Being Persistent – Matthew 7:7-12

Posted on by shannonrainwater
My Mother told me when I was young that I should never accept “No” from someone who has the ability to say “Yes”. This was in reference to asking girls out on a date and I was VERY shy. She always wanted me to be persistent is asking for what I wanted, without being annoying, until I either received what I asked for or there was an acceptable compromise.The saying stuck and I believe it is applicable to different situations. 
In this Passage Jesus was urging the listeners to be persistent. Ask for what you say? Look back at the context. He was on a point that was teaching how to improve the Christian behavior to become Kingdom minded. Also, He is probably NOT referring to materials things because of the section about treasures. So what do you think Jesus is referring to? RIGHT! The treasures of Heaven. These are perfect gifts that help us carry on our mission with God. 
Today ask God what are the things that you need for your mission. Is it BOLDNESS? WISDOM? ENERGY? Then ask Him to equip you and guide you on your mission.

Excuse me sir! You have something in your eye!

Posted on by shannonrainwater

Today’s Reading: Matthew 7:1-6

Pointing out sin is not an easy thing to do. Especially if the person is not a Christian. Usually if you do the other person is VERY defensive and argumentative. Then they will try and quote Scripture. “Do not judge” they will say and this will most times shut the mouth. A close examination of this particular Scripture and a correct hermeneutic will reveal what is actually being said.
First, we are NOT to judge, yet. What I mean is Jesus says that we should look at our own life first then we are able to point out sin in others lives. Look closely to the sequence.

1. “Do not judge, SO THAT you won’t be judged, AND with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” If we are willing to expose sin we should also be ready to be exposed ourselves. We are held to a higher standard (conduct wise) than those who do not know Jesus. I have once heard a good saying. “You can’t expect an unsaved person to ACT saved”. In other words, they do not know that some of the things they do are wrong and do not have the Holy Spirit to convict them of the sin.

2. “Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the log in your own eye?…”
If we are quick to point out sin we should be willing to be exposed as well. Suppose that you see someone lying and you are sure of it, you must not be known to lie yourself. But how to I rectify this if I am commanded to expose sin (remember the lesson on ‘Being the Light of the World’?)

3. Jesus says that we are to “First take the log out of your own eye then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” Even though we are saved does not mean that we cease to sin. Christians are being watched whether we know it or not. As soon as one slips into sin, especially those who hold church offices, they are exposed with great fervor. When this happens the testimony is tainted and the reputation has to be reconciled. This process may take a LONG time but it is necessary in order to carry out exposing sin.

Jesus ends the thought by saying “Don’t give to dogs what is holy or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them with their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.” The salvation that we have been given freely is not to be treated like a “GOTCHYA” to those who do not possess it. We must live our lives and maintain our reputation and testimony so that the unsaved see us and want what we have. It is too valuable to throw it in their face only to have it trampled and torn.

Today, examine your own life and pray to the Holy Spirit to expose sin in your life. Then, “take the speck out of your own eye”.

Don’t Worry About Worrying

Posted on by shannonrainwater

Have you ever watched the TV show “Life without People”? It’s w show that speculates what the world would be like if all of the people on earth just vanished leaving only the wild animals to rule. Do you think that there would be a problem with extinction? Sometimes I disagree with interfering with nature to “preserve” a species. The instincts that animals have allow the species to Move, Adapt, or die. They do not mope around the woods wondering if food is going to be available. They search for it. They do not worry where is their next bed is going to be. They simply bed where they are.
Jesus says that we too are not to worry about where our next meal or shelter is coming from. Or even wiry about the clothes we wear. In this passage Jesus lets us in on a little known sin that everyone commits to varying extents. It is a sin to worry. Why? Because people who do not know Christ as Savior do these things. If we worry and seek after things then our faith is in question. But Jesus tells us how to rectify this; “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow,because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Its like this… we have the richest most loving Father in the entire universe who knows us better than we know our self and we can know that He will give us everything that we need for His purpose. Just as he provides for the animals and plants how much more He gives us. How cool is that. Ever played “My dad is richer than hour dad?” I think ours tops everyone dad.
As you go thought pray think about how much we really depend on God. Food, money, job, house, and try to list them on a 3×5 card. Carry it around with you for a while and add to it as God reveals to you the things He provides.

