Tag: Love

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What Jesus Wants

MAY 13

MATTHEW 6:3_But when thou doest thine alms…

Jesus wants you to receive heavenly rewards. Jesus wants you to be generous. Jesus wants you to do good deeds. Jesus wants your righteousness to shine in the darkness. Jesus wants your blessings on others to salt their faith as a preservative. 

The truth is, Jesus doesn’t need you to do any of these things. Jesus loves and desires you. Jesus allows His love to flow through you. Jesus chose to let His power be a part of who you are. He chose you to do alms (charitable works and giving) for Him.

To do alms for Jesus is enough in itself. How incredible is it He wants to reward you for it?

The great evangelist John Wesley caught hold of this teaching. Check out his famous saying:

Do all the good you can                                                               

By all the means you can                     

 In all the ways you can                                                 

In all the places you can      

At all the times you can                                                                           

To all the people you can                                                                            

As long as ever you can

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, I want to do good in the world. Please help me use my life in a way that brings glory to the Bible. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ does good to all people—He helps me do good!

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It Is They

MAY 10

MATTHEW 6:2_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.

Hypocrites.

If anyone makes the Bible and the Christian faith look bad, it is they.

If anyone can make a righteous act look unrighteous, it is they.

If anyone can make what should be an act of love turn into ego, it is they.

If anyone can tip the scales so judgment outweighs mercy, it is they.

If anyone can take a lie and cleverly disguise it as the truth, it is they. 

Is it any wonder Jesus accepted the thieves, murderers, and morally impure over the religious hypocrites?

The former came to Jesus broken, bleeding captives seeking forgiveness and love. They came with a repentant heart—covered His feet with their tears.

The latter came self-assured and confident of their lack of need for help. They came with an arrogant heart—saw themselves good.

Hypocrites love to sound the trumpet before their good deeds. They desire to bring glory to themselves

They make sure they receive praise, and that the whole world knows!

PRAYER

Dear Jesus, Only You are worthy to receive glory, and honor, and blessing, forever and ever. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ alone is worthy of the world’s glory—I praise Him!  

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Something to Seek

MAY 8

MATTHEW 6:1_otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

Back to rewards, again.

Jesus speaks a lot about rewards. He speaks of them as something to be desired, something to be honored, something to seek.

I have never found in the key to the treasure chest, the Bible, a time when Jesus speaks of rewards in a casual take-it-or-leave-it way. 

Whether we know what the Father’s rewards are or not, we know Jesus places great value on them—which sets an example for us.    

When we study the Bible diligently with a seeking heart, we learn Jesus teaches specifically what causes us not to receive the Father’s rewards. He does not speak favorably of any of these things.

Because Jesus loves us, and wants us to receive these rewards whether in this life or the next, Jesus warns. The rebellion in us does not respond well to warnings—someone telling us what to do.

When our hearts are transformed, we realize there is love behind the warnings.

Just as specifically, Jesus teaches what causes us to receive the rewards.

PRAYER

Father God,  Please change my rebellious heart to accept Your warnings. Teach me to see Your great love for me in each warning. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                         

Christ wants me to receive rewards—I want to!

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Pattern Your Life after His

MAY 4

MATTHEW 5:48_Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Jesus solves the whole right-and-wrong, love-and-hate, good-and-evil, thing by saying, “Be perfect!“ Yeah, right! Let me know how that works out for you!

Let’s translate the word perfect. In this verse it means full grown; to reach the character of virtue and integrity, complete. You may make mistakes, but perfection comes when you make a goal to work toward integrity. And more than that, a goal to become a radical, salty-lit-up disciple of Jesus. This kind of perfection is to become full grown in your love for Jesus, to pattern your life after His. To be complete in His love.

How can you get there? Jesus just spoke forty-six verses of a step by step plan that maps it out. If you choose this path, you won’t walk alone. You will enjoy the company of other radical disciples. You also have the treasure chest key, aka the Bible. You also have the Holy Spirit. 

The Spirit within you opens the door to wisdom and teaches you how to apply that wisdom to your life. Perfection, achieving integrity and virtue, is a natural byproduct of wisdom.

There’s one more point before this chapter ends. Don’t miss it!

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, Teach me how to find the path to perfection. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                                                                                             

 Christ is perfect in every way—He will teach me a way!

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A Salty Residue

MAY 2

MATTHEW 5:46_For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same?

We like rewards, especially when we have worked hard to receive them. We like to see an accomplishment receive its due credit. 

In the kingdom of heaven, we don’t necessarily work to be rewarded—but God does use that system. Our work for God is to love His people by being salt and light in a dark and thirsting world. The fact that God rewards us for that is a blessing.

Just because we love those who love us does not win a blue ribbon. Jesus said even tax collectors (publicans) can do that. Let’s take a moment and clarify tax collectors. In case either or both of your parents work for the IRS, don’t think they are the chief of sinners. During Jesus’ earth time, Israel was occupied by the Romans. The Romans demanded taxes from the Israelites. Tax collectors were considered enemies. Hebrews who worked for the Roman government to collect taxes from their fellow neighbors were considered traitors. Rome allowed the Hebrew tax collectors to charge extra for themselves (under the table). Therefore, if Jesus wanted to leave a graphic image of the worst of sinners, tax collectors were a good choice. Jesus says even bad or weak people can love those who love them.

And for the record, Jesus taught to pay taxes—even if they went to Caesar. But He did not defend the Hebrew who stole extra tax money.

Returning good for evil leaves a salty residue.

PRAYER

God of Love, Please don’t let my love be weak, let it be powerful. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                                                                                             

Christ loves those who don’t love Him—He helps me to!