Matthew 6:24 Are You and God of a Single Mind?

 

Daily Devo w/ Pastor Eric

September 3, 2021 – Are You and God of a Single Mind?

 

Matthew 6:24, NIV - “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

 

Imagine a race car driver deciding to get her taxes done while driving in a race.  Maybe you could picture a climber scaling Mt. Everest but trying to knit a sweater to keep warm while he’s climbing.  Either one of these multitaskers is bound for some serious frustration.  Driving a race car and climbing Mt. Everest require single-mindedness.  Jesus says that serving God is like that.  Distractions, especially those like wealth, will throw a wrench in the machinery.

So what we do?  We need money but we want to serve God.  First, it’s important to realize that money is not the problem.  The Apostle Paul, writing to his mentee, Timothy, writes, “For the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10).  It’s the love of money or, for our case today, the single-minded focus on money that is the problem.    The race car driver still has to do her taxes, but the IRS will have to wait until a day when she is not racing (unless the race is on April 15 😊).  The mountain climber needs the warm clothing before the climb starts so when he arrives at the basecamp, his focus is clear.  Sweaters and taxes are not what life is about.  Neither is money. When life is about getting money, life is upside down.  Money should always serve what life is about – serving God. 

My guess is that most of us have gotten this wrong at least once in our lives.  When this happens, it can be really hard to put the focus back where it belongs.  In fact, money can gain such a grip on a person that the very idea that he may have to shift his focus off of it may cause a resentment to creep up in his soul.  This is why the Rich Young Ruler went away sad (Mark 10:22).  The hold his wealth had on him was absolute; it had become his single-minded focus.  It is a miserable place to be in.

 

Question/Reflection:  What do you believe God put you here to do?  Whether it’s racing cars, climbing mountains, or whatever, make that the focus and do whatever it takes to ensure that it never becomes about the money.  When it is only about the money, it most likely means that what God put you here to do is something else.  Serve the purpose God gave you and you will find that God will provide the rest. 

 

Prayer:  God, give us clarity about the work you put me here to do.  May our hearts never be captured by anything else. Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for deliverance for people who are drowning in debt right now

 

Song:  Covenant Prayer - Newlife Church

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3_TjhpK5OY

Matthew 6:24-34 The Importance of a “therefore…”

 

Daily Devo w/ Pastor Eric September 6, 2021

The Importance of a “therefore…”

 

Matthew 6:24-34 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.  “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?  “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.                                                                                                             

 

I noticed something I never did before. Usually, the section that is grouped together is the verse that starts “Therefore I tell you…” and following and that makes sense because the whole section is about worrying.  But the section starts with “Therefore.” This means that the business about not worrying is linked to what came just before.  Jesus says “you can’t serve God and money,” so “therefore, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.”  The implication is worrying about these things actually puts me in danger of serving money rather than God.  I never made connection before, but from my experience I know that’s true.  There have been too many times when I got so worried about bills, expenses, and the like that I began to think that what I need more than anything else is more money.  That is, by definition, worshipping money.  And I can only really worship one thing at any given time.  That’s how worry takes us away from worshipping God. 

So worry is a natural thing, but it can be dangerous.  When we find ourselves plagued by worries, it is a sign that we are moving away from God. That’s what Jesus is saying when he reminds us that “pagans run after these things.”  His alternative is to return our focus to seeking God’s kingdom.  I think there are many possible ways to do this.  A few things that have helped me are:  (1) gratitude, which helps me focus on what I have versus what I don’t and what’s good in my life versus what’s not. (2) worship, particularly music because it speaks to the deepest part of me.  (3) Doing for others, because it shifts the focus off of me to someone I can help or bless. What about you?

 

Question:  What helps you from being swallowed up by worry?

 

Prayer:  God, help us stay out of the kind of worry that takes us away from you.  Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for flood victims throughout eastern US in the wake of Hurricane Ida

 

Song:  for KING & COUNTRY – joy. (Official Music Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA7n7TwPDmw&list=RDAxH8Q8ue65o&index=15

Matthew 6:22-23 Do You Have “Generous Eyes?”

 

September 2, 2021 – Do You Have “Generous Eyes?”

Matthew 6:22-23, NIV - “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

 

There is a lot to unpack in these two verses!  First, many scholars believe a better translation of “healthy” above would be “generous” and a better translation of “unhealthy” would be “stingy.” I tend to agree because in the verses just before these (our passage from yesterday), the topic is treasure and the in the passage right after these verses (our passage for next time), the topic is money.  The flow of Jesus’s teaching moves from not hoarding (vs 19-21) to “generous” eyes (vs 22-23) to loving God over against wealth (v 24).

 

So what does it mean to have generous eyes?  To understand this, we need to understand the difference between the Jewish understanding of eyes versus our western understanding.  Generally, the western world has the eyes as being “the window to the soul.”  What we “fix our gaze upon” has an effect on heart and soul.  Our movie rating system reflects this view.  We need to be careful what we allow children of various ages to see because it will have a lasting effect on their precious and innocent souls.  There is obviously some truth to this.  I will forever be affected by seeing the movie “Cujo” at too young an age!

 

However, what Jesus is trying to get at here reflects a more Jewish understanding of the eyes.  Instead of being “windows to the soul,” the eyes reflect the condition of the heart.  If you ever gotten the “evil eye” from someone, you know what I’m talking about.  You can see the anger in their heart by looking into their eyes.  Likewise, we often talk about people with “kind eyes,” meaning the kindness in their heart emanates from their eyes.  This is the more Jewish understanding and probably closer to what Jesus is talking about in this passage.  That’s why Jesus refers to the “light within you.”  Whatever that light is shows up in your eyes. 

 

In vs. 19-21, Jesus taught us not to store up wealth.  Here, he is saying the alternative to that hoarding is to be generous with our material possessions.  Let generosity be what others see in your eyes, not stinginess.  Stinginess pollutes our whole body, but generosity brings light and life to our body.  So all this begs the question; what are others seeing in your eyes?  As another old saying goes, the eyes don’t lie. 

 

Question:  Do you have “generous” or “stingy” eyes?

 

Prayer:  God, help us “see” the true condition of our heart and move us towards generosity and kindness in a way that others see in our eyes. Amen

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for 5 people that you are thankful for today.

 

Song:  Sorry, I couldn’t help myself on this one.

Eagles – Lyin’ Eyes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_1ocnxDDkc