Wednesday, September 13, 2017, 03:20
Day 14
¶ “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”
Aging Christ tells us not to do things to be seen by men. If you have to be seen by men and blessed by men you will end up serving men not God, and that goes against everything Christ has had to say to us such as “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”
It truly comes down to whom will you serve, God or man?
Fasting to not eat but instead be in prayer, fasting now days is something most people do for health reasons not spiritual reasons. Prayer and fasting go hand and hand it is a giving up of self and spending time with the Lord
Matthew 17:21 “But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting”
Psalms 35:13 "I humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer kept returning to my bosom."
Daniel 9:3 "I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petitions, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes."
A humbled soul with prayer and fasting before God is a mighty soul for God!
Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 01:02
Day 13
¶ “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men.
Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and you’re Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.
So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
Pray, then, in this way:
Our Father who is in heaven,
Holy be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’
Acknowledge Father God and the fact He is holy
Ask that His kingdom will come and that His will, will be completed on this earth just as it is completed in heaven
Ask for your needs for the day, the Lord knows our needs before we ask, asking Him for our daily needs builds our strength for we will grow in the knowledge that He is our provider. (Jesus is not only our provider He is our provision, and with Him i need nothing ells.)
{{ Side note: if we can come to the realization of who Christ truly is and of His feelings towards us, we can only come to one conclusion. Jesus loves us and cares for us, He will provide all our needs, and needs are different then wants or desires. We do not need electronics, car’s, homes with electricity, running water, cell phones, on and on i could go the thing is what we need is food , clothing, and shelter. None of it needs to be extravagant, most people even Christians spend much more than is necessary or wise to have shelter (a home) and are wasteful in even their general shopping habits, spending wistfully and extravagantly on things that have no spiritual value }}
For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
Debts; the word sin fits in here, our sins, our transgressions, are our debt.
Do you hold grudges; are you always trying to get back at others for what they have done?
If we are not willing to forgive those who sin against us we will not be forgiven by God.
When you pray do you have the right words, or do you have the right heart?
Do you pray to be heard of by the Father or to be seen by man?
And He emphasizes “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors”
By saying “if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Than on the other hand if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions against Him.”
Our lives should be a living prayer to the Father and a giving life, willing to forgive those who do us wrong, and if we are forgiving to others for the wrongs they do to us, then Father God will be forgiving towards us when we sin against Him.
i know this has been repeated a lot here but it is something that we all need to understand and get active in our life.
Monday, September 11, 2017, 06:08
Day 12
Matthew chapter 6
¶ “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”
When you do something for someone or you give something to someone to help them keep it to yourself, if you have to tell others so that they will look upon you as a great person remember this you are losing a blessing from God to receive a blessing from man.
God’s reward’s last forever, man’s blessing’s last but for a moment. Be giving, help others and keep it to yourself, or lose your true reward.
Saturday, September 9, 2017, 06:02
Day 11
¶ “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?
Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others?
Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
Therefore you are to be perfect; as you’re heavenly Father is perfect.
i brought this up one day at a staff meeting at a large church i was on staff at, a staff of 26, and the response i got was astounding.
After reading the scripter and speaking about clicks in the Christian community of the church one of the pastors said and I quote “I have my friends and I tolerate mankind, I can’t associate with just anyone.” What a sad comment to make, but that mentality is seen in so many Christian circles today, I’ll be social with you at church and ill tolerate you the rest of the week.
Christ has told us to not only be kind to all but to love all people (not what they do but the person) to love our friends but to love our enemies and to pray for them. If you are not willing to treat all men equal to show all mankind love you are no better than a heathen tax collector, if you call yourself a Christian you are a hypocrite and only fooling yourself.
To be a Christian, to be Christ like, is to show love to all mankind, would Christ have come to save you if you were the only person on earth? Yes. But understand that person you may heat or just tolerate Christ would have done the same for them. You are no better than anyone lees on this planet Christ loves us all and if you are going to call yourself a Christian (a follower of Christ, Christ like) than you should have the same heart as Christ and have love for all the people Christ brings in to your life, no matter what they may think believe or do we are to show them love, love just as Christ has shown love to you.
And for those who treat you bad or even look to kill you, you have the responsibility to pray for them each and every one of them. Not speak badly of them as the world allows us even expects to do.
So you want to be perfect; as you’re heavenly Father is perfect go forth and love as Christ loves, openly and freely desiring a good response but not demanding it, and even when others do not except your love like Christ keep loving on them and praying for them.
Friday, September 8, 2017, 03:38
Day 10
¶ “You have heard that it was said, AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.
But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.
Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you."
It is pride that keeps most in a state if argument strife and revenge,
When evil comes against you do not react let Father God be your defense, let Father God have revenge for He says “revenge is Mine”
It does not matter if someone wants what you have given it to them for God gave it to you and you should have given everything you have including your body back to Him so you belong to Christ and Christ will take care of His.
Christ provides all our needs so what ells do we have need of but Christ Himself?
Answer; Nothing, and man cannot take Christ from you