Laura J. Davis's Blog, page 6

What do you Treasure?

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-21

Immediately after the verses above, Jesus talks about the hypocritical ways of the Pharisees. He spoke of their love of being seen doing good deeds, praying in public and the...

The Real Meaning Behind Fasting

Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
Matthew 6:16-18, NKJV
Did you ever wonder who the hypocrites were that Jesu...

What the Lord's Prayer Can Teach Us

Read Matthew 6:9-13 Continuing with Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, we now come to the most famous prayer in the Bible - The Lord's Prayer. Jesus has just explained that we are not to be like the hypocrites who make a great show of the fact they are praying to God (Matthew 6:5) and encourages us to pray to God privately. While there are many examples of how Jesus prayed (Matthew 26:39, Mark 1:35, John 17), the Lord's Prayer gives us a template for the correct way to approach God and what our...

Three Steps to Appropriate Prayer Times

Read Matthew 6:5-8 Did you know that the word hypocrite in Greek means an actor, stage player or pretender? In other words, someone is pretending to be what they are not. In the matter of prayer, Jesus said these types of people, "Love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men" (Matthew 6:5). In other words, they made a show of praying to God so that people would think they were righteous. But Jesus said, "When you pray, go into yo...

How to do Good Deeds in Secret & Shine for God

“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men,
to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in ...

Why Jesus Asks Us to Love our Enemies

Read Matthew 5:43-48 Continuing with our study of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus once again says some tricky things. Love your enemy? How is that even possible? How are we supposed to love those who murder innocent children? How are we supposed to love those who persecute us for our faith? How could Jesus ask that, and how do we reasonably implement it? Fortunately, by digging into Scripture, we find our answers. More importantly, we discover that the NIV leaves out crucial verses that w...

Five Ways to Live a Grace-Filled Life

 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person.
But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic,
let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you,
and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away."
Matthew 5:38-42

Have you ever noticed in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount how h...

Are You Using God's Name in Vain?

 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil ...

Did Jesus Really Say That?

Read Matthew 5:27-32 Continuing with Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, today, we look at what Jesus had to say about adultery and some of the strange things he said regarding that topic.

When you look up the word "adultery" in Strong's Concordance, you get the standard definition: "to have unlawful intercourse with another's wife." But you also get this definition, "A Hebrew idiom, the word is used of those who at a woman's solicitation are drawn away to idolatry, i.e. to the eating of things s...

How is Your Heart?

Read Matthew 5:21-26 I read a blog where the author was puzzled about some things that Jesus said. I tried to leave a comment, but I couldn't because I no longer have a WordPress account. But I wanted to tell her she was puzzled due to the Bible translation she was using. A whole verse had been left out of her translation which was why she was confused. If things don't make sense or don't add up, that's when I check to see what's missing. This brings me to today's text, which is par...