The FaithOfJesus2 Daily Devotional

Focus:

kjv@Revelation:14:12 @ Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

( FaithOfJesus thread begun by rRandyP )

Today's Verse:

kjv@Matthew:6:1-4

kjv@Matthew:6:1 @ Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

kjv@Matthew:6:2 @ Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

kjv@Matthew:6:3 @ But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

kjv@Matthew:6:4 @ That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

Today's notes: What Thy Right Hand Doeth

Context:

Before - Love thy enemy
After - When ye pray

What is man believing/doing?:

purposely making a show of their alms giving in synagog and on the street

What is making man to believe/do as he is doing?:

to let others know of their giving
for immediate reward

Notes:

He is picturing a body left and right hands. One way not to make a show of it is to do it within the unanimous context of a body and to have specific parts of the body to do their own secretive giving. Another is to fold it into the ministry the group is already actively doing or to send it to a place beyond where the individuals contributors would not be known. This does not mean individually that urgent one on one needs can't be addressed, but perhaps if more than bread or shelter or clothing such should be directed to the "city on a hill".

Or study links today show a pattern in the OT where God's displeasure over alms fueled much of the prophet's national rebuke time after time.

Key Messages:

What does this say about our present condition?

Giving becomes more about us and what we'd receive by giving than what are the needs and issues surrounding those to whom we are giving. Investment into a person no further than a quick impersonal fix makes alms hollow (repetitively so) and enables the professional beggar.
Because the professional beggar has so often violated the conscience of the self interested much of the care for the poor has been outsourced to government bureaucracies making for the professionally poor. Alms becomes tax, tax becomes revenue, revenue becomes politics and entitlements, charity becomes planned for tax deductions. While the professional abuser makes out well, the truly poor still typically go without. This as such is a furtherance of oppression.

Further Resources:

Comment Board:Matthew:6:1-4
index:FAITHOFJESUSDEVOTION - Devotional Index
strkjv@Matthew:6:1-4 rwp@Matthew:6:1-4 mhcc@Matthew:6:1-4
FaithOfJesus2 - Devotion Index

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