Fret

"Don't worry about tomorrow," Matthew 6:34.

So Jesus calls us not to fret over the future. And why not? After all, tomorrow's got lots of potential problems: somebody might drop a bomb somewhere. Plus a few for sure known problems: that work snag that keeps cropping up; that lingering illness. So Jesus does not say there's nothing to worry about. Rather he says: Just deal with today's stuff, not tomorrow's. Today's troubles are enough, without borrowing from tomorrow. And, yeah, focus on the things above. Up where Christ is. Who's seated at the right hand of God. New covenant where God's got us covered.

We visit with a brother or sister to share in this moment's struggles. And together we give thanks that God ensures today's troubles cannot overwhelm us.

More

"Don't worry about your life," Matthew 6:25.

Gotta put food on the table! Gotta get hydrated! Gotta have the right gear! All earthly nations pursue this stuff worried about it. Jesus says: Stop it! Life's more than food or clothes. Look: God feeds the birds. God makes grassland flowers gorgeous. He takes care of these lesser things just fine. God puts a lot more value in humans than in animals or plants. So. Worry after God's kingdom, instead. Quest for it. Seek it out. That's where all the other stuff can be had securely. Repent. New covenant. God's nation.

We meet with a brother or sister today pursuing God's rule. And together we give thanks that he supplies abundantly for our every need.

Agree

"No one can serve two masters," Matthew 6:24.

How true! Lots of us have had two bosses at some point, and we discovered we can't make them both happy. We really liked the one and got all worked up over the other one. Yeah. But wait! Jesus, what's your point? This: You can't serve God and money. Oh, that. We'll love the one and hate the other? Hmm. It's hard to agree with Jesus on this point. 'Cuz we like to think we can serve both of them just fine. Jesus says: No you can't. Repent. Kingdom of God. New covenant. Sky rules.

When we meet with a brother or sister today we focus on God's ways. And together we give thanks that we may freely serve only him wholeheartedly.

Full

"If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light," Matthew 6:22.

So says Jesus. So what is an eye? It's the body's lamp. Healthy eyes fill us up with light. Unhealthy eyes make it dark. If what we call light is actually dark, then what's dark is really, really dark. Repent, Jesus says. Get healthy eyes. Open our eyes. See the light that is true light. New covenant. New creation. Kingdom of God.

We meet a brother or sister today with eyes made good by Jesus's true light. And together we see and give thanks filled with God's good light.

Stock

"Don't lay up for yourselves treasures on earth," Matthew 6:19.

Wow. Jesus just keeps at it, doesn't he? He just does not leave our earth-bound mind-set alone. He shows the futility of this-world thinking. Stock piles of stuff here just get rusted or rotten or stolen. Stock piles in heaven, on the other hand, are immune to such decay. But mainly, Jesus knows our hearts are stuck to where our treasures are: exhausted earth or imperishable skies.

We visit with a brother or sister today mindful of heaven. And together we give thanks to God for the immeasurable riches of his kingdom in Christ.

Impressed

"And when you fast, don't look all soulful," Matthew 6:16.

No - that's what hypocrites do. Now, Jesus. Jesus just keeps on calling out our world religion shows. He really means for us to change religion. So. When we do spiritual disciplines like fasting, then we get washed up and use deodorant like normal. Not fasting to get noticed as super saints. Anyway, God's not impressed by our pious acting. Instead, we want him to notice our hearts. And he does. So we repent.

We meet up with a brother or sister today in the Lord's joy. And together we give thanks to God for Jesus and the new covenant impressed onto our hearts.

Condition

"If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you," Matthew 6:14.

And if we don't, he won't. God's grace, by definition, is free. We can't buy it. Can't earn it. The free gift of God in Christ Jesus our Lord is eternal life. Forgiveness was bought for us at a phenomenal price by Jesus; he extends it to us freely by faith. But it's not unconditional. not. unconditional. Here's the condition: We forgive others because God has lavishly already forgiven us. And if we don't, he rescinds our forgiveness. Like that one king who reimposed his sentence on the guy that wouldn't forgive. It's that simple. Repent. He's serious about his kids imitating him.

We meet with a brother or sister today extending to each other forgiveness for having crossed the line. And together we give thanks to Christ for paying the price of our redemption.

Hearing

"Our Father in the skies, your name must be kept holy. Your kingdom must come. Your will must be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us our daily bread today. Forgive our debts like we forgive our debtors. Don't lead us into temptation. Deliver us from the evil one." Matthew 6:9ff.

So how should we pray? Like that, says Jesus. God, our father. Deep respect. Yielding to God's rule in our hearts. Recognizing our every material need is fulfilled from God. Recognizing our every spiritual need is fulfilled from God. Petitioning God to forgive us conditionally: like we forgive others. Needing God's help against temptations. Needing God's deliverance from the devil. Pray like that. In the name of Jesus.

When we meet with a brother or sister today we pray like that. And together we also pray: Thank You, Father, for hearing us!

Heard

"And when you pray, don't do like the Gentiles," Matthew 6:7.

Yeah. OK. So how do they do it? They drone on and on. To pray. They say the same worthless words over and over. To pray. They think they get heard by lots of fancy vocabulary. Don't do that, says Jesus. Repent. Why? because. Your Father knows. Knows all the needs of your heart. Knows before you ever ask. Sky kingdom. It's different. Really. Different. New covenant.

We meet up with a brother or sister today in a new relationship with God and each other. And together we give thanks for Jesus, mediator of a new treaty with the hearing God.

Noticed

"And when you pray, don't be like the hypocrites," Matthew 6:5.

Yeah. OK. So how do they do it? They show off. They stand out in the worship houses. To pray. They stand on street corners. To pray. In the crowds to be noticed. To pray. That's how. Jesus said, Repent. The kingdom of God is not about people noticing each other's religiosity. It's about God. About God who sees the quiet things of the heart. About God who pays attention behind a closed door.

