Word for Today, Thu 30 Jun 2005: Complacency and Purpose

#1 · June 30, 2005, 12:10 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on June 30, 2005, 12:10 pm
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Word for Today, Thu 30 Jun 2005: Complacency and Purpose
Dear friends,

Yesterday I asked you if you have read your Bible. I am going
to ask you again. IF you have not done so, please read your
Bible instead of this message. Sure, it's good to read
commentaries, but they ought to never replace the spoken and
written Word of God!

What did Matthew 5 have to say? Today, I encourage you to read
Matthew 6, if you have not already done so this week. In
chapter six, Jesus gives us a model for prayer. In many
churches, people recite The Lord's Prayer. While that is not an
entirely bad thing to do because it does help you to memorize
scripture, unless you actually think about what you are
reciting, it quickly becomes mundane and meaningless.

I don't know about you, but I do not want anything that I do to
become meaningless. Yes, from time to time I get into a rut and
simply do the things that I do. On one hand it is good to know
a task well enough to repeat it automatically, but again, it is
easy to become complacent.

I pray that God will help me learn more about my own
complacency. Even knowing what I already know, sometimes I get
the conviction that it is, nevertheless, really easy to become
complacent.

Therefore, today I am asking each of you to be purposeful about
what you do. Change your routine, if only just a bit. Don't
just change it for the sake of change, either, for that can also
become a complacent act of its own. Purposefully change
something so that you can think about the choices that you are
making. Deliberately read a passage of scripture, perhaps even
one that you are familiar with, but challenge yourself to find
something fresh and new in it.

I sometimes read different Bible translations, even paraphrases,
especially if I am reading something familiar. Several times I
have found something I never previously considered in the
scripture.

Yours in Christ,
Brian

Here is the text of Matthew 6 from the New Living Translation,
commonly abbreviated NLT:

Teaching about Giving to the Needy

"Take care! Don't do your good deeds publicly, to be admired,
because then you will lose the reward from your Father in
heaven. 2 When you give a gift to someone in need, don't shout
about it as the hypocrites do-blowing trumpets in the synagogues
and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I assure
you, they have received all the reward they will ever get. 3 But
when you give to someone, don't tell your left hand what your
right hand is doing. 4 Give your gifts in secret, and your
Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.

Teaching about Prayer and Fasting

5 "And now about prayer. When you pray, don't be like the
hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in
the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that
is all the reward they will ever get. 6 But when you pray, go
away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your
Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will
reward you. 7 "When you pray, don't babble on and on as people
of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered
only by repeating their words again and again. 8 Don't be like
them, because your Father knows exactly what you need even
before you ask him! 9 Pray like this:

Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored. 10 May your
Kingdom come soon. May your will be done here on earth, just as
it is in heaven. 11 Give us our food for today,* 12 and forgive
us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned
against us. 13 And don't let us yield to temptation, but deliver
us from the evil one.*

14 "If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly
Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others,
your Father will not forgive your sins. 16 "And when you fast,
don't make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, who try to look
pale and disheveled so people will admire them for their
fasting. I assure you, that is the only reward they will ever
get. 17 But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. 18
Then no one will suspect you are fasting, except your Father,
who knows what you do in secret. And your Father, who knows all
secrets, will reward you.

Teaching about Money and Possessions

19 "Don't store up treasures here on earth, where they can be
eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and
steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never
become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from
thieves. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and
thoughts will also be. 22 "Your eye is a lamp for your body. A
pure eye lets sunshine into your soul. 23 But an evil eye shuts
out the light and plunges you into darkness. If the light you
think you have is really darkness, how deep that darkness will
be! 24 "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and
love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You
cannot serve both God and money. 25 "So I tell you, don't worry
about everyday life-whether you have enough food, drink, and
clothes. Doesn't life consist of more than food and clothing? 26
Look at the birds. They don't need to plant or harvest or put
food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you
are far more valuable to him than they are. 27 Can all your
worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not. 28 "And
why worry about your clothes? Look at the lilies and how they
grow. They don't work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in
all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And
if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and
gone tomorrow, won't he more surely care for you? You have so
little faith! 31 "So don't worry about having enough food or
drink or clothing. 32 Why be like the pagans who are so deeply
concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows
all your needs, 33 and he will give you all you need from day to
day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary
concern. 34 "So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will
bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today.

