Matthew 6:19-34 - Key

v34

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [is] the evil thereof.

Just dealing with the things that I am supposed to be doing right now, is enough trouble to worry about for one day. We shouldn't get all stressed out about things that seem like terrible burdens or impossible dilemmas for some day down the road.

If we just trust in the Lord and do what He wants, He is able to (and will) cause all those things just to work themselves out so that we don't even have to worry about them. It is true that as long as we are in Christ, we do not really have anything to worry about or be afraid of . . . and I think that is encouraging.

Matthew 6:19-34 - Outline

v19-21

treasure in heaven is better than earthly treasures

v22-23

watch what you watch

v24

we will either end up as a slave to God, or to goods; we cannot have it both ways

v25-34

take no thought:

v25-27

take no thought for your life, worrying can't fix anything

v28-30

take no thought for clothes, the Lord will clothe you

v31-33

seek the Lord before worldly needs, and the Lord will supply everything you need

v34

don't go borrowing trouble by worrying about the future; just take care of what you are supposed to be doing right now

like Abraham received the Lord

Genesis 18

v2

And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw [them], he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,

Abraham received these three who appeared in the form of men, with great hospitality.

Hebrews 13:2

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

We should receive the Lord's people and show God's love to them, as if we were serving God Himself, because that is the way the Lord will look at it.

Matthew 25:40

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done [it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done [it] unto me.

Especially when there are true believers, we should receive them and help them in the Lord.

Romans 15:7

Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.

We should still receive others, whether or not we can be sure that they are doing everything right (Romans 14:1). We should not assume evil things or jump to conclusions (1 Corinthians 13:5,7, James 2:1-9). If the other person is know to have had certain sins in their past, or even if we see things in that person that are wrong, we must not holding that against him or treat him like a second class Christian. We should should forgive him as Christ has forgiven us.

Colossians 3:13

Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also [do] ye.

Lamentations 2 - Summary

when the Lord judges His people, nothing about us can make Him pity us

Outline

v1-6

the Lord's anger, wrath, fury, and indignation, against Zion, Israel, Jacob, and Judah

v7-9

having the physical structures of the Lord could not save them

v10-12

having women and little nursing babies could not save them

v13

Jerusalem's judgment was indescribable

v14

the prophets saw false things that did not save them

v15-16

the enemies reproached

v17

the Lord does what He says He would

v18-19

seek the Lord being truly sorry

v20-22

it didn't matter who they were, the Lord did not pity any of them

Key v19

Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street.

We really need to get serious about our sin.

Application

We should seriously be sorry for our sin, and pray to the Lord about it.

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a call to walk with God, and to perfection

v1

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I [am] the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

The Lord calls us to "walk with Him" today, and He has given us a "calling to perfection." Like Abraham, let's have the faith to do everything that the Lord has called us to do, and to do it right away.

the Lord hears and sees our troubles

Genesis 16

v11

And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou [art] with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.

The last part of this verse says, ...the LORD hath heard thy affliction. That is an encouraging promise that when we are in trouble, the Lord can hear and help us.

Hagar was not even one of "the Lord's chosen people" of Israel. She was an Egyptian slave. That shows that we should look to the Lord when we are in trouble, even if we don't personally feel worthy of Him right then.

v13

And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?

Matthew 6:1-18 - Application

Application

v15

But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Sometimes I am tempted to hold a grudge, by thinking back about wrong things that people have done to me, as if I should do something to get back at them for it. When I am tempted by that bitterness, I'll remember to forgive as Christ has forgiven me.

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Matthew 6:1-18 - Key

v14

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

I think that it is a striking statement that the Lord will forgive us in the same way that we forgive other people. We certainly want the Lord to quickly and completely forgive us for all of our sins. But if we hold a grudge instead of forgiving other people, the Lord will not forgive us either. We should be quick to completely forgive people for the wrong things that they have done to us.

Matthew 6:1-18 - Outline

do good in secret for the Lord to see and reward you, not to make a show to look good to other people

v1-4

when you give

v5-8

when you pray

v9-13

the Lord's prayer

v14-15

God will forgive us like we forgive others

v16-18

when you fast

the word of the LORD came unto Abram

Genesis 15

v6

And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

When the Lord told Abraham that the Lord would be his exceeding great reward, and that Abraham would have a biological son who would be his heir (even though he and his wife were old), he believed God. We should believe God when we know it is His Word that says something, even if it is hard for us to believe. For example, sometimes His Word convicts us of sin, and it is hard for us to accept that we should repent, but we should still believe the Lord and do what He says.

