“So if you, despite being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:11)

Despite being evil? Me? Notice how Jesus just says this in a matter-of-fact way. Yes, we are separated from the Lord. We have all sinned and continue to do so. Our Lord is giving us instructions on how to move from being evil to the place where we give as we have received. Ask the Father for the fruits of the Spirit and He will grant to you those things that will move you forward toward the goal of becoming like Christ.

Lord, you know where I am and what the state of my heart is. You know that I give up and do not press on toward becoming like You all too often. You also know where I can give, but do not. Help me to repent and turn from what is evil so that I may give as You give. I give good things to those I love, but You have commanded me to love my neighbor. Help me to consider all as my family.

Lord Jesus, I know parts of those things which run contrary to what You are saying. I believe there is probably much more that needs to be worked on. Help me today to see what I need to see and where I am being stingy, help me to move on and be helpful to my neighbor. Help me to see that You are the One who is leading and then help me to follow You wherever You lead me. Amen.

“Or what person is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf of bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?” (Matthew 7:9-10)

We know how to be gracious and kind to those we love. If someone in our family has need, we help within our ability. The gift of charity is already in us. Jesus wants to take what He has created in us and expand it so that we have charity for our neighbor. This does not mean that we give away the house, but it does mean being charitable, which seeks for us to invest our lives in our neighbor.

Seek what your neighbor truly needs. Often, we just pass by without a thought to the needs of our neighbor. You who live in neighborhoods with folk who may not seem to have physical needs often need much more than those who are struggling to get by. This is not just a monetary thing but gets to the heart of the matter. How is your neighbor’s spiritual well-being? Are they walking with the Lord as you are?

Lord, I am often timid in really investing in my neighbor. Help me to have a heart that truly cares for my neighbor. Guide me in the way of everlasting life so that I truly seek to care for others as You have cared for me. Grant me a heart that is wise, gracious, merciful, and charitable. May I grow a little more to be like You through what You have me do today. Amen.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).

Press on, press on! How easily we give up. The Lord wants us to learn how to flex our spiritual muscles. Every athlete knows that just beyond fatigue is often the best performance. The lazy never get anywhere, but those who persevere go a long way. You learn by pressing through what is difficult. Continue knocking. Continue seeking. The Lord is bountiful in giving to those who seek. He who endures to the end will be saved.

Lord, You know I need right priorities. You are not going to make me rich by winning the lottery. Oh sure, some faithful have won, but the point is that You want me to exercise my spiritual muscles. Help me to learn how to press on, continue seeking, and being persistent for what is right.

Lord Jesus, I hear these words and the first thing I want to do is think how I can do these things. You know all those places where I am deficient. Help me to knock at the door of my own limitations so that I seek You always to the fullest extent for which You have enabled me, according to Your grace. Lead me, Lord, in the way You know I need to go and help me to not give up. Amen.

“Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces” (Matthew 7:6).

We are not to be all things to all people, nor are we to become a door mat for others. You who are faithful are to revere what is holy and pure. Do not let others make a mockery of what has been entrusted to you. What this means is that we are to hold fast to what is true and if another will not honor what we believe, then do not share with them what has been given to you.

Lord, here is another paradox that I find difficult to live. You have entrusted me with holy things and I am not to let others make a mockery of them. But also, I am to love my neighbor and seek for their good. Without Your Holy Spirit keeping these things in balance, it would be impossible. Under Your guidance, all things are possible. Lead me in the way of upholding and protecting what is holy and pure.

Lord Jesus, You are teaching us many difficult things. Guide me in the way of everlasting life so that I may both keep holy what is holy, but also share what is holy with others without allow them to desecrate what is holy. You know what is before me Lord, so lead me in the way You know I need to go. Guide me by Your grace and mercy to live out all that You are teaching me. Amen

“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye!” (Matthew 7:5)

With a lack of humility, we often think ourselves better than another.  This is especially true when we uphold what we consider the correct behavior while another is doing what we deem incorrect.  But how do we know that we are not doing the same thing in another way as Romans, 2 tells us?  We are all hypocrites and need the grace of Jesus.  If another truly needs more grace than us, then we are under orders to love them.

How often do I want to feel superior to another rather than living in the truth of the grace which You have given me?  Lord, soften my heart to see in all others that we all need the grace which You so freely give.  Guide me in Your grace and mercy to be one who freely gives to others what You have first given to me.  Guide me by Your goodness to know that in You alone do I live, breath, and have my being.

Thank You Lord Jesus for the grace You have lavished upon us all.  Help me now and always to see the trees in the forest, beginning with the logs in my own eyes.  Guide me to love others as You love me.  We each have our story.  May I now and always be led by the truth in and through the Holy Spirit to see the world through Your eyes.  Guide me today on the journey You have planned for me.  Amen.

“Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and look, the log is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:4)

When it comes to sin in our life, the only perfect surgeon is the Lord.  What do we know of the soul of another?  Yes, we see and at times might be right, but we do not know.  How much damage is done by the judgement of others?  We all have our sin issues and the answer is with grace, mercy, and understanding that God’s law is good and applies to us all.  Yes, love your neighbor, but do not do so through the eyes of judgement.

Lord, I see that this is one of those paradoxes which lead me on the narrow road.  I have my sin issues and so does my neighbor.  I need to love others through Your eyes.  I look to Your word and know what is right both for my neighbor and me, but I also need to understand grace more and more so that I am able to help and not judge my neighbor.  But also, I need to be humble so that I am willing to receive the same help from another.

Lead me Lord in the way of salvation.  Lord Jesus, You know all that I need.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to humbly walk with You, doing what You would have me do both for my neighbor as well as me.  May I learn from You how to live so that I may always share the goodness of Your grace and mercy.  Lead me to be a log remover in myself first always.  Amen.

“Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)

Have you ever noticed how critical people are?  How about politics?  Folk there are downright nasty.  Why, if you believe what they say, does it narrow down to a choice of two sinful folk to choose from?  This is the world, but it is not to be so with those who follow Christ.  Everyone has a story.  Everyone needs the love of Christ.  We are not to see others as sinners alone, but as those whom Jesus died for.

Lord, You know where I do not see others as I ought.  I am guilty of making their faults larger than mine.  Lead me so that I have compassion, no matter another’s fault and see others as You see them.  Rather than being harsh and judgmental, help me to be merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in love for others as You have love and compassion for others.  Help me to see more clearly.

Lord, You know I have issues.  Guide me on an inward journey today so that I meditate upon the logs in my own eyes.  Give me a spiritual axe to chop up the logs and be rid of those things which cause me to see with sinful eyes.  Then heal me and grant me eyes that see with love.  You know all that I need Lord.  Help me to grow in Your image today by seeing things that I need to see differently.  Amen.

“For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:2).

Do you measure with hatred or with love?  Do you measure with condemnation or with mercy?  Do you measure with retribution or with grace?  The Lord has come to change our hearts.  He is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  Come to the Lord and allow the Holy Spirit to change your heart to see others as the Lord sees you.  Then, discern the criteria and measure others as the Lord measures you.

Lord, You know this would be an investment of my time with a willingness to invest in others.  Often, I just write people off as irritating or as a nuisance.  Do change my heart so that I see others through Your eyes.  Guide me in the way of salvation so that I may now and forever be led in the way You would have me see the actions of others.  Lead me to become like Christ my Savior.

Dear Jesus, when I was young, I heard these words as a harsh admonition.  Now I see them as a loving direction.  You mean for me to see others through the eyes of love.  Guide me Lord so that I may indeed see others as You see them.  This does not mean I ignore them, or do not discern wrong action, but it does mean that I care enough for the other that I love them as You love them.  Help me to do this.  Amen.

“Do not judge, so that you will not be judged” (Matthew 7:1).

There are five primary words in Greek that are translated as judgment in the New Testament.  This word means separating the goats from the sheep, the wheat from the tares.  We are forbidden to do this because we do not know.  We may see what appears to be unfaithfulness and we are to judge that, but never call out someone and say they are going to hell.  Jesus died for every one of us.

Lord, I have judged others this way.  Instead of looking with eyes of condemnation, which is cloaked with hatred, help me to have eyes of love so that I see that everyone is precious in Your sight.  Lead me in the way You would have me go so that I see an opportunity with each possible brother or sister that I meet.  Let me judge others in love praying that in the end, You will judge me through the eyes of love.

Lord Jesus, where I separate in my mind those who are yours from those whom I believe are not, confront me.  No matter how heinous the behavior, I do not know the outcome.  Grant me eyes of love that are willing to always reach out with the same grace You have given me.  Guide me in the upward way to live according to the goodness You are teaching me.  Let me not fear Your judgement, but help me to fear your disappointment always.  Amen.

“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34).

There are two places where the wicked seeks to trap us: with yesterday or tomorrow.  We do not know whether or life here will be over five minutes from now.  We do live for another time constantly.  Why?  You can make plans, but our today is constantly changing.  You live in this moment and this is the only moment in which you have any ability to act.  Luther said when asked if he knew that he would die tomorrow what he would do today.  He said, “I would plant an apple tree.”  Live in today.

Lord, You have given me today.  This is the day You have made and You have asked me to rejoice in it.  Guide me now and always in today.  Yes, I need to make plans for all of the tomorrows which might be mine, but I do not know when my journey here will end.  Help me so that I walk the fine line between these things without crossing into the zone of worrying about the unknown future.

Lord Jesus, You did not instruct me to make no plans, but You have given me instructions to walk faithfully each day that You give me in this age.  Help me to walk with You so that I may be resilient to do those things that pop up day by day.  In all that I do, may I have the priorities You are speaking about.  Lead me in the way of righteousness.  Lead me and teach me how to be faithful each day.  Amen.