Tag: Jesus

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Your Loved One’s Heart

MAY 22

MATTHEW 6:6_But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet…

Closet in this verse is a private room, or secret chamber. That’s a long way from a street corner. 

When you fall in love, you long to be with the one you love. You want to talk—a lot! You want to make everything in your heart known, and you want to know everything in your loved one’s heart. You want to share hopes and dreams. The only way to know those dreams is to talk with your loved one. 

During times of intimate communication you want to be alone with the one you love. The deepest part of your soul is meant to be revealed to only one person—the one who has captured your heart. It is not for public view, unless you are only using the other person to help you love yourself.

If you use the other person to make you look good, it may be to your advantage to have those conversations in public. Who you are seen talking with might raise your social status. 

Using people to make you look good never equals love. Giving of your time serving, honoring, praising, and encouraging someone equals love.   

PRAYER

Lord of Lords, Thank You that I can talk with You about my deepest needs, wants, and desires. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                       

Christ desires I talk with Him—I will express my heart!

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That Changes Everything

MAY 21

MATTHEW 6:5_Verily, I say unto you, they have their reward.

Jesus says if you live life the world’s way, you will have the world’s rewards.

The prayers of the hypocrites do not go unrewarded.

Perhaps they get the best seats in the synagogues.

Perhaps they receive high positions of administration.

Whatever their rewards, a very sad fact remains: the prayers of a self-glorifying hypocrite can never help the seeker find the Savior. 

The hypocrite loses God’s reward. Nothing in life is worth that: no praise, no financial gain, no high position, no fame. The praise, money, position, fame, could be a way God chooses to reward you openly. They also could be how the world rewards you.

Jesus makes clear what the problem is with the hypocrites’ public prayers: to be seen of men. That changes everything. These are not prayers of communication between the potter and the clay. These are prayers of self-glory. They communicate, “What a good and pious person I am, everyone should be like me.”

Read this one more time: the world rewards with bondage, God rewards with freedom.   

PRAYER

Holy Jesus, Teach me how to pray in private and in public. Teach me to know the difference. Place in my heart the desire to receive Your rewards, not the world’s. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen. 

Christ’s rewards give freedom—I want that!

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Prayer Encourages Seekers

MAY 20

MATTHEW 6:5_thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are for they love to pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men…

Oh my goodness! Here we go with the hypocrites again, and they are back in the synagogues and the streets! Jesus doesn’t want the praying there any more than He wanted the alms giving there.

Don’t get confused about this—the devil would love to deceive you into believing you should not pray out loud. If you are a part of a youth group that prays together—stay with it and pray together. 

Praying out loud is a part of the salt and light process. Prayer encourages seekers who may be a part of your group. Helping the seekers find their way is what salt and light are meant to do.

When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead He prayed out loud. John 11:41-42 (KJV), “And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.”

There was a large crowd gathered to comfort the sisters of Lazarus. Jesus purposely prayed out loud. Any unbelievers in the group would know first, that Jesus was sent by God, and second, that God always hears prayer.

The result was the greatest miracle Jesus performed in His earthly life!

PRAYER

God of Heaven, Please let my prayers give attention to You, not me! In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen. 

Christ’s prayers were salt and light—mine should be too!

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Don’t Try to Live Without It!

  MAY 19

MATTHEW 6:5_And when thou prayest…

Prayer is a necessity in the Christian life. Don’t try to live even one day without it. I Thessalonians 5:17 (KJV), “Pray  without ceasing.”

No one wants to go a full day without speaking to someone they love. If you don’t love Jesus, talk to Him anyway—you may soon find Him to be your friend. It takes time to truly love. There is such a thing as love at first sight, but if that’s all there ever is, and love goes no further than sight—that won’t get it done. You have to know the person who has caused your heart to skip beats. Time must be spent in communication. 

Prayer is communication. There is nothing in your heart you cannot tell Jesus. The fact that He already knows what’s there does not stop Him from wanting to hear your voice. Jesus desires your deep, intimate, communication—just as any two people who are in love.

Get to know the book of Psalms. They may be written for songs, but they make for some kind of awesome prayers! No matter your situation, there is a Psalm to express your heart. Pray a Psalm in first person.

If it is a prayer of brokenness, it’s okay to weep. If it is a prayer of joy, then sing praise. 

Simply let your heart express itself.  

PRAYER

Lord of All, Thank You that You hear my heart, and my feeble words. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen. 

Christ prayed—He will teach me!

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Couldn’t Get Any Better!

MAY 18

MATTHEW 6:4_and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

Jesus says the Father Himself shall reward you. If the alms are done for self-glory, you will be rewarded by the world. If the alms are done for God’s glory, the Father will reward you. 

Heavenly rewards come after death. Jesus says God will reward you openly. In this life. I wouldn’t try to name what the rewards may be, but I will claim the truth of Ephesians 3:20 (KJV), “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.”

Here is that power again, working inside you, changing you, giving you God’s desires over your own. 

I would love to receive the reward of Psalm 17:15 (KJV), “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.”

Satisfied is to be appeased—a desire fulfilled. Awake is to become alert, active, to come alive. Whether you interpret that verse to mean you awake to see God’s likeness in life, or you awake to have God’s likeness in yourself—it’s a reward either way.

It would be a beautiful thing to begin a new day with a heart and soul like unto Jesus! That’s the goal of any salty-lit-up disciple.

Life just couldn’t get any better than that!  

PRAYER

Loving Jesus, I want to awake with Your heart and be satisfied in You. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen. 

Christ’s likeness is genuine love—I want it!