Lamentations 1 - Summary

Jerusalem hath grievously sinned (v8)

Outline

v1-10

the suffering of the Lord's people Judah and Jerusalem, compared to the suffering of a woman

v11-22

a first-person perspective on the the magnitude of the trouble

Key

v18a

The LORD is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment: hear, I pray you, all people, and behold my sorrow...

I think that it is important to have this perspective.

Application

I'll realize the magnitude of my sin and be truly sorry for it.

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Matthew 5:21-48 - Application

Application

v25

Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

It is relatively easy to work differences out with another person, instead of waiting until we're called into account for those things by the Lord. So my application is that I'll continue to examine my heart for sin, and to pray for my relationships with people.

Matthew 5:21-48 - Key

v24

Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

This verse means to me that reconciliation should be a higher priority than sacrifice. It seems that it is more important to the Lord for us to have right relationships with other people, then it is for us to try to serve and please Him with some "gift." It's great to come to the Lord for forgiveness, and to worship Him, preach the Word, preach the gospel, and exercise our other gifts, but even before that, we need to do whatever we can to make sure that we have right relationships with other people.

Next, this verse is encouraging to me because it does not say that we have to throw away our gifts and forget about them. Once we have reconciliation first, then we are supposed to come again and offer them. So you can see that we are still supposed to offer our services of love to the Lord, but we just need to be reconciled first so that we can offer a service that will be acceptable to Him.

Matthew 5:21-48 - Outline

v21-22

a higher standard of for treating your brother

v23-24

reconciliation before sacrifice

v25-26

settle the little problems before they become bigger

v27-28

a higher standard for treating the opposite sex: looking in lust is equal to adultery

v29-30

the seriousness of the judgment for sin

v31-32

a higher standard for treating your spouse: divorce and remarriage is equal to adultery

v33-37

a higher standard for our speech: do not swear at all

v38-41

a higher standard for self-defense: to turn the other cheek and not resist evil

v42

give to him who asks of you

v43-48

a higher standard for treating your enemies: to love your enemies

being the Lord's Special Ops

Genesis 14

v14

And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained [servants], born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued [them] unto Dan.

Just like Abram had ...trained [servants], born in his own house..., we should be trained servants for the Lord. We should be excellent workers, ready, willing, and effective, to faithfully follow and serve God, wherever He leads us to go.

Abraham was a peacemaker

Genesis 13

v9

[Is] not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if [thou wilt take] the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if [thou depart] to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

We should facilitate peace between ourselves and other people in our situations. We should be willing to give things up to make peace.

Matthew 5:9

Blessed [are] the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

we'll be blessed and happy if we obey

Genesis 12

v4

So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram [was] seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

When the Lord said He was going to bless Abraham, Abraham did what the Lord told Him to do. If we want to receive the blessings that the Lord has promised us, we should do what we know the Lord wants us to do.

John 13:17

If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

today's tower of Babel

Genesis 11

v4

And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top [may reach] unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

This is an interesting verse with a lot in it. they were going to build themselves something (Psalm 127:1). They were going to try to prevent what the Lord was going to do with scattering them (Psalm 2:1-5).

Them building that city reminds me of how people build Church buildings and organizations that are corporations. They were going to build a very high tower, and that reminds me of Church steeples. They were going to make themselves a name, so they wouldn't be scattered all over the place.

So many Church gatherings have names today, and they may think they took those names for noble-sounding reasons: If we have a certain place with a name on it, then people will know where we are, and we will be able to maintain an identity. But when they were doing things to try to prevent God from scattering them, those very things precipitated the thing that they were trying to prevent God from doing.

v5

And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

It was called ...the city and the tower which the children of men... built. That reminds me so much of our own good works and the worldly religions. They are mankind's way of trying to reach up to heaven, and up to God (v4 whose top may reach unto heaven.) We fall short in our sin (Romans 3:23), because we can never reach Him ourselves (Isaiah 59:1,2). The only way we can be saved is Him reaching down to us (Romans 10:6-9), and that is what Jesus is.

We cannot reach up to God by our own righteousness. But God's Son Jesus is like God's hand reaching down to us sinful people, to bring us up to Himself (John 15:16, 1 John 4:19). He loves us, so He promised that He would show us the path of life, to be in His presence (Psalm 16:11). Jesus showed that He is that way and that life (John 14:6).

