Matthew 8:5 says, And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,  Jesus was traveling about.  He was going to the people around Him.  While doing so, a centurion, or soldier came to Him.  As we follow Christ today, we must be ready to meet people around us who may have a need.  Though our priority is to share the gospel, we must be willing to help meet their pressing physical needs if possible.  This does not mean that we can meet all the needs of all people at all times, but if someone comes to us in distress, then we must care enough to listen to them and do whatever God enables us to do to help them.  Jesus did not judge the cenrturion, but took the time to really listen to him.  Verse six says, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.  The centurion had a great need and he came to Jesus to share that need.  When we as followers of Christ have a great need in our lives today, the first thing we need to do is bring that need to Jesus.  Fortunately, unlike the centurion, we do not have to physically go to Jesus, because He is already with us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, if we are His followers by faith.  The centurion was not there for spiritual healing for himself, but for a physical healing for his servant.  He was concerned for his servant's health.  The centurion had more faith in the ability of Jesus than most of those who called themselves God's people did.  We must not allow that to be the case with us today as followers of Christ.  Verse seven states, And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.  Jesus offered to go and heal the servant.  I believe that God already stands willing to meet our needs when we come to Him in faith.   Verse eight states, The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.  The centurion recognized his own unworthiness.  Even as followers of Christ today, we are unworthy of His presence in our lives, but fortunately His presence is not dictated by our worthiness, but by our faith.  Verse nine says, For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.  The centurion, as a man in position of power, did not have to physically go somewhere to have his orders, or will, to be done, and he recognized that Jesus had that same authority.  We should never limit the power and ability of Christ.  Verse ten declares, When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.  Jesus marvelled at the faith of the centurion, which He said was greater than He had found in anyone in Israel, God's chosen people.  We need to have a faith that Jesus marvels at today, especially as followers of Christ.  Verse eleven declares, And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.  Jesus said that people from all over the world would come to Him, and that is what we need to understand today.  God values all people, and Christ died for all people everywhere.  All anyone has to do is come to Him in faith.  This is why we who are not of the Jewish faith have salvation made available through Christ.  Verse twelve says, But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  This does not mean that everyone born into the Jewish faith is doomed, but that those who refuse to accept Jesus as the Messiah will be.  Anyone relying on who they are by fact of their birth, and not on faith in Christ, will be cast out of the kingdom of God.  Verse thirteen states, And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.  The centurion had faith in the power of Jesus, and that faith was rewarded.  We need to have that same type faith.

Matthew 7:7 says, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:  We often hear this verse used to claim that Jesus tells us that we can have whatever we want if we only ask for and seek it.  When we do, then the door will be open for us to get anything we really desire.  I believe that this really has to do with seeking and finding God's will for our lives, and not with seeking and finding material things.  If we first seek and find God's will, then we will not be concerned with the material things of life.  Following Christ has never been about gaining material things, but has only promised us a cross to take up daily.  Verse eight states, For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.  Once more, I do not believe that Jesus was speaking about material things, but was instead speaking about knowing and being empowered to follow God's will for our lives.  Verse nine asks, Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?  Jesus is still referring to asking, knocking and receiving.  He asks us if our son asks us for bread would we instead give him a stone.  This would indeed be a cruel action on our part.  Verse ten then asks, Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?  Once more, Jesus is asking if our son came to us in need, asking for a fish or food, if we would not only fail to help him but would seek to further harm him as well, giving him a serpent.  Then verse eight asks, If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?  Jesus asks if we who are evil know how to give good gifts to our children, then how much more will the heavenly Father give to those who are His children.  Again, this has to do with meeting needs, bread and fish, and not with making the son rich in material things.  Verse twelve states, Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.  We often hear this stated as do unto others as they do unto you, but it goes beyond that.  We are to do unto others not just as they do unto us, but as we would want them to do unto us.  This I believe implies our thoughts about how we want others to act, and not just their actions toward us.  Verse thirteen declares, Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:  I believe that Jesus was calling on people to put their faith in Him, because He is not only the straight gate, but He is the only gate to the heavenly Father.  We cannot come to a right relationship with God any other way.  There are many paths to destruction, some even called religions, and many people find them, but there is but one gate to God.  That gate is faith in  Jesus Christ, crucified, resurrected, and Lord.  Verse fourteen adds, Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.  It is our responsibility as followers of Christ to point lost people to this straight gate, which as already stated is faith in Christ.

