Matthew 6:14-18 Wash Your Face
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: February 7, 2019, Matthew 6:14-18
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
(Understanding the Text / Revelation of God) Jesus is clarifying the part of the Lord’s Prayer where it says “and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Jesus emphasizes this point in many places. We are to forgive others when they sin against us or when they owe us or when we have rightful cause to resent them. Again and again, Jesus shows us that we may be in the right and the others in the wrong, but we do not have the right to withhold mercy from anyone. I think maybe keeping our forgiveness to ourselves, not extending mercy, cherishing our righteous indignation, must form a strong barrier to the Holy Spirit. If sin is broken relationship with God, then a lack of forgiveness for others closes off the Holy Spirit’s ability to reach our hearts to remain connected to God. God does not condemn all sins as strongly as this. In fact, He accommodated the sins of divorce and murder in order to still remain connected to us. The only reason for Jesus to keep condemning this harboring of resentment for wrongs done to us has to be that it will keep us from being in a relationship with Him, i.e. it will keep the Holy Spirit from being able to work in us to be in relationship to Jesus.
(Understanding the Text / Application) I don’t fast, so I can’t relate to this part of the passage well. However, I think that it can be applied to any type of hardship that occurs in the service of the Lord. This does not preclude speaking to others of our feelings of discouragement in order to receive encouragement, but I think it means that when I am hurt and beaten up in the service of the Lord, I should go to Him with it in prayer more than another human. It is not that I need to lie to the world about my discouragement. It is that the world does not need to know the things that are private between me and God. It is also that the world can rarely help me or heal me while both are sureties with God if I trust Him enough. I am still learning how to let God heal me from the hurts I receive in service to Him.
(Prayer) I pray that I will bring my wounds to You and that You will heal me. I have been in a lot of battles recently, and they wound me, and I have not been able to know what to do to be healed. I pray that You will teach me because the way I am now, I am of limited service since it takes me so long to recover after each battle. I don’t want to be hardened, but I need to learn how to be healed. I claim Your reward for service.