I’m taking a two-day break from blogging. I’ll resume on Monday, if Jesus doesn’t come back first. Have a blessed weekend!

6: Most persons in that time would not have had a private room in their house. The only room with a door would likely have been the storeroom or pantry. Thus, Jesus literally means ‘closet’ here. The key is not so much the location as the idea of privacy. Prayer is for Almighty God, and his glory, not our own. He knows what we are doing, and can reward us as he sees fit.

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 96:1-102:28

Daily Memory Verse: Jude 1:7 “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”

Daily Tidbit: Dragonflies were the inspiration for the man who invented the helicopter.

Praise Journal: Heavenly Father, thank You for the fact that You are in control of our lives. Life would be meaningless without You. Father, thank You for always being ready to forgive those who seek You in sincerity. We know that you see in the ‘secret’ places of our hearts, and that You know us better than we know ourselves. Please, help us to always commit our ways to You, because You know what is best for our lives. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Journal Highlights: Pray for an urgent silent request. Pray for a new mother returning to work on Monday.

Personal Journal Entry #12183

5: The problem here was not public prayer. Prayer in public is acceptable and sometimes in order. However, one’s motive is very important in such cases. In Jesus’ day, many had taken to praying publicly so as to make their piety know to all, and to show it off. As before with alms, Jesus says that the reward they sought would be the only reward they would receive.

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 90:1-95:11

Daily Memory Verse: Jude 1:7 “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”

Daily Tidbit: Once upon a time, whales were thought to be deaf. This, of course, has since been revised. Whales actually have remarkable hearing for being underwater. They can hear other whales at great distances.

Praise Journal: Heavenly Father, thank You for giving all of us just what we need. Instead of just giving us what we deserve, you give us what we could never deserve. How gracious You are! Father, help us sing the praises of Your mercy and grace before the entire world. You are worthy of recognition by every person everywhere. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Journal Highlights: Pray for persons involved in a bad accident last evening. Pray for a neighbor who was taken to the hospital a couple of days ago.

Personal Journal Entry #12182

4: Although Jesus was likely not referring to it specifically, there was likely in the temple at one time a ‘chamber of secrets’, from which the poor were supported, and to which persons privately deposited alms. Though Jesus was probably not meaning this specifically, he was speaking of this same kind of idea. Alms should be done without accounting how much who gave to whom and when. The benevolence fund at a church is a good example. Amounts are placed there, and dispersed when needed. God the Father will see to it that such giving is rewarded.

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 85:1-89:52

Daily Memory Verse: Jude 1:7 “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”

Daily Tidbit: The golden plover, a small bird, migrates over twenty-seven hundred miles. During this migration, it flies at exactly the right speed, and uses the well-known v-formation. If it did not do either one of these things, it would fall out of the sky before it reached its destination. (From Dr. Werner Gitt’s book, If Animals Could Talk)

Praise Journal: Father in heaven, thank You for telling us exactly what You think about things. It would be so horrible if You just left it to us to figure out. Like the golden plover, You have given us the instructions we need to get to where we want to go. Help us not to take this for granted. You are so kind and gracious in giving us Your Word. Thank You for the greatest revelation of all, the story of Your Son. Jesus is the only comfort in a lost and dying world. We need his example to encourage us to be good to others as we should. More than that we need his salvation to enable us to be good. We cannot do it without Him. Give us today, Father, the love and compassion in our hearts for those that we will meet on our way. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Journal Highlights: Pray for a lady with a blood clot. Pray for an officer with a broken hand.

Personal Journal Entry #12181

3: Although Jesus’ words here are figurative, they are very poignant as usual. Our hands, whether right or left, notice nothing. However, not only may those standing on our right or left take notice of a show; but also, we may within ourselves take notice of our own benevolence and esteem ourselves for it. The path to the best value of a human being is not self-esteem, but the esteem of the Creator. Knowing our value to him gives us inestimable worth.
When alms are given, then, great care should be taken to do so simply, and with no contrived show.

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 79:1-84:12

Daily Memory Verse: Jude 1:7 “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”

Daily Tidbit: The blue whale, the largest animal on earth, has a stomach that can hold one ton of food. That’s like the same as a small car. And then people doubt that a whale swallowed Jonah!

Praise Journal: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your greatness. You help us to see the value of being Your creations. If You have blessed the whales of the ocean, I know You will bless our lives too. Oh Father, help us to understand our true purpose and value as human beings. Give us a sense of our place in Your universe. Show us Your grandeur, that we may cease to be overawed with ourselves. The greatness of our works will be magnified by Your glory, not our own. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Journal Highlights: Pray for a man looking for a new home. Pray for the upcoming election. Pray for a man having problems with skin cancer. Pray for an older man as he cares for his wife. Pray for a woman who lost her husband about a year ago.

Personal Journal Entry #12180

2: Apparently, nobody actually blew a trumpet when they gave their alms, however, they might as well have. The leaders of the Jews liked to make a big deal out of their giving. They would try to draw attention to their supposed piety. The synagogues and streets were places where alms would be given. These were not always bad places to give. However, one did not have to draw attention to the giving on purpose. Jesus says that they have their reward. This means that the only reward they would receive, that of men, was already theirs. They would get nothing from Almighty God for such hypocrisy.

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 75:1-78:72

Daily Memory Verse: Jude 1:7 “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”

Daily Tidbit: An emperor penguin can hold its breath for twenty minutes.

