Genesis 8, Ezra 8, Matthew 6

Read Genesis 8, Ezra 8, Matthew 6 today and then read this devotional about Matthew 6.

We all care what other people think of us. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It keeps us from all kinds of obnoxious, antisocial behavior, like ignoring appointments we made or showing up egregiously, unapologetically late for them.

Our concern about others’ opinion becomes a problem when it becomes the primary driver for what we do. When our lives become too focused on appearing a certain way to others, then we start doing things for appearance sake only rather than from the heart. Do this too much and your life will resemble a studio lot–on camera things look real and amazing but in reality, it is a facade.

Here in Matthew 6, Jesus spoke to us about religious life that is done only to impress others (v. 1). Jesus warned that those who lived this way “will have no reward from your Father in heaven” (v. 1). Then Christ applied this teaching to:

  • giving to the needy (vv. 2-4)
  • prayer (vv. 5-15)
  • fasting (vv. 16-18)

These were markers of spirituality in Jesus’ culture and they are still areas that can be impressive when we consider someone’s spiritual life. I wonder, though, what kind of spiritual or religious acts impress us? Perfect attendance on Sunday morning? A long history of having devotions without ever missing a day? Bible memorization or detailed Bible knowledge? Service in some work for Christ?

Jesus was not telling us never to give to the poor or to pray. In fact he spent a good amount of time in verses 5-15 teaching us to pray so that we would know how to do it in a way that glorifies him instead of ourselves. Similarly, we should not stop doing something for God or to grow in our faith just because someone is (or might be) impressed by it. Nor should we stop serving the Lord just because we may struggle with inconsistent motivation. Instead, we need to examine our hearts and ask God to help us worship and serve him from the heart and not to impress or please others.

Genesis 5, Ezra 5, Matthew 5

Read Genesis 5, Ezra 5, and Matthew 5.

This devotional is about Matthew 5:1-12.

Matthew chapters 5-7 record what has been called the Sermon on the Mount. Christ’s sermon begins with “The Beatitudes.” The word “beatitude” is transliterated into English from the Latin word that begins each line. Since the only available translation of the Bible for hundreds of years was the Latin Vulgate, this Latin word for “happiness,” beatitudo, stuck as the title of the first section of Christ’s sermon. The beatitudes are eight statements of Christ about who is really happy; his list is quite surprising.

If we were to commission the Gallop organization to do a nationwide poll of ordinary Americans and ask them who is happy, I don’t think the list we would get would be anywhere close to the one Jesus made here in Matthew 5:3-10. Even if we polled most Bible-believing Christians, my guess is that there would not be one answer in the top 10 that would correspond with anything on Jesus’ list. Each verse in the beatitudes is worth thinking deeply about, but let’s focus on one for today. Verse 6 says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

We humans long for so many things. We long for love, for security, for prosperity, for peace. We long for youth, or good health, or just a really great mocha. (OK, maybe that last one is just for me and few others of you…).

Sometimes our longing for these things is palpable; we talk about “starving for attention” or “thirsting for more.” But, think about people who have what you’re starving for. Are the wealthy so happy that they never get divorced? Are the famous so satisfied with the attention they receive that they chase the paparazzi, begging to have their pictures taken? If you wish you had your boss’s job and all the perks that come with it, think: Is she deeply satisfied with that station in life, or is she longing and plotting to take her boss’s job?

In contrast to all the things that we think will satisfy us, Jesus said that those who are truly happy are the ones who long to be righteous. They thirst to live a life that is pleasing to God. The hunger within that drives them is a hunger to think like God does, to act like God does, and to radiate the greatness of God in their words and actions. Instead of wanting to “Be like Mike” (as the old Gatorade commercial put it), they want to like Christ. THESE are the people Jesus said would be satisfied; he promised at the end of verse 6: “they will be filled.”

When we talk about being righteous people, we have to remember two things. First, our own righteousness is detestable to God because it is, at best, imperfect and incomplete. In reality, it is tainted through and through with our sinful attitudes and our other sinful acts. The only way we can ever be accurately described as “righteous” is if God gives us credit for being righteous even when we’re not. And, that is what he has done in Christ! When we trust God’s promise of life in Jesus, God treats us as if we lived the perfect life Jesus lived; he also forgives us for our sins through the payment Christ made for us on the cross.

Once we’ve been credited with righteousness by God, God goes to work on our longings. Over time and through the gifts of the scripture, the church, and the trials of life, God uproots our longings for sinful things and replaces them with a desire to BE righteous in reality. As we grow in Christ, we long to be more like him. The payoff for this, though, comes in the future. Jesus said, “they WILL be filled” not “they are filled.” In other words, the experience of happiness will be fully delivered when we see Christ and are transformed perfectly and finally into his likeness. Until then, we have the peace and joy of the Spirit as our downpayment, giving us a delicious taste of what it will like to feel full of righteousness when we are with Jesus.