Matthew 7:1 say, Judge not, that ye be not judged.  I believe that this means that we are not to be judgmental.  It is easy to stand back and point out the faults of others and to feel justified in condemning them.  I don't believe that this means that we can never distinguish between right and wrong actions, but instead that we are not to judge the person who does wrong as deserving God's punishment and not God's grace and mercy.  If we judge the actions of others, it should be out of love for them, and never from an attitude of moral superiority, where we deserve God's forgiveness and someone else doesn't.  Verse two declares, For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.  If we judge others as only being worthy of punishment and not forgiveness, then Jesus tells us that we will be judged the same.  I believe that this is because if we are truly following Christ that we know that God is the judge of all people, and that we ourselves are but sinners saved by grace.  As such, we are not qualified to act as the judge of someone else's sin.  We are to point out sin in the world and stand against it, but we are never to judge any sinner, no matter how great his or her sin, as being undeserving of forgiveness.  Verse three asks, And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?   Jesus asks us why we can so easily see the smallest sin in others and not acknowledge the much larger sin in our own lives.  By the very fact that we are attempting to judge the worthiness of others, we are placing ourselves in a position of moral superiority, and only God can claim this position.  Verse four asks, Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?  Jesus is asking why we would notice and offer to help correct the faults of others and ignore correcting our own faults.  Sometimes it is easier to sit in judgment and condemnation of others than it is to acknowledge our own faults.  If this occurs, then we begin to feel morally superior to the other person.  Verse five declares, Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.  Jesus tells us when we do judge the actions of others without first examining and correcting the faults in our own lives that we are hypocrites.  As long as we are unwilling to confess and ask God's forgiveness for the sins in our lives, we are certainly not to point out the sins in another person's life as though we are better than them.  Jesus also says that once we have removed the sin from our own lives that we can then help the other person.  Verse six says, Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.  I believe that Jesus is warning us against misusing the things belonging to God.  This would even include our own bodies, since as followers of Christ we belong to God.  If we do give the things that God blesses us with, our pearls, to those who are not God's people, the swine, then we should not be surprised if they ultimately attack us.  We should never attempt to buy peace with the lost world, but should always put following God's will for our lives first.

Matthew 6:26 says, Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?  Jesus tells us to look at the birds of the air.  Birds don't sow, or reap or gather crops into barns, or storage.  Jesus tells us that the heavenly Father feeds them.  Some people would say the is just mother nature that does this, but it we are followers of Christ, then we now that it is much more than just a random act.  We have to acknowledge that God sustains the universe that He created.  Then, Jesus asks if we are not better than the birds.  If God provides food for the birds, then we should know that He will do the same for us.  I don't believe that this means that we are to just sit back and do nothing, but that we are to have faith that if we are doing God's will, then we don't have to worry about food or any other material thing.  God will provide for our needs if we put Him first.  Verse twenty-seven asks, Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?  I believe that the emphasis here is that God creates our bodies to be a certain size, and we cannot make ourselves grow any taller than we are created to be.  We may be able to make ourselves larger, or even to stunt our growth from what it would be, but we cannot make ourselves taller.  Just like spending time or thought to make ourselves taller is a waste, so is worrying about what we will eat or wear.  Verse twenty-eight asks, And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:  As I just stated, we are not to worry about our raiment, or clothing.  Jesus tells us to consider the lilies of the field.  Like the birds, they do not labor and toil, nor do they spin cloth to array themselves in.  Verse twenty-nine declares, And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Jesus tells us that Solomon in all his glory, dressed in his finest, was not arrayed as beautifully as the lilies.  Verse thirty says, Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?  Jesus asks if God can provide even for the grass of the field, which is here one day and gone the next, then why do we as God's people lack the faith to rely on God to meet our needs.  Verse thirty-one says, Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?  I believe that this means that we are not to be worried about these things, but are to live in the faith that God will provide them.  Verse thirty-two states, (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.  Jesus tells us that the Gentiles, those who were not God's people, sought after these things, or we might say put there emphasis on material things.  Though we may have been Gentiles in the days of Jesus, through faith in Christ as Savior and Lord we are now a part of God's family.  As such, Jesus tells us that the heavenly Father knows our needs, even before we ask.  Verse thirty-three states, But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.  Jesus tells us to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness first.  This means we are to put God above everything else.  When we do, God will meet all our physical or material needs.  Verse thirty-four states, Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.  We might say that this is a fiscally irresponsible way to live, but Jesus tells us to not worry about these material things but to rely on God to provide for our needs.  We never know what day will be our last, so we are not to worry about the evils of tomorrow, but are to simply live by faith each day.

Matthew 6:22 says, The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.   We have heard it said that the eye is the light of the soul, but Jesus tells us that at least it is the light of the body.  Coming just after the discussion of treasures, I believe that we can say that as Christians that our focus, our single vision, must be on the things of God.  If we begin to focus on material things instead of spiritual things our whole body is affected.  Verse twenty-three warns, But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!  Though physically, if we are blind we stumble around in darkness and miss the beauty of the world, it is even worse when we stumble in spiritual blindness.  We must keep our eyes set on Jesus and not on the things of the world.  Verse twenty-four declares, No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.  I don't believe that this can be stated much more clearly.  We cannot serve two masters, which I believe would be material things and spiritual things.  We must never allow material things, whether possessions or people, to come between God and us.  Either God is the Lord of our whole life, or we are serving another master.  We can put no ifs, ands, or buts on following God.  Verse twenty-five says, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?  This once again is a very clear statement.  We might say that it is irresponsible to live this way, but Jesus tells us also that when we follow Him that the heavenly Father will meet our needs.  Jesus tells us that we are more than simply what we eat or drink if we are His followers.

