Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-style-parent:””; font-size:10.0pt;”Times New Roman”;} Like most men, I didn’t think much about what style of clothing I wore until I became interested in girls, which was sometime in the late 1970s or early 1980s. Then, I became very concerned. Thankfully, I avoided the parachute pants and Members Only jacket craze of that era and went straight to preppy. I’ve been wearing button-down shirts and khaki pants ever since. Fortunately, I married a woman who thinks I dress just fine. I tell you that in order to tell you this: Most … Continue reading Do Not Worry (Matthew 6.25–34), Part 3

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-style-parent:””; font-size:10.0pt;”Times New Roman”;} Have you ever seen a wild starving bird? Me neither. In Matthew 6.26–27, Jesus tells us why: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Pay close attention to Jesus’ first sentence: “Look at the birds of the air….” Theologians sometimes distinguish between general revelation and special revelation. … Continue reading DO NOT WORRY (MATTHEW 6.25–34), PART 2

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-style-parent:””; font-size:10.0pt;”Times New Roman”;} I am a sound sleeper. Even if my wife tosses and turns in bed, I sleep like a baby—except for my freight-train-like snoring. (Perhaps that’s why she tosses and turns?) I can go to sleep anytime, anywhere, and sleep through just about anything. The one that steals my sleep is worrying, especially worrying about money. Everyone who reads the Sermon on the Mount finds its teachings personally challenging at some point or another. For me, Jesus’ teachings about money (Matthew 6.19–24) and worry (6.25–34) are the … Continue reading Do Not Worry (Matthew 6.25–34), Part 1

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-style-parent:””; font-size:10.0pt;”Times New Roman”;} In Matthew 6.24, Jesus says, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” I have often read this passage and wondered, “Why not?” Why must I make such a stark choice between God and money? Is it not possible to be a rich Christian? And then I have gone on to wonder what precisely it means to “serve” money … Continue reading NO ONE CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS (MATTHEW 6.24)

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-style-parent:””; font-size:10.0pt;”Times New Roman”;} In Matthew 6.22–23, Jesus says: “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” I’d like to point out three things regarding this passage. First, it draws an analogy between the physical process of seeing and the spiritual process of valuing. In the first century, the scientific … Continue reading The Eye Is the Lamp of the Body (Matthew 6.22–23)

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-style-parent:””; font-size:10.0pt;”Times New Roman”;} My wife informs me that I have a morbid personality, and she’s probably right. I have an uncanny knack for spotting the downside of any good situation. Some see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I notice the rust on the pot. For example, when we lived on the third floor of a secure apartment complex in a good part of town, I was nevertheless obsessed with double- and triple-checking the locks on the doors and windows … Continue reading Where Your Treasure Is (Matthew 6:19-21)

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-style-parent:””; font-size:10.0pt;”Times New Roman”;} What are the purposes of fasting?   To express our mourning for sin To seek and clarify God’s will for our lives To provide for the poor We have looked at purposes (1) and (2) in previous devotionals. Today I would like to look at purpose (3). Fasting gives us an opportunity to provide for the poor. Isaiah 58.1–14 contrasts how Israel fasted with how God wanted Israel to fast. It makes for interesting reading. According to verse 2, Israel fasted … Continue reading When You Fast (Matthew 6.16–18), Part 4

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-style-parent:””; font-size:10.0pt;”Times New Roman”;} What are the purposes of fasting? First, as we saw yesterday fasting is connected with mourning, especially with mourning for sin. Second, as I hope to show you today, fasting is a way of seeking and clarifying God’s will for our lives. To see this, we need to look at Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4.1–11). “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he … Continue reading When You Fast (Matthew 6.16–18), Part 3

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-style-parent:””; font-size:10.0pt;”Times New Roman”;} What are the purposes of fasting? In Jesus’ day, fasting was connected first of all with mourning, especially with mourning for sin. The Law of Moses commanded Jewish believers to fast on the Day of Atonement. Leviticus 16.29, 30 said: “you must deny yourselves [i.e., fast] and not do any work—whether native-born or an alien living among you—because on this day atonement will be made to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins.” Sin is serious business, and eradicating … Continue reading When You Fast (Matthew 6.16–18), Part 2