Matthew 6

In Matthew 6:9-13 the disciples asked Jesus how to pray. What Jesus responds with is now known as the Lordss prayer. You can break down the prayer into seven sections which highlight important elements for any prayer. The first section is, Our Father in heaven. Our reminds us that as a Christ follower you are not in this alone, you belong to a community of believers. Father reminds us that we can be in close relationship to God, He is not some distant mystical being. In heaven reminds us that although God is close, He is still so powerful that he controls the vastness of the earth and the universe. Spend a moment reading the verses today. When I was growing up, we said this prayer every Sunday morning as part of worship. Hopefully over the next few days you will begin to memorize it if you havent already.

Mike Ilitch, the founder of Little Caesars pizza and former owner of the Detroit Tigers and Red Wings heard that an elderly woman had been robbed and assaulted in her Detroit home. He and his wife quietly stepped in, found a safe apartment for the woman, and paid her rent for the remaining years of her life with very few people knowing about it.It was only after his death that the story came to light.And the woman he helped was Rosa Parks, the civil rights activist that refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955.His motive was not to bring attention to his good deed, but for the sake of serving someone in need. Think about this story as you read today’s passage. Use it as a reminder that real generosity in the eyes of God only needs him as the audience.

All of you are becoming adults and with that comes more independence. You will need to make more of your own decisions, figure out who you are, and rely less on your parents. That’s a normal part of growing up, but sometimes we start thinking we don’t really need God as well.With your independence you will also get to choose what you do with your time. Jobs, school, friends, and family will need some of that time, but there will still be downtime and there’s always something fighting for that time.When I was your age back in the ancient days of the 1900s, the distractions were TV, movies, video games, and painfully slow dial-up internet. I used to play a game called SimCity, and I’d sit down after dinner and tell myself I was only going to play for 30 minutes. Then I’d look up and somehow it was 1AM! Today, most of our distractions live in the rectangle you’re reading this devotional on right now.That’s why fasting matters.In Matthew 6:16–21, Jesus talks about fasting and frames it as a normal part of following Him. Fasting is giving something up for a period of time so we can focus more on God. It’s choosing to step away from responsibility, comfort, and distraction to remind ourselves that we need Him more than we need entertainment, convenience, or control.Fasting helps expose what we depend on most. It reminds us that even though we’re growing in independence, we were never meant to live without God. It helps reset our hearts and refocus our attention on what actually matters.Jesus says, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” What we give our attention to shapes our hearts. Fasting helps us put our attention back on God.I will admit fasting is not a regular practice for me, maybe it can become something we all try to incorporate more together?

What grabs your attention throughout the day? Today's passage isn't just about what you are looking at, but how you take in what you are seeing throughout the day. In the Jewish culture Jesus came from, someone had an "evil eye" if they were envious or covetous of another person's possessions, position, or generally was not charitable toward others. Someone had a "good eye" if they had an attitude of gentleness, generosity, goodwill, and kindness for others.When we focus on worldly things like possessions, status, and pleasures we foster an evil eye which creates a dark heart in us. Over time, our hearts drift away from what truly matters.An “evil eye” doesn’t always look obviously sinful. Sometimes it simply looks like living consumed by self. It can show up in constantly wanting more, resenting someone else’s success or being unwilling to give generously because we are afraid of losing what we have.But Jesus calls His followers to have a “good eye” which changes the way we see everything. We stop seeing people as competition and start seeing them as people to love. We stop chasing temporary treasures and start investing in eternal things. We stop asking, “What can I get?” and start asking, “How can I serve?”When our focus is on Christ, our hearts become full of light. His love produces generosity, humility, compassion, and contentment in us. Instead of being consumed by the world, we begin reflecting Him to the world.

The reason this devotional is so late is because we had a major issue with some of our software this morning which took my attention almost from the time I got out of bed.When I finally sat down to read today's scripture I had a chuckle because my morning has been full of anxiety.The word anxiety gets tossed around a lot. Some people didn't study for a test and now have anxiety as they wait for the grade and the consequences of not preparing. Other people might not be able to get out of bed this morning or function through out the day without medication to help control their anxiety. The same word is used but these are two completely different situations.I'm not hear to tell you to "pray the anxiety away" or anything like that. I just want you to read today's scripture and let the Holy Spirit talk to you like it did to me when I read it this morning after all of my work issues.