BUILDING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
Greetings in the name of Jesus
; Throughout the pages of the book of Matthew from chapter5 all the way through chapter7 Jesus gives us teachings from his sermon on the mount about who we are, what he expects from us in way of being a witness and the testimony of who he is as the son of God, and in the way that we should treat each other.
Jesus tells us much about who we are from the inside out as he deals with the spirit of the law in particular as we try to obey the letter of the law. In teaching us about the spirit of the law he gives us a message that tells us that we can do nothing to prepare ourselves for a life of eternity with God. He continues to let us know that only through the spirit of the law can we realize our need for forgiveness; and how that is the only true way to salvation. In Matthew 6:19-34 he speaks about two more areas that plague human nature. 1. MONEY 2. WORRY.
This week we have been concentrating on Christ's teachings in the book of Matthew concerning the sermon on the mount, and I certainly wanted to touch on these two areas as well this week. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, or more often and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also"there is much to be said about the heart in Jesus teachings, and what condition our heart is in when it comes to our relationship with God. It is no doubt noble to spend time in prayer, and sometimes it gets to be very difficult. Fasting and meditation gives us time to pray and teaches us self-discipline. I have learned much from prayer, and taking the time to meditate reminds me that I can live with a lot less than I go through life thinking I can. We have a strong need to be able to appreciate guns gifts to us. It is easy for us to get into the same mindset as the Pharisees who tended to do everything in a rote manner to impress the people around them of their own holiness. Jesus lets us know that the self sacrifice that is done quietly and sincerely is what is remembered by God the father, and that it is those things that roll out of our lives and our heart is a byproduct of our relationship with God the father. These things do not come from us as people at all.
We can in no way tried to hold on to both our heavenly home and this physical world at the same time but we also need to realize that storing up treasures in heaven is not limited to tithing but it is accomplished by all acts of obedience to God. In one sense we give our money to God's work like an investment in our heavenly home, but our intention should be to seek the fulfillment of God's purposes in all that we do, and that is not just in the money we give or spend spreading the good news of Christ but also what we give of ourselves in time and energy that matters. Jesus tells us not to worry about life. Matthew 6:26-34 tells us not to worry about our life about what we should eat or drink or WEAR. Just as in so many cases we turn things around backwards from what God has intended, and in this case he tells us "is not life more important than food, and the body more important than close? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns and yet your heavenly father feeds. Are you not much more valuable than they?"
We need to know without a doubt that it is the main difference between our relationship with God and are living in the world that causes all of our turmoil. You see it is the world that is running after all of these things and creating all of this worry about what to eat what to drink what to wear what to believe, when all along our father knows that we have need of these things as well. He tells us simply to seek first the kingdom of heaven, and all of these things that we need will be given to us. Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. May you ritually bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
; Throughout the pages of the book of Matthew from chapter5 all the way through chapter7 Jesus gives us teachings from his sermon on the mount about who we are, what he expects from us in way of being a witness and the testimony of who he is as the son of God, and in the way that we should treat each other.
Jesus tells us much about who we are from the inside out as he deals with the spirit of the law in particular as we try to obey the letter of the law. In teaching us about the spirit of the law he gives us a message that tells us that we can do nothing to prepare ourselves for a life of eternity with God. He continues to let us know that only through the spirit of the law can we realize our need for forgiveness; and how that is the only true way to salvation. In Matthew 6:19-34 he speaks about two more areas that plague human nature. 1. MONEY 2. WORRY.
This week we have been concentrating on Christ's teachings in the book of Matthew concerning the sermon on the mount, and I certainly wanted to touch on these two areas as well this week. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, or more often and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also"there is much to be said about the heart in Jesus teachings, and what condition our heart is in when it comes to our relationship with God. It is no doubt noble to spend time in prayer, and sometimes it gets to be very difficult. Fasting and meditation gives us time to pray and teaches us self-discipline. I have learned much from prayer, and taking the time to meditate reminds me that I can live with a lot less than I go through life thinking I can. We have a strong need to be able to appreciate guns gifts to us. It is easy for us to get into the same mindset as the Pharisees who tended to do everything in a rote manner to impress the people around them of their own holiness. Jesus lets us know that the self sacrifice that is done quietly and sincerely is what is remembered by God the father, and that it is those things that roll out of our lives and our heart is a byproduct of our relationship with God the father. These things do not come from us as people at all.
We can in no way tried to hold on to both our heavenly home and this physical world at the same time but we also need to realize that storing up treasures in heaven is not limited to tithing but it is accomplished by all acts of obedience to God. In one sense we give our money to God's work like an investment in our heavenly home, but our intention should be to seek the fulfillment of God's purposes in all that we do, and that is not just in the money we give or spend spreading the good news of Christ but also what we give of ourselves in time and energy that matters. Jesus tells us not to worry about life. Matthew 6:26-34 tells us not to worry about our life about what we should eat or drink or WEAR. Just as in so many cases we turn things around backwards from what God has intended, and in this case he tells us "is not life more important than food, and the body more important than close? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns and yet your heavenly father feeds. Are you not much more valuable than they?"
We need to know without a doubt that it is the main difference between our relationship with God and are living in the world that causes all of our turmoil. You see it is the world that is running after all of these things and creating all of this worry about what to eat what to drink what to wear what to believe, when all along our father knows that we have need of these things as well. He tells us simply to seek first the kingdom of heaven, and all of these things that we need will be given to us. Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. May you ritually bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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