

See how honest this is? If we look for man’s praise, we could never speak to God in this way. (And He won’t respond anyway.)

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.What is the other way that Jesus says we are hypocrites in prayer?

“When you pray, do not “heap up empty phrases” as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard (by God) for their “many words.” Do not be like them.”

This is basically being in love with our own words. When we do this, we are really praying to ourselves, admiring how we say it, marveling at our lofty, theological speech, how beautiful and poetic it sounds. And if others hear these “great” words, all the better!

Example: The Pharisee’s prayer in the temple in Luke 18:9-14:

“ The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’”

This man was praying to himself, and to the people around him, while the “tax collector,” whom he considered a great sinner, prayed off in the corner to God alone. “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Whose prayer was “rewarded?” Jesus said it was the tax collector who went home justified.

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Matthew 6:9-13.

Then Jesus teaches His listeners, those who are following Him, His disciples… HOW to pray. “Pray then like this:”

The following words are so familiar to us, we could probably recite them in our sleep. But Jesus says this is the WAY believers are to pray. (NOT the actual same words.)

Notice first, the prayer begins with praise to our Father in Heaven, unlike how that Pharisee began.

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…” Hallowed means “holy,” set apart. Psalm 111:9b says, “Holy and awesome is His name.”

We might begin our praying with these words. Dear God (or Father in heaven), “Your name is holy and awesome!” Then continue with the praise for Him that wells up in your heart.

If you need help, many of the Psalms praise the Lord beautifully, including more in Psalm 111. “Great and wonderful are Your works.” “Your righteousness endures forever.” “You are gracious and merciful.” “You remember your promises forever.” “Your word is trustworthy.” “You sent redemption to your people (Jesus).”

You could spend an hour this way in praise – in your room, with the door shut, alone with God.

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“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Before you put ONE REQUEST into your prayer, acknowledge that you willingly submit to all God’s purposes and plans for your life – for HIS glory.

Remember how Jesus prayed in Gethsemane? “Nevertheless, not MY will, but YOUR will be done.”

Remember also Roman 8:28. Perhaps even pray it: “Father, I know that, because I love You and You have called me according to Your own purposes, all things will work together for my good, even the things I consider trials. I trust You in this and submit to Your perfect will.”

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NOW that our minds and spirits are willing for God’s will in our lives, we can offer our requests, both for ourselves and for others. We can also confess our sins against Him and others, assured that He will hear and forgive, for He has promised. (1 John 1:9)

“Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts (sins), as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

See how THIS humble prayer is so opposite the prideful, boasting words of the Pharisee?

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

We KNOW, that our holy God does NOT tempt us to do evil. (James 1:13), but He WILL allow situations where evil is present to tempt us, teach us, and strengthen (or humble) us.

Remember Job (Job 2:9 – allowing Satan to hurt Job in every way but death).

Remember Peter. (Luke 22:31 – allowing Satan to “sift Peter like wheat.”)

Of course, we don’t WANT these trials and may pray not to experience them, but God knows what is best for our spiritual growth. He may allow trials that hurt and seem like evil, but KNOW that He is faithful and…

“He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to ENDURE it.” And ultimately HE will receive the glory for our growth in holiness.

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Matthew 6:14-15.

Then it seems, Jesus goes back to expand on one point in that sample prayer. Forgiving others. “Or else… God will not forgive you.”

Yep, that’s a hard one. WE feel hurt, defiled, ridiculed, belittled, etc., etc., etc. WE want revenge. We do NOT want to forgive others (in our natural flesh). Even as believers, who have been washed in the cleansing blood of Jesus, totally forgiven and bound for heaven, even now, we often hold grudges.

Jesus warns against this, saying if we do, God will NOT forgive us.

WHAT? Does He take back our salvation, our assurance of heaven? NO! That eternal forgiveness is sure.

As with Jesus at the last supper with His disciples, they had been “washed” (saved by faith in Him). They needed only the dust of the world cleaned from their feet. DAILY sins need to be confessed. Grudges need to be released. Reconciliation needs to be made. This clears our heart, and God “washes our feet” so to speak.

Oh, and that feels so good. To be clean!

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Matthew 6:16-18

The third Christian duty – fasting – can also be corrupted by our pride.

Like with giving and praying, our fasting from food (or even other things that are important to us) for the sake of spending more time with our Lord, should be NOT visible to others. We shouldn’t go around with a gloomy face, a hungry look, drab clothing … so that people ask whats the matter, or assume we are fasting and praise us for our “holiness.”

This would be disgusting to God, I would think. No, as with the other things, our fasting should be a secret and precious thing shared only with our loving Father.

Self denial is personified in Jesus.

Let us look to Him always, who, “though he was in the form of God, did ot count equality with God a thing to be grasped,but made Himself nothing taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of man. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross.” Philippians 2:6-8.