Meeting With the Father

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. (Matthew 6:5-7)

 

Jesus here is teaching us how we should pray and to whom we should be praying, as well as seen by. The religious leaders of the day loved to be seen by the people as being pious and righteous. Therefore, they made a habit of praying so they could be heard and seen by men in the synagogues and in the public square during the appointed times of prayer (9 a.m., noon, and 3 p.m.). Jesus pointed out that those people received their rewards from the praise of man and not God, because their prayers are not being directed to God, only given so that others could see them acting in this pious manner.

 

Let’s fast forward to today and our current situation in this year of March 2020. What was your prayer life like before the coronavirus pandemic struck? How often did you meet with the Father and pray? And where did you do this? Now, don’t misunderstand what Jesus is teaching here about when and where we can and should pray. Some have taken this passage very literally and will only pray while alone in a private place. There is certainly nothing wrong with this, and as a matter of fact it’s very commendable to set aside a time and place daily to meet with the Father alone. However, that doesn’t mean that’s the only place were we should be praying. We can and should meet with the Father anywhere at any time. Jesus is teaching us that we are not to make a show about it we drawing attention to ourselves so that we receive the praise of man. We can retreat into that quite place in our heart, for God truly sees it and pray to Him whenever and wherever.

 

Today, many of us are being told to stay home so that this deadly virus will not be passed on and spread. God has a way of getting our attention; are you listening to Him? Are you crying out to Him? Are you meeting with Him? I want to exhort you to take advantage of this time and meet with the Father first alone and then as a family, seek His face, repent, and ask for His healing of our land. The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)

 

 

Dale LaFrance   (please look up Psalm 34:4-8)

How Do You Please God

“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right had is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”   (Matthew 6:1-4)

 

As we continue through the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus continues to reveal to the people how God the Father really wants us to act and not how the religious leaders had taught them. Teaching does not always come from words alone; it also comes by setting an example. The example the religious leaders set was that they always wanted others to see just how righteous and pious they really were. As we read our focus passage Jesus points this out while addressing the danger of cultivating an image of righteousness.

 

Back in Matthew 5:16 Jesus teaches us that we are to let our lights shine before men. Yet, this is not to be seen as showing others how righteous we are; it’s intended for us to be about doing the good works the Father wants us to do. If our hearts are directed toward God and we are doing the good works to please Him and not man, then God sees that. Only God can truly see into our hearts. This is why Jesus called those who were doing their supposed works for God hypocrites; they were not about pleasing God. They wanted man’s approval and praise. Note how Jesus pointed out that they got their reward from the praise of men, but not from God.

 

As believers, we are not to be in the business of being man pleasers. We are to be seeking daily how to please God. Did you know God gives us those guidelines way back in the Old Testament through the Ten Commandments? So, when we want to please God the first step is too live in obedience to Him. We are to do our works with a pure heart and as unto Him, not so that we receive praise from men. To hear the words from our Father, “Well done my faithful servant!” will be a greater reward than any man could give us.

 

 

 

Dale LaFrance   (please look up Romans 12:1)

Loving Your Enemy

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?   (Matthew 5:43-47)

 

So, for the fifth time in this chapter Jesus is correcting an error that has been taught by the scribes and religious leaders to the people over time. The hatred of one’s enemies was a Pharisaic addition to God’s law that was given in Leviticus 19:18. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. I believe the Pharisees recognized that they too could not keep God’s law in its intended state. So, they twisted it just enough so that it would appear that they could keep it; making themselves self-righteous in the process.

 

The Pharisees treated all who were not circumcised as enemies. The reality is, all of us are enemies of God if we reject Him and His plan, which is why He sent His Son Jesus to reconcile us to Him, Romans 5:10. For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! The Leviticul Law was intended to show man his fallen state and his desperate need for God. At some point the Lie Whisperer (Satan) convinced the scribes and religious leaders that they could obey the law by twisting a few words or phrases to suit them, something that the Lie Whisperer is very good at.

 

The hard truth of the matter is that loving your enemy can be very hard, if not impossible, and if we are left to do it on our own, we simply could not. God is love, His Son Jesus embodied that love when He came to walk this earth and die for all mankind. If you have received Christ as your Savior, then you can through His power seek the good of all while blessing and praying for our enemies as well as our brothers and sisters in Christ.

 

 

 

 

Dale LaFrance   (please look up Luke 6:27)

Turning the Other Cheek

 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to 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 away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.” (Matthew 5:38-42)

 

Exodus 21:24 does state in the Mosaic Law “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”. However, once again Jesus points out that this too has been taught incorrectly. Over time the religious leaders had moved this command from it’s intended sphere of limiting retribution for the civil government and moved it to one of dealing with personal relationships.

 

The next portion of our focus passage has been so twisted over time and has caused some confusion of how Christians should really act, much to the delight of the Lie Whisperer. When Jesus teaches that we should turn the other cheek, He is not telling us that we should never defend ourselves against being attacked physically. In that culture, a slap in the face was understood as a deep insult, not a physical attack, (and I’m sure that would still apply today in some cases) and a slap in the face by a back hand was even more insulting that an open handed slap. Jesus is teaching us that we should not react to insults with retribution. Yes, it’s so in our human nature to lash back and do the same to those who have attacked our character, because that’s what an insult is; an attack on ones character.

 

Jesus teaches we are to turn the other cheek. We know Jesus Himself set the example for us to follow, having been called a glutton, a drunk (Matthew 11:19), an illegitimate child (John 8:41), a blasphemer (Matthew 9:2-3), a madman and so forth. So, as followers of Christ we are to obediently follow the example of Jesus and turn the other cheek when we are insulted, and trust that God will vindicate us in His due time. It’s easy to respond the way the world would; it takes much strength to resist and trust God’s way. This portion of scripture is dealing with personal relationships and not towards the proper functions of government in restraining evil (Romans 13:1-4). The next time your insulted, turn the other cheek and pray for the one who insulted you. The Lord will bless your obedience.

 

 

 

 

Dale LaFrance   (please look up Proverbs 20:22)

Jesus Forbids Oaths

“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne, nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

(Matthew 5:33-37)

 

For the second time in just a few short sentences, Jesus uses the phrase “You have heard that it was said of old”. This is in reference to what the people had been taught by the scribes and religious leaders, since they were the only ones who handled the Word of God. This time Jesus is teaching in regards to something else that had been distorted by them. The scribes and Pharisees had twisted yet another section of the law, “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain” (Exodus 20:7) to permit taking just about any other name in a false oath. As we read and study our focus passage, Jesus reminds us that God is part of every oath anyway: when you swear by your head, heaven, earth or Jerusalem, you still swear by God and so your oath must be honored.

 

So, Jesus is just exposing another example on how the Law had been misinterpreted and abused by the religious leaders. Once again Jesus steps on their toes by exposing this and revealing to the people that such oaths are not necessary; our yes should simply be yes, and our no, no.

 

Sadly, we live in a very litigious society, not just here in America but throughout the world. What happened to the days of deal being consummated by a handshake and your word? Now, Jesus was not saying all oaths are prohibited, because they are allowed under certain circumstances Hebrews 6:13. For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself. In Galatians 1:9 Paul swears an oath; Now concerning the things which I write to you, indeed, before God, I do not lie. I would like to urge all of you to just remember that you are as good as your word. We shouldn’t need reams of paper with our name signed to prove it.

 

 

 

Dale LaFrance   (please look up Proverbs 20:5-7)