The Word of God for wisdom:
Proverbs 11:10 (HCSB)
When the righteous thrive, a city rejoices, and when the wicked die, there is joyful shouting.
The Word of God for inspiration:
Psalm 28:7-8 (HCSB)
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices, and I praise Him with my song. 8 The Lord is the strength of His people; He is a stronghold of salvation for His anointed.
The Word of God for encouragement:
Matthew 6:1-4 (HCSB)
1 "Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 So whenever you give to the poor, don't sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. I assure you: They've got their reward! 3 But when you give to the poor, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
My observation:
In the previous chapter we saw Jesus' teaching about how to possess righteousness. In this chapter our Lord deals with how to practice righteousness.
1 John 2:29 (HCSB)
If you know that He is righteous, you know this as well: Everyone who does what is right has been born of Him.
In the living out of what God has deposited in us we must be sure to have the right motives when we practice our righteousness. Today our focus is the motive for giving. In our focal passage Jesus compares the motives of the Pharisees in their giving, and the praise that they received.
The Pharisees announced their giving by sounding a trumpet. They gathered a crowd because they wanted the crowd to see them giving to the poor. They sought the praise of people, and that is all the reward they would get.
Jesus described how those who possess the righteousness of God should practice their righteousness before an audience of one. You can only get one reward for your giving. Do you want the reward of people or the reward of God?
My prayer:
Father God, my dear Father, I pray that when I give, and every time I give, I will have pure motives. Father, I acknowledge that everything comes from you. Therefore, all of the praise belongs to you. Father, teach me how to give so that in my giving I might bring glory to God.
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2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
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