True Valuable Treasure

Posted on by shannonrainwater

Years ago in the news there was a story about a man who stole money from his boss a little at a time. It took him about 15 years to amass what he thought to be the equivalent of $1.5 million. He would be set for retirement and decided one day to quit his job take the money and move to a place where no one knew who he was. After informing his boss of his plans he retrieved his loot that was kept in a box under the house crawl space. He opened it only to find dust and remnants of old bills.

Jesus speaks of keeping treasure. He speaks of the corruptible treasure that we keep on earth and that we should not be concerned with it. Our treasures here can be and will be destroyed or stolen. But instead Jesus tells us what is more important, treasures in Heaven. 
In the middle of this thought it seems that Jesus says something unrelated to treasure “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is darkness—how deep is that darkness!” Could this mean that what ever we see will determine what we will treasure? Sort of. You see, our eyes are the gates to our soul. If we guard what we see then that will determine what we value. Looking viewing or taking part of sinful things seep into our lives and become our treasures. However, if we are on guard then we are more apt to see what is truly valuable and store treasure in heaven.
Since we cannot have two masters we are either on guard or we are influenced by evil. Either we concentrate on what is incorruptible or what is destroyable. 
As you go through your day today, guard your eyes to what you see. Pay attention to what is a true treasure and what can be stolen or destroyed.

How to Go Slow When You are Going to Fast

Posted on by shannonrainwater

The ritual of fasting is not so popular in today’s Christian circles. Some do practice it but mostly we only hear of other religions doing it. There are different types of fasts; 1. Eating or drinking anything is forbidden, 2. Eating is forbidden but water is ok, 3. No food during sunlight and light colored broths are permitted and many more variations.

But why fast? Why would it be good to give up something that the body needs?
Some people do this in a variation to lose weight. Some do it to “detoxify”. Some do it involuntary because of poverty. Is there any benefit to it?
Sure, some doctors will attest that while fasting your body resets itself in digestion, chemicals, and other hormones some people should not attempt it; diabetics, people with eating disorders, young children.  Those that do it for religious purposes do it not for any of these purposes.
Jesus was continuing the underlying theme that “we should be dependent on God for our needs.” Fasting removes our need for food and replaces it with an extreme need for God. The longer the fast the longer the need. Remember Jesus fasted for forty days and nights in the desert. If you have ever fasted for any length of time you would know that the hardest part is the beginning. Your body is going into starvation mode and signals your brain to eat. Studies have shown that after about three days of no food (water is ok) your body response is self preservation. Which means that the hunger pangs go away. However, your appearance will show signs of starvation. Think of those commercials you may have seen that shows starving children in a foreign country. Jesus instead instructs us that we, WHEN we fast, should clean ourselves up and not let anyone know we are fasting. we are not to follow the example of the Hypocrites (Pharisees) by letting our faces frown and carrying on about how hungry we are. No! Jesus instructs us to hide the fact that we are fasting. The motivation behind the hypocrites was to show that they were BEING RELIGIOUS. That is their reward. But when we fast for the right motivation then we will be rewarded by the One who sees it.
Notice that the passage says WHEN we fast and not IF we fast. Although it is not a command it is one of those expected duties we have that is designed to realign our minds to God’s. The point of this whole lesson is that we MUST examine our motivation of our action toward God. Are they to be seen by man? Or are they to be seen by God?

Exercise for today:
The meaning behind the fast is to deny something that we depend on so our focus realigns with God. Some have said that we can fast not by giving up food but rather something that is a possible hindrance to our NEED for absolute dependence. Don’t confuse this to the concept of Lent! That is another discussion for another time.
Prayerfully consider a fast. Look up verses that have to do with fasting. Here are a few to get you started.
Acts 14:23, Matthew 9:14–15, Mark 2:18–20, Luke 5:33–39, Mark 9:29

What NOT to do When Praying

Posted on by shannonrainwater

One of the biggest misconceptions in the Christian faith is in the matter of prayer. Most people would argue that prayer is meant to benefit the one praying and those around. This is known as “Corporate Prayer”. While this is not a bad thing, the direction and motivation of it is. Yesterday we looked at HOW NOT TO PRAY, today we are looking at HOW TO PRAY. Jesus gives us a MODEL for prayer. Notice I said MODEL. It was never meant to be recited as an actual prayer. The use of the words “pray like this” mean that He is using an example. So we are to PRAY by;
1. Direct your prayer to the one you are praying to.
Muslims will bow and face east (depending where they are) toward Mecca. This is to direct the prayer toward the Qibla and is one of the 5 pillars of Islam. Luckily, we as Christians do not do this however, we are to align ourselves to God when we pray. Yesterday we learned that we are not to pray so that men will praise us for it. Directing our prayer toward the Creator of the universe rids our attention of worldly attention.