We visit with a brother or sister today sharing in the new covenant of peace. And together we give thanks to God for hearing us especially in quiet places.

Quiet

"Take care not to show off your righteous acts for people to see," Matthew 6:1.

Well. Jesus has taken social behaviors rooted in the world's rules contrasted against the new life in his kingdom, the society of God. He has called for change. Repentance. And now he takes on religion. World religion contrasted against life founded in God. When we give to needy people and shine the limelight on ourselves to impress the people we want to impress, well, we got what we wanted. But we didn't impress God. No reward from him. Repent. Jesus talks something new.

We meet a brother or sister today in genuine, humble relationship with God. And together we give thanks to God for his deep, quiet mercies to us.

Godless

"You heard it said: You will love your neighbor and hate your enemy," Matthew 5:43.

Yep, sounds like a pretty good life plan. But Jesus says: Not so in his kingdom, not where He is Master. The people of his kingdom love their enemies. They pray for those who persecute them. They refuse to behave like godless people. They want to look like their Lord. So they repent from the old world ways in order to imitate the mercy of their Father, God, in a new covenant.

We visit a brother or sister today, forgiven by Christ who prayed even for us. And together we give him thanks that he showed mercy when we were his enemies.

Sugar

"It was said: An eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth," Matthew 5:38.

Justice. Pay backs. Get even. Pay up. You owe. Recompense. Justice! Now, this is really, really hard for several reasons, not least of which is misunderstanding all Jesus says about the righteousness of justice. Nevertheless. No sugar coat. New covenant. Life in the kingdom of God. This really, really is different. So: Got slapped? Present the other cheek. Sued for the shirt on you back? Give your coat, too. Forced to carry a bag? Go a further mile. Give to a beggar. Lend to who wants to borrow. This is really, really not the same old same old way to live. With men this is impossible. But with God all things are possible. Repent.

We visit with a brother or sister today challenged by Jesus to make a difference. And together we thank God for his empowering us to do mercy in an unjust world.

Yesses

"It was said to the old time people: You shall not swear falsely," Matthew 5:33.

In fact, those old-timers used to say that whatever you swear you've got to carry through with it to the Lord. But, Jesus says, that was in the old-times. Now is the new times, a new covenant. The old's gone and done away with. So. What's the new? Here it is: Don't swear at all. Not by the sky. Not on your mother's grave. Not by a stack of Bibles. Not by your head. Not by God. Swearing by this or that just means it's OK to deceive and lie the rest of the time. If you mean, Yes, just say: Yes. If you mean, No, just say: No. Repent.

We meet with a brother or sister today with integrity in the words we share. And together we say: Thank You! to God that all his Yesses to life are found truthfully in Jesus.

Castle

"It was also said: Whoever divorces his wife must give her a divorce certificate," Matthew 5:31.

Remember the good old days when a man could just trade one wife in for a better model on a whim and little paperwork? When a real man was king of the castle? Well. That was the kingdom of hard-hearted men. Marriage in the kingdom of God recognizes both the man and the woman, image of God, human beings worthy of respect and honor. And their word to each other is their bond. And if they say they will marry each other, they will be true to each other. Period. New covenant. So we repent.

We meet with a brother or sister today awed by the substance of the sky kingdom. And together we give thanks to God for a real kingdom that changes us all.

Sears

"You have heard that it was said: You shall not commit adultery," Matthew 5:27.

Jesus goes on into the heart of the matter to say that whoever lusts after a woman has already committed adultery. Yeah. Whoever looks at a woman with lust. Done deal. In the heart. God's not playing righteous games. Jesus isn't either. He went around preaching: Repent! The kingdom of God is an existential threat to the whole world and to rotted hearts.

We meet with a brother or sister today, carefully. And together we give thanks for God's discipline that sears in order to purify.

Standards

"You have heard that it was said in old times: You shall not murder," Matthew 5:21.

Jesus goes on to remind that whoever murders becomes liable to justice. But then, Jesus reveals that the kingdom of God does not fit such low standards. Not at all. Jesus says whoever is angry with a brother; whoever insults a brother, whoever even says, You moron! - this one is liable to justice, to the courts, to fiery hell. The sky kingdom demands reconciliation with God and healthy restoration of relationship with each other. New covenant.

We visit with a brother or sister today drawn into relationship with God. And restored in faithful union with Christ we praise our Father.

Righter

"Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven," Matthew 5:20.

And these guys were the experts in righteousness. You couldn't do the Law and the Prophets righter than them. You couldn't know what the Law and the Prophets said better than them. So how do you get righter than right? Yeah. Well. That's the problem. I mean, if the interest is to enter the sky kingdom, yeah? (But then, that's exactly what Jesus came to do, right? To fulfill the Law and the Prophets?) So we start with what we got. We repent.

We turn back with a brother or sister today so as to love God with all our hearts, souls, and strengths. And together we give thanks to Jesus for showing us the Way.

Singular

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One," Deuteronomy 6:4.

(A quick, technical parenthetical note. Very often the Hebrew Bible makes reference to God using a plural form of the Hebrew word which would translate as 'gods.' In fact, in the verse above where it says 'our God,' grammatically it says, 'our gods.' But it really means the singular, God, just as translated into English. But sometimes, when we learn this idiom of Hebrew, some of us get worried that translators are trying to pull a fast one over us. Not so. When Jesus quotes that verse verbatim, but in the Greek of his day, he uses the singular form, 'God.' That's exactly how the translators of the Hebrew Bible rendered the Greek well over a century before Jesus quoted it.) The Lord is One.

As we meet a brother or sister today we love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength. And together we give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, blessed for ever and ever.