Author: Scott

Matthew 6:16-18 When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites… that their fasting may be seen by others…But when you fast… wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others…And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. I have been meaning to fast for some time but the…
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Matthew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Within Christianity, there are opposing views on the nature of sin, the flesh and addiction. There are those who believe that we are delivered once and for all from our defective nature when we come to Christ.  To be a Christian means…
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Matthew 6:12,15 …forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors… but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. I have always found these verses to be a little disconcerting.  Why is it that Jesus said we are to daily ask forgiveness if we have…
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Matthew 6:9,10  Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. When facing the trials of life, I have always prayed in a fairly predictable manner.  I have always asked God to deliver me from those trials.  God,…
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Matthew 6:5 When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. When I got out of chemical dependency treatment, I was acutely aware of my need for God.  I had a problem…
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Matthew 6:1,2 When you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do… that they may be praised by others… But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Have you ever…
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Matthew 5:43,44 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… If you are like me, you read some passages and just pass them by as they really have nothing to do with you. …
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Matthew 5:38,39 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 the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. Jesus’ teaching is just plain hard sometimes.…
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Matthew 5:33-37 You have heard that it was said… You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all… Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil. It is a…
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Matthew 5:31,32 It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce. But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery. Three times, Jesus quoted the Old Testament law and three times, He insisted that following…
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