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Scripture
Giving to the Needy
1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 “This, then, is how you should pray: ” ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 12 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. 14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Fasting
16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Treasures in Heaven
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters. 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 both God and money.
Do Not Worry
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 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? 27 Can anyone of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you-you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Devotion
This chapter of the Bible has quickly become one of my favorites. Every time I read this chapter, it always feels like it is exactly what I need.
This chapter starts with Jesus talking about giving to the needy. Jesus emphasizes the idea of not boasting about doing good. You don’t need the world to know every good thing that you do; the only person who needs to see the good you do is the Lord, and He will reward you for it. This piece of text is also such a good reminder that this world is not our reward, but instead, we are still waiting for our reward in Heaven. This world is just our journey to show Christ and gather people to join us in Heaven.
Corporate prayer, which is prayer in public/in community, is definitely important. However, solo prayer, where it is just you and the Lord, is also extremely important. Jesus modeled this many times when he went away from his disciples to pray by Himself. Also, I feel that sometimes it is just hard to know what to pray for; sometimes there are just so many things that I feel that I need to pray for that it just overwhelms me. In these seasons, I love praying the Lord’s prayer; it fills me with such peace knowing that I prayed exactly what I needed to.
This section of fasting kind of goes with the idea of not boasting about the good you do to others. Beyond that, though, I love the idea that it is not just about the act of fasting but also the heart of it. It also emphasizes the fact that the Lord will reward you in Heaven for what you do that is unseen.
Do not idolize the things of the world, for they are temporary. The earth is not your forever home; Heaven is, and the things you have here on earth are not things that you can take with you to Heaven. So serve the Lord in everything you do and keep your eyes, heart, and mind pure before the Lord because in the end, that is what matters.
I don’t even know what to say about this last section because it is simply so good. I feel that it says enough on its own. Every time I read it, even when its back to back, I am just in awe of how good it is every single time. One of my favorite verses in this section is “your Heavenly Father KNOWS that you need them.” He knows, he knows you need clothes, food, etc., and as long as the Lord knows, then I don’t have to stress about it because He’s got it!
Prayer
Lord, thank you for providing for us. We thank you that we don’t have to worry about tomorrow because the God of tomorrow orders our steps. Help us to remember the things we learned in this chapter. Help us to not boast in the good we do, but to know that you know what we do, and that is enough. Help us to not stress about the things of this world and to surrender all of our cares to you.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Amen
My friend got me this year in the Bible Bible study and I am SO excited to use it. Also it is spiral bound which I absolutely love, I think it makes things so much more user-friendly. If you would like to get your own from Amazon click here.
This is definitely not necessary, however it can make studying the Bible a little easier, more organized, and more fun. I got a kit similar to this in December and I absolutely love it. Click here to get it for yourself.