Praise Journal: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your patience with us. We so often think only of ourselves, and what we want. We very often forget the needs of others, and fail to consider what You want from us altogether. Instead, we many time think only of what You can do for us. Our creature comforts are petty. Give us a sense of how much more we can have in life if we get a vision for Your will. If our will can be lost in Yours, maybe we will see the true measure of what a life can be worth. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Journal Highlights: Pray for two women with spiritual needs. Pray for those who are travelling. Pray for a boy with social and spiritual needs. Pray for a young man who is sick. Pray for a missionary looking for a building for church.

Personal Journal Entry #12179

1: In an effort to avoid vain shows such as this that Jesus describes, we sometimes fail to give alms at all. However, the warning we have here should never prevent us from giving to the poor. Instead, it should encourage us to understand the importance of this to Almighty God. Poor and needy people are not unbiblical. There will always be poor people in this world, and Christians should always be their best friends. We should not encourage poverty, but we should help it at every turn. It is not wrong to seek a reward either, just as long as it is God’s reward, and not the reward of men, that you are seeking. We must give to those who are in need, but only to impress Almighty God, not the poor, or the rich.

47: Those that we are brought up with are much easier, being familiar, to be nice to. Familiarity makes people feel comfortable and generous. Jesus seeks to call us out of our normal human comfort zone.
48: Jesus here sets forth the standard he has been hinting at all along. It is little wonder that he finally states it outright in connection with a discussion of our love for others. He says perfection is what is needed. We are to be perfect like Almighty God. How can this be expected? Jesus alone holds the answer.

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 68:1-70:5

Daily Memory Verse: Jude 1:6 “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgement of the great day.

Daily Tidbit: Lightning bugs convert energy into light without generating heat. That’s 100% efficiency. The best lights we have only use 10% of the energy for light. The rest generates heat. (From Dr. Werner Gitt’s book, If Animals Could Talk)

Praise Journal: Heavenly Father, thank You for helping us understand ourselves and the world around us. You lead us to know more about ourselves by knowing more about You. Help people to see that. Oh Father, give us a desire for You that is insatiable! As we look at the world around us, we see that You are truly intelligent and skilled beyond our imagination. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Journal Highlights: Pray for our military personnel. Pray for missionaries all over the world.

Personal Journal Entry #12177

46: The Pharisees were proud of their self-righteousness. This pride had carried over to the people in general. Jesus, however, put their love into perspective. Loving those who love you back is easy enough. Even the hated tax collectors did that. These ‘publicans’ were Jews who worked for the Romans, extracting tax from the Jewish people, and lining their own pockets in the process. To have one’s love compared to that of a tax collector was a wake up call to say the least.
We often do things looking for a reward, and yet fail to consider what those things really mean to Almighty God. Loving others just because they will love you back is not very impressive to God. Loving others (all others) simply because Jesus tells us to, now that’s a bit more impressive. Once again, Jesus shows that we have a need for more goodness than we can possibly produce on our own. We need him.

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 61:1-67:7

Daily Memory Verse: Jude 1:6 “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgement of the great day.”

Daily Tidbit: The songs of humpback whales can be heard for over sixty miles from their location.

Praise Journal: Heavenly Father, Your ways are so much higher than ours. Will we ever be able to live like we know You. How can we be connected to Someone so great? It is only by Your greatness that we can know You, or be associated with You. Our involvement is only an expression of the magnitude of Your greatness. To be all that You would have us to be is the highest goal of our lives. You give me meaning and purpose. You connect me to the cosmos in a meaningful way, and give me significance rather than vanity. Oh Father, help us to realize how much we need You! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Journal Highlights: Pray for three families that have recently lost loved ones. Pray for a couple travelling this week. Pray for the daughter of a missionary couple who has serious health issues.

Personal Journal Entry #12176

43: The Jews were taught to love those near to them. But, their enemies were to be hated. This hate constituted a form of judgement upon their enemies. This is a common practice among many peoples. Humans find it quite easy to love those who are dear to us, but very hard to do anything but hate our enemies.
44: Jesus teaches a principle here that was not only foreign to the practice of the Jews, but is also strange to the rest of the world. Almighty God would have us to love our enemies. Obviously, this does not come natural to us as human beings. And, it is here that we see Jesus main theme once again. He is setting a high standard. It is so high, that his hearers surely realized their inability to attain to it. This was his desire, to help people see that they needed a righteousness, and a love, that only salvation could bring to them. The law alone could not create this kind of holiness in a person’s life, but Jesus can. Doing good to, and praying for, those who are attacking us is at the heart of what it means to be a Christian.
45: We are to be like God the Father. He is good to all men. He gives all of us daily blessings. His children should do no less.

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 55:1-60:12

Daily Memory Verse: Jude 1:6 “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgement of the great day.”

Daily Tidbit: The DNA chain in Escherichia coli, a bacteria in the human digestive system, has about the same number of characters in it as does the Bible. (From Dr. Werner Gitt’s book, If Animals Could Talk)

Praise Journal: Heavenly Father, Your Word is a great blessing. You have preserved it for us. It is always there, right before us, waiting to instruct us. You put eternal truths into a package of ink and paper. What a help to have a guidebook for life. So often I act as if there are no instructions, and I try to make life fit together without it. How silly of me! Your instructional manual is complete, and I cannot find any cause to complain. Never could I find a problem too difficult for the wisdom contained in that book. I can look and find the answers that I seek. Help us, Father, to always trust Your Words. The day that we lose faith in Your Word, is the day that we lose hope. We launch into eternity alone, and without a guide, assuming that our own ingenuity will guide the way. What blindness! What pride! What insolence! We are unable to recreate anything out of nothing, and yet we presume to understand Your universe. Oh Father, may we know Your worlds by knowing Your Words! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Journal Highlights: Pray for a young girl who is sick. Pray for a lady being cared for by Hospice. Pray for a teen group travelling this week.

Personal Journal Entry #12175