Matthew 6- The Lamp of The Body

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The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!  Matthew 6:22-23

When we think of healthiness, we often think of our physical bodies. Are we exercising or eating properly , ect. However there is more to being healthy than the physical body, it also includes your soul. Most people don’t think about their soul when they reflect upon their lives, that’s why many reject Christ. Many don’t understand they have a soul, so they don’t believe they are in trouble when their physical body dies. This is what Jesus means by “If your eye is bad, your whole body is full of darkness” Without the Holy Spirit you are not regenerated, you have no concept of spiritual discernment

Jesus said “Unless you are Born Again, you won’t see the Kingdom of Heaven” (John 3:3) Why? Because you’re dead in your sins (Ephesians 1) your full of darkness because you haven’t been regenerated or baptized by the Holy Spirit. You can’t possibly think you will go to Heaven in your wretched sinful state. You must be washed by the blood of Christ, be declared righteous before God through The Son and be regenerated by The Holy Spirit

Some will say we only have physical bodies and I’ll just go the ground when I die. Jesus said “ Fear the One who can destroy both the Body and Soul in Hell “ ( Matthew 10:28) Christ made it clear we have a Body and Soul, what are you doing to make your soul healthy? Jesus also said “Man can’t live on Bread Alone” (Matthew 4:4) You can’t just take care of your physical bodies, you also need to feed your soul with the Word of God.

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:24

Nobody can serve two masters, who is your master? Is Jesus truly your Lord or Master? Or are the things of this world your master? What do you spend all your time doing? You are either a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness (Romans 6:18)  If you continue in your sinful habits, they will own you! This is why you need to become Born Again and Jesus will break the chains!

Jesus said “We are The Light of the world” we can only receive this light through Christ by the Holy Spirit. It’s time to get right with God, it’s time to have your light shine before others in Jesus name Amen!

Matthew 6- Heart Exam

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Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.  Matthew 6:16-19

As we are now going through the “Lent Season” we can see that some of our man made traditions and practices are really not Biblical. I wrote an article a few years ago on “Is Ash Wednesday Biblical”? and  most Christians would instantly say Yes, because its become a Church tradition. However when you examine the practices of Ash Wednesday and Lent season, compared to Jesus teachings it’s really not

Jesus said “When you fast, don’t be like the hypocrites, that disfigure their face to prove to people they are fasting” this is essentially what we do during Ash Wednesday. We dump ashes on our face to prove to people we are fasting or mourning our sins. What are we trying to accomplish here? Yes it’s mostly just a Church tradition , but why? 

Jesus goes on to say “When you fast, anoint your head with oil and wash your face” So this is actually the opposite of Ash Wednesday, Jesus instructs us to wash your face. Why? Because Christ wants you to have a personal relationship with him. You don’t need to put on a show for other people or try to demonstrate your relationship with Christ. Now I’m not condemning anyone who practices this , we each regard one day above another as long as we regard it to The Lord (Romans 14) but something to examine and meditate on when we’re doing things.

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:19-21

The next thing Jesus teaches us is to store and collect stuff, because this world is temporary. Storage sheds have become a big business, why? Because people love to keep buying stuff that they don’t even need or can’t store. The world  is obsessed with accumulating possessions, however we need to think eternally, we need to think about the Kingdom of God

The reality is that a fancy car will eventually one day end up in the junkyard and it won’t save your soul. However, you’ll spend years paying off the debt. As Jesus said “Where your treasure is, your heart is also” Again it’s all about a heart issue. The same with fasting , praying, and your financial decisions. 

Jesus came to make us Born Again (John 3) to give a new and clean heart so we can worship God in Spirit and Truth, Amen (John 4:24)

Matthew 6- The Lords Prayer

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And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. Matthew 6:5-8

Prayer is essential to the Christian life, in fact prayer should be considered essential such as oxygen to the body, prayer is vital to your soul. How can you expect to have a personal relationship with God, if you don’t talk to him? Jesus taught us the proper method and intentions of prayer. When you pray you should pray in private, alone with God. I think many are honestly afraid to do this, to be alone with God. Find a private room, removed from distractions and spend some time alone with God and pour out your soul to Him

Secondly, vain repetitions don’t constitute true prayer in the eyes of God. God wants to hear your heart and soul, while religious practices can be good, don’t expect to build a personal relationship with your Father by not opening up your heart to him. 

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. Matthew 6:9-13

The Lord’s Prayer is one of the many great gifts that Christ has given us. Every line in the prayer has significant meaning and explanation, I did a complete commentary on The Lord’s prayer here. But imagine the power and unification The Lord’s Prayer has when millions of Christians are repeating the same words spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ together. The Lord’s Prayer is more like a pledge or anthem of our faith

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14-15

Jesus ends his teaching by telling us “If you forgive others of their sin against you, then God will forgive you also”  Did you catch that? Yes you need to forgive people, why? Because Christ forgave you? I understand some circumstances are more complicated than others, but give it up to God and let him deal with it, lift the heavy load off your shoulders and let Christ be truly your Lord

The Lord’s Prayer, a beautiful gift and proclamation for all Born Again believers, lift your voices up and praise The Lord , Amen!

Matthew 6- Give Righteously

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Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. Matthew 6:1-4

One of the most annoying things to see nowadays on social media, is anytime somebody does anything helpful or kind for someone, they have to post it on social media. Everyone needs to let the world know they did something good, we even see this at Church, people need to announce everytime they do anything helpful. Why do we do this? Well the honest truth is we want the credit, we want the glory, we want everyone to know we are great people. This is part of the problem with our sinful nature, pride.

The problem is Jesus said “Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before people or you will have no reward in Heaven ” You might have gotten alot of likes or shares on your social media but you lost your reward in Heaven. It sounds harsh but this is what God said, you have a choice , either the vanity of this world or a reward in Heaven. Now are we saying nobody should do anything “good”, of course not, but everyone doesn’t need to know about it. Don’t worry God knows everything you’re doing, if you do something worthy for His Kingdom, you will be reward for it.

It shows you how far away the world is from the will of God. We see celebrities trying to get in those photo opportunities of mingling with the common folk or actually helping someone. It’s mostly all fake, why do we need to take the dignity of people for them to receive help? It’s a common practice on social media to pick a random homeless person and buy them something, that sounds great. But what if you were that homeless person? Would you want your face posted all over the world as a pawn in the game? Of course not, everyone deserves some respect and dignity , including the “victims” in need

So what should we do? Follow the words of our Lord and Savior, help the poor and needy, but don’t tell anyone. If you’re making donations , make them anonymous. Do we really need your name on a building or park because you had some cash? Now of course when we do help our neighbors, they will know who we are, but we don’t have to flaunt the situation on Social Media. I’m sure your neighbor has been through enough embarrassment and dread, they don’t need their name and face dragged through the community. 

Again we see this is ultimately a heart issue, why are you actually helping these people? Are you just helping to make yourself feel better or puff up your ego? Or are you helping them because you love God and love your neighbor? Because you want to Glorify God by being the Salt and Light of Christ! Let’s hope one day we will hear the words “Well Done Good and Faithful SERVANT” (Matthew 25:23) Amen!