“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 6:1-4
Belief
Gratitude
When we praise God, we not only honor Him, but we also show him.
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Psalm 150–NKJV
Praise Him in His mighty firmament!
Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!
Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;
Praise Him with the lute and harp!
Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!
God’s miracles do not come with drama.
You have often heard it said, “God works in mysterious ways.” And you have wished to see a miracle all your life. But the truth is, you want a miracle that brings drama.
Of course, you would like to see the dumb talk, the blind see, and the lame walk because those miracles would get a lot of attention, drama, and astonishment. But the miracles happening around you and in your community every day get no attention.
For example, you are traveling on the highway, obeying all the traffic laws, and observing the rules of a good driver. Then, suddenly an erratic driver cut you off. But through the grace of God, somehow you managed to escape with no incident, and instead of thanking the Lord for the miracle, you started to curse at the other driver.
All you wanted was to get your hands on the stupid driver. You fail to see the miracle because there was no drama surrounding it.
The young man, whom a struggling widow helped out when he was a child, decided he would help pay her monthly bills when he learned she was struggling.
Those are some of God’s mysterious works that happen daily in our communities. But you’ll never hear about them because God’s works are not surrounded by drama.
God has no limits
26 … with God, all things are possible.
Matthew 19:26, 29, 30. KJV
29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold and shall inherit everlasting life.
30 But many that are first shall be last, and the last shall be first.
New Beginnings
“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Matthew 7:24-27–New International Version