Matthew 6
6
Doing Good Deeds Secretly
1“Be careful not to do good deeds in front of other people so that they’ll see you. If you do that, you won’t get any reward from your Father in heaven.
Giving to People in Need
2“When you give to people in need, don’t announce it by having trumpets blown in front of you. That’s what the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets because they want people to notice them. Truly I tell you, that’s all the reward they’ll get. 3But when you give to people in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4Then your Father, who sees what you do in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
5“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that other people will see them. Truly I tell you, that’s all the reward they’ll get. 6When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who can’t be seen. Then your Father, who sees what you do in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, don’t keep talking on and on like the people who worship other gods. They think their prayers will be answered because they’ve talked so much. 8Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need even before you ask him.
9“Therefore, pray like this:
“ ‘Our Father in heaven,
may your name be honored.
10May your kingdom come—
may your will be done on earth
as it already is done in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread,
12and forgive our sins,
just as we forgive those who sin against us.
13Don’t let us fall into temptation,
and save us from the evil one.’
14If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you don’t forgive other people, your Father won’t forgive your sins.
Fasting
16“When you go without eating, don’t look all sad like the hypocrites. They make strange faces so that people will notice that they’re fasting. Truly I tell you, that’s all the reward they’ll get. 17But when you go without eating, refresh your hair with olive oil and wash your face. 18Then no one will be able to tell that you’re fasting. Only your Father, who can’t be seen, will know it. And your Father, who sees what you do in secret, will reward you.
God and Money
19“Don’t try to get a lot of riches on earth, because moths and pests can destroy your things there, and thieves can break in and steal them. 20Instead, make sure you have a lot of riches in heaven, because moths and pests can’t destroy anything there, and thieves can’t break in and steal anything. 21Wherever your riches are, that’s where your heart will be.
22“The eye lets light into the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are unhealthy, then your whole body will be full of darkness. If the light inside you is darkness, then it’s really dark!
24“No one can serve two masters. Either you’ll hate the first and love the second, or you’ll be devoted to the first and not care about the second. You can’t serve both God and money.
God Knows What You Need
25“So I’m telling you not to worry about your life, what you’ll eat or drink, and not to worry about your body, what you’ll wear. Isn’t there more to life than eating? And isn’t there more to the body than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air. They don’t plant or harvest crops, and they don’t put grain away in barns. But your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are? 27Can any of you add even one hour to your life by worrying?
28“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the wild flowers grow. They don’t work or make clothes, 29but I tell you that not even Solomon in all his royal robes was dressed as well as one of these flowers. 30If God dresses the wild grass so well, even though it’s here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, isn’t he even more likely to make sure that you have clothes? You have such little faith! 31Don’t get all worried and say, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32People who don’t trust in God are concerned with those things. But your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33So be concerned about the kingdom of God first, and do what he wants you to do, and all those things will also be given to you. 34Don’t worry about tomorrow—let it worry about itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own.
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Radiate™ New Testament
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Matthew 6
6
1 "Pay attention, lest you perform your justice before men, in order to be seen by them; otherwise you shall not have a reward with your Father, who is in heaven.
2 Therefore, when you give alms, do not choose to sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the towns, so that they may be honored by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.
3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 so that your almsgiving may be in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.
5 And when you pray, you should not be like the hypocrites, who love standing in the synagogues and at the corners of the streets to pray, so that they may be seen by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.
6 But you, when you pray, enter into your room, and having shut the door, pray to your Father in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.
7 And when praying, do not choose many words, as the pagans do. For they think that by their excess of words they might be heeded.
8 Therefore, do not choose to imitate them. For your Father knows what your needs may be, even before you ask him.
9 Therefore, you shall pray in this way: Our Father, who is in heaven: May your name be kept holy.
10 May your kingdom come. May your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth.
11 Give us this day our life-sustaining bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation. But free us from evil. Amen.
14 For if you will forgive men their sins, your heavenly Father also will forgive you your offenses.
15 But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your sins.
16 And when you fast, do not choose to become gloomy, like the hypocrites. For they alter their faces, so that their fasting may be apparent to men. Amen I say to you, that they have received their reward.
17 But as for you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18 so that your fasting will not be apparent to men, but to your Father, who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.
19 Do not choose to store up for yourselves treasures on earth: where rust and moth consume, and where thieves break in and steal.
20 Instead, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven: where neither rust nor moth consumes, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there also is your heart.
22 The lamp of your body is your eye. If your eye is wholesome, your entire body will be filled with light.
23 But if your eye has been corrupted, your entire body will be darkened. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great will that darkness be!
24 No one is able to serve two masters. For either he will have hatred for the one, and love the other, or he will persevere with the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
25 And so I say to you, do not be anxious about your life, as to what you will eat, nor about your body, as to what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26 Consider the birds of the air, how they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of much greater value than they are?
27 And which of you, by thinking, is able to add one cubit to his stature?
28 And as for clothing, why are you anxious? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither work nor weave.
29 But I say to you, that not even Solomon, in all his glory, was arrayed like one of these.
30 So if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and cast into the oven tomorrow, how much more will he care for you, O little in faith?
31 Therefore, do not choose to be anxious, saying: 'What shall we eat, and what shall we drink, and with what shall we be clothed?'
32 For the Gentiles seek all these things. Yet your Father knows that you need all these things.
33 Therefore, seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be added to you as well.
34 Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow; for the future day will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its evil."
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