Not only are we to direct our prayer but we are also to;
2. Pray for a present blessing toward a future consummation of God’s rule
We are to pray for direction in our lives to align with God’s will because just as His will is being carried out in heaven so it is on earth. It is going to happen whether we are in His will or out of it. We constantly need guidance to align or re-align our will with God’s.

3. Pray that God will provide our daily need.
Bread was a necessary item in the diet. Although Jesus said that we “should not live by bread alone,” it contained some of the nutrients that our bodies need for proper functioning. Also, bread back then would go bad and mold because there were no preservatives in it. So one would need to bake fresh bread everyday or at least every few days. Jesus says that we are to ask for our daily need (bread) to show that we are solely dependent on Him for His provision. We never would want to be in a place where we no longer need His provision.

4. Pray for the forgiveness of our sins just as we forgive sins toward us.
This is the only line that contains a prerequisite. Jesus says that we should pray that our sins are forgiven LIKE we forgive others. The word “debts” here is used in the sense of sins against another. The intent is that we are reminded that our sins place us in “debt” to God. Also, Jesus is not saying that we “earn” forgiveness by forgiving. But a person “evidences” his forgiveness by forgiving others.

5. Pray that we are protected against the evil one.
If we have prayed that our sins are forgiven then we are “cured” of our sin debt to God. In order to prevent further sins against God then we must ask for protection. As long as we are here on earth we can expect to be tempted.  God will never “lead us into temptation” but He most certainly will “deliver us” as He has promised.

6. End with another directive expression.
Usually prayers are ended with “In Jesus name, Amen!” But we do not see this in the Lord’s Prayer. Instead we see an assignment of glory, honor, and worthy praise toward God. We do see in Scripture that we pray in the name of Jesus but we are not to literally do it. It is better to say that we can pray BECAUSE of Jesus and what He did. (This could be another subject for another time) The example we see here from Jesus is that we end the prayer by acknowledging God and that He alone is worthy of all of our praise and honor and glory FOREVER! Amen!

After saying of of the above do we refrain from Reciting the Lord’s Prayer? Not at all! It is scripture and we know that “ALL Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Exercise for today? Pray a prayer using the example from Jesus. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in this and help you with the words to say. Sometimes it is helpful to read scripture to help get you started. Remember that we communicate to God by two avenues. 1. Reading Scripture is God talking to us and 2. Prayer is us talking to God.

3 Things to do when praying- Matthew 6:5-13

Posted on by shannonrainwater

Have you ever been scared to death that you would be called upon to pray in front of people? Did you remember the prayer requests? In case you didn’t know, I am an extreme introvert. I used to be terrified that I would be called on and I have a few times. Yet I survived and prayed a simple and somewhat canned prayer.
I remember growing up in the Nazarene church and sometimes there would be someone who would just stand up and start praying. He would start hooping and hollorin’ (that’s Southern for Hollering or yelling) and sometimes waving a hankie around. It was a sight to see and it lasted for quite a while.
Jesus might have witnessed people in His day putting on a display like this. He probably saw them stand up in the synagogues or maybe the street corners. Actually, He said that he did. He tells us NOT to be like them and gives us 3 things to do when we pray:

  1. Instead of praying out in the open and drawing attention to yourself we should “go into our private room”. Doing this we are by ourselves and our focus can ONLY be toward the one we are praying to. 
  2. We are also to “shut the door”. When we “shut the door” it allows us to open up in honesty toward God. We are more likely to confess before a Holy God our sins and repent from them.
  3. We are to “Pray to our Father who is in heaven.” We are to remember who exactly we are talking to. The “Creator of the Universe”, the one who SPOKE everything in existence. Humbling to think about isn’t it? That is the point.

