The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 6:19-24 (day seven)

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal. vs 20

Let’s take a little different spin on this. If our earthly possessions can be stolen or destroyed, what is it that is stored that can’t be stolen? Maybe John 10:10 gives us a clue:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Life. Life is the treasure that can’t be stolen. The promise that Jesus offers in both of these passages is not that if we do everything correctly here on earth we will be blessed today, rather that through Him and Him alone can we find purpose, belonging, and identity. The promise is that even if things get stolen from us on earth, we will always belong to Him, and there is nothing (no one) that can take that away. Our life is His for eternity!

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 6:19-24(day six)

We learned last week that what we believe about God shapes how we pray.  This week, we learned that our beliefs about God also shape our desires. If God is not the supplier of our need,  then we become enslaved to fear and greed, and setting our sights on the wrong thing, we desire money and possessions more than heavenly treasure (see the Beatitudes).

This MAY result in a false sense of financial security, but it never results in financial freedom. Your joy and contentment are tied to the dollar. Your self-worth rises and falls depending on your ability to keep up with the Jones. That’s not freedom; that’s slavery to fear.

Jesus says, “The truth will set you free.” So, fully trust in God’s provision, whether a lot or a little, and when that happens, fear will be replaced with thanksgiving, and greed will be replaced with generosity. Now, that’s financial freedom.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 6:19-24(day five) “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.“  Jesus makes an amazing proclamation. “Your heart always follows your treasure.” Jesus uses a comparative strategy to drive home His point and help us conclude, the treasure “stored” in heaven is superior to that which is “stored” on earth.
What if Jesus was warning against a greedy selfishness? Store for yourselves– A heart turned inward and focused only on self. What if our “treasures” could be used to encourage and minister to others? What if we heeded the call this year to “Love Your Neighbor” (2024 church theme) by also using our treasures?  What if our hearts were intentionally focused and filled with the hope and certainty of eternal (heaven) things rather than temporal (earth) things?  Would that shape the way we live and love?  (Jesus thought so). Jesus is not only making sense, He is helping hearts find genuine faith, hope, and love.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 6:19-24 (day four)

The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. Matthew 6:22

Of the many blessings that God has given to me, good physical eyesight is not one of those blessings. I have worn glasses or contacts since I was in the sixth grade, and probably needed them sooner than that. My kids always ask me how bad my eyesight is, and this usually leads to me telling them to look at things very close to them (within a few feet) and explaining to them that I cannot see that object clearly at all.

I’m always amazed at how revolutionary and life changing glasses really are. Life would be drastically different for me if I did not have mine. To be able to see clearly just by having the right lenses with which to look through is transformative. My fellow glasses wearers out there can attest to this!

Jesus talks about the importance of having a clear eye, or a good eye, with which to see. We do not have good eyes in and of ourselves. When we become a Christ-follower, God is the lens (or the glasses, if you will) that we are to look through to navigate this world. He is the lens to our worldview, causing our eye (view) to be good and clear.

A good eye leads us to the way of light; that is, following God fully in our life, resulting in storing our treasures up in heaven and serving God rather than anything else. May you see with a good eye that leads to light in your life.

Jimmy Gunn
Associate Pastor, First Kids

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 6:19-24 (day three)

“If your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.”

A large swath of Jesus’s audience were people who had learned to accept their lot in life as spiritual paupers – that is, people who would never be considered particularly worthy in God’s eyes or in the eyes of the religious powers-that-be. Jesus goes right for the jugular of “the system” when he opens up with the shocking beatitudes, declaring that such poor in spirit, mournful, meek ones are actually blessed, because they are exactly the ones whom God desires to come near and befriend. Here, he goes further still. He proclaims to his hearers that as his words wash over them, those words can bring clarity to them, doing away with their dependence on the myopic teaching of “brilliant” spiritual “actors.” Who needs a bulb when you’ve got the sun?

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 6:19-24 (day two) But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…vs 20a

We were on a trip recently and the phrase ‘jewel in your crown’ came up. The girls had never heard it before, so we had an opportunity to talk about storing up treasures in heaven. When viewed with the totality of scripture, it is an odd phrase. We know that any ‘crown’ that we could achieve will ultimately, and gladly, be laid at the feet of Jesus. The image of accruing possessions or wealth in eternity is used so that we can have some temporal understanding. I can understand money, but it would be better to understand relationship. Our treasure or jewel should be knowing Jesus. The more we know him, the more we desire to be near him. That is a treasure worth having.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 6:9-15 (day seven)

Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.

 This week has been a roller coaster of emotions for me. On Wednesday, I officiated the funeral of a 23 year old who passed away unexpectedly. On Saturday, I officiated the wedding of a former student to a former intern. In the words of the Preacher from Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4, “There is an appointed time for everything […] a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” The difficulty in this correlation is that both of the aforementioned events were appointed. Both were a part of God’s will on earth. It’s easy to see how the joyous marriage of two young Christ followers fits into this plan, but how can we fit an unexpected death into this? Surely this isn’t what He meant by His “will be done” right? The prayer that Jesus asks us to pray is not for us to change the will of God. Rather, it is an invitation for us to  participate with Him to see the goodness in His will. Whether it be dancing or mourning, God is good, all the time!

I love reading the Psalms for precisely the point Jesus makes in Matthew 6:1-15: spiritual authenticity. “Don’t pray like the hypocrites” who pursue personal glory and power, and “don’t pray like the Gentiles” who attempt to conjure their impersonal precocious gods with mantras and incantations, Jesus warns.

I am fairly certain that Jesus would say, “Pray like King David.” Cry out to him like a son for his father. Seek him with all your heart. And long for his Kingdom to come.

If you want a daily guide into prayer, read a Psalm; you can’t get more authentic than that.