Matthew 6:5-13 (NIV) 5  “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6  But when you pray, go into your room, close

One short daily prayer can alleviate so much of your stress & anxiety. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 125 Q. What does the fourth request mean? A. “Give us today our daily bread” means, Do take care of all our physical needs so that we come to know that you are the only source of everything good, and that neither our work and worry nor your gifts can do us any good without your blessing. And so help us to give up our trust in creatures and to put trust in you alone. Summary The opening word to today's teaching from Jesus functions like a big STOP sign. When you see the word therefore, you have to stop and ask, what is it there for? In this case, Jesus is saying that because you should be focused on building up treasure in heaven rather than on earth, which is what He says in the preceding passage, therefore do not worry about your physical needs in this life. If even the birds of the air and the flowers of the field thrive by simply relying upon what your Father provides for them, you can too, since you're much more valuable than they are, says Jesus. But don't jump too far ahead here. Jesus isn't calling you to take a life long vacation as you count on your daily bread getting shipped down from heaven each day. His command here is to not worry, not to not work hard. Think of how busy the birds keep from dawn to dusk and how the flower is doing what it was created to do whenever the sun is shining. You don't need to look far - perhaps even within your own life - to see the awful result of running after all sorts of worldly stuff like the pagans do. They might gain a bunch of things, but they have no rest, no peace and no certainty that whatever they've accumulated today will be here tomorrow. In short, they're often drowning in anxiety. Instead, Jesus calls you to seek first His kingdom and righteousness, and He makes an extraordinary promise to those who do: all these things you need will be given to you as well. Dig Deeper Jesus here is telling you to make a shift in attitude more so than a change in your daily activities. If you're at the point in life where you're part of the workforce, don't quit your job. When you're at your job, keep your head down and be productive. Remember, working is one of the primary ways God calls us to worship Him! But do some quick mental math and tally up how many hours a day you spend productively working versus how many hours a day you spend worrying, stressing, and fretting about the gulf between what you have and what you want. How different would things look for you if you had focused your resources on seeking the kingdom rather than worrying about stuff? That's the brilliance of the short line that Jesus commanded you to pray: "give me each day the bread I need today." He goes on here to tell you to not worry about the other things in life, or even about what will happen tomorrow. It's not that other stuff or planning for the future isn't important, it's just not worth worrying about when you can be absolutely certain your Father will provide. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who created the birds and flowers, and provides for all His creatures' needs; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will seek first the Kingdom and that you'll be able to trust that your Father will give you the things you need; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Revelation 8

The key to being able to follow Jesus' command comes in the verse that precedes this passage: Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be

No matter how often we try to keep ourselves from sin, we cannot completely live a sin free life. It simply is not possible, no matter how righteous a person may appear. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Acts 6

Matthew 18:6-9 (NIV) CONTEXT: Jesus has just famously called a child to Him, and tells His followers And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.' 6  “If anyone causes one of these little of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election Point 2 - Limited Atonement Articles 1- 5 Article 6:

Matthew 13:3-9, 22 (NIV) This week we'll be working our way through various verses in this passage. 3 It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6   But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched As part his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught in Matthew 6:24 that, “No one can serve two masters. If it becomes one amongst many, it is only a matter of time before it gets choked out for other things Today: 1 Corinthians 6

Incarnation and Birth We begin the New Testament by, of course, tracking through the Gospel Narratives - Matthew Bible.com Matthew 1:18–25 (NASB95) 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary Matthew slips his nod in a bit into his narrative, opening today's passage by telling about the birth of Jesus Christ, a phrase that garners no attention in English, but stands out in the Greek Matthew Right away, Matthew's concern for one of Christianity's most critical doctrines becomes clear, just as

Matthew 3:1–12 (NASB95) 1 Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea honey. 5 Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; 6 Notice how Matthew introduces John. But John's oddities aren't the first thing Matthew mentions. Matthew then quotes the prophet Isaiah to introduce John as the one who made ready the way of the LORD

Matthew 12:30–32 (NIV) 30  “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me Point 3 - Total Depravity Point 4 - Irresistible Grace Point 5 - Perseverance of the Saints Article 6:

"The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart." In Matthew 15, we get to listen to an exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees and scribes. they are good at speaking eloquently and religiously, but their heart is not in the principle of the matter Yet, Jesus' words here Matthew 15, like many of the confrontations, show they thought they could keep is the matter of the heart.”