Hi everyone,
I hope your monday morning is treating you well. I just wanted to share my devotions with you today.
Matthew 6:5-8
➢ What warnings about prayer does this passage have for me? The first warning is I must not use prayer, or any spiritual disciplines, as a way of drawing attention to myself. I am to relate to God through these disciplines, but if I’m using to for my own purposes—namely to get people to think how wonderful I am—then I am just like the hypocrites and there is no reward. Second, I should practice a spirituality that is unseen by others but only to God. This means that how I live my private life matters. It’s not hard to be a nice, kind hearted man when I am at church or on campus. What about when I’m at home by myself or with my family? There is an opportunity to do things that are done in secret (sure my family might see it, but the point of the passage is to refrain from drawing attention to myself and with my family I am not tempted to do that). And when I am alone, when no one sees, or when I am rather anonymous, it’s important that I practice good deeds to others. Third, it tells me to forgive otherwise my heavenly father won’t forgive me. I don’t think this is a statement about salvation or losing my salvation. But then again, if I don’t forgive others, then why should my heavenly father forgive me? How can God forgive an unforgiving heart? In other words, has a heart that can’t forgive really experienced the forgiveness of God? I don’t think Jesus was trying to communicate a doctrine of salvation. Rather he was trying to communicate the importance of forgiving others. That means I can’t hold grudges. That means I must make efforts to reconcile.
Matthew 6:9-13
➢ How does addressing God as “father” affect my view about prayer and how I relate to God? God is my father in a good sense. And I say, “it a good sense” because I know that there are a lot of father who are difficult to approach—who are un relational, who were too busy, or absent or demanded performance from their children. That God is my father means that I can take confidence that he loves me, that he wants to give me good things and that he knows what is good for me and when it is good for me. I also know that he doesn’t want to spoil me but wants me to mature to become like him. This means that he provides, or allows, contexts of difficult and suffering so that I can mature, just like he allowed Christ to suffer so that he may be made perfect (Hebrews 5). Understanding all of this, I can approach God with confidence knowing that he loves me and has my good in mind. I can ask, and ask and ask (Matthew 7), and I can trust that I will receive good things from my heavenly father because he knows how to give good gifts to his children. I may not get what I want, but I know I will receive good things. So, I don’t need to roam the earth orphaned, but I can go throughout the earth and help redeem creation as a child of God.
➢ What is the relationship between confessing my sins and being able to forgive others? Simply put, if I confess my sins and receive forgiveness then I am better able to forgive others. In other words, forgiveness restores relationships and knowing that I’ve been restored in my relationship with God I am willing to restore my relationship with others.
Thanks for sharing P.Will!
Very encouraging to read this on a Monday.