The
Needy
Matthew 6:1-4
Question:
When there is a begger on the street panhandling, do you give to him or her?
Answer:
I usually do not give money. I will go and buy some food and return and give that
to the person.
Give to the one who asks
you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. Matthew 5:42
God gives so much to us, he only asks
that we would imitate his heart. Some may say, 'He's only going to buy drugs with
the money that I give.' or 'my sister will only squander what I give her and come
back for more.' But, I tell you, it is not up to us to give or not give based
on what another person will do or not do. God commands us to give, what the other
person does with what you give will be their sin or their bless. If it's a situation
where someone you now squanders money, then try to get them help, so that they
learn to save and spend wisely. Above all, give if you have it to give. Give freely
*smile*
Prayer
Matthew
6:5-17
Question: Do you feel the that the prayer
in this passage should be memorized and prayed often? Could this be a trick question?
*smile*
Answer: I think that this prayer can
be prayed 'as is,' certainly. I also feel that Jesus was giving us a blueprint
on how to pray. How to structure our prayers.
'Our
Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver
us from the evil one.
Let us use a little
common sense here and think about a relationship. In a relationship in order for
it to be successful you have to listen and talk, right? Not only do you have to
talk, but you have to let the other person in the relationship know your joys
and your sorrows, right? If you and I walked by each other everyday for a year
and said to each other, 'Hi, how are you?' 'Fine, thank you, and you?' Would we
really know each other? This prayer is a sample of the way you should pray.
'Our
Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.'
Praise
God. Reflect on how awesome he is. I love to pray outside here on the west cost
because all around me I see trees, mountains, and the ocean is not far away. How
awesome are God's wonders! *s*
'your
will be done on earth as it is in heaven.'
Surrender
to God your worries. Let him know how you feel, but just as Jesus knew God had
a plan, we need to realize that God has a plan for our lives even in our darkest
hour.
'Give us each day our daily bread.'
In
John 6:35 Jesus says that he is the bread of life. We need to be asking for understanding
of God's Word. And not just some times, but DAILY.
'Forgive
us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.'
Do
you see that God assumes we will be forgiving our debtors? *smiile*
Do
not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Luke 6:37
'and
lead us not into temptation, but lead us from the evil one.'
Pray
about the things that will tempt you throughout the day. The one's that you know
about and the ones that might sneak up on you. Pray that you'll have the wisdom
to resist and leave the situation if need be.
Fasting
Matt.
6:16-18
Question: What do you believe fasting
is for? Have you ever fasted?
Answer: I believe
fasting is to focus our attention on God and prayer. The act of denying yourself
and making a marked change from your daily routine will grab your attention, allow
you to zero in on what you are doing. I have fasted on a couple of occasions.
One of the choir members in our church choir was very, very ill, he was not expected
to live. Our choir director asked us all to fast on one certain day. It was not
hard to do. Everytime I thought about eating, I just used that time to pray for
my friend. It was very nice to know that we were all praying and fasting at the
same time. Oh, and by the way, God worked a miracle in my friend. He has made
a 100% recovery and just recently got married! Praise the Lord!!
Fasting
1. To abstain from food.
2.
To eat very little or abstain from certain foods, especially as a religious discipline.
Fasting
is meant to draw you closer to God. If you read in the Bible before someone needed
to make a major decision they fasted. They fasted for strength, wisdom, humbleness,
and understanding. If you're having a hard time understanding something from God's
Word - fast and pray that God will reveal an understanding to you. Or if there
is something in your chracter that you really want to change - fast and pray.
You can fast for a number of reasons. Overall is shows to God that you are serious
about getting things resolved and drawing closer to him.
Some
do fast from food and all solids, but for others this would be unsafe. It's okay
in this instance to fast from a certain kind of food or to fast from a certain
activity. It needs to be something that you'll miss, so at those times when you
are craving and hungering for it you'll remember and pray to God.
Prayer
Focus
Giving to God and giving to others.