Full copyright information for the New Living Translation can be
viewed at www.blueletterbible.org/nlt_full_copyright.html

--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Make Yahoo! your home page
www.yahoo.com/r/hs

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Word for Today, Thu 30 Jun 2005: Complacency and Purpose
Dear friends,

Yesterday I asked you if you have read your Bible. I am going
to ask you again. IF you have not done so, please read your
Bible instead of this message. Sure, it's good to read
commentaries, but they ought to never replace the spoken and
written Word of God!

What did Matthew 5 have to say? Today, I encourage you to read
Matthew 6, if you have not already done so this week. In
chapter six, Jesus gives us a model for prayer. In many
churches, people recite The Lord's Prayer. While that is not an
entirely bad thing to do because it does help you to memorize
scripture, unless you actually think about what you are
reciting, it quickly becomes mundane and meaningless.

I don't know about you, but I do not want anything that I do to
become meaningless. Yes, from time to time I get into a rut and
simply do the things that I do. On one hand it is good to know
a task well enough to repeat it automatically, but again, it is
easy to become complacent.

I pray that God will help me learn more about my own
complacency. Even knowing what I already know, sometimes I get
the conviction that it is, nevertheless, really easy to become
complacent.

Therefore, today I am asking each of you to be purposeful about
what you do. Change your routine, if only just a bit. Don't
just change it for the sake of change, either, for that can also
become a complacent act of its own. Purposefully change
something so that you can think about the choices that you are
making. Deliberately read a passage of scripture, perhaps even
one that you are familiar with, but challenge yourself to find
something fresh and new in it.

I sometimes read different Bible translations, even paraphrases,
especially if I am reading something familiar. Several times I
have found something I never previously considered in the
scripture.

Yours in Christ,
Brian

Here is the text of Matthew 6 from the New Living Translation,
commonly abbreviated NLT:

Teaching about Giving to the Needy

"Take care! Don't do your good deeds publicly, to be admired,
because then you will lose the reward from your Father in
heaven. 2 When you give a gift to someone in need, don't shout
about it as the hypocrites do-blowing trumpets in the synagogues
and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I assure
you, they have received all the reward they will ever get. 3 But
when you give to someone, don't tell your left hand what your
right hand is doing. 4 Give your gifts in secret, and your
Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.

Teaching about Prayer and Fasting

5 "And now about prayer. When you pray, don't be like the
hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in
the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that
is all the reward they will ever get. 6 But when you pray, go
away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your
Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will
reward you. 7 "When you pray, don't babble on and on as people
of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered
only by repeating their words again and again. 8 Don't be like
them, because your Father knows exactly what you need even
before you ask him! 9 Pray like this:

Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored. 10 May your
Kingdom come soon. May your will be done here on earth, just as
it is in heaven. 11 Give us our food for today,* 12 and forgive
us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned
against us. 13 And don't let us yield to temptation, but deliver
us from the evil one.*

14 "If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly
Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others,
your Father will not forgive your sins. 16 "And when you fast,
don't make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, who try to look
pale and disheveled so people will admire them for their
fasting. I assure you, that is the only reward they will ever
get. 17 But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. 18
Then no one will suspect you are fasting, except your Father,
who knows what you do in secret. And your Father, who knows all
secrets, will reward you.

Teaching about Money and Possessions

19 "Don't store up treasures here on earth, where they can be
eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and
steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never
become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from
thieves. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and
thoughts will also be. 22 "Your eye is a lamp for your body. A
pure eye lets sunshine into your soul. 23 But an evil eye shuts
out the light and plunges you into darkness. If the light you
think you have is really darkness, how deep that darkness will
be! 24 "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and
love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You
cannot serve both God and money. 25 "So I tell you, don't worry
about everyday life-whether you have enough food, drink, and
clothes. Doesn't life consist of more than food and clothing? 26
Look at the birds. They don't need to plant or harvest or put
food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you
are far more valuable to him than they are. 27 Can all your
worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not. 28 "And
why worry about your clothes? Look at the lilies and how they
grow. They don't work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in
all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And
if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and
gone tomorrow, won't he more surely care for you? You have so
little faith! 31 "So don't worry about having enough food or
drink or clothing. 32 Why be like the pagans who are so deeply
concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows
all your needs, 33 and he will give you all you need from day to
day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary
concern. 34 "So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will
bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today.

Full copyright information for the New Living Translation can be
viewed at http://www.blueletterbible.org/nlt_full_copyright.html

--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Make Yahoo! your home page
http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs