Matthew 6

http://www.esvbible.org/Matthew+6/

Jesus warns us not to do good acts to be praised by people. Instead, we should only do good for lifting the praise to God. If you only do the good works to gain attention, God will not reward. When you give to the poor, don't announce it and make an ordeal over it. Hypocrites give in this way. They talk about how high and holy they are for giving because of the Lord, but they only give so that people will praise them. We should not care about what people have to say about us as long as we know we will have a good report from God in Heaven. When the people give to receive praise, that is the only reward they wil get. When you give, do so privately. It is a matter that is between you and God. He will see, and He will reward you for your goodness.

The same concept goes for praying. The hypocrites like to pray loudly in the center of everything so that everyone can hear. Again, that will be their only reward. Jesus tells us that when we pray we should go into our rooms and shut the doors. When we pray, the Lord's prayer is our sample. "Our God, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil." We cover everything here. Glorify and address God. Ask Him to do His will on Earth through us. Give us our DAILY bread. Ask Him everyday to feed your spirit. Ask for forgiveness. Rescue us from temptation. Then, Jesus says that as long as we forgive others, God will forgive us.

When you fast, don't look like the hypocrites. They look sad and like they are in pain so that everyone will know that they are fasting. When you fast, Jesus says that you should continue to make yourself look like you always do because God knows what you do in private, and He will reward you for it.

Don't store up treasures in this world. Here, moths and rust will destroy things, and thieves can break in to steal them. Instead, store up treasures in Heaven, where none of this can happen. Then, a commonly known verse: your heart is where your treasure is. If you try to serve both God and money, you will hate God and love money or devote yourself to making money and despise God for taking your time. The eye is the lamp to the body. If you look to God as your goal, the body is filled with light, but if you look towards wealth for your goal, your body will not bode well.

Stop worrying! Paul said it in Philippians because He knew Jesus said it. Why worry about what you will eat. The birds don't plant or harvest or store the harvest, yet God provides for them. If we are God's creation in His own image, He will care for us even more. Can you add any time to life by worrying? Don't worry about what you will wear. The flowers in the field are dressed more wondrously than anyone ever, and they never worked or spun yard for their dressings. And they will simply live today and burn tomorrow. So God will provide for you clothes to wear. Everyone worries about what to eat, drink, and wear, but as people of faith, we should have faith in God that He will provide for us what we need. First and foremost, we should be concerned about the Kingdom of God and what is in store for us there. Then, everything wil be provided for you. Don't worry about tomorrow, it will worry about itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own. You should spend time dealing with the current day's struggles through prayer and pray about tomorrow's struggles when they come.