Matthew 6:16 says, Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.  Having taught us how to give and how to pray, Jesus now teaches us the correct way to fast.  Since the statement is when we fast, then we can assume that this means we are to fast for spiritual reasons.  I must confess that I never have done this.  My fasting is generally from the time I go to bed until shortly after I get up.  When Jesus speaks of fasting it is fasting done for spiritual purposes, and not for physical ones.  Jesus tells us that we are not to fast to call attention to ourselves as the hypocrites do.  Verse seventeen says, But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;  Jesus tells us that when we fast that we are to go about life normally, in the way that we look and act.  I believe that what Jesus tells us continually is that the way we live and worship should bring glory to God, and never call attention to our own righteousness.  We are never made righteous by our actions, but can only be made righteous through our faith in Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse eighteen states,  That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.  We are not to fast for people to notice us, but so they won't.  It may be that they will see us not eating, but even then we are not to call attention to it.  I believe that this is true of any real worship.  We worship so that God will be glorified and we will be edified, and not that we will be praised by people.  When we do, then God will reward us openly.  Even when we proclaim God openly, we are to do it for His glory and not so that we will be praised.  Verse nineteen says, Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:  I am not sure that God ever expects us to keep all that He blesses us with materially for our own purposes.  Treasures laid up on earth can be destroyed or stolen, and even if they aren't, they will be left behind when Jesus comes again.  Verse twenty advises, But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:  We lay up treasures in heaven by being obedient to God's will.  Whatever treasures we receive in heaven will be given to us by God and will not be something that we attained by our own ability.  They will still be to be used for God's glory and they will be everlasting. Verse twenty-one declares, For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  If we value the things of this world more than following the will of God, then that is what we will devote our time and energy to.  The opposite is also true.  As followers of Christ, we must devote our time and energy into serving God first and foremost.

Matthew 6:5 says, And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.  Jesus teaches us that just as there is a correct way to give, so there is a correct way to pray.  This verse tells us that when we pray we are not to pray in such a way as to bring attention to ourselves instead of to God.  I don't believe that Jesus is saying that we should never pray in public, but when we do this we should never have people focused on us instead of God.  If we pray simply to call attention to ourselves, we have our reward already.  Verse six states, But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.  Jesus tells us that when we pray we are to go into our closet and do so in secret.  Then, God will see us and openly reward us.  Prayer is first and foremost a communication between a person and God.  Verse seven declares, But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.  I don't believe that this is as much about whether we say the same words in prayer as it is about the words having no meaning when we say them.  Jesus also tells us that we do not have to go on and on in prayer.  We may hear someone pray and tell them that it was a beautiful prayer, but if the prayer had no real meaning to the person praying, then it means nothing to God.  Verse eight says, Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.  We do not need to pray to call attention to ourselves, nor do we need to get God's attention.  God already knows our needs and simply expects us to acknowledge to Him that He is the One Who can meet our needs.  Verse nine says, After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  This is the beginning of what is normally called the Lord's prayer, but I believe should more accurately be called the Lord's model prayer.  I believe that Jesus' prayer in the garden and on the cross, for example, are more His prayers.  Still, the first thing that Jesus tells us is that our prayers should be directed to the heavenly Father.  We must be sincere in our acknowledgement of Who God is.  As followers of Christ, He is our heavenly Father.  Verse ten says, Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.  Jesus tells us that after we acknowledge God as our heavenly Father, then we are to pray, not for what we may want, but that God's will is done here on earth.  God is always at work in the world through His followers, if His followers are doing His will.  Verse eleven states, Give us this day our daily bread.  Jesus teaches us to pray for our daily needs to be met, for our daily bread.  We are not told to pray for all our wants, but for our own daily bread.  Verse twelve says, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  We have been forgiven our debt to God through our faith in Christ, and we are to forgive those who are in debt to us because we have been forgiven.  Verse thirteen states, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.  Since God never leads us into temptation, I believe that this means keep us from being led into temptation.  If we remember that it is God's kingdom, sustained by God's power, and that we are to do everything for God's glory, then we will never be led into temptation.  Verse fourteen declares, For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:  Jesus expands on the nature of forgiveness.  If we don't forgive those who have somehow harmed us, then why should we expect God to forgive us?  We have been forever forgiven for our trespasses against God.  Verse fifteen further declares, But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.  If we will not forgive others for their trespasses against us, then God will not forgive our trespasses against Him.  I do not believe that this means that we cannot be saved without forgiving others, but that once we are saved that we are to be as forgiving in our relationship to God as He is in His relationship to us.