Matthew 5:1-20 - Application

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things.

One thing about our hearts is that they are where our thoughts and desires are. In order to be pure in heart, I will apply The Philippians 4:8 Test to things like videos, games, books, and daydreaming. I'll ask the questions about each thing, like is it true, is it pure, is it lovely? before I end up thinking about it.

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Matthew 5:1-20 - Key

v8

Blessed [are] the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

What an amazing thing it would be, to see God, and keep living, and be like Him! As believers, that is what we are called to do some day. It is really important for us to be working on being pure in heart.

Matthew 5:1-20 - Outline

v1-2

Jesus went up into a mountain and taught his disciples

v3-12

nine characteristics of people who will be blessed, and their rewards

v13-16

we are supposed to be like salt and light

v17-20

the law can be fulfilled only in its entirety

honor your parents

Genesis 10

v15,16

And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth,

And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite...

We see later in the Bible, how the children of Israel destroyed many of these Canaanite nations. Then we see that it came true, when Noah cursed Canaan because Ham, the father of Canaan, treated Noah shamefully.

Proverbs 15:20

A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.

about taking up a weapon

Genesis 9

v6

Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

This verse in Genesis is just one example of how extremely seriously God takes violence. It seems to be saying that whoever takes somebody's life will be guilty and have his life taken by somebody. I think this even applies to soldiers, police officers, and other people who we might look at as having the "right to kill."

Matthew 26:52

Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

Now, obviously, I have no plans to go out and kill somebody myself any time soon, anyway-- but I think this verse would be a good reminder today, and an important lesson for all of us to keep in mind all the time.

Revelation 13:10

He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

God remembered Noah

Genesis 8

v1

And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that [was] with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;

I think that it is a great and encouraging promise for us today that ...God remembered Noah... It gives hope that even when we are in tough situations for a long time, if we are the Lord's servants, He remembers us today. He will complete the works He has started, and remember to keep His good promises to us. Praise the Lord.

Noah did according to all the Lord commanded

Genesis 7

v5

And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.

I think that this is and obvious and excellent lesson to take away from the whole account of Noah. We should do the things that are in accordance with everything that the Lord has commanded us.

Matthew 4 - Application

Application

I'll watch out for three specific types of temptation that I see in this chapter.

1 John 2:16

For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

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Matthew 4 - Key

v1

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

There were very many things that Jesus did, but, I think there is a good reason that this time of temptation is one of the relatively few of those things that the Lord chose to tell us about in the Bible. I think God wanted us to know how that went, for one thing, to warn us so that we could be ready for the same kind of temptation that we will have.

2 Corinthians 2:11

Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Also, I think the Lord told us about how Jesus responded to those temptations to show us how to respond when we have the same kind of temptations.

Matthew 4 - Outline

v1-11

the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness

v1-4

the temptation of hunger

v5-7

the temptation to cast Himself down

v8-10

the temptation to worship the devil to receive all of the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them

v11

angels ministered to Jesus

v12-17

Jesus began to preach in Galilee

v18-22

Jesus called apostles to follow Him

v23-25

Jesus healed and helped people from all around

watch your thoughts

Genesis 6

v5

And GOD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually.

At the time that the Lord sent Noah's flood to judge the earth, the problem with people that Genesis mentions that got my attention was that the ...imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually.

It is a serious problem for us to have evil thoughts and imaginations, as that is what the Lord sent the flood to judge. It would be a good application from this chapter to work on that problem today.

The prophesy of the departure from vegetarianism

Genesis 5

v29

And he called his name Noah, saying, This [same] shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.

I think that a lot of people do not realize that the Bible did not originally say that people were supposed to eat meat. In the first place, people were probably vegetarians because Genesis tells that the Lord gave them plants or food. Part of the pain of the curse was how hard people had to work constantly, to raise vegetation so they could survive.

It was a great blessing for mankind when God opened up the privilege to eat meat, through Noah, after the flood (See Genesis 9:1-3). It also happened then that animals would fear man, so that is probably when people started being able to use animals to help them with their work.

Every so often throughout history, somebody has come along to whom the Lord gives insight into how to build something or invent something, that opens up whole new opportunities and makes society a better place for everybody. If we want to be visionary in our own generation, we should work on being righteous people like Noah was.