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“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth… But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also… But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness“
(Matt 6:19-21, 33 NIV84) [see these verses in their context below]
Introduction to True Faith
In the first part of Matthew 6, Jesus reveals the nature of true religion. Religion often gravitates to a human view of how to reach God, which leads to ritualism and a false sense of righteousness. And this often leads to hypocrisy.
Faith is often defined in terms of belief. Not just what we believe but how we are to believe.
In the latter part of Matthew 6, Jesus reveals the nature of true faith. It’s far more than a set of beliefs and a person’s adherence and obedience to these beliefs.
True faith
True faith is a matter of trust—a personal trust in God. Israel was birthed as a nation by God to be a people who trusted in and worshipped a Living God rather than deaf and dumb idols.
Pagans—non-believers in the Living God of Israel—worshipped idols. They put their trust in inanimate objects that represented various gods to appease. They did so to gain blessings and avoid curses and destruction.
Jesus reminds the people of Israel of the personal nature of their relationship with God. Faith in God isn’t transactional but relational (Hebrews 11:6).
True faith is more about who we trust in our hearts rather than what we believe in our minds. Even what we believe needs to be grounded in who we trust. If not, we will drift into a human-based form of religion, which displaces our trust in God.
We trust God for His provision rather than in what is provided. Our hope and confidence is in the Lord not in our own efforts to gain what we think we need.
Take some time to read through Matthew 6:19-34 in one sitting (see text below).
As you read, consider what Jesus says we are not to do and what we are to do.
Also, note His warnings about where we place our trust and why this is so.
In the next several devotionals, we’ll look at these teachings in more depth.
Devo Scripture Text
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”
“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
(Matthew 6:19-33 NIV84)