Jesus was not at all forbidding public prayer and saying that we should ONLY pray in our closet. But He was saying that people who ONLY pray in public and never in private are praying for the wrong reasons.
Since when we pray and we do not truely know what or how we should pray Jesus gives us a model for prayer. We know it as the “Lord’s Prayer”. Some recite this as an actual prayer but in the context in which it is used it is a teaching tool.
Tomorrow we will break the steps down and examine each part. Today be thinking about your prayer life. Do you pray? If so, how often? Do you use scripture to help you?

Hey, Look at me! I’m trying to show you How to Give! Matthew 6:1-4

Posted on by shannonrainwater

My wife and I are going through the process to try and teach our daughter how to ask for something in a respectful manner by saying “PLEASE.” She has learned that if she says “PLEASE” loud enough and point out that she said “PLEASE” she should be allowed whatever she has asked for. She is trying to get our attention for doing something good.
Have we ever done this? Do we wait to do something good until someone is watching? After all if no one sees the good deed is it still a good deed? What’s the reward if we do something good and no one sees it?
Jesus warned us that we should NOT do things to seek the praise of men. If we do then the praise of men will be our reward. Jesus instructs us that if we do these good deeds in “secret” our reward will be in heaven. He says “don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”
You can make the choice: Seek the praise of man and have it last while you are here on earth (70-80 more years)
OR- Do your good deeds in secret and be rewarded by God in heaven (Lasts forever)

Iron Bowl Love Matthew 5:43-48

Posted on by shannonrainwater

This morning I’m reminded that there is only 5 days left until the start of college football season. It is my favorite time of year and many of you know that I am a huge Auburn fan. Having said that some of you know instantly what could ruffle my feathers. Yes that’s right “Roll Tide” (Just typing that was like the Fonz saying ‘ I’m SORRY’) Hands down the biggest rivalry is between Auburn University and The University of Alabama. It is so great that families have split, children have been disowned, and people have lost their jobs. When a child is born in the state of Alabama it is predestined to say “War Eagle” or “Roll Tide.” I have even owned a bumper sticker that said “My 2 favorite teams are Auburn and anyone who plays Alabama. It was a real HATE for the other team.

Jesus  said that we are to Love our Neighbor, which is central to the Christian image, and then continues breaking the thought pattern of his listeners by adding that we should “Love our enemies as well.” On top of that we are to pray for them. WHAT?!? You see what good does it do if we only show love to those who it’s easy to love? Bad things happen to both the good and the evil in this world. So if we ONLY love those who are easy to love then what kind of reward would we have? Or in other words,  What kind of image does it paint for the unbeliever of a Christian?

Even unsaved people do these things. The Bible say that “if we are only loving those who love you …and greet those who greet you… what are you doing out of the ordinary?” Then Jesus says that we are to “be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” We are not to be  from the world that shows partiality. But if we show love impartially, guided by grace and mercy, then we show ourselves distinct, and we shine before the world, bringing glory to the Father.

That’s the main idea; Our righteousness MUST impact the world because it surpasses mere “religiosity.”

I have calmed down on my enthusiasm for college football, but not much. I no longer treat my Alabama friends as lepers and unclean outcasts. I congratulate them on wins and special achievements but I’ll always root for the other team.

Exercise for the day;

Look around for those who you would consider your enemy and find ways to show love to them. It could be that you can simply just be an ear to them. Jerry Falwell had many enemies but he always showed them love. His biggest opponent, Larry Flynt, was also one of his best friends. Think of the impact that Dr. Falwell had for Christianity on Flynt’s life even though his lifestyle has not.

Reflection

Posted on by shannonrainwater

Last night I had “Meet the Teacher” at my school. It is always the one day that I dread the most and the day I look forward to the most. I look forward to it because I get to see some students that I have had in the past  and see how they have grown. I dread it because I have to work very hard trying to make a good first impression on those that are coming in to my class.
I relate this to the section we are studying by saying this; We look at Jesus as our Teacher. We are already in the school year and He is in the middle of one of His lectures. Are we listening? Are we taking notes? Are we doing the homework by applying what HE has said in our lives now?
Reflect back at some of the lessons so far in Matthew chapter 5. By the way this is a good teaching practice to stop in the middle of the lesson and go back and do a short review.
Feel free to comment on what the Lord has taught you through these passages.