Sermon on the Mount - part two

2ndAmendment · Jun 23, 2005

Matthew 6

Giving to the Poor and Prayer

1"Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. 2"So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

3"But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

4so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

5"When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

6"But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

7"And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.

8"So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

9"Pray, then, in this way:
'Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10'Your kingdom come
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11'Give us this day our daily bread.
12'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]'

14"For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

15"But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Fasting; The True Treasure; Wealth (Mammon)

16"Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17"But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face

18so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

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

21for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

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

23"But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth.

The Cure for Anxiety

25"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

27"And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?

28"And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,

29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.

30"But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!

31"Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?'

32"For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

33"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Railroad · Jun 23, 2005

Thanks, 2A!! Great stuff!

dems4me · Jun 23, 2005

2ndAmendment said:
Matthew 6

Giving to the Poor and Prayer

1"Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. 2"So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

3"But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

4so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

5"When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

6"But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

7"And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.

8"So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

9"Pray, then, in this way:
'Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10'Your kingdom come
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11'Give us this day our daily bread.
12'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]'

14"For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

15"But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Fasting; The True Treasure; Wealth (Mammon)

16"Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17"But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face

18so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

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

21for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

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

23"But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth.

The Cure for Anxiety

25"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

27"And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?

28"And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,

29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.

30"But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!

31"Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?'

32"For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

33"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

2A, I'm not trying to start a heated debate, but I do have some questions on this... I 100% believe in giving to the poor... but when I do, everyone laughs at me and calls me a "sucker" or something... same as folks on welfare that are less well off than us... soo many people complain about helping folks on welfare, etc... I just don't understand why people can hide behind the Bible and pretend to be Christian but yet shun those poorer than oneself :shrug:

Tinkerbell · Jun 23, 2005

dems4me said:
2A, I'm not trying to start a heated debate, but I do have some questions on this... I 100% believe in giving to the poor... but when I do, everyone laughs at me and calls me a "sucker" or something... same as folks on welfare that are less well off than us... soo many people complain about helping folks on welfare, etc... I just don't understand why people can hide behind the Bible and pretend to be Christian but yet shun those poorer than oneself :shrug:

I get the same attitude when I put money in the poor box, etc. Sometimes I drop stuff off at the Center for Life Enrichment and I don't get receipts. People say I'm crazy, but I'm not looking for anything in return. I do it because I want to help, not to get a tax deduction.

I guess people in the world have become very cynical and can't bring themselves to help people. It's good that you do, one person at a time! :huggy:

dems4me · Jun 23, 2005

Tinkerbell said:
I get the same attitude when I put money in the poor box, etc. Sometimes I drop stuff off at the Center for Life Enrichment and I don't get receipts. People say I'm crazy, but I'm not looking for anything in return. I do it because I want to help, not to get a tax deduction.

I guess people in the world have become very cynical and can't bring themselves to help people. It's good that you do, one person at a time!

Yes, always have done that :shrug: what I'm trying to say and I'm not trying to get in a political battle but I really am at a loss on this one... republicans tend to be more family valued/Christian, pro life, non-gay, but yet when it comes to helping the poor, they smite those that are not as well off and cut into welfare programs, etc... :shrug: I was just wondering, I'm not trying to be mean or confrontational, I just want to know the answer :shrug: That is one of my biggest turnoffs of ever becoming a Republican... I too am Christian but I don't like the way the "right" side appears tobe nonsympathetic or have any empathy for those that are on welfare and poor... and here the Bible not only blesses them (Blessed are the poor...) but also its strongly urged to help the poor. I'm confused :frown:

Poundcake Lady · Jun 23, 2005

dems4me said:
Yes, always have done that :shrug: what I'm trying to say and I'm not trying to get in a political battle but I really am at a loss on this one... republicans tend to be more family valued/Christian, pro life, non-gay, but yet when it comes to helping the poor, they smite those that are not as well off and cut into welfare programs, etc... :shrug: I was just wondering, I'm not trying to be mean or confrontational, I just want to know the answer :shrug: That is one of my biggest turnoffs of ever becoming a Republican... I too am Christian but I don't like the way the "right" side appears tobe nonsympathetic or have any empathy for those that are on welfare and poor... and here the Bible not only blesses them (Blessed are the poor...) but also its strongly urged to help the poor. I'm confused

You don't help; you act like a "savior" yourself and extract plenty of "glory" for what you do. You don't give "nameless," you advertise what you do.

dems4me · Jun 23, 2005

Poundcake Lady said:
You don't help; you act like a "savior" yourself and extract plenty of "glory" for what you do. You don't give "nameless," you advertise what you do.

No, not at all.. ocassionally I'll say something, but just like in praying you don't advertise it... I don't let my left hand know what the right is doing :yay:

And no, there's no "Savior[ness]" to it - just being nice when I can... there's hoards of good deeds I don't talk about :duh:

2ndAmendment · Jun 23, 2005

dems4me said:
Yes, always have done that :shrug: what I'm trying to say and I'm not trying to get in a political battle but I really am at a loss on this one... republicans tend to be more family valued/Christian, pro life, non-gay, but yet when it comes to helping the poor, they smite those that are not as well off and cut into welfare programs, etc... :shrug: I was just wondering, I'm not trying to be mean or confrontational, I just want to know the answer :shrug: That is one of my biggest turnoffs of ever becoming a Republican... I too am Christian but I don't like the way the "right" side appears tobe nonsympathetic or have any empathy for those that are on welfare and poor... and here the Bible not only blesses them (Blessed are the poor...) but also its strongly urged to help the poor. I'm confused

Republicans (Constitutional conservatives), as I see it, are not against helping people. They just want the correct people and organizations to do it. I, also, do not want this to be political, but according to the Constitution, it is not the federal governments job and it does not have the authority to have welfare (or Social Security). States, private organizations, churches, and individuals can and should help the less fortunate.

I think you can do well to help others when they cannot help themselves. I also think that if you help those that can help themselves but choose not to work to their potential, then helping is not helping but hindering them from braking the dependency on others. Hope that makes sense.

2ndAmendment · Jun 23, 2005

On another note regarding the original post, I especially like and try to live by the section on The Cure for Anxiety. Every day has enough problems, so don't borrow tomorrow's. They will get here soon enough. I am not assured of tomorrow, so why worry about it. Plan like you will live forever; live like each moment is your last; don't worry about anything. If you can do something about something, do it. If you can't do something about something, why worry about it?

Sermon on the Mount - part two

2ndAmendment

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Railroad

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Tinkerbell

Baby blues

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Poundcake Lady

New Member

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2ndAmendment

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2